Boldly Go

If you were about 5 or 6 in 1966, then your first really good sci-fi adventure was with Captain Kirk aboard the Starship Enterprise. High drama on the final frontier - outer space. The gadgets and tools they had were the stuff of fantasy. We dreamed of having them all.

The most fantastical was the Transporter. It disassembled your molecules and then reassembled you somewhere esle. Scottie could send someone anywhere and get them back again.

The Phaser was a great weapon. It could be set to stun or kill depending on the situation. Sulu and Chekov could escape from unknown attackers by stunning them, or save the mission by vaporizing the evil space monsters.

Dr. McCoy, a.k.a. Bones, had his Tricorder. The perfect medical device. It could diagnose and recommend treatment with a simple scan. It tell everything from temperature to blood chemistry without needles or knives.

But the Communicator was what really saved them most of the time. If they didn’t have the Communicator they would not have been able to give Scottie their coordinates so he could beam them back to the Enterprise when things got out of hand. This magic gadget was a pocket sized 2 way communication device that flipped open to talk. It worked anywhere. Even in outer space! I remember thinking what a great invention that would be if only it could be real.

In 1966 we hadn’t even seen the last of party lines. Not even everyone had a phone in their home. And those who did had big, black, primitive, ones. They were wired to the wall, had bells inside, and a dial that turned and clicked as it spun back. They were solid though and heavy. You could use that receiver as a weapon if faced with an intruder! Long distance was miraculous and no one minded the static on the line.

Improvements in technology made it easier and clearer to talk on the phone. We were freed from sitting still when cordless phones came along. They were small and lightweight and we could take them anywhere and never miss a call - as long as we stayed within range, and the power stayed on.

Complete liberation came in the form of cellular phones. Even those were a far off acquisition for most people in the beginning. Only the rich and famous had a car phone in the 70's. But over the years we have quickly moved from bag phones and bulky cell phones to today’s compact styles and blue tooth technology.
Modern telephones have evolved from telegraph to fiber optics to satellite and microwaves. We can easily talk to people all over the world, anytime. With a Communicator now in nearly every pocket, purse, or backpack, how far are we from a single weapon that would provide lethal and non-lethal delivery for military and law enforcement, or a comprehensive hand held medical scanner that would revolutionize health care?

"Beam me up Scottie"



Note: Wah Ming Chang created several futuristic props for Star Trek including the Communicator which inspired Martin Cooper's research on mobile telephony.