En intressant möjlighet till gen Roddenberries inspiration för karaktären av Zefram Cochrane ...
Lord Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, var en skotsk man av nära-mytiskt rykte; en brittisk marinkapten under Napoleontiden som också tjänstgjorde för Peru, Brasilien och Chile i deras befrielse från Spanien och Portugal. Hans utövningar beskrivs i många litterära verk, odödliga i fiktiva karaktärer - speciellt C.S. Forresters Horatio Hornblower och Patrick O'Brins kapten Jack Aubry.
I David Cordinglys bok, Cochrane: The Real Master och Commander skriver han:
"Cochrane was the very epitome of the Romantic hero. His life has an epic quality and was marked by a dramatic succession of ups and downs. Remarkable triumphs were all too often followed by disappointment and recriminations. Like so many heroes he was a flawed character with a temperament which led him into conflict and disputes. He imagined enemies where there were none and made enemies of people who should have been his friends. He was frequently out of step with his times and lacked the insight and the humility to understand why this should be and to adapt to it. His most damaging fault was his pursuit of money and his relentless determination to make his fortune."
(Källa: Cordingly, David, Cochrane: The Real Master och Commander , som citeras i "Talk of the Nation", 18 september 2007, NPR.)
Länk: länk
Det verkar säkert som Lord Thomas Cochrane passar räkningen av Roddenberrys flyktiga Zefram, som är avsedd att göra historia trots sig själv.
En allmänt känd bit trivia stöder också denna spekulation. Tänk på Gene Roddenberrys egen beskrivning av kapten James T. Kirk i den tredje revisionen av Star Trek-storylinen från april 1967:
Played by William Shatner, Kirk is about thirty-four, an Academy graduate, rank of Starship Captain. A shorthand sketch of him might be "A space-age Captain Horatio Hornblower", constantly on trial with himself, a strong, complex personality...On the other hand, don't play Kirk like the captain of an 1812 frigate in which nothing or no one moves without his command."
(Källa: länk )
Nämnde jag att Lord Cochrane var en fregattkapten?
LLAP, Clan Cochrane i Nordamerika
Besök oss online på ClanCochrane dot org!