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In the premiere episode of Star Trek: Discovery, there are at least two officers on the bridge of the USS Shenzhou with apparent cybernetic attachments:

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Has there been any creator comment about the nature of these characters, or how they came to be, apparently, augmented?

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Politank-Z
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1 Answers1

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In episode three, "Context is King" we see that Keyla Detmer has had a similar device added compared to the first two episodes.

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Especially paired with her coldness/anger vs. Michael Burham, it is clear that this prosthetic/implant is a result of her injury in the previous episode at the Battle of the Binary Stars.

So we must conclude that this type of (probably cybernetic) augmentation is relatively commonplace in the new canon, similarly to other changes such as the ubiquitous holographic communications.

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ThePopMachine
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    All of this makes me wonder whether we are really in the Prime timeline, or if this is secretly the Kelvin / reboot timeline, or if this is some other timeline altogether. – Praxis Oct 02 '17 at 20:49
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    I have the same hunch @Praxis that there will be a big reveal that this is Kelvin universe. They (CBS/powers that be) know the majority of Trek nerds would have lost their minds if it was announced from the beginning that it was JJ verse. Better to rope people in and slowly boil the frog. – NKCampbell Oct 02 '17 at 21:09
  • @NKCampbell, if it were, there would be transwarp beaming, which seems to be at odds with the plot as of now. – ThePopMachine Oct 02 '17 at 23:11
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    @ThePopMachine Only if they are also lying about the time frame. If this is the Kelvin Timeline, Prime-Spock hasn't arrived yet. – Politank-Z Oct 02 '17 at 23:45
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    even in Kelvin timeline, transwarp beaming is about a decade away. Remember, this is pre-Kirk Enterprise – NKCampbell Oct 03 '17 at 01:08
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    @Politank-Z, if Prime Spock hasn't arrived yet, then it's the same timeline! – ThePopMachine Oct 03 '17 at 03:48
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    @ThePopMachine Prime Spock hadn't, Nero had. After the Kelvin's destruction, before the launch of the NCC-1701. – Politank-Z Oct 03 '17 at 03:53
  • @Politank-Z, oh yeah, right. And Nero messed with the Klingons so maybe there is something to this. Maybe the Klingons look like they do now due to interbreeding with the Remans! – ThePopMachine Oct 03 '17 at 05:19
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    There's a few arguments about why this isn't the Kelvin timeline. One is stardates. In the Kelvin timeline, the digits to the left of the decimal represented the Gregorian Calendar year: 2258.42 was in 2258 (Vulcan destroyed, Kirk takes command), 2259.55 was Star Trek Into Darkness in 2259, and Star Trek Beyond was 2263.2 in 2263. But in Discovery, it's stated that stardate 1207.3 was May 11, 2256. The dates clearly work differently from the Kelvin timeline. Thus, not Kelvin timeline. – Keith Morrison Oct 03 '17 at 07:19
  • Additionally, an upcoming prequel novel, made in close association with the show's production, has the Shenzhou and Enterprise under Pike's command collaborating. More prime- or at least not Kelvin-timeline evidence. – Politank-Z Oct 03 '17 at 22:32
  • Complicated timelines. I guess they're trying to take a cue from the success of the X-Men Cinematic Universe. /s – ThePopMachine Oct 04 '17 at 15:55