Alright. Lets talk about dilithium, matter-antimatter reactions, warp drive, and the Burn. #StarTrekDiscovery

My understanding, and feel free to correct me if I'm getting the finer points wrong, is that dilithium is used to regulate the matter/antimatter reaction that powers a starship. Matter and antimatter cannot exist in the same space. Dilithium prevents things from going boom.

Dilithium doesn't actually power the warp drive. It's just what allows the actual power source to work. #StarTrekDiscovery

This explains what happened with the Burn. Somehow, all dilithium stopped working, which resulted in uncontrolled matter/antimatter reactions in all active warp cores making those ships explode. #StarTrekDiscovery

Since Starfleet ships (at least the ones we're familiar with from the 23rd and 24th centuries also use the warp core as their primary power source, even those not actively at warp would have had active cores and suffered the same fate. #StarTrekDiscovery

I don't know what caused the Burn, but I'm pretty sure the Omega Molecule speculation was off the mark. Omega damaged subspace and prevented a ship from forming a warp bubble, but it didn't affect the matter/antimatter reaction. #StarTrekDiscovery

I don't have any good ideas about what did cause it, but I imagine we will find out as the season progresses. In the meantime, I have questions about the dilithium shortage and the almost complete lack of warp drive. It doesn't make much sense. #StarTrekDiscovery

Not the shortage itself. natural resource scarcity is an easy concept to grasp after all, but the fact that it basically means no one has warp drive now. As I said, dilithium just regulates the power source. It's not technically required for warp drive. #StarTrekDiscovery

It's established that, in the 24th century, the Romulans use an artificial quantum singularity to power their ships rather than a traditional warp core powered by the matter/antimatter reaction. That shouldn't need dilithium. #StarTrekDiscovery

The Federation would have known about this technology for centuries by the time dilithium became scarce, which was before the Burn happened. #StarTrekDiscovery

It's also worth noting that dilithium is not found on Earth, so Zefram Cochrane's warp drive would have had a different power source. It's not explicitly stated, but it's implied that he used the nuclear warhead from the missile he converted into the Phoenix. #StarTrekDiscovery

Granted, Cochrane's ship traveled at low warp and only for a few minutes, but it still shows that alternative methods exist. The fact that the entire galaxy appears to be relying on what little dilithium is left with no other options seems a bit strange. #StarTrekDiscovery

Finally, if you come at me in the replies that this is "proof" that Discovery isn't canon, and Kurtzman is the antichrist, you're getting blocked. I expect there to be a reasonable explanation, and even if there isn't, this wouldn't be the first time Trek contradicted itself.