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The reason for Starfleet being in San Francisco is very simple but maybe it’s time Star Trek moves on

By Chad Porto

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JULY 19: (L-R) Justin Lin, John Cho and Scott Feinberg speak at the "Star Trek Beyond" Silicon Valley Screening Series Event Hosted by The Hollywood Reporter and Code Advisors at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema on July 19, 2016 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for Code Advisors)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JULY 19: (L-R) Justin Lin, John Cho and Scott Feinberg speak at the "Star Trek Beyond" Silicon Valley Screening Series Event Hosted by The Hollywood Reporter and Code Advisors at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema on July 19, 2016 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for Code Advisors) /
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Starfleet’s placement in San Francisco was very simple.

The conversation has picked up once again about why Star Trek set Starfleet’s base was set in San Francisco. It’s not an overly complicated idea, as it has nothing to do with anything in-universe. For fans new to the franchise, you may not have known that San Francisco is the home of Starfleet; now you do.

So why was it set in San Francisco in the first place? According to WIRED, It all goes back to Gene Roddenberry’s younger days when he was an Army Air Corps pilot during World War 2. He spent a lot of days on naval vessels being transported from one place to another and had a fondness for the Navy. There’s a large naval presence in the city and a huge shipyard that handles a lot of imports to the area. While San Francisco has a very modern, science fiction feel to it, it’s also a city that has a very blue-collar foundation.

So it was no wonder why Roddenberry picked San Francisco, its ties to the Navy are legendary. It’s also a city with iconic imagery that helps set it apart in establishing shots.

Maybe it’s time Star Trek sees a new home for Starfleet

It’s probably time for Starfleet’s base to be relocated after all these years. While Starfleet being set in San Francisco made sense in the early days of Star Trek, with the universe so much more expansive, you could make the argument that a central point in space would be far more convenient.

Moreover, when the Federation was founded, the vast majority of each section was largely unexplored. While it’s still largely unexplored, it’s far more mapped out than ever, and Earth certainly isn’t going to remain at the center of an ever exploring map.

A more convenient and logical idea is to have several locations throughout the Alpha and Beta quadrants that can act as home bases. This would allow you to keep a location in San Francisco but would also see these other stand-alone locations being able to serve the same function. After all, it’s not like people have to be in-person to have meetings in the 24th century.

We don’t even need to be in the same space in the 21st century to have meetings.

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