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Zefram Cochrane
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This Star Trek-related article or section describes an aspect of Star Trek in a primarily in-universe style. Please rewrite this article to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. |
| Zefram Cochrane | |
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| Species: | Human |
| Gender: | Male |
| Date of death: | Unknown (disappeared in 2117) |
| Home planet: | Earth |
| Portrayed by: | Glenn Corbett James Cromwell |
Zefram Cochrane is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe created by Gene Roddenberry.
Cochrane is the first Human to travel at warp speed. His flight in 2063 garners the attention of the Vulcans, leading to humanity's first contact with aliens.
Glenn Corbett played Cochrane for his first appearance in the TOS episode "Metamorphosis". James Cromwell played Cochrane in the feature film Star Trek: First Contact and the Star Trek: Enterprise pilot, "Broken Bow". First Contact footage of Cromwell as Cochrane was used in the Enterprise episode "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part I", along with new footage of an identically-dressed actor whose face is not shown.
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In 2053, Cochrane began construction of humanity's first warp-capable vessel, the Phoenix, in Bozeman, Montana.[1] According to his dialog in Star Trek: First Contact, he started the project for financial gain.[1]
On April 5, 2063 at 11:15 AM local time, Cochrane made Earth's first warp flight, playing Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" during blast-off.[1] The Phoenix's warp signature is detected by a Vulcan survey ship, the T'Plana Hath, which then makes peaceful first contact with Humans, including Cochrane, at the Phoenix's launch site.[1] In the Mirror Universe, rather than reciprocating the Vulcans' peaceful greeting, Cochrane and the other Humans kill the Vulcans and loot their ship.
Cochrane was presumed dead after disappearing from Alpha Centauri in 2117.[1] In the TOS episode "Metamorphosis", James T. Kirk, Spock, and Leonard McCoy find Cochrane living on an asteroid with a being he calls the Companion, an ethereal presence of pure energy who rejuvenated the aged, dying Cochrane more than a century before, and has held him captive — and in a state of youth and vigor — ever since.[1] Traveling with the three Starfleet officers is an ill Federation commissioner.[1] The Companion, who loves Cochrane, merges with the commissioner, ridding her of her illness and providing the Companion with a corporeal form.[1] The combined entity no longer has power to force Cochrane to stay with her, but Cochrane chooses to stay out of love and gratitude. Before departing, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy promise not to reveal Cochrane's existence.[1]
In the novel Federation by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, whose publication predated the release of Star Trek: First Contact by two years, Cochrane's story is told in a different fashion: his warp experiments are the result of a mysterious billionaire's financial and idealistic support in the period between the Eugenics Wars and World War III; his self-identification with Alpha Centauri results from it being the destination of his first warp voyage and his subsequent founding role in the first colony in the system; and his life's story beyond his encounter with Kirk at Gamma Canaris in "Metamorphosis" is depicted up to his death during the events of the third season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.[2]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Okuda, Mike and Denise Okuda, with Debbie Mirek (1999). The Star Trek Encyclopedia. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-53609-5.
- ^ Reeves-Stevens, Judith and Garfield (1994-11-1). Federation, Star Trek. Pocket Books. ISBN 0671894226.
- Zefram Cochrane article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
- Article about Federation (novel) at Memory Alpha