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The U.S.S. Enterprise project is actually part of a clever marketing effort launched this month by the Canadian Badlands tourism group.

The aim is to attract attention and lure tourists to the “breathtaking” region of southern Alberta, but to the surprise of organizers, it’s also attracted investors.

So far, more than 40 eager Trekkies have donated to the campaign to build the starship, raising more than $1,500 since Aug. 5.

Organizers say they will return the donations and have even posted a disclaimer to the website to ask people not send any more money.

“We’ve been surprised actually and honoured that a lot of people have taken it under their wing and are trying to help the project get some notice and attention,” said Chris McLellan, a marketing specialist with Canadian Badlands tourism group.

The town of Vulcan, which shares its name with the home planet of popular Star Trek character Spock, has become a mecca for fans of the long-running sci-fi franchise.

Trekkies flock to the community — dubbed the Star Trek Capital of Canada — for Spock Days, a festival and convention. And, in fact, the community already boasts a large replica of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

The new starship “project” would have been considerably more ambitious if it had been real.

The campaign, hosted on crowdfunding site Indiegogo, features intricate diagrams, research and explanations of the kind of technology required to make this outrageous dream a reality. The total cost? $1.132 trillion and more than 40 years worth of hard work.

McLellan said the campaign has been a hit so far and reflects what the company is trying to achieve.

“Being ‘a little bit out there’ has been the campaign slogan for the year,” he said. “There’s lots of different things to do and some of them are very unique. Vulcan would definitely be one of them.”

Part of the video was filmed at Vulcan’s most recent Spock Days.

“Everyone sort of giggled about it, they’ve learned to either love or embrace the Trek culture down there anyway,” McLellan said.