Star Trek: Everything We NOW Know About The Burn

8. SB-19

Star Trek Discovery Unification III SB 19
CBS Media Ventures/Paramount A Skydance Corporation

Before the events that led to the Burn, the Milky Way Galaxy was facing a shortage of Dilithium, inspiring the Federation to look into other methods of transport. It decreed that all of its member worlds should make an effort to discover a new, safe form of propulsion. Ni'Var, formerly known as Vulcan, came up with SB-19.

This discovery would allow starships to move across vast distances via subspace and proved to be the most promising alternative to Dilithium. However, Ni'Var's scientists determined that the risk of SB-19 was too great to continue the experiments and attempted to shut them down.

Nearing desperation, the Federation refused them permission to do so. The resulting Burn was, for a time, believed to have been caused by SB-19. This led Ni'Var to secede from the Federation, removing the Vulcans, a founding race, from the alliance. The Romulans, who by this time had established their home with their Vulcan cousins, voted against leaving the Federation, but were outnumbered.

For more than one hundred years, Ni'Var remained separate and cordially hostile to the Federation. When investigating the cause of the Burn, and armed with the black boxes from ships destroyed therein, Burnham and the crew of the Discovery were able to determine the point of origin for the event, ruling out SB-19 as a possible cause.

This finally allowed relations between Ni'Var and the Federation to thaw, leading to the former's eventual decision to rejoin the organisation. 

Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"