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With more than a dozen films, Star Trek gets a lot of its canon from the feature films. Many concepts introduced in the movies, like the Borg Queen, end up in the series. However, Red Matter is a powerful substance introduced in 2009's Star Trek movie that hasn't been mentioned since. The properties of this substance are still mostly a mystery, but it had the power to destroy planets or punch a hole through spacetime.

While an argument can be made that Star Trek: Discovery saved the franchise, the influence of the 21st Century films can't be ignored. They are known as the Kelvin Timeline movies, named after the destroyed Starfleet vessel, that kickstarted the alternate reality. This was done so the films wouldn't have to worry about Star Trek canon interfering with the storytelling. Red Matter was the sci-fi substance introduced to make it all happen. However, these films do connect to Star Trek's Prime Timeline. Spock was in the late 24th Century when he and the Romulan aggressors traveled back more than 100 years earlier. In fact, Star Trek: Picard directly referenced the destruction of the Romulan homeworld. So, if that's canon, then Red Matter is something that exists in the canon.

RELATED: Why Star Trek: Legacy Could Be a Feature Film Testing Ground

For better or worse, 2009's Star Trek didn't get bogged down in sci-fi technobabble exposition the TV series are known for. Yet, the film was clear about what Red Matter can do. Spock planned to use the Red Matter to create a singularity that would absorb the energy from an exploding star. He was too late to save Romulus but deployed it anyway. The resulting singularity sent him and the Romulan vessel commanded by Nero into the past. Later, Nero used the same amount of Red Matter to create a black hole in Vulcan's planetary core. It destroyed the planet and killed the younger Spock's mother. He used the rest of it to destroy Nero and his ship.

In a non-canon comic series leading up to the release of the movie, Red Matter was created by the Vulcan Science Academy. They used a substance called dicalthium, and it seems more stable than the movie lets on. Only the heat and pressure from a star or a planetary core can cause it to create a singularity. However, the explosion (or implosion) of a warp core would also create sufficient energy. Again, this means that the Vulcan Science Academy is, somehow, able to make this substance of immensely destructive power. Though, it's worth noting, Star Trek: Picard has contradicted many of the details in this comic series. For example, Data was the captain of the Enterprise-E. In Picard Season 1, he was a digital-only lifeform and had been since the events of Star Trek: Nemesis.

Still, older Spock, his ship and the Red Matter all came from the Prime Timeline's future. Star Trek: Discovery's third season revealed a person from the Kelvin Timeline's version of The Next Generation era traveled to the prime universe. If Red Matter were to show up again, it could open the door on the Kelvin Timeline universe or any other version of Star Trek's multiverse. However, with few prominent Vulcan characters from TNG's timeline, the secret of Red Matter doesn't seem to be well known amongst that era's heroes. In fact, it may not ever come up again, unless the Kelvin Timeline (or J.J. Abrams) returns to the franchise.

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A funny moment from Picard Season 3 was when the Enterprise-E was revealed to be destroyed. Everyone looked at Worf, who replied, "That was not my fault." It's just a gag, and one that could be expanded on in a comic, novel or even animated story. The line is in there so the show can, justifiably, get the crew back on the Enterprise-D. Yet, what happened to the E is a deliberately dangling narrative thread, some other storyteller can sew up. Red Matter is similar. In the novelization of the script, the detail about needing a sun, planetary core or warp implosion is in the text. However, since it wasn't on-screen, Red Matter could come back as some naturally occurring, super-volatile substance.

The look of Red Matter, it seems, is a kind of in-joke between production designer Scott Chambliss and director J.J. Abrams. "The big red ball has a lot of resonance for J.J. and I: we have one in virtually everything we do. It started with the Alias pilot," Chambliss told Star Trek Magazine in 2009. Still, it wasn't a very deeply thought-out scientific concept. Former science consultant-turned-writer Andre Bourmanis said as much, though did admit the warp core implosion wasn't an unsound way to escape the singularity's gravity well. It was a useful plot device to set up the new reality while still allowing Leonard Nimoy to reprise his iconic role.

Red Matter may never return to Star Trek, just like some other concepts used only for specific films like The Search for Spock or Insurrection. Keeping its properties only loosely defined allow future filmmakers to deploy in the best way for their stories. Everything from warp drive to the transporters have some inconsistencies throughout the 60-year canon. All that's important is Red Matter, the Genesis Device or whatever they use serves the story. Red Matter was a powerful weapon, and had it stuck around, Into Darkness and Beyond could've gotten very messy.

Excerpt from:

Red Matter in the Star Trek Movie Canon, Explained - CBR - Comic Book Resources

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.One of the most powerful aspects of cinema is singularity. One scene, one line, or one moment acts as a tide, completely altering the ebb and flow, setting or shifting the atmosphere of a film. Moviegoers can see this powerful technique displayed throughout various films. Award-winning features such as Moonlight are active demonstrations. In one of the most potent scenes written in Moonlight, we see two emerge in water, and while seemingly simplistic, that scene sets the movement, the emotional current of the film. As the Atlantic notes, "The scene is like nothing so much as a baptism: a moment of communion and spiritual connection between the two, a moment that seems to be revelatory, and its significance is echoed in other moments that use water throughout the film."

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Screenwriters, filmmakers' directors, and most Tinsel Town creatives fully understand using one potent moment to drive impact. They live for the power of singularity. And it's employed to close chapters, open new doors, or bridge the old to the new. One franchise in particular, Marvel, has mastered this beautifully. Marvel movies often have at least one defining scene that draws viewers in or lures them into deeper commitment. Now fans will find this technique has also been employed in the most recent chapter of the Transformers franchise. With one scene, we see the future. If something works, there is no need to fix it. One fascinating element of the recent film, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the inclusion of a major uncovering in a potent scene between Ramos' character and a secret agency. What is the power of its influence? This scene completely changes what fans hope to see in future franchise offerings. And the breadth of its revelation has stimulated much chatter because it's utterly fascinating.

Transformers: Rise of the Beast opened in theaters on June 9, 2023. From its pre-release until now, it's been quite a conversational piece, especially for franchise fans. The pre-hype undoubtedly drove the triumph of its debut. However, there wasn't much variation in the film. For followers of this cinematic series, the factor that most stood out was the story's chronology, as this segment takes moviegoers back in time to 1994, making it a sequel to Bumblebee, but its status to the 2000s set Michael Bay movies unclear. The filmmakers have said it is a prequel, yet it contains story elements contradicting those films.

Related: Why Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Is a Franchise Must-Watch

However, barring that change, everything else remains formulaic. While there are new characters, "The Maximals," the plot remains consistent with former features. The Transformers and their human and not-so-human allies ultimately partner to save Earth. But such is not a big complaint or a dealbreaker. Because although it's a patterned plot, it is the signature of Transformers. And what's a film without its signature?

While most of the film followed expectations, one element catalyzed reinvigoration. Those who watched can identify the standout scene, which awakened new possibilities for the franchise's future. Fans weren't the only ones excited about the reveal; so was lead actor Anthony Ramos. He could barely contain his excitement in an earlier interview with Comicbook. According to the actor,

"I knew about it. I knew about it, yeah I was going crazy when I saw and read that. I was like, 'Woah, that's gonna..."

It's not hard to fill in the blanks. To drop some breadcrumbs with this scene, the creators expanded the future, creating new avenues. The film's final scene reveals that Noah is actually interviewing with the organization known as G.I. Joe. 80s kids now finally get the indication of a crossover between the Transformers and the Real American Heroes. And the implications are mind-blowing. Why? The breadth of potential expansion beyond such a crossover in the distant future is boundless.

G.I. Joe is another popular Hasbro toy property, one that extends farther than Transformers, although the two were contemporaries in the 1980s when G.I. Joe relaunched as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. The two franchises have crossed over in cartoons and comics, yet never in the film, even though both had live-action movies in the late 2000s.

Related: Will the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts [SPOILER] Crossover Even Work?

At one point, Hasbro was developing a shared universe with G.I. Joe alongside other toy properties, including M.A.S.K., Rom: The Space Knight, Visionaries, and Micronauts. While those plans never solidified, it appears they have decided to crossover their two biggest properties with Transformers and G.I. Joe. This now means that the human characters, which have always been one of the most criticized elements of the Transformers movies, now have the potential to stand out as they can be members of G.I. Joe. This certainly makes the toy line for an upcoming movie more exciting and has the chance to expand both franchises' scope. G.I. Joe has struggled at the box office, and Transformers is not the powerhouse it once was. Yet combining these two series together could set the stage for bigger, better movies and a shared universe that can rival Marvel and DC.

Continued here:

Transformers Rise of the Beast: The One Scene That Completely ... - MovieWeb

The characterization of a massively multiplayer online game, or MMO, is self-explanatory. Or is it? By definition, it means a large number of players on the same server hundreds, thousands and a big open world that continues to evolve. So does Palia, an upcoming community-based simulation MMO (self-defined as cozy) by Singularity 6, slice the veggies?

Players will step into a breathtaking new world and experience the wonder and charm of Palia through the eyes of their own unique character, announced the developer during the latest Nintendo Direct. Players will work together to explore Palias immersive landscape, meet a diverse and eclectic cast of characters, and unravel the mysteries of Palias ever-evolving world story.

The game isnt out yet, so obviously we dont have all the details including how many people can actually play together. But I have no doubt Palia is indeed an MMO. What I want to highlight though is how unique this game is, therefore expanding the genre even further than what it is already. Palia is quite literally Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing, yet always online and massively multiplayer, as well as realistic-ish graphics and a three-dimensional, open-world setting.

In the game, players create an avatar, which can be customized further through clothing. Theres skills to learn, resources to gather, and things to craft. Palia also features fishing, foraging, hunting, cooking, and gardening, as well as a housing system. Additionally, the game contains villagers with interconnected stories that offer meaningful friendships, quests, and the possibility of romance. On top of that, there seems to be progression and a storyline.

Most MMOs have what Palia offers. However, I cant think of a single one that focuses on what this game is all about. From what I have seen, the core of most MMOs is the combat you progress by fighting enemies. In Palia though, combat doesnt seem that deep and appears to be just as important as the life skills (crafting, gathering, fishing, cooking, gardening, etc.). Sure, you can play an MMO like Albion Online or Black Desert Online and just focus on stuff like that, but if were being real thats not why most people flock to either of those games.

So, is this game an MMO? Yes. Palia is indeed an MMO. Not only is it an MMO, the game may just be one of a kind. Many games have come and gone (and are still on the way) that dont try to reinvent the MMO wheel. Instead, they try to take it up a notch with things like better graphics or cooler combat. Often, these games fail, because convincing MMO players to abandon their current MMO and dedicate their time to a new one is tough (especially if the game sucks). Palia, on the other hand, doesnt seem to be doing that. The game is simultaneously targeting an entirely new audience many of whom never even played an MMO before and giving MMO veterans the opportunity to feed their addiction with something thats less tense, and rather cozy.

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Is It An MMO? #12 Upcoming "Cozy" Community Sim Palia Might ... - MMOBomb

A new approach to understanding gravity helps eliminate some discrepancies inherent in general relativity.

General relativity, formulated by Albert Einstein in 1915, revolutionized our understanding of gravity. According to this theory, spacetime is not a fixed arena where all physical processes take place, but a dynamic entity whose shape responds to the movement, interaction, and transformation of particles and radiation.

Einsteins theory not only changed our concept of space, time, and gravity on the theoretical level, but by providing many testable predictions and explained many observed phenomena, such as time dilation in a gravitational field, the deflection of light rays by massive bodies, the formation of black holes, and even the expansion of the Universe throughout its evolutionary course.

However, this extraordinary and successful theory has its limitations. In the context of the expansion of the Universe for example, when we use the mathematical machinery of general relativity to theoretically rewind the history of the Universe back to its very beginning, we end up with the Big Bang singularity, in which the densities of matter and energy are infinitely large.

The entirety of physics history has taught us that infinities do not exist in the natural world. When they arise in calculations, this is an indication that the theory is not completely correct and must be modified to eliminate them, replacing them with finite, albeit large, quantities.

It is this search that a recent study published in the Progress of Physics has reported on. In their paper, a team of theoretical physicists from India and Brazil were able to change the equations of Einsteins theory in such a way that the state of the Universe, at the moment of its birth, appears to be non-singular.

The study retains the interpretation of gravity as a deformation of spacetime, as proposed by Einstein, but modifies the mechanisms by which matter moving in space causes this deformation.

As a result, their predictions regarding the evolution of the Universe almost exactly match those made by general relativity (and observational data), except for the moment of the Big Bang, in which the infinite density of matter that arises in Einsteins theory are replaced by a finite quantity.

In addition to resolving the paradox of the Big Bang singularity, their modified theory of gravity seems able to solve another problem of general relativity: the problem with dark energy.

Dark energy, which accounts for 70% of the energy in space, is a necessary inclusion in general relativity order to align theory with the observed accelerated expansion of the Universe.

This mysterious entity has never been observed or replicated in any laboratory experiments, and its origins and nature remain murky. Understandably, dark energy has been a source of concern and intrigue for scientists for many years.

This is why the findings of the current study may be substantial as it explains the observed expansion rate of the Universe without the need to introduce any type of unobservable energy.

Although the results are encouraging, the scientists indicate they still have a lot of work to do to confirm whether their theory of gravity is indeed more accurate than general relativity. To do this, precise predictions about the dynamics of the expansion of space and other processes that took place are necessary.

The authors also hope that their modified gravity will be able to solve the mystery of dark matter, which, like dark energy, has not yet been detected in any experimental study, and was discovered only through its gravitational effect on other fields and particles.

The team say they are planning to analyze this interaction in their theory, and, hopefully, will be able to explain the observational data.

Reference: B.S. Gonalves, P.H.R.S. Moraes, B. Mishra, Cosmology from Non-Minimal Geometry-Matter Coupling, Progress of Physics (2023). DOI: 10.1002/prop.202200153.

Feature image credit: FLY:D on Unsplash

Originally posted here:

New theory of gravity rethinks the Big Bang - Advanced Science News

On June 24, Lucas Uchida made the third ascent of The Megg V14 in the North Wall boulders of Squamish. Established by Gabe Lawson in January this year, The Megg is a 20-foot bloc thats quintessential Squamish in style. It features bad feet, lousy slopers, crystal crimping, and technical, balancey body positioning. A few weeks ago on June 4,American climber Andy Lamb made the first repeat of the problem. He discovered new beta, dropping the V16 grade originally proposed by Lawson to V14.

Such a stunning line to finish off, Uchida said via Instagram. Probably one of the best and purest in the forest. He added his thoughts about the grade: Speaking to the controversy and questions surrounding the grade, I feel that it is on par with some of the other V14s around. It is just my own opinion though, and should not take away from the fact it is still a hard high quality line.

To learn a little bit more about his experience with The Megg, I reached out to Uchida with a few questions.

How many days did you spend working the problem? [I spent] probably around 6 sessions or so.

Did you use the same beta as Andy Lamb? [Our beta was] very similar. I used a slightly different foot for the very first move.

What was the crux for you? The crux for me was actually a bump at the third move. It was so wideand hard to execute after the first three moves.

How were the conditions? I heard they werent ideal in the North Walls that day. [It was] kind of humid, but it cooled off and I was able to get a fan going on the sloper for the first move.

The Megg is not Uchidas first big send of 2023. Like last year, hes again on a tear through some of Squamishs hardest boulders. In early May, the 25-year-old Canadian made the first ascent of Seven V14, a low start to Lesson Six V10, first opened by Jason Kehl in 2005. Uchida then went on to pick up repeats of Tim Doyles Velco Low V13 and the wild Zazen V15. Originally established by Harry Robertson in 2003 and graded V13, a key hold broke off Zazen shortly after the FA. The problem went 20 years without an ascent until Ethan Salvo solved the puzzle, making the first post-break ascent of the problem in February and proposing a new grade of V15. Uchidas send was the second since the breakage. Hes topped some ultra-classic V12s this season too, including The Proposal, Frontside, and The Method.

Uchida also had an incredible Squamish season in 2022. Some highlights include repeats of Room Service V12, The Pool Low V13, Room Service Low V14, Deadlift V14, North-North Ridge V14, The Singularity V14/15, and Dreamcatcher 5.14d, as well as an FA of Offenders of the Faith V13.

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Lucas Uchida Repeats The Megg V14 - Gripped Magazine