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Why there are no automated procedures on board Star Trek ships


If I'm not mistaken, nearly every attack on a ship in Star Trek (usually followed by a declaration like "We're are under attack!") is followed by the captain, or another senior officer, saying one or more of these:



  • Red alert! or Battle stations!,

  • Shields up! or Shields to maximum power!

  • anything similar or related.


A similar thing can be observed with many contacts with the Borg (especially in VOY: Scorpion). A crew member (Tom Paris?) informs the captain that they're being chased by five or more Borg cubes (where meeting just one would most likely mean assimilation or destruction) and the captain must order him to raise shields, go to red alert and start evasive manoeuvres.


Why is this so? Why does any sign of attack not imply automated shields up and automated red alert? If the survival of the ship (and its crew) is the most important part of every journey through space, then why do such procedures not happen automatically and nearly always have to be ordered?




Answer



@Dreamwalker is correct; it heightens tension in the audience to see and hear such orders being given and precautions taken. You see helmsmen/ pilots taking evasive manoeuvres on their own in all five Star Trek series, so the order definitely isn't necessary.


This is speculation, but I would assume it takes the authority of whoever has the conn to initiate a Red Alert, but that in situations where the ship is in danger the individual officers have the authority to act on their own instincts. This is the case in modern navies. I vaguely recall Jadzia Dax informing Captain Sisko; "I'm way ahead of you" when he ordered her to raise shields on the U.S.S. Defiant at some point, but do not remember when and therefore can't cite it.


Also bear in mind that raising shields and arming weapons can be perceived as hostile. Captain Picard's refusal to ever listen to Worf's recommendations on simply firing torpedoes at every ship is a well-known trope, and in The Wrath of Khan Kirk refuses to follow protocol when contacting the U.S.S. Reliant as he doesn't want to accidentally initiate conflict with a fellow Federation vessel. You wouldn't want to automate such a procedure; it should be done only on an officer's authority.


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