Zefram Cochrane
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| BIOGRAPHY | |
|---|---|
| Zefram Cochrane | |
 Dr. Cochrane in 2063. | |
| Full Name: | Zefram Levar Cochrane |
| Species: | Human |
| Gender: | Male |
| Born: | February 9, 2032 |
| Died: | May 2366 |
| Affiliation: | United Earth |
| Family | |
| Parents: | Lisa Cochrane |
| Marital Status: | Married |
| Spouse(s): | Monica Burke The Companion |
| Career | |
| Occupation: | Scientist |
- For the mirror universe counterpart, see Zefram Cochrane (mirror).
Zefram Levar Cochrane was a Human male who lived in the mid 21st century.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Zefram Cochrane was born on February 9, 2032 in St. Paul, Minnesota. His mother was Lisa Cochrane. (ST novel: Starfleet Academy) He was called "Zef" or "Zee" by his friends. (TNG novel: Imzadi, ST reference: The Worlds of the Federation, TNG novelization: Star Trek: First Contact)
- The First Contact novelization give the year of his birth as 2013. His first name has also spelled as Zephram.
In April 2063, Cochrane successfully broke the light speed barrier with his experimental warp drive aboard the test vessel Phoenix. The following day, he made first contact with the Vulcans. (TNG movie: Star Trek: First Contact) Cochrane was actually researching something else and stumbled on the concept of warp drive. (TOS novel: First Frontier)
The installation in Bozeman, Montana where he worked on his warp drive was attacked by a Borg vessel which had traveled back in time to prevent first contact with the Vulcans. Their attempt failed, due to the actions of the crew of the USS Enterprise, who aided Cochrane in repairing the warp vessel and defeating the Borg. This gave Cochrane some knowledge of what threats were present in space. (TNG movie: Star Trek: First Contact) Though he kept his knowledge of the future a secret, on one occasion during a speech he did attempt to warn people about the Borg threat. He was dismissed as being intoxicated once again and the incident was forgotten after he retracted the statement. (ENT episode: "Regeneration")
Cochrane later left Earth, eventually settling on Alpha Centauri. Two of his other colleagues were Montcalm Daystrom, ancestor of the creator of duotronics, and Henry Archer, scientist and father of the famous Captain Jonathan Archer, first captain of Starfleet's first Warp 5 capable craft, the Enterprise (ENT episode: "Broken Bow") He also married Monica Burke, granddaughter of John Burke. (TNG novel: Federation)
In 2117, Cochrane left his home on Alpha Centauri, eventually settling on planetoid Gamma Caneris IV, where he was survived with the help of a cloud-creature he called the Companion. In 2267, Cochrane was discovered alive by Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise. The Companion merged with a dying Federation administrator, Nancy Hedford, and married Cochrane. (TOS episode: "Metamorphosis") The two died together in May 2366 after being rescued from Adrik Thorsen by the USS Enterprise-D. (TNG novel: Federation)
- Much of Cochrane's backstory established in Federation was superceded by the film First Contact.
[edit] Legacy
Cochrane's legacy lived on long after his death. Many buildings and statues are raised in his honor. On Starfleet Academy's grounds a huge statue of him stands pointing to the sky, very much like many other statues of him previously had. Leonard McCoy remembers Cochrane's cheekbones being placed differently, as opposed to the depiction of him, while talking to Kirk over a bottle of Chateau Picard, in 2270. (NF novel: Stone and Anvil, ENT episode: "Broken Bow", TNG movie: Star Trek: First Contact and ST novel: Federation)
Cochrane also had the unsung distinction of not only being one of the few to have met William T. Riker, Henry Archer, and James T. Kirk, in this order. But his pivotal role in history may have brought forth the mirror universe. His decision shaped events by his choosing (or not) to inform the Vulcans about the impending Borg presence. After confiding with Lily Sloane, his actions are one of the catalysts that made Starfleet's charter of war, rather than exploration. It was unknown if the Vulcan science community accepted the time travel aspect. As any way, shape or form of it has been refuted, ex post facto. (ST novels: Spectre, Dark Victory)
Cochrane was the author of the book Transformational Relativity and Continuum Distortion Propulsion. (TNG novel: Greater Than the Sum)
In 2373, Benjamin Sisko cited Cochrane as being one of the great engineers of the post-warp era, along with Ty'lep, Montgomery Scott and Miles O'Brien. (DS9 novel: The Mist)
[edit] Quotes
- "Don't try to be a great man, just be a man and let history make its own judgments."
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[edit] External Links
- Zefram Cochrane article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
