X

Star Trek's LCARS could become your virtual assistant

Step aside, Siri and Cortana. Mama's home.

Michelle Starr Science editor
Michelle Starr is CNET's science editor, and she hopes to get you as enthralled with the wonders of the universe as she is. When she's not daydreaming about flying through space, she's daydreaming about bats.
See full bio
Michelle Starr
gettyimages-162796945.jpg

Majel Barrett as Nurse Christine Chapel season 1, episode 7 of "Star Trek: The Original Series."

CBS via Getty Images

Not so long ago, the concept of a virtual assistant that could listen to your questions and provide answers was purely the realm of science fiction. In fact, it wouldn't be unfair at all to suggest that such programs as Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana are rooted in science fiction -- dating, perhaps, back to Star Trek's Library Computer Access/Retrieval System, debuting in the 1980s.

The voice of LCARS was provided by Majel Barrett, who was married to Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Although Barrett sadly passed away in 2008, she took several roles on the show over the years, including nurse Christine Chapel in "Star Trek: The Original Series" and Betazoid ambassador Lwaxana Troi on "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

According to a tweet by the official Roddenberry account yesterday, this has provided enough phonetic data to perhaps get Barrett's voice appearing in upcoming new 2017 TV series "Star Trek: Discovery" -- and maybe even a Siri-like virtual assistant.

We'll be waiting with bated breath.