WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, Episode 6, "Scavengers," now streaming on CBS All Access.
Now set in the 32nd century, Star Trek: Discovery sees the crew of the titular starship struggle to adjust to their new status quo. Faced with a fractured and a fledgling United Federation of Planets, the crew manages to reunite with Starfleet and their impressive fleet of ships. This reintroduction to Starfleet saw the return of some familiar ships, such as an 11th generation version of the USS Voyager, as well as new vessels named to pay tribute to late Star Trek actors like Anton Yelchin and Deep Space Nine's Aron Eisenberg.
However, in Season 3, Episode 6, "Scavengers," Commander-in-Chief of Starfleet Charles Vance references another ship with special significance, one which homages one of the most acclaimed science-fiction and fantasy writers of all time: Ursula K. Le Guin.
While assigning tasks to Starfleet captains, Fleet Admiral Vance informs Captain Bandra of the USS Le Guin that the ship will be making a two-month-long supply run to the planet Na'Seth. This seemingly throwaway line seems to confirm that Le Guin has joined the ranks of other important real-life Earth figures who have a Federation starship named after them, including Albert Einstein, Amelia Earhart and John F. Kennedy.
Now, while it could be argued that the starship's name could be referencing another historical figure with the same surname, Le Guin's estate acknowledged the apparent shout-out. Her official Twitter account, run by her estate, remarked that "Ursula would be very tickled [by the reference]," and even gave a shout-out to Star Trek: Discovery Co-Executive Producer Anne Cofell Saunders.
For those who are not familiar, Le Guin is one of the most celebrated authors of genre fiction. Many of her various works are considered to be classics, especially the Earthsea fantasy series and the science-fiction Hainish Cycle, whose fresh takes on their respective genres and progressive subversions on fantasy tropes have ensured that her work continues to resonate today. In fact, Le Guin's work is still being adapted to this day, with a new version of Earthsea in the works at A24.
Hopefully, fans will get a better look at the USS Le Guin and the other tribute starships before Season 3 of Discovery comes to an end in the new year.
Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 stars Sonequa Martin-Green as Commander Michael Burnham, Doug Jones as Captain Saru, Anthony Rapp as Lt. Commander Paul Stamets, Mary Wiseman as Ensign Sylvia Tilly, Wilson Cruz as Dr. Hugh Culber, Blu del Barrio as Adira, David Ajala as Cleveland “Book” Booker and Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou. A new episode arrives on CBS All Access every Thursday through Jan. 7, 2021