Biggest 'Why don't they...' in Trek

[Arpy]

^ Also, I disagree with the notion that Federation citizens don't seek out wealth being that they already have it via the replicator. That's like saying rich people today don't care about money because they already have it. Oh yeah? Economic status denotes moral status?

I think it's why I don't like the DS9 line that "it's easy to be a saint in paradise." No it isn't. That's the point. That's the difference between being a saint and being some schmo so preoccupied with his own paradisaical lifestyle that he's not hurting anyone else. That is, until faced with a dilemma that requires the choice of hurting someone else or not and really testing his morality. The Federation's accomplishment is that they have sophisticated, decent, vibrant citizens who take pride in setting and working toward such things as their goal. It's an idea still very much ahead of its time, I don't care how far ahead of bell-bottoms and beehive hairdos we've come.

[Mr. Laser Beam]

datalogan wrote:

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Yes, humans have a capacity for being corrupted by power. But that doesn’t mean that it can’t be dealt with.

The actions of the Platonians are proof enough of what would happen if Federation citizens got ahold of kironide and used it regularly. Power demands to be used. Look at what almost happened to Riker when he briefly got Q powers...now think about that for a minute. If you yourself became a Q, you'd use that power, wouldn't you? For whatever you wanted? Don't tell me you wouldn't.

[TorontoTrekker]

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

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I'm going with the explanation that long-term use of kironide is out of the question simply because nobody wants to become like the Platonians. Having that power is inherently corrupting. Nobody deserves that or should have access to it. So it is intentionally ignored. Kironide has no medical value that we can see - it doesn't heal wounds or cure disease (indeed, Parmen was going to die from a simple infection).

I think that ascribes more nobility to humanity than we have. A simpler possibility: upon performing further analysis, Starfleet determined that kironide was radioactive or otherwise toxic to humans in large amounts. Kirk, Spock and McCoy suffered no long-term damage because their exposure was relatively brief (and Spock may have been more resistant to the adverse effects anyway because of his unique body chemistry). The Platonians would have suffered no damage because of their alien physiology. (How's that? )