Galactic barrier

The Galactic barrier is an energy field that surrounds the Milky Way Galaxy. Appearing as a purple/pink band of energy, the barrier has been encountered on several occasions by Earth and Starfleet vessels.

The barrier was first encountered in 2065 by the SS Valiant, when that ship was swept off course and into the barrier by a magnetic storm. Subsequent events resulted in the destruction of the Valiant and the loss of all hands, leaving the barrier's formal discovery to wait two hundred more years.

In 2265, the USS Enterprise under command of Captain Kirk discovered the recorder-marker ejected by the Valiant. Decoding its message, they retraced the Valiant ' s path and were almost destroyed. The barrier was found to have a negative density, negative radiation, and negative energy. It did not register at all on the Enterprise ' s sensors, although the ship's deflectors did react to it.

Entering the barrier was extremely hazardous. Deflector shields could not block all of the energies of the barrier; the leakage was sufficient to damage systems (warp drive was particularly vulnerable) and cause physiological changes in certain individuals, typically those with high esper ratings. Most of these die of brain damage, but individuals with the very highest potential can survive, and are altered. They develop psionic powers, and in at least one case, a "god complex"; their perspective is either altered by the radiation, or by their power. They view their former friends and ship-mates as lower lifeforms. This transformation is known to have happened at least three times, with the best known example being Gary Mitchell. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before")

In 2268, Kelvans from the Andromeda Galaxy entered the Milky Way Galaxy. Their ship was damaged by the barrier despite their extremely advanced technology. (TOS: "By Any Other Name")

Later that year, the Enterprise left the Milky Way Galaxy when Larry Marvick, driven mad by the sight of Ambassador Kollos, sought to escape his tormenting visions. During that excursion, no one was affected in the same manner as Mitchell just three years earlier; presumably, improvements in shielding technology prevented a repeat of that tragedy. (TOS: "Is There in Truth No Beauty?")

Over one hundred years later in 2387 the barrier was again encountered, this time by the USS Pioneer which was on a mission to study the phenomenon. En-route the ship was stolen by Gary Mitchell and his race of Gods who had developed on Delta Vega. (PNR: "In Thy Image").


 * In this episode, the explination for the rapid journey from Federation space to the edge of the galaxy is explained by travelling through "Warp Route 6".

(In Star Trek: Pioneer continuity) By the late 2390s the Federation, now enhanced with Transwarp drive built a starbase at the galactic barrier. (STBF: "These Were The Voyages...").


 * Greg Cox's Star Trek: The Next Generation - Q Continuum novels state that the galactic barrier was in fact created by the Q Continuum as a method of preventing the powerful being known only as "0" from returning to the Milky Way Galaxy, from which he was banished for his destruction of the Tkon Empire. These novels also explain that the telepathic powers that occurs as a side effect of exposure to the barrier in telepaths are caused by the presence of "0", who constantly attempts to affect beings on the other side to give himself access to the galaxy once again


 * It is not explained why the Enterprise could not simply go above or below the barrier, as the visuals would seem to indicate as a possibility. One explanation is that just as the barrier itself was not visible until the Enterprise was close enough, the top and bottom of the barrier are still too far away to be seen in any of the on-screen shots. This would be especially true of the top and bottom of the galaxy, which would still be many light years away. None of this, of course, is confirmed in canon.

Adapted from Memory Alpha.