Ever sinceStar Trekcrash-landed onto TV screen in the late 1960s, the franchise has continued to grow. The world portrayed through the lens of subsequent shows and movies has fascinated viewers since, and is still being added to today. New entries have introduced more and moreamazing, influential technology, and some of the best alien races and cultures seen in the sci-fi genre. Of all these amazing additions, there are definitely some which have been better-received than others. Red matter, for example, is one concept that divides fans - but what exactly is it?
Red matter was a product born fromthe controversial Kelvin universeStar Trekfilms, and played a prominent role in the first 2009 movie by JJ Abrams. Red matter played an important part of the narrative, both visually (as it looked very cool) but also plot wise. This substance was incredibly dangerous, capable of creating a black hole when ignited. A single drop can destroy an entire star or collapse a planet. Its immense power was, of course, sought after, as its potential as a weapon gave it tremendous value. Things get confusing here, especially taking into account the prime universe ofThe Original Series, The Next Generation,etc.andthe Kelvin timeline.
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The creation of red matter within the universe is known to fans. In the year 2387 of the prime timeline, the Romulan sun began to go supernova, an event which would cause massive destruction to their home world. At this point, the relationships between the Romulans and the Federation were better, but still strained. Ambassador Spock was devoting much of his time in the reunificationthe Vulcans and the Romulans, whom he had discovered were distant relatives. The plan was to use the Red Matter, a substance that was apparently conceived as a plot point forStar Trek(2009), to create a black hole to absorb the star, and save Romulus from the supernova. Despite their best efforts, though, they were too late, and the Romulan home world was destroyed. They did manage to create the black hole to stop more damage from the exploding star, but Romulous was already destroyed.
In retaliation, a Romulan mining ship piloted by the movie’s antagonist, Captain Nero, confronted Spock. He believed him to be responsible for the destruction of his home, despite anything Spock could say to the contrary. During their fight, the black hole started to change, becoming a wormhole. That wormhole sucked in both Nero’s ship, the Narada, and Spock’s ship, transporting the two back into time. This is where the timeline diverge, and the Kelvin universe began with destruction ofGeorge Kirk’s ship the USS Kelvin.
Despite being sucked into the wormhole just seconds apart, it took Spock 25 years to appear from the time Nero entered the timeline, and Nero was ready. He captured Spock’s ship, and got his villainous hands on the huge supply of Red Matter onboard. He used this to mount an attack on Vulcan, Spock’s home world, in retaliation to what he believed they had done to his home. Hell-bent on misguided revenge, he drilled into the planet and launched just a small drop of the red matter into the core.
This was enough to destroy the planet, forming a singularity within and consuming everything. It was a dramatic, emotional moment within the film, and one which demonstrated how this universe was on a very different course than the prime timeline version. Nero then tried to do the same to Earth, but was thankfully stopped by the alternative versions of Spock and Kirk, who later used the Red Matter to create a singularity within Nero’s ship and end the villain and his devious plans for good.
As with many aspects related to the Kelvin universe, the Red Matter was used as a major plot point, then completely forgotten about afterward. This was a creation of immense power, created from processed decalithium, a substance Nero’s ship mined. This explains his capability to understand the substance and how to use it more than others. After this, however, there is no mention of it in the universe. The substance was most likely banned from use due to its destructive power by the Federation, or rarely used due to its instability. Regardless of the reasons, the intricacies of how it works have not been discussed inStar Trekmedia.
The only mention so far of it the Kelvin Timeline films has been inthe new season ofPicard.Raffi had the substance in a list of previous searched items when tracking down a stolen quantum tunneling technology forthe fairly militaristic Starfleetintelligence. Whether or not this stolen technology uses Red Matter or not is not yet clear, but the similarities to its consuming, singularity creating technology is close enough that there might just be a link. Perhaps this will be the avenue through which viewers get some more insight into what Red Matter is, and what gives it such destructive properties.
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