INTRODUCTION BY GENE RODDENBERRY
from  the book, Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual
by Rick Sternbach and Mike Okuda
originally published in 1991 by Pocket Books

The Starship Enterprise is not a collection of motion picture sets or a 
model used in visual effects. It is a very real vehicle; one designed for 
storytelling.

You, the audience, furnish its propulsion. With a wondrous leap of 
imagination, you make it into a real spaceship that can take us into the far 
reaches of the galaxy and sometimes even the depths of the human soul.

The purpose of all this? To show humans as we really are. We are capable 
of extraordinary things. I am stunned and thrilled by events such as the 
falling of the Berlin Wall, the spectacular spread of democracy in Europe, 
incidents of humanitarian gestures for AIDS victims, the magnificent 
achievements of the Voyager spacecraft team, efforts toward hunger relief, 
and the rapprochement with those we saw as forever bitter enemies.

For example, our character Worf is something of a symbol of the reduction 
of global tensions in the world today. Just a few years ago when we first 
conceived of a Klingon officer on the Enterprise, the Soviet Union seemed 
to some a dangerously intractable enemy. Now through a fictional Star 
Trek character, we are living out the same high drama. This is not to 
suggest that the path to world harmony will ever be an easy one Ñ 
witness the agony of the Persian Gulf crisis Ñ but Americans are 
increasingly beginning to see the Soviet people not as enemies, but as 
fellow citizens of Planet Earth. At its best, our starship can help us explore 
many possible human futures.

The Enterprise is also a symbol of the vast promise of technology in the 
service of humankind. On Star Trek, weÕve tried to show technology not as 
important in itself, but as a tool with which we humans can better reach 
our dreams. It is one of my fondest hopes that Star Trek may help people 
see the importance of our present-day exploration of space. Not just the 
possibility of contact with alien intelligences Ñ although I am confident 
that this will indeed eventually happen Ñ but in a myriad of benefits closer 
to home. We look forward to space spinoffs providing new communications 
technologies, extraordinary new energy sources, lifesaving advances in 
medicine, and revolutionary new industrial processes. Space exploration 
helps us to better understand both our home planet and its neighbors in 
our solar system, and on a more philosophical level, it will help us find a 
sense of cosmic perspective by letting us better see our place in the 
universe. What weÕve seen thus far has been an important and very 
humbling experience.

Documents such as this Technical Manual help give some background to 
the vision we work so hard to create on Star Trek. Rick and Mike have 
obviously had a lot of fun filling in the gaps and trying to find technical 
ÒexplanationsÓ for some of our mistakes. (Actually, considering the 
sometimes crushing pressures under which episodic television is 
produced, IÕm quite amazed at how well it usually hangs together.) This is 
not only great fun, but it also suggests how much work will have to be 
done to achieve the dreams of tomorrow.

We must remember that the promise of tomorrow will not be fulfilled 
easily. The collective commitment of our nations, as well as the vision, 
wisdom, and hard work of many, many individuals will be required to bring 
our dreams to fruition. In a way, the Enterprise and the optimistic future in 
which it exists might be thought of as a reminder of what we can achieve 
when we really try.

We certainly donÕt pretend that our television starship is a blueprint from 
which NASA or Intercosmos or ESA can immediately begin construction. 
LetÕs face it: A faster-than-light warp drive is still far beyond our current 
understanding. And there are thousands of other areas still waiting to be 
tackled and built upon. The hard work Ñ and the rewards Ñ remain for 
the next generation.

I think our future will be worth it.

Ñ Gene Roddenberry
Creator and Executive Producer
Star Trek: The Next Generation
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