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In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the Bounty travels back to what looks to be Earth circa 1985 to acquire a breeding pair of whales. Yet at this time, whales were already in danger and people were sophisticated enough that the Bounty might be detected and possibly destroyed.

Why did they not travel back to 900 AD or so before mass whaling or missiles became a thing?

Peter Mortensen
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Bob
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    Later would've risked going past when they were extinct or tripping over the Eugenics Wars which were in full swing twenty years ago according to TOS history. – IG_42 Mar 24 '19 at 03:23
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    There are flaws with the answers because: 1. It is is may belief that different calendars are used in different productions and thus there is no guarantee that the Eugenics wars happen in the 1990s AD. 2. Transparent material is not necessary for the whale tank; steel will do. 3. Any local library will have books about whales including information about where Humpback whales can be found. – M. A. Golding Mar 24 '19 at 17:21
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    @M.A.Golding Then why don't you post an answer of your own? – Rand al'Thor Mar 25 '19 at 13:23
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    The whole terra incognita thing could have easily failed. It barely worked in 1986. Also, this is an ex post facto justification but had they gone to 900AD, they would have been stranded there with no way to get back and no way to make a whale tank, but we can infer that they chose ~1986 for those reasons. – J Doe Mar 25 '19 at 15:11
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    Their goal was to recover a breeding pair of whales, but also - presumably - to avoid messing with the timeline too much in the process. Going back to 900 AD or earlier would mean removing a pair of whales who presumably would have reproduced (either with each other or with other whales.) The sudden absence of those progeny could influence the timeline in ways that are difficult to predict - whalers might go home empty-handed who previously had caught a whale, etc. By getting as close as (safely) possible to the time that the whales historically went extinct, they minimize these ripples. – Steve-O Mar 26 '19 at 13:42

5 Answers5

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This is addressed in the film's official novelisation which contains a slightly extended version of Kirk's conversations aboard the Bounty. Mr Scott was making plans to turn the hold into a holding tank, per the Captain's orders, and evidently worked out that he'd need materials from at least the twentieth century (onwards).

"Scott here, admiral. Wi' the proper materials--the proper twentieth-century materials--I'll be able to build ye a tank."

"Thank you, Mr. Scott."

Coupled with the known extinction date of the humpback whale, this gives them a pretty solid date range to aim for with their time warp maneuver. Although they had quite a broad range in mind ("late twentieth century"), Spock's calculations turned out to be reasonably accurate. Given that Perspex® has been readily available from the 1960s, presumably he'd have been just as happy with 1975 as 1999.

"Ready to engage computer, admiral," Spock said.

"What's our target in time?" Jim asked.

"The late twentieth century."

"Surely you can be more specific."

Community
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Valorum
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    Spock probably wanted to avoid the Eugenics Wars of the late 90s. – J Doe Mar 25 '19 at 15:17
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    @JDoe - It's not especially clear how 'hot' those wars were. – Valorum Mar 25 '19 at 15:18
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    @Valorum: 40 nations were under the control of the superhumans and 30 million died in the war. So I'd say quite hot. – Bobby Mar 25 '19 at 20:57
  • @Bobby -Sure, that was the ultimate outcome. The recent comics (not to mention Voyager: Future's End) suggest that the rise of the genetic superman took until the late 1990s at the very least – Valorum Mar 25 '19 at 21:05
  • @Valorum while this answer is well thought out and corresponds to the ideas in the novel, given that they have transporters and therefore replicators which according to the Star Trek universe are very similar technologies (based on matter/energy manipulation), making a sheet of just about anyhting chemical would be trivial especially a simple compound like Perspex. Especially when you think Mr Scott regenerated the dilithium crystals a much more chalenging task. also Perspex is only a trade name for acrylic that's been used much longer than the 70's. –  Mar 26 '19 at 12:07
  • @onepound - Except that they're on a Klingon ship which doesn't have replicators. – Valorum Mar 26 '19 at 12:12
  • @Valorum a Klingon ship may not have something called a replicator but it must have something similar it just simply could not function otherwise. Replicators are the basis of all engineering in the 23rd century it would be impossible to repair the ship or make one without one, –  Mar 26 '19 at 12:18
  • @onepound - Modern-day warships repair themselves just fine without replicators. They either have the spare parts needed, repair shops to fix broken parts or get parts delivered to them by support vessels. – Valorum Mar 26 '19 at 12:20
  • @Valorum more research needed on the Engineering capabilities on various ships, maybe this would make a good question post on what kind of engineering technique/tools are available. I know the 23rd century Enterprise engineering can make things remember the episode 'Cat's paw' I think it was, when the crew state they can make a ton of precious stones on the ship and they were worthless. –  Mar 26 '19 at 12:24
  • MCCOY: These look real. KOROB: They are, I assure you. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires. All the crystalline forms that you cherish above all things. A fortune of them for each of you if you leave here without further inquiry. KIRK: We could manufacture a ton of these on our ship. They mean nothing to us. - I presume Kirk is using a mixture of hyperbole and slightly boasting. – Valorum Mar 26 '19 at 12:30
  • on the other hand T'Pol does manufacture in the 22nd century the precious gem in 'these are the voyages' the one most people hate. Where did you gert that script from I've alwas wanted a TOS script. –  Mar 26 '19 at 15:03
  • @onepound - http://www.chakoteya.net/StarTrek/30.htm – Valorum Mar 26 '19 at 15:04
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They had a narrow timeframe that would be useful to them.

  • They needed to arrive late enough that the whale-tank materials they needed to modify the ship would be readily available -- post-1950s. Not just "possible", but in stock locally.
  • They needed an economy robust and entreprenurial enough that their oddball material purchases needs wouldn't pop up any red flags on any government's radar (for instance doing this in the Soviet Union was right out) - so 1950s and up.
  • If they had any problems with the vessel's drive systems (and they did), they needed a modern enough society where technology, electronics, nuclear things, etc. were well-developed and readily available (so 1970s at least, and the later the better!)
  • Whale science needed to be solidly established, with plenty of experts available - because they needed to catch whales, and they had little chance of getting Klingon sensors to tell them the difference between a gray whale and a sperm whale.
    • Even better if culture had become affluent enough that there were aquatic zoos like Sea World, so we're definitely into the 1970s.
  • Preferably, racism (including war sentiments) have declined considerably, so Uhura, Sulu, Chekov and Spock will have an easier time, so 1970s and the later the better. It would also help if the Cold War was abating, so 1980s.
  • Can't go later than 1991, because in Trek canon, the Eugenics Wars began.
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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  • There are flaws with the answers because: 1. It is is may belief that different calendars are used in different productions and thus there is no guarantee that the Eugenics wars happen in the 1990s AD. 2. Transparent material is not necessary for the whale tank; steel will do. 3. Any local library will have books about whales including information about where Humpback whales can be found. – M. A. Golding Mar 24 '19 at 17:23
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    @M.A.Golding 1 conceded. 2 the limiting factor is not transparent material but an economy robust enough to not notice or ask questions when somebody wants a bunch of steel, plastic, whatever. The Depression and WWII both made that impossible. 3. Reading books is great for executive briefer summaries, but doesn't even begin to replace a real expert with experience and currency when you're actually doing it. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Mar 24 '19 at 18:00
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    Good point with the availability of materials in bulk. Imagine turning up in Napoleon's time and asking for tons of aluminium. Back then, aluminium was such an expensive novelty that reportedly at a royal banquet only the most distinguished guests got aluminium utensils, the others had to be contented with only getting golden ones. – vsz Mar 25 '19 at 07:12
  • 'whale-tank materials' "Good point with the availability of materials in bulk. Imagine turning up in Napoleon's time and asking for tons of aluminium. " - they could have just made a force field to hold the water it was just done for theatrical effect. The 1980's was the time when people generally could go around looking like them without looking out of place. –  May 21 '19 at 08:35
  • @onepound They could blend in with all the people who did a little too much LDS in the 60's... – Harper - Reinstate Monica May 21 '19 at 14:15
  • @Harper they certainly would :) and with the rest of the people would just think they'd been on some! thanks for that link I love that film –  May 22 '19 at 09:48
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To transport the whales the crew used transparent aluminium for their makeshift holding tank which they had to "invent" themselves and produce using 1985 technology which wouldn't have existed in 900 AD.

IG_42
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I'm not completely familiar with the "time sling-shot" maneuver, but there are multiple possible reasons for that.

Going further back is dangerous

It might be that ~1980 is roughly the earliest year they can safely travel. Traveling any further back might strain the Bird of Prey (also dubbed "rust bucket") too much and you all might die. Any further into the future and you might not have the chance to encounter whales.

Time travel is not an exact science

From what we can see in the movie they never specify to what year they want to go. Quite the opposite, directly after the jump this dialog happens:

Kirk: Picture, please.

[Picture of Earth appears in the viewscreen.]

Kirk: Earth. But when? Spock?

Spock: Judging by the pollution content of the atmosphere, I believe we have arrived at the latter half of the twentieth century.

So they know how to roughly jump back in time, but they can't target a certain year or period.

Time travel is an exact science

In the TOS episode "Tomorrow is yesterday" the crew of the Enterprise learns the mechanics required to jump through time by accident. They complete a maneuver around a black star which hurls them back into the ~1960s on Earth. At the end, they can execute the same maneuver around Sol to travel back to their time.

Unbeknownst to them, this time travel method might have a fixed time span of roughly ~300 years you can jump backwards and forwards with, as the dates neatly line up. Or maybe they knew about it, but it was never established on screen.

Repairs and Extensions

Last but not least, the Bird of Prey is ill equipped to transport whales. That means that you need the resources to remodel it on the fly in the past. That excludes anything before ~1960 I guess, because since then we have made vast advancements in technology. Additionally, Earth is in a pretty bad shape starting from ~1991 with Eugenic War waging and killing tens of million of people, and undoubtedly binding a lot of resources. So you want to land before that, because afterwards you'd either end up in one of three situations:

  • You can't acquire the resources required because they are not available because of the war.
  • Whales are already extinct.
  • The technology has advanced so far that you have a hard time doing your thing.

With these restrictions in mind, the period around ~1980 sounds like quite a good place to be.

Bobby
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    There are flaws with the answers because: 1. It is is may belief that different calendars are used in different productions and thus there is no guarantee that the Eugenics wars happen in the 1990s AD. 2. Transparent material is not necessary for the whale tank; steel will do. 3. Any local library will have books about whales including information about where Humpback whales can be found. – M. A. Golding Mar 24 '19 at 17:22
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    @M.A.Golding 1. As far as I know, the calendars for anything before Stardates are the same as ours (though, obviously, a different universe). 2. Yes, but you still need big sheets of steel which are readily available for that (for a private person with no questions asked), means of transport of said sheets and tools to put them into the ship. 3. "Found in oceans and seas around the world, humpback whales typically migrate up to 25,000 km (16,000 mi) each year." Great, so we just have to search all the oceans...also, you are aware the in the ST universe these went extinct somewhen around...now. – Bobby Mar 25 '19 at 18:16
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Spock, master of spin

Spock put a convincing "spin" on his plan when he explained it to Kirk, playing down the margin of error. Just as Scotty learned to pad his estimates when Kirk was likely to make unreasonable demands, Spock knew that Kirk had trouble relying on logic for making dispassionate decisions in scary situations.

Based on the Star Trek IV transcript, Spock determined the earliest date from which they could return. He listed fuel components as a limiting resource:

KIRK: What is our target in time?

SPOCK: Late twentieth century.

KIRK: Surely you can be more specific.

SPOCK: Not with this equipment. I have had to programme some of the variables from memory.

KIRK: What are some of the variables?

SPOCK: Availability of fuel components, mass of the vessel through a time continuum, and the probable location of humpback whales, in this case, the Pacific basin.

A trip deeper into the past would have presumably required a more extreme slingshot maneuver with greater strain on fuel components.

As it turned out, they arrived right on target, so Spock's computations were accurate. Spock's plan broke the ship, but he had a way to fix it:

SCOTT: Admiral, we have a serious problem. Would you please come down? It's these Klingon crystals, Admiral. The time-travel drained them. They're giving out. De-crystallising.

KIRK: Give me a round figure, Mister Scott.

SCOTT: Oh, twenty-four hours, give or take, staying cloaked. After that, Admiral, we're visible, ...and dead in the water. In any case, we won't have enough to break out of Earth's gravity, to say nothing of getting back home.

KIRK: I can't believe we've come this far only to be stopped by this! Is there no way to re-crystallise dilithium?

SCOTT: Sorry, sir. We can't even do that in the twenty-third century.

SPOCK: Admiral, there may be a twentieth century possibility.

KIRK: Explain.

SPOCK: If memory serves, there was a dubious flirtation with nuclear fission reactors resulting in toxic side effects. By the beginning of the fusion era, these reactors had been replaced, but at this time, we may be able to find some.

KIRK: I thought you said they were toxic.

SPOCK: We could construct a device to collect their high-energy photons safely. These photons could then be injected into the dilithium chamber, causing crystalline restructure. ...Theoretically.

KIRK: Where would we find these reactors, ...theoretically?

SPOCK: Nuclear power was widely used in naval vessels.

The way Spock immediately offered a solution to their crystal dilemma (the aforementioned "fuel components", it seems), a suspicious person might think that this was part of his original plan.

(I'm tempted to think that Spock simply remembered reading about the Cetacean Institute's humpback whales, couldn't quite recall all of the details due to post-regeneration trauma, and based the entire plan around a hunch.)

Gaultheria
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    The film seems to suggest that the search for the whales was going to be rather haphazard, and that the discovery of the cetacean institute, and of George and Gracie therein, was the kind of blind luck that only happens in the movies. The odds of Spock having read about a place several centuries in the past seems even less likely than luckily noticing the billboard. – VBartilucci Mar 25 '19 at 18:00
  • Until I read this answer I didn't notice that there is a massive plot hole with the whole ST series - if they can use a nuclear reactor to recrystallize dilithium (in theory) then why is this never done in the future? and whats the need to mine this material (that cant be replicated) if it can be recrystallized with a simple nuclear reactor? they have force fields so future reactors would pose little risk. Someone should ask that one – Matt Mar 25 '19 at 21:13
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    @Matt This is only a plot hole if de-crystallized dilithium is abundant and it's only scarce in its proper crystalline form. I'm not aware of any canonical indication that this is the case. – Mason Wheeler Mar 25 '19 at 21:37
  • @Matt I've never come across decrystallization of dilithium even being a problem in Star Trek except in this film. Who knows, perhaps the recrystallization process using a fission reactor is only a temporary solution and then the dilithium crystals are permanently damaged? – RobertF Mar 29 '19 at 15:12
  • The crew also had another option for fixing the dilithium: contact the Vulcans (who had warp technology in the 20th century) and ask for help. – RobertF Mar 29 '19 at 15:14
  • Spock likely learned about the dilithium recrystallization process in Discovery 2x13 "Such Sweet Sorrow", where it's an otherwise-unknown technique developed (and kept secret) by the ruler (a teenage prodigy) of an alien planet. – Gaultheria Apr 14 '19 at 00:56
  • @Matt I dont think it is a plot hole as the radiation emitting fissian material in the aircraft carrier is not naturally occuring in any quantity but either needs to be enriched or seperated which is hard and probably not economic in the 23rd century or any other when dilithium is available. –  May 22 '19 at 12:37
  • @onepound in an age of replicators the entire reactor plus fissionable materials would be simple enough atoms to replicate (remember its only some fictional materials that cant be replicated), so you cant replicate dilithium but you can replicate something that will make it as good as new when it wears out. You should only have to mine dilithium once per ship and use your reactor to repair it once it wears out – Matt May 22 '19 at 12:46
  • @Matt your comment about replicating is true but you need energy to replicate probably from fusion. I thought the dilitium has two properties - it stores antimatter and the antimatter provides the energy. Maybe Dilithium is just so available nobody bothers on the other hand it just could be a plot hole. I cannot disagree with you there. It would be nice to get some consensus on this anyway. –  May 22 '19 at 13:01