What TNG kid would you want to see as an adult Starfleet officer?

[Enterprise1981]

Silly question after I read the Wikipedia page on Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome (SORAS). It's something I'm considering for one of my fan fic series. Alexander Rozhenko (who was virtually an adult in his two appearances on DS9 despite a chronological age of eight), Molly O'Brien, and Naomi Wildman (both played by actresses now 21 years old) are the biggest examples of SORAS in the Trek universe. In fact, one of the post-series finale Voyager novels mentions Naomi applying to the Academy. And Artim, the kid Data befriended in ST: Insurrection, is an adult Starfleet officer in the Hidden Frontier fan film series.

 

[tenmei]

Didn't Ronald D. Moore explain that Klingons just 'mature faster' than Humans - about twice the speed of Humans as he's supposed to be about sixteen when he appears in Deep Space Nine. Same with Naomi, the suggestion is that her rapid maturation is due to her K'tarian genetics (am fairly sure that this is actually explicitly mentioned on-screen at some point during Voyager) and she's 'nine' when she enters Starfleet Academy (with the appearance and maturity of an eighteen year old).

Artim in Hidden Frontier isn't actually victim to SORAS. He's supposed to be fifteen in HF Season 2 (after an advanced Starfleet Academy program following Insurrection) and then in his early twenties when Helena rolls round.

Interestingly, Hanna Hatae is only three years older than the character of Molly and could therefore be the only character you can't justify the rapid age change for - given she's got no alien heritage to take advantage of.

 

[Myasishchev]

Molly O'Brien's 21? God, I've become ancient.

 

[Lord Garth]

Didn't Ronald D. Moore explain that Klingons just 'mature faster' than Humans - about twice the speed of Humans as he's supposed to be about sixteen when he appears in Deep Space Nine. Same with Naomi, the suggestion is that her rapid maturation is due to her K'tarian genetics (am fairly sure that this is actually explicitly mentioned on-screen at some point during Voyager) and she's 'nine' when she enters Starfleet Academy (with the appearance and maturity of an eighteen year old).

I always preferred to think Alexander was born in 2360, nine months after Worf and K'Eylar were dating, which was six years before "The Emissary". That would make Alexander the following ages:

"Reunion" - 7
"New Ground" - 8
"First Born" - 10
"Sons and Daughters" - 14

This lines up much better than Alexander being born during TNG's third season. I'd just ignore the stardate he gives for his date of birth.

 

[Timewalker]

Hana Hatae played an adult Molly because the child Molly got caught in a time-slippage situation. The child Molly experienced ~10 years while her parents experienced only a couple of days. When the episode was over, Molly was still played by the child actress, so she was never actually SORAS'd.

That said, Molly is the ONLY TNG child I'd ever want to see again, period. The rest are either unmemorable, boring, or obnoxious.

It might have been interesting, however, if Jono had ever shown up again to visit Picard and perhaps participated in some sort of exchange program.

 

[Enterprise1981]

Hana Hatae played an adult Molly because the child Molly got caught in a time-slippage situation. The child Molly experienced ~10 years while her parents experienced only a couple of days. When the episode was over, Molly was still played by the child actress, so she was never actually SORAS'd.

Actually Molly was regularly portrayed by Hanna Hatae, who was 11 at the time of her final Trek appearance. Molly as an adult was played by Michelle Krusiec (23 at the time of the episode's airing) in "Time's Orphan".

 

[milo bloom]

Honestly? Wesley Crusher. While part of me appreciates his striking out on his own in Journey's End instead of just following his father's footsteps into Starfleet, there's also a part of me that will always miss seeing the adult and level-headed Captain W. Crusher as seen in the alternate future of Imzadi.