Introduction

By Lyndon Brunel

Star Trek has been around for over 30 years now. Thirty years of
material about this Universe; its characters, worlds, and History
have been established both in the mainstream (episodes and movies)
and in the sidestream (novels, manuals, gaming booklets etc.).
That's a Lot of information; sometimes conflicting but information
nevertheless. During the rebirth of Trek in the 1970s the core of
fans began to build upon the episodes. This was when the animated
series came about, the first novels were published, and when fandom
was virtually unified and even accepting a single timeline of events.
The fans built upon previous source material, making it more real.

Sadly, however, the latest trend in recent years has been to Bury
the past; to ignore decades of publications. A "new order" has
arisen flaunting the words "official," "authorized," and "canon" --
empty words used to sell new books which are often the products of
little or no research. They have allied themselves with the "authority"
and pounce on other fans who don't yield, often leading to very
upleasant squabbles. These "official" tags Only indicate that Paramount
Pictures receives a cut of the loot from the item's sales. That is
All it means. It has no bearing whatsoever on the item's accuracy
or on the amount of research or workmanship put into it. The reverse
philosophy of this "new order" of Fandom being that those publications
which are Not "official"/"authorized"/"canon" are sub-standard
garbage. These people tend to have an extremely narrow interpretation of
the Star Trek Universe and frequently place many words into the mouth
of the late Gene Roddenberry to justify their views. To these
people ALL of the novels, ALL of the technical publications (yes,
including those approved of by Gene Roddenberry), ALL of the
animated episodes, and SOME of the movies, fit into this category
of "Unofficial." The only possible exceptions are those few books
with Michael Okuda's name on them -- simply because he is
associated with the current Trek production teams. "But they Own
Star Trek." Maybe so but what right do they have to ignore All
this material? The fans kept Star Trek alive in the 70s through the
80s and quite a few tidbits of background data became ingrained into Trek
lore. A respectable portion of which, bordering on ninety
percent, adheres to the era of the original series and movies.
The Past. What's coming to us Now is about the late 24th Century
and usually has no bearing on the past. This is a fictional
universe, so why all the crying fuss!

If this isn't the absolute inverse philosophy of IDIC, I don't
know what is. Call it what you will, it has taken a firm hold over
current Fandom and ceases to let up as Paramount milks "the
franchise" (and the fans) for all it has, and all they have. The
practical reason for this is to Simplify the universe: chop down
the long-time fan and put him on even footing with the newcomer
fan. It's also a damn cheap excuse for the newly appointed
"experts" to hide behind when asked a lot of Trek historical questions
which they clearly cannot answer, nor even take half seriously.
Indeed, many newcomer fans join this gang after being confronted
with inconsistencies. It's too much trouble for these fans to analyze
them and formulate their own explanations so they quickly accept
the "official" (and often simplistically ridiculous) explanation.

Question: Why do modern Klingons look and act so much different
from classic Klingons?

Official Answer: Up until "Trials And Tribble-ations" it was:
They've always looked that way. 1960s tv resolution
couldn't make out the head ridges. Now Worf
reveals: "We don't discuss it."

Fan Answer: Two or more races of Klingons. (Their background,
ascension to power, and fall are researched Here. From the
novels to the RPG materials.)

Question: What does NCC stand for and are these numbers systematic?

Official Answer: It stands for nothing. There is no system to the
numbers; they are random. "Even the Encyclopedia
says so."

Fan Answer: NCC is an abbreviation for Naval Construction Contract
and/or Navigational Contact Code (depending on usage). Up until the
2280s, these "hull numbers" were sequentially assigned to sister ships
of specific nominal classes.

I remain discouraged that so many fans feel they must side with the
Official Answer perpetuated by people who don't even care to watch the
original series. The production people are better known for their inside
jokes than for their contributions to Star Trek. Fandom today
seems to be dominated by the Ferengi (the exploiters of fans) and the
first generation Trekkers are on the road to extinction. Where timelines
(and a myriad of other sale items) are manufactured to rake in the bucks
with No Care in mind by the non-Trek fan. Paramount (and Pocket Books)
are well aware that Star Trek on the label compensates for all defects
and shortcomings. Did you know that today there are more non-fans writing
Trek novels than ever before? Why should an author write for a particular
medium if the author doesn't care for the medium? Because it sells,
and because even if it's utter trash, the fan-who-has-everything Must
purchase it.

Here James Dixon has taken out All the stops. Virtually every
consistent chronological fact is presented here in this
truly exhaustive Star Trek Chronology file. Yes, the word Fandom
precedes its title for it emphasizes the many technical nitpicky
details set down in the novels and other publications. I once suggested
that it should be titled 'Fandom Star Trek Chronology: Fandom Strikes
Back!' It is also there to differentiate it from Michael Okuda's shabby
"revised" Star Trek Chronology: The History Of The Future book selling for
$25 and as inconclusive as a chronology can possibly be. Not all the
color photos in the world and glossy pages can compensate for inadequate
research. James Dixon has taken a more intense approach analyzing the
whole. Obviously not Everything in print can be featured here, but
virtually everything from the episodes (live action and animated), films
(ALL of them), novels (up to the present time of publication), Treknical
publications (blueprints and manuals), and gaming systems (FASA and Star
Fleet Battles) are indelibly included. What is not featured verge on the
juvenile (young readers books, comic books, records) and, due to the vast
numbers, fanzines. Generally speaking, most every mainstream high quality
work is included, not obscure zines.

Because of the complex documentation you may care to jump to the
Notes section before, and especially during, your reading of this
gigantic file. Unlike other Trek historians, James Dixon has stuck
strictly with established and published data. No facts or "fillers"
were made up out of the blue. Ultimately it is of course up to the
reader to accept or reject his integration of Trek historical lore.
The capsule summaries of the adventures are short but necessarily so,
as emphasis here is placed upon Events. This is a Timeline not an
episode guide, of which many are commercially available.

James Dixon's work should stand as the "serious Trekker's standard"
in timelines. The product of years of collecting and research,
it stands head-and-shoulders above the rest and is for the
literate fan who does not require pictures and illustrations. It
is the most comprehensive of chronologies, and there is not one more
complete to this fan's knowledge. You may have read other timelines,
but this is the Real Thing. JD's also not after your wallet!

Enjoy! Be warned that printing this file out can be hazardous to
your printer's