The Dark Matter Anomaly (DMA), so named by Commander Paul Stamets, was a highly destructive gravitational anomaly that appeared in the Milky Way Galaxy in 3190. Initially believed to be a natural phenomenon, it was later discovered to be an artificial construct created by a party termed by Federation Security as "Unknown Species 10-C". (DIS: "Rosetta", "All In", "Anomaly (DIS)")
Characteristics[]
The DMA measured five light years in diameter and exhibited a gravity well and gravitational distortions consistent with a wormhole. It produced subspace gravitational waves of extreme power, which caused catastrophic gravitational shearing to any object within twelve AU of its ergosphere. It was surrounded by an accretion cloud containing debris and a massive amount of dark matter. It did not emit tachyons. The anomaly moved through space and was capable of changing direction. (DIS: "Kobayashi Maru", "Anomaly (DIS)", "Choose to Live")
The DMA presumably traveled significantly faster than light, as evidenced by it affecting Deep Space Repair Beta Six and the Kwejian system in quick succession despite the two being light-years apart.
History[]
The anomaly was discovered by the United Federation of Planets in 3190 after it struck Deep Space Repair Beta Six and the Kwejian system, where it destroyed Kwejian and its moon. It was projected to enter the Riscot system next, though it soon changed course. (DIS: "Kobayashi Maru", "Anomaly (DIS)")
The USS Discovery subsequently collected detailed sensor readings on the anomaly with the assistance of Cleveland Booker and his ship. President T'Rina offered the services of the Ni'Var Science Institute in analyzing the anomaly. Based on this data, preliminary hypotheses of the DMA being binary black holes in the process of merging, or a primordial wormhole, were discarded. (DIS: "Anomaly (DIS)", "Choose to Live")
Later that year, the DMA – while under observation by the USS Janeway and NSS T'Pau – exhibited an unusual spike in X-ray radiation before it abruptly disappeared from the Venari sector and re-appeared 1,000 light years away. This behavior, which seemed to defy all physical laws, revealed the existence of an artificial device at its heart, proving that the anomaly was not a natural phenomenon but rather a construct under the control of a party Starfleet designated "Unknown Species 10-C".
The DMA's change in locale put it on a course to fly by the Radvek chain. The colony was successfully evacuated by Discovery before its destruction, with the exception of Felix, a prisoner who declined to leave. (DIS: "The Examples")
During a summit between the Federation members and allies, Ruon Tarka, a Risian scientist, revealed a special weapon that he wanted to use on the anomaly that would use an isolytic burst to destroy the DMA. However, the risk of damaging subspace and rendering warp travel inaccessible there, as well as the risk of inviting retaliation from Unknown Species 10-C, was deemed too hazardous and the summit ultimately voted for a more peaceful first contact with the species. Tarka, undeterred, confronted Book and persuaded him to join him in destroying the DMA as the device powering it was possibly powerful enough to allow one to cross to an alternate universe and the hope of an intact Kwejian. (DIS: "...But to Connect")
Following a failure by Captain Michael Burnham to capture the renegades Book and Tarka, Commander Paul Stamets and Captain Saru revealed that the location of Unknown Species 10-C is blanketed by a mysterious field 220 million kilometers in radius. On a hunch, Burnham asked Zora to scan for missing elements, such as boronite. When it was discovered that boronite was missing in all areas the DMA had been at, they realized that the DMA was actually 10-C's "mining equipment." (DIS: "All In")
New information was discovered that suggested a timeline of when the DMA would transport itself to another location, leading to Book having a change of heart and standing down. Despite this, Tarka refused to back down from his plan, and was ultimately successful in destroying the DMA despite Discovery's attempt to stop them. Much to Tarka's horror, the coveted power source turned out to be on the other side of the wormhole and thus inaccessible to him. Furthermore, the USS Mitchell later reported that a second DMA had appeared in the same location as the first. (DIS: "Rubicon")
A second DMA forms
The second DMA proved to be far more powerful than the first, capable of extracting boronite several times faster and consequently proving to be a greater threat due to its rate of movement. When the anomaly transported itself again, it was determined that Earth, Titan, and Ni'Var were in its path and in danger of being damaged or destroyed within days. (DIS: "The Galactic Barrier")
The Discovery crew eventually discovered the Species 10-C homeworld, and learned that the minerals mined by the DMA were being used to maintain a hyperfield around the 10-C's new home system nearby to protect it from a cataclysm that had previously visited them. (DIS: "Rosetta", "Species Ten-C")
After developing a means of communication, the Discovery crew was able to make contact with the 10-C and convince them to pull the DMA back before it destroyed United Earth and Titan and Ni'Var. At first, the 10-C had pledged to only use it in uninhabited systems, but Book insisted that it be disabled entirely, as its toxic byproducts threatened local space. While reluctant to drop their hyperfield, they ultimately agreed to set things right, and disabled the DMA before it could cause further damage. The 10-C further agreed to aid in cleaning up the damage the device had already caused. Before shutting it down completely, the 10-C used the DMA wormhole one last time to return the Discovery to Earth. (DIS: "Coming Home")
External links[]
- Dark Matter Anomaly at StarTrek.com
- Dark matter anomaly at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works