THOSE who used to watch the television series, Star Trek, will remember Captain Kirk’s habitual mid-combat information request (most often to Chief Engineer Mr Scott) for a damage report. The response, in the brief lull as the Klingon aggressors circled for another attack on the Starship Enterprise, was usually that sundry engines couldn’t function, the shields were at half-power and the weapon systems were down to the last few photon torpedoes.Read
