Changes: Delphic Expanse

Revision as of 19:01, 23 April 2015

Enterprise approaches the thermobaric clouds at the Expanse perimeter

The Delphic Expanse was an area of space approximately fifty light years away from Earth. It was two thousand light years across, according to the Vulcan Ambassador Soval. The Expanse was riddled with a web of dangerous spatial anomalies and was surrounded by a dense layer of thermobaric clouds, which made navigation extremely hazardous for starships. Artificially created by transdimensional beings using a vast number of massive spheres, the Delphic Expanse ceased to exist in 2154, when the Earth starship Enterprise NX-01 destroyed them. (ENT: "The Expanse", "The Xindi", "Zero Hour")

History

In 2133, a Klingon starship attempted to enter the Delphic Expanse. When it reemerged, the entire crew was anatomically inverted but still alive. After this incident the Klingons would not enter the Expanse. Vulcan ships had also entered the Expanse, but only a few had ever returned. (ENT: "The Expanse")

In December of 2152, the Vulcan ship Seleya embarked on a mission to chart the thermobaric clouds surrounding the Expanse. After several days the ship's crew reported that the Seleya was caught in a subspace eddy and being pulled into the Expanse and contact was lost. The crew of the Vulcan ship Vaankara, sent to search for the lost Seleya, went insane, killing each other and self-destructing the ship after only two days inside the Expanse. After this the Vulcans considered any expedition into the Expanse to be a foolishly risky action. The Enterprise later found the Seleya adrift, with its crew gone insane due to trellium-D exposure. (ENT: "The Expanse", "Impulse")

When Earth suffered a devastating attack which resulted in the deaths of seven million people in March of 2153, Captain Jonathan Archer received intelligence from the Suliban Cabal's mysterious benefactor that the attack had been launched by the Xindi, a race native to the Expanse. With this information, the Enterprise embarked on a mission into the Expanse to find the Xindi, in an attempt to prevent another attack which would destroy Earth. (ENT: "The Expanse")

While in the Expanse, Enterprise encountered the Triannons, a native species which regarded the Expanse as the "Chosen Realm," an area that had been created by supernatural beings they referred to as "the Makers," in preparation for their eventual return. As they spent more time in the Expanse, the Enterprise crew discovered that the Triannon myth was based in fact, and that the Expanse had been created by a race of transdimensional beings who were attempting to reconfigure space to make it habitable for their species as a prelude to invasion. (ENT: "Chosen Realm", "Harbinger")

Delphic Expanse sphere map — A map of the Delphic Expanse Spheres

The crew discovered that this race had constructed a series of massive spheres, each one of which emitted powerful waves of gravimetric energy, which were responsible for the spatial anomalies. Possessing advanced temporal technology which allowed them to examine alternate timelines, the Sphere Builders discovered that, in the 26th century, the Federation was destined to finally defeat the Sphere Builders and drive them back into their transdimensional realm. In an attempt to prevent this future, the Builders contacted the Xindi and led them to believe that Humanity would eventually be responsible for the destruction of their homeworld, and that the only way to save themselves was to destroy Earth first. (ENT: "Azati Prime")

In early 2154, Captain Archer was eventually able to convince the Xindi that they had been manipulated, and entered into an alliance against the Sphere Builders. Enterprise was successful in disabling one of the Spheres with a deflector pulse, causing a chain reaction which destroyed the entire Sphere network. This effectively caused the Expanse to cease to exist, and the thermobaric cloud perimeter dissipated. (ENT: "Zero Hour")

Astronomical objects

Sentient species

Appendices

Background

The size, mentioned by Soval, presumably did not refer to a spherical diameter of the expanse, as such a huge phenomenon would be a dominant feature within the galaxy. If the size is accurate, it would suggest the expanse was a somewhat flat region of space.

Apocrypha

The Pocket ENT novel Rosetta establishes the technical scientific name of the Expanse as "the D-4853 anomaly."

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Image:ThermobaricClouds.jpg|thumb|The [[NX class]] [[starship]] [[Enterprise (NX-01)|''Enterprise'']] approaches the thermobaric clouds surrounding the [[Delphic Expanse]] in [[2153]].]]
+[[File:ThermobaricClouds.jpg|thumb|''Enterprise'' approaches the thermobaric clouds at the Expanse perimeter]]
-The '''Delphic Expanse''' was an area of space approximately 50 [[light year]]s from [[Earth]]. While its exact dimensions were unknown, [[Vulcan]] [[scientist]]s estimated the Expanse to have been about 2,000 light years across in the [[22nd century]].
+The '''Delphic Expanse''' was an area of space approximately fifty [[light year]]s away from [[Earth]]. It was two thousand light years across, according to the [[Vulcan]] [[Ambassador]] [[Soval]]. The Expanse was riddled with a web of dangerous spatial anomalies and was surrounded by a dense layer of [[thermobaric cloud]]s, which made navigation extremely hazardous for [[starship]]s. Artificially created by [[Sphere Builder|transdimensional beings]] using a vast number of [[Delphic Expanse sphere|massive spheres]], the Delphic Expanse ceased to exist in [[2154]], when the [[Earth]] starship {{EnterpriseNX}} destroyed them. ({{ENT|The Expanse|The Xindi|Zero Hour}})
+==History==
-At that time, it was also surrounded by [[thermobaric cloud]]s that made it difficult to enter and exit the region. It was generally avoided by [[Vulcan starships|Vulcan ships]] because of various [[spatial anomaly|spatial anomalies]] existing inside; in some parts of the Expanse the known laws of [[physics]] did not seem to apply.
+In [[2133]], a [[Klingon]] starship attempted to enter the Delphic Expanse. When it reemerged, the entire crew was anatomically inverted but still alive. After this incident the Klingons would not enter the Expanse. Vulcan ships had also entered the Expanse, but only a few had ever returned. ({{ENT|The Expanse}})
+In [[December]] of [[2152]], the Vulcan ship ''[[Seleya]]'' embarked on a mission to chart the thermobaric clouds surrounding the Expanse. After several days the ship's crew reported that the ''Seleya'' was caught in a [[subspace eddy]] and being pulled into the Expanse and contact was lost. The crew of the Vulcan ship ''[[Vaankara]]'', sent to search for the lost ''Seleya'', went insane, killing each other and [[self-destruct]]ing the ship after only two days inside the Expanse. After this the Vulcans considered any expedition into the Expanse to be a foolishly risky action. The ''Enterprise'' later found the ''Seleya'' adrift, with its crew gone insane due to [[trellium-D]] exposure. ({{ENT|The Expanse|Impulse}})
-In the [[2130s]], a [[unnamed Klingon starships|Klingon ship]] emerged from the Expanse with its entire crew [[anatomy|anatomically]] inverted, but still alive.  After this incident the [[Klingon High Council]] forbade all ships from entering the Expanse. However, Klingon [[Captain]] [[Duras, son of Toral|Duras]], during his attempt to capture Captain [[Jonathan Archer]], risked entering the Expanse to do so. Unfortunately for him, his ship was destroyed just short of entering the Expanse. ({{ENT|The Expanse}})
+When [[Earth]] suffered a devastating attack which resulted in the deaths of seven million people in {{dis|March|month}} of [[2153]], [[Captain]] [[Jonathan Archer]] received intelligence from the [[Suliban Cabal]]'s [[Humanoid Figure|mysterious benefactor]] that the attack had been launched by the [[Xindi]], a race native to the Expanse. With this information, the ''Enterprise'' embarked on a mission into the Expanse to find the Xindi, in an attempt to prevent another attack which would destroy Earth. ({{ENT|The Expanse}})
-The Vulcan ship ''[[Seleya]]'' was pulled into the Expanse in [[December]] [[2152]], with all contact subsequently being lost.  The crew of the ''[[Vaankara]]'', sent to investigate, went mad and killed each other within two days of entering the Delphic Expanse. ({{ENT|The Expanse|Impulse}})
-The [[Triannon]]s, a species native to the area, called the Expanse the "Chosen Realm". They believed that it had been created by supreme beings they called the [[Sphere Builder|Makers]] as a paradise for their eventual return.  They thought the Makers were using the anomalies to reshape the Chosen Realm into a new form.  Events would eventually show that the Triannons were essentially correct. ({{ENT|Chosen Realm|Azati Prime}})
+While in the Expanse, ''Enterprise'' encountered the [[Triannon]]s, a native species which regarded the Expanse as the "Chosen Realm," an area that had been created by supernatural beings they referred to as "the Makers," in preparation for their eventual return. As they spent more time in the Expanse, the ''Enterprise'' crew discovered that the Triannon myth was based in fact, and that the Expanse had been created by [[Sphere Builder|a race of transdimensional beings]] who were attempting to reconfigure space to make it habitable for their species as a prelude to invasion. ({{ENT|Chosen Realm|Harbinger}})
+[[File:Delphic Expanse sphere map.jpg|thumb|left|A map of the Delphic Expanse Spheres]]
-In [[2153]], the [[Enterprise (NX-01)|''Enterprise'' (NX-01)]] entered the Expanse in their [[Xindi incident|search for the Xindi]], a [[race]] native to this region, who were believed responsible for an attack on [[Earth]] that killed seven million [[Human]]s.
+The crew discovered that this race had constructed a series of [[Delphic Expanse sphere|massive spheres]], each one of which emitted powerful waves of [[gravimetric]] energy, which were responsible for the spatial anomalies. Possessing advanced temporal technology which allowed them to examine [[alternate timeline]]s, the Sphere Builders discovered that, in the [[26th century]], the [[Federation]] was destined to finally defeat the Sphere Builders and drive them back into their transdimensional realm. In an attempt to prevent this future, the Builders contacted the Xindi and led them to believe that [[Humanity]] would eventually be responsible for the destruction of their homeworld, and that the only way to save themselves was to destroy Earth first. ({{ENT|Azati Prime}})
+In early 2154, Captain Archer was eventually able to convince the Xindi that they had been manipulated, and entered into an alliance against the Sphere Builders. ''Enterprise'' was successful in disabling one of the Spheres with a [[deflector pulse]], causing a chain reaction which destroyed the entire Sphere network. This effectively caused the Expanse to cease to exist, and the thermobaric cloud perimeter dissipated. ({{ENT|Zero Hour}})
-On this mission, the crew learned about the existence of [[Delphic Expanse sphere|ancient spheres]] scattered around the Expanse, which were responsible for the spatial anomalies and ultimately the Expanse itself. ({{ENT|Anomaly}}) The Delphic Expanse had been created by the [[Sphere Builder]]s as part of the [[Temporal Cold War]]; the Expanse was designed to continue growing indefinitely, gradually altering the [[space]]-[[time]] continuum in the [[Milky Way Galaxy]] to make it habitable for their kind.  They were destined to be defeated at the [[Battle of Procyon V]] by the [[United Federation of Planets]] in the [[26th century]]. The Xindi attempt to destroy [[Earth]] was also part of their plot to manipulate the [[timeline]], implemented to prevent the founding of the Federation, and thus their eventual victory at Procyon.
-The Delphic Expanse ceased to exist when the space within the region was restored to normal in [[2154]] after ''Enterprise'' destroyed [[Sphere 41]], one of the principal spheres. The destruction of this sphere caused a chain reaction, destroying the others and removing the source of the spatial anomalies that had plagued travelers within the Expanse. ({{ENT|Zero Hour}})
 == Astronomical objects ==
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 === See also ===
-* [[Planets in the Delphic Expanse]]
+* [[Delphic Expanse planets]]
 == Sentient species ==
@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 * [[Xindi]]
-== Background ==
+== Appendices ==
+=== Background ===
-The location of the Delphic Expanse in relation to the known geography of the Alpha/Beta Quadrant area of the 23rd and 24th centuries is unclear at best. We know that the Expanse's [[thermobaric cloud]]s – its "border" – were approximately fifty light years from Earth. Some have theorized that the Delphic Expanse may have been located in the area of space that included [[Ferenginar]] and [[Cardassia Prime]], to explain why it is that these two races, already space-faring by the time of the 22nd century, were able to go undetected by the Federation until the 24th century; presumably, the Federation would have kept some distance away from the area of the former Delphic Expanse following the Xindi Crisis, expanding instead towards Romulan and Klingon space until the late 23rd or early 24th century. This is supported by the non-[[canon]]ical ''[[Star Trek: Star Charts]]'', which, while written prior to the third season of ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'', depicts the [[Cardassian Union]], [[Ferengi Alliance]], [[Tzenkethi|Tzenkethi Coalition]], and [[Breen Confederacy]] as being roughly fifty light years from Earth.
+The size, mentioned by Soval, presumably did not refer to a spherical diameter of the expanse, as such a huge phenomenon would be a dominant feature within the galaxy. If the size is accurate, it would suggest the expanse was a somewhat flat region of space.
+=== Apocrypha ===
+The [[Star Trek: Enterprise (Pocket)|Pocket ENT]] [[Novels|novel]] ''[[Rosetta]]'' establishes the technical scientific name of the Expanse as "the D-4853 anomaly."
 [[Category:Delphic Expanse| Delphic Expanse]]
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 [[de:Delphische Ausdehnung]]
 [[es:Expansión Délfica]]
-[[fr:Etendue Delphique]]
+[[fr:Étendue Delphique]]
-[[nl:Delphic Expanse]]
+[[it:Distesa Delfica]]
+[[nl:Delphic expansie]]
+[[ru:Дельфийское пространство]]