I agree, with the caveat that this is suggested rather than proven. We've have seen multiple times that transporters can and are disrupted by just about anything up to and including funny ores, so a dedicated anti-transporter field makes considerable sense. That this is also strong enough to completely cover the entire world also makes sense, since this is a Prison Planet we're talking about.Kythnos wrote:My conclusion is that the Planet is protected by a shield to prevent beaming only. That is not the only one that can be reached and a planetary deflector shield is possible but given the weight of evidence it is less probable “according to my analysis of the information provided.” Indeed the technology used to create a shield to prevent beaming might also be used to make one that prevents damage.
A self-destruct linked to the anti-transporter shield is highly unlikely, since even the TOS Fed would not be willing to condemn an entire prison population to death solely on the escape attempt of individuals. More ruthless and determined than TNG they may be, but the TOS still had very high ethical standards with regards the treatment of prisoners. This option may be worth mentioning, but only so we can get it out of the way.With that removed Bones could be talking about:
1) It is also possible that the Asylum has a self-destruct device to prevent escape or “rescue” of the prisoners. Ergo the “shield” may only be a net designed to detect unauthorized landing and activate the self-destruct. That being said Bones wants Scotty to uses only the power need to accomplish his goals but not enough to activate self-destruct.
Somewhat less unlikely, if only because (as you've noted) we haven't seen failed shield generators explode with excessive force before. Nonetheless, we are discussing a generator powerfull enough to cover an entire planet here, no matter whether its moon-sized or earth-sized. That represents considerably greater coverage than any starship, and suggests a far greater energy budget and through-put. Some of the novels mention shield generators that have melted due to over-loading (though they are of debatable canonicity), thereby suggesting that much larger and more powerfull models may pose a danger in themselves.2) It has also been put forth that the shield generator may over load casing it to explode, if it is knocked down. This too however would not support the “defector field” option as we never see a failed defector cause massive damage, and the Enterprise fields seen to fail every other episode.
I am certainly happy with the suggestion of planetary anti-transporter shields, and the inherent requirement here that some form of anti-shuttle defences must exist to deny that option. Such AAA would not need to be powerfull enough to threaten full sized starships, but then what are the odds that a TOS-modern warship would be sent to break out a prisoner.3) He wants the “hole” in the shield to be close enough that the rescue team can arrive as fast as possible.
Point 3 seems the most likely to me. In the weight of that evidence I don’t fined conclusive proof for planetary shields as everything said has other more reasonable explanations.
But I am sure I missed a few points both for and against, so lets hear them. (please list episode, time index and dialog that support your conclusions.) (and yes I am sure that my spelling and grammar can be corrected. )
I'd suspect that the bureaucrats who organised and funded the prisons construction very well could have listed a break-out by a full-sized warship as a possibility, but that their own cost benefits calculations didn't support defending against such an attack. Corrective Services Administrations, like most Defence Forces, don't plan and equip their facilities for the absolute worst case scenarios, but for the most probable threat they are likely to face. Please remember that the Warden was supposed to be able to send for help in the event of an attack or escape attempt, and how surprised the Enterprise were to find that the prisoners had already taken the place over. This prison fell from the inside, not due to any failings in its external defences.