Reconfigure the Modulators!

So you think you're Star Trek literate just because you know that phasers can stun and that while Klingons used to be bad guys, now they're good (most of the time, anyway). But can you decipher the techno-babble that Enterprise crew members are constantly spouting? For some help, TIME consulted Michael Okuda, one of the Star Trek technical experts:

"We need to remodulate the main deflector dish."

Deflectors are devices that protect starships by setting up an energy field. Dishes, which operate at specific frequencies, control the deflectors. Remodulating the frequency boosts the strength of the deflectors against incoming attacks.

"We...

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