Spoilers Why doesn't Pike just tell the admiral what happened on Boreth?

[Yistaan]

Strange New Worlds' series premiere showed that Pike is still angsting about his vision on Boreth and is reluctant to return to duty because of it, even ignoring Admiral April's calls. Strangely enough, we are told that Pike now know roughly when the future he saw will happen (he tells Spock something like "about a decade from now"), although it's unclear how Pike knows this as this wasn't stated in Discovery. Furthermore, Pike is limited in who he can talk with because of the ultra-classified nature of Discovery's disappearance, as seen in Pike's conversation with his also Starfleet girlfriend.

However, by the end of the episode we are told outright that Admiral Robert April is in on the coverup regarding Discovery and knows all about it, having used a loophole to claim that since Discovery's battle that gave the aliens warp tech officially didn't happen, Pike is therefore in the clear in regards to responsibility involving the aliens' future troubles.

April is shown to be a reasonable authority figure and a fairly nice boss, not asking any questions when Pike ignores repeated communicator calls and offering Pike a chance to leave command, no questions asked. It's obvious that April knows something is up with Pike, but doesn't pry. (Keep in mind this is a lot nicer than other licensed, albeit non-canon, portrayals of April which show him to be kind of a jerk in the Early Voyages Marvel comic covering the 2250s and in IDW's Kelvin Timeline comics, which have him as a Section 31 terrorist who's ultimately arrested).

Why doesn't Pike outright tell April what happened on Boreth? At the least April will know why Pike is suddenly feeling conflicted about command. Since April is already in on Discovery's situation, it won't break any classification rules. As it is, talking to April about his future is better than alluding to it randomly with first contact aliens, which is what Pike ended up doing in this episode.

 

[DEWLine]

Since April's now cleared for the whole story, I would hope that Pike does tell him. Not that it's going to change the events to come, but his boss should have a clear picture barring any truly horrific consequences.

And since you raised the matter of previous versions of Robert April, I have to admit to enjoying Diane Carey's version from her novels, which the DSC novel Drastic Measures ran with to some extent in the closing chapters if memory serves. Her opinion of Ayn Rand remains troubling, mind you, but she didn't usually let it run away with her writing.

 

[Komutan]

Actually the main question is, since Pike has so precise knowledge about his death, why can’t he avoid it? He can even make people take the necessary precautions to stop the accident from happening.

It would make more sense if the crystal deleted the memories of the vision.

Of course, considering all the time travel, space-time disruptions etc. in Star Trek, the writers can stil come up with something to change Pike’s fate.

 

[fireproof78]

Actually the main question is, since Pike has so precise knowledge about his death, why can’t he avoid it? He can even make people take the necessary precautions to stop the accident from happening.

To avoid it is to avoid the things that make him himself.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

It's a fixed point in time. Tenavik told Pike if he took the crystal, the future he saw would be unavoidable.

 

[Yistaan]

It's a fixed point in time. Tenavik told Pike if he took the crystal, the future he saw would be unavoidable.

Considering the sheer horror of what Pike saw he and most people would try to avert it anyway. The only good explanation I read is that if Pike did avert it, it just meant someone else would get irradiated and maybe this time around even the cadets won't make it.

 

[Mudd]

April was only "read in" to what happened on Discovery shortly before his meeting at the end of the show with Pike. He said so in that scene. That's why Pike didn't tell him.

 

[Komutan]

It's a fixed point in time. Tenavik told Pike if he took the crystal, the future he saw would be unavoidable.

That is why I said the memory of the vision should have been erased from Pike’s mind. Otherwise, it is mechanically avoidable.

 

[urbandefault]

Actually the main question is, since Pike has so precise knowledge about his death, why can’t he avoid it? He can even make people take the necessary precautions to stop the accident from happening.

You can't escape the Reaper. No matter what you do, he's waiting for you at your Final Destination.

 

[Awesome Possum]

That is why I said the memory of the vision should have been erased from Pike’s mind. Otherwise, it is mechanically avoidable.

Wasn't it explained that by choosing that crystal, Pike's fate was set in stone and it was the only way to ensure that machines didn't wipe out all life in the galaxy? Maybe no matter Pike does he will eventually end up there or maybe doing so will rip the fabric of reality apart, but it was my understanding that Pike knows that there is no way to prevent this and he can't Doctor Who his way out of it.

 

[Mudd]

But, speaking of Doctor Who, dude only had thirteen lives and that was the absolute rule until the producers realized that they were gonna need more and then it wasn't.

 

[Yistaan]

Wasn't it explained that by choosing that crystal, Pike's fate was set in stone and it was the only way to ensure that machines didn't wipe out all life in the galaxy? Maybe no matter Pike does he will eventually end up there or maybe doing so will rip the fabric of reality apart, but it was my understanding that Pike knows that there is no way to prevent this and he can't Doctor Who his way out of it.

Resign Starfleet and the vision can't happen. The vision clearly showed Pike in Starfleet.

Furthermore, you don't automatically just trust random aliens any more than you'd trust say Berlinghoff Rasmussen

 

[Awesome Possum]

Resign Starfleet and the vision can't happen. The vision clearly showed Pike in Starfleet.

Furthermore, you don't automatically just trust random aliens any more than you'd trust say Berlinghoff Rasmussen

You'd have to rewrite the scene and ruin Pike as a character. I saw it as brave because he was willing to sacrifice his own life in a truly horrific way in order to save the galaxy.

 

[The Wormhole]

And since you raised the matter of previous versions of Robert April, I have to admit to enjoying Diane Carey's version from her novels, which the DSC novel Drastic Measures ran with to some extent in the closing chapters if memory serves.

Hey, yeah, that's what's missing from this iteration of April, he isn't wearing a cardigan. I'm sure Adrian Holmes can totally rock a cardigan, so what's the deal?

Resign Starfleet and the vision can't happen. The vision clearly showed Pike in Starfleet.

To paraphrase Jurassic Park "Time will find a way." You can do whatever you want to try and change a vision of the future, but if that vision is your fate, it's going to happen regardless of what you do. By trying to adhere to it exactly as you saw it, you're at least insuring it happens in the best case scenario.

Regardless, as we see in this episode, Pike is having trouble dealing with the vision, and that he does seem to be contemplating leaving Starfleet because of it. I would guess over the course of the season he's going to come to realize the good he can do while in Starfleet will outweigh the horrible fate he knows is ahead of him.

 

[Nerys Myk]

You can't escape the Reaper. No matter what you do, he's waiting for you at your Final Destination.

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[Mudd]

You'd have to rewrite the scene and ruin Pike as a character. I saw it as brave because he was willing to sacrifice his own life in a truly horrific way in order to save the galaxy.

In fact, he's willing to sacrifice his own life in a truly horrific way in order to save four cadets.

One day, it won't be ten years away. One day, he'll be standing there on that cadet vessel and he'll walk into the fire knowing exactly what comes next when he does.

 

[JRob94]

Actually the main question is, since Pike has so precise knowledge about his death, why can’t he avoid it? He can even make people take the necessary precautions to stop the accident from happening.

It would make more sense if the crystal deleted the memories of the vision.

Of course, considering all the time travel, space-time disruptions etc. in Star Trek, the writers can stil come up with something to change Pike’s fate.

If I recall correctly, the episode where he gets the time crystal and views his future said that to acquire the crystal, his future would be fixed. I’m paraphrasing, but it was something to that effect

 

[Yistaan]

If I recall correctly, the episode where he gets the time crystal and views his future said that to acquire the crystal, his future would be fixed. I’m paraphrasing, but it was something to that effect

These are also the words of a religious (i.e. not scientific) figure from a hostile government that spends years waiting for a Klingon who's been dead for centuries to come back to life.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

I'm reminded of the movie "Krull" where the Cyclops people were given the ability to see the future by The Beast; except the only future they could see was their own deaths. Anything that they did to try to avoid it would only result in a more gruesome death. I'm guessing it's the same with PIke, anything he does to try and avoid the accident will result in something possible worse happening to him or the cadets.

 

[Yistaan]

I'm reminded of the movie "Krull" where the Cyclops people were given the ability to see the future by The Beast; except the only future they could see was their own deaths. Anything that they did to try to avoid it would only result in a more gruesome death. I'm guessing it's the same with PIke, anything he does to try and avoid the accident will result in something possible worse happening to him or the cadets.

They could actually mess around with that. Pike resigns from Starfleet, goes to Orion or Risa, somehow finds yet another time crystal and looks into it... And whatever he sees is even more horrific that he ends up going back to Starfleet. And maybe it's best the audience is never shown it, but instead leave it to their imagination what could even be worse than beeping wheelchair confinement.