Prototype — memory alpha

For the VOY episode of the same name, please see "Prototype".

"You were the finest student at the Academy, the finest Starship Captain. You were the prototype, the model for the rest of us."

– James Kirk, 2268 ("Whom Gods Destroy")

"I hate prototypes."

– Miles O'Brien, 2373 ("Apocalypse Rising")

A prototype was a leading example of a thing or person, which other things or people could be modelled after.

A person could be called a prototype if they were worthy of admiration, such as someone who was especially skilled at their career. Other people would try to emulate their prototype.

In the context of inventions, a prototype was the first working model of a new invention, used for trial runs.

Prototype inventions could be unreliable and even dangerous, as they existed to test technology that was not yet fully understood. However, that same cutting-edge technology and exclusivity made prototypes highly valuable. Prototypes were often handled with utmost secrecy, and would sometimes be traded or stolen.

The , prototype of the — The USS *Defiant*, prototype of the *Defiant*-class

In the context of starships, the first ship of a ship class was sometimes called a prototype. (DS9: "The Search, Part I"; VOY: "Non Sequitur", "Message in a Bottle")

In the real world, more specific terms for the first ship of the class are "lead ship" or "name ship", but there are no examples of that usage in Star Trek so far. The words "lead ship" are spoken many times, but only in reference to the leader of a formation.

Starfleet prototype starships had an "NX" prefix in the registry number, as opposed to the normal "NCC" prefix. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; DS9: "The Search, Part I"; VOY: "Non Sequitur", "Message in a Bottle") Once certified for operational status, these prototype vessels usually reverted to a more standard NCC prefix. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country; DS9: "Tears of the Prophets"; Star Trek Nemesis) However, some maintained their NX registry long-term. (PRO: "Supernova, Part 1"; PIC: "The Bounty")

History

People

During the Eugenics Wars, Stavos Keniclius was a Human scientist who planned to clone a prototype "perfect" Human to create a "master race". (TAS: "The Infinite Vulcan")

In 2268, James T. Kirk complimented Garth of Izar by calling him a prototype to other captains. (TOS: "Whom Gods Destroy"

Weapons

In 2151, the Enterprise was designed to carry three phase cannons, but due to its early departure from Earth, they were not installed. The ship carried a single prototype cannon, and the crew needed to get it working and then build two more from scratch. (ENT: "Silent Enemy")

In the Xindi crisis of the 2150s, the Xindi fired a weapon on Earth and left a trail of destruction. This was merely a prototype in their efforts to build a planet-destroying superweapon. The Enterprise intervened to sabotage a second prototype. (ENT: "Exile", "Proving Ground", "Stratagem", "Kir'Shara")

In 2366, five prototypes were known to exist of the banned Varon-T disruptor. Four of these were in the possession of collector Kivas Fajo. (TNG: "The Most Toys")

In 2371, the Obsidian Order tested a prototype quantum stasis field, which prevented a Changeling from altering its biomolecular structure. It is unclear how long the Order had the device before getting the chance to test it. (DS9: "The Die is Cast")

In 2373, Starfleet Science developed a prototype of a device called a polaron emitter, designed to expose Changelings by rendering them unable to maintain solid form. The untested nature and the complicated means of placement and activation made Miles O'Brien remark: "I hate prototypes." (DS9: "Apocalypse Rising")

In 2374, the USS Voyager's EMH developed a way to modify Borg nanoprobes to combat Species 8472. When Captain Kathryn Janeway suggested trading this technology to the Borg, the EMH cautioned her that "It's still in the experimental stages, Captain. I've only made a few prototypes." After negotiating with the Borg, they agreed to create a "prototype weapon" by encasing the modified nanoprobes in photon torpedoes. (VOY: "Scorpion", "Scorpion, Part II")

The TR-116 rifle was a chemically-propelled projectile weapon – a gun – developed by Starfleet Security for use in dampening fields or radiogenic environments where a traditional phaser would be useless. The project was abandoned after the invention of the regenerative phaser, but as of 2375 it was still possible for Starfleet officers to access the replication pattern for the prototype. (DS9: "Field of Fire")

Cloaking devices

In 2293, Chang's Bird-of-Prey was equipped with a prototype cloaking device that allowed the ship to fire while cloaked. It was the only one of its kind. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)

The USS Pegasus was referred to as a prototype ship (despite not being the lead ship of its class) because of its role as a testbed, experimenting with technologies including a new engine and new weapons. Some of these would later be used in Galaxy-class ships. In 2358 the Pegasus was lost in a mutiny over an illegal prototype cloaking device. (TNG: "The Pegasus")

In 2368, the USS Enterprise-D lent assistance to a Romulan science vessel when it was disabled by a catastrophic failure involving a prototype interphase cloaking device. A few years earlier, the Enterprise had received intelligence reports that the Klingons abandoned a similar project after several accidents. (TNG: "The Next Phase")

In 2377, the Nightingale (as nicknamed by Harry Kim) was a Kraylor ship purported to be a medical transport carrying vaccines. However, it was ultimately revealed to be a prototype ship using an in-development (and unreliable) cloaking device for military objectives. (VOY: "Nightingale")

Propulsion

In the 2140s, Earth Starfleet's NX Project attempted to accelerate Humanity's starships from warp one to warp five. The project's prototypes included the NX-Alpha, NX-Beta, and NX-Delta. (ENT: "First Flight")

In 2363, during the development and construction of the USS Enterprise-D, Dr. Leah Brahms helped to created a prototype schematic for a more powerful dilithium crystal chamber which was planned to be installed on a future class of starship. In 2366, Geordi La Forge uncovered this prototype and used it to make improvements to the Enterprise's power output. The next year, Brahms visited the Enterprise and was initially impressed to find the prototype design in use, but became appalled when she discovered how La Forge had acquired the information. (TNG: "Booby Trap", "Galaxy's Child")

In 2367, the Malcorians had a prototype design for a warp engine, but they cancelled plans to build production units. As such, they remained a pre-warp civilization and avoided making formal first contact with the Federation at that time. (TNG: "First Contact")

In 2368, as part of a soliton wave propulsion experiment, a prototype unmanned soliton wave rider was used. However, the experiment ended in disaster and the prototype vehicle was destroyed. (TNG: "New Ground")

In 2374, a shapeshifter referred to its stolen ship – equipped with a coaxial warp drive – as a prototype. (VOY: "Vis à Vis")

In the 31st and 32nd century, Starfleet worked on new propulsion technologies to wean themselves off dilithium. Examples included the prototype second-generation spore drive and the prototype pathway drive. (DIS: "Kobayashi Maru", "All In", "Rubicon")

Starships

In 2002, Nomad MK-15c was a prototype "thinking machine" launched as a space probe from Earth. (TOS: "The Changeling")

In the Babel Crisis of 2154, Romulans modified a warbird into a prototype remotely controlled drone ship. (ENT: "Babel One", "United")

In response to early encounters with the Borg, in 2366 Starfleet "began exploring the possibility of building a new class of starship. This ship would have no families, no science labs, no luxuries of any kind. It was designed for one purpose only, to fight and defeat the Borg." The prototype for this new "battle fleet" was the USS Defiant. However, the Borg threat grew less urgent and the ship's shakedown cruise revealed some design flaws, so the prototype was abandoned until 2370 when it was repurposed for defence against the Dominion. (DS9: "The Search, Part I")

In an alternate timeline in 2372, Harry Kim helped in the design of a prototype runabout, the USS Yellowstone. (VOY: "Non Sequitur")

In 2374, the USS Prometheus was an experimental prototype starship. The EMH Mark II aboard was also a prototype. (VOY: "Message in a Bottle")

The USS Protostar was a prototype ship. After the Battle near Gamma Serpentis in 2384, the ship's successes were recognised and Starfleet approved the full production of the Protostar-class modeled after it. (PRO: "Supernova, Part 2")

Other inventions

Earth Starfleet spent years trying to develop a force field, but struggled to find a way to control the particle density. In 2152, Malcolm Reed was able to use the specs in the database to jerry rig a prototype force field, though it was unreliable. (ENT: "Vox Sola")

In the 2330s, Human cyberneticist Dr. Noonien Soong developed a series of Soong-type androids. These included the "prototype" Lore, the "revised prototype" Data, and three earlier prototypes. (TNG: "The Measure Of A Man", "A Matter Of Time", "Inheritance")

In 2369, the Ferengi scientist Dr. Reyga developed a prototype metaphasic shield that could allow a vessel to enter a star's corona. Jo'Bril, a Takaran scientist, sabotaged the technology's debut demonstration and murdered Reyga, in an attempt to steal the prototype and turn it into a weapon. (TNG: "Suspicions")

In 2372, the USS Voyager encountered a race of sentient robots. They convinced B'Elanna Torres to build a prototype robot in their image. However, she destroyed the prototype when it became clear it was a ruse by the robots to begin endlessly replicating themselves to continue an ancient war. (VOY: "Prototype")