Kobayashi Maru scenario
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- See Kobayashi Maru (disambiguation) for related links.
The Kobayashi Maru scenario was an infamous no-win scenario that was part of the curriculum for command-track cadets at Starfleet Academy in the 23rd century. It was primarily used to assess a cadet's discipline, character and command capabilities when facing an impossible situation as there is no one answer to the problem.
In the scenario, a cadet was placed in command of a starship on patrol near the Klingon Neutral Zone. The starship would receive a distress signal from the Kobayashi Maru, a civilian freighter that had been disabled in the zone after having struck a gravitic mine. If the cadet chose to enter the neutral zone in violation of treaties, the starship would be confronted by three Klingon K't'inga-class battle cruisers. The test was considered a no-win scenario because it was impossible for the cadet to simultaneously save the Kobayashi Maru, avoid a fight with the Klingons and escape from the neutral zone with the starship intact. A cadet's choice of how to handle the rescue operation gave great insight into his or her command decision-making.
In the 2250s, James T. Kirk became the first (and only known) cadet to ever beat the no-win scenario. After taking the test and failing twice, Kirk took the test a third time after surreptitiously reprogramming the computer to make it possible to win the scenario.
Kirk was subsequently awarded a commendation for "original thinking" and later commented, wistfully, that his stunt "had the virtue of never having been tried." Kirk would later defend his "cheating" by arguing that he didn't believe in the no-win scenario. Ironically, Kirk also defended the test itself by suggesting, "How we face death is at least as important as how we face life."
In 2285, Kirk, then an admiral serving as an instructor at the Academy, supervised Lieutenant Saavik's performance in the Kobayashi Maru scenario. Former USS Enterprise, NCC-1701 crew members Spock, Sulu, Uhura and McCoy participated as "actors" in the simulation. Saavik's performance was predictably dismal; as Kirk observed, "She destroyed the simulator room and [the crew] with it."
The term "Kobayashi Maru" may be a slang term for any hopeless situation in the 23rd century, at least in Starfleet culture. Leonard McCoy considered his and James T. Kirk's imprisonment on Rura Penthe to be a "Kobayashi Maru" and told Kirk as much, on their first night at the penal mine.
A similar simulation was later used in the 24th century. It involved a damaged Ferengi ship as well as Romulan D'deridex-class Warbirds, instead of a civilian freighter and Klingon battle cruisers, and was performed on the holodeck.
Alternate Reality
In an alternate reality, the Kobayashi Maru test was programmed by Spock
between 2254 and 2258. Its purpose was to cause the cadets to "experience fear in the face of certain death" and learn to remain in control of themselves and their ship, despite that fear. In the simulation, Starfleet Command specifically orders the USS Kobayashi Maru to be rescued from attacking Klingon warbirds.
In 2258, James T. Kirk , on his third attempt at the scenario, inserted a subroutine to make it winnable by eliminating the attacking Klingon vessels' shields and rendering them vulnerable to a single photon torpedo strike. A hearing was called in front of the entire assembly of Starfleet cadets to determine Kirk's guilt but the proceedings were interrupted by a distress call from Vulcan, which was under attack by the time-displaced Nero. Kirk was placed on academic suspension, until the Academy Council could rule on his case.
