Mirror machine

From Federation Space - Official Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
A broken mirror machine.

The mirror machine was the means by which Trelane (External Link), the "Squire of Gothos," performed most of his tricks.

On discovering that Trelane's food had no flavor, and his fire emitted no heat, Captain James T. Kirk began to suspect that Trelane only knew the forms of things and not their substances. He and Spock further speculated that some external agency was realizing Trelane's wishes – and when he noticed Trelane never strayed far from his large wall mirror, Kirk suspected where that agency might be hidden.

Challenging the hapless Squire of Gothos to a duel, Kirk instead shot the mirror – which exploded in a shower of sparks. Most of Trelane's effects ceased operating, and as the smoke cleared, Kirk's suspicions were confirmed – the mirror concealed an intricate device that performed most of Trelane's tricks for him. With it gone, Kirk and his crew were able to escape Gothos.

Trelane evidently commanded the mirror machine via telepathy, or some other non-verbal form of communication. He never spoke his requests aloud, instead performing his extraordinary feats with at most a wave of his hand. Sophisticated as it was, Trelane was able to repair or replace it within minutes of its destruction.