I often find it a bit hard to picture Vaughn, who is well over a century old, doing action scenes like he did in Battle of Betazed, regardless of advances in medical tech. Did he, in his intelligence work, encounter an alien that slowed his aging process or something? On the cover of Avatar, he looks like he's in his late 50s...compared to how McCoy looked at 137 ... he looked ancient.
Vaughn - ageless?
- Thread starter Cadet49
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You've never met an especially fit older person? I've run into a few. There are some people who look younger at 70 than others look at 50, and who are more physically fit and capable than others are at 40. It just depends on the person.
Physically fit... yes ... able to get into fisticuffs at 100+ years old ... no. (Didn't he fight some Jem'Hadar at some point?)
Yes, I can totally see that in the future, people may live productive lives past the century mark, but I can't believe they would still be going on away missions, physically fighting, etc. My grandma is in great health for her 90+ years, and has a sharp mind, but I wouldn't necessarily have her serving as a foot soldier! I just wonder if, in his travels in the Intelligence field, Vaughn didn't have some sort of genetic enhancements done, or if he encountered an alien lifeform or anomaly that slowed his aging process (haha- does he have a Lazarus pool stored away somewhere, like Ra Al Ghul in the Batman comics?)
Well, I wouldn't call him "well over 100" - he's only about 105 or so in current continuity.
And yes, he did fight Taran'atar at one point - and was thoroughly beaten. It's not like it was anything like a fair match. and when he did it, he wasn't really in his completely right mind - he was running on fury over what he thought Taran'atar had done to Prynn. So he probably wouldn't have done it under normal circumstances.
It's established that the extreme end of normal human age is around 140. So Vaughn in comparison would be equivalent to 70-ish in today's numbers. And yes, that's still rather old for action scenes, but he's a character that I'm sure would have very deliberately kept himself in peak physical shape. He's said before that while he is aware that he's getting too old for this now, he'd rather not face that fact, and would rather keep pushing forward than admit it's a bad idea.
I guess what I'm saying is, I'm willing to suspend disbelief given what we know about his character.
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And yes, he did fight Taran'atar at one point - and was thoroughly beaten. It's not like it was anything like a fair match. and when he did it, he wasn't really in his completely right mind - he was running on fury over what he thought Taran'atar had done to Prynn. So he probably wouldn't have done it under normal circumstances.
It's established that the extreme end of normal human age is around 140. So Vaughn in comparison would be equivalent to 70-ish in today's numbers. And yes, that's still rather old for action scenes, but he's a character that I'm sure would have very deliberately kept himself in peak physical shape. He's said before that while he is aware that he's getting too old for this now, he'd rather not face that fact, and would rather keep pushing forward than admit it's a bad idea.
I guess what I'm saying is, I'm willing to suspend disbelief given what we know about his character.
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Maybe Admiral Jameson shared his stash before coming on board the Enterprise-D.
Did he ever say "I'm getting too old for this shit"? No? Damn.
Even if "one hundred is the new 80" by the 24th Century, wouldn't bones still be fragile, or has that been solved, maybe. Sheesh, I'm amazed Vaughn can fight without breaking a hip, etc.! Just like I was amazed that 130+ year old Admiral Chekov could get into fisticuffs with a Wataii warrior in the Vulcan's Soul books... I remember reading that and putting the book down and saying, "Oh, come on ... seriously???"
Actually, it's brought up a few times how he needs to slow down. He's pushed his body well past what 24th century medicine can fix.
And that might finally be the case now, after his grave injury fighting the Borg. Even Bashir mentioned, due to his age, he might not ever bounce back from this one.
If anything, Star Trek's portrayal of future longevity is probably quite conservative. There's research underway today or on the horizon that could lead to considerable advances in longevity and rejuvenation long before the 24th century. Even if we can't increase the lifespan to several centuries, we should at least be able to regenerate or replace failing bones, organs, etc. and enable improved functionality in old age. Heck, we've already reached the point where prosthetic hip joints and the like are becoming better than the originals they're replacing.
There's always the Ba'ku planet. Well, if he wasn't otherwise "indisposed" as the moment - It seems odd that they didn't just kill Vaughn off. Unless he's being kept alive so that he can make a miraculous recovery in a future DS9 novel.
i thought Prynn turned his life support off...
^IIRC, Bashir talked her out of it.
Fragments and Omens mentioned that Vaughn had been using a drug called "Ostenex-D" to increase his bone density, although later switches to ""Ostenex-E" when it becomes less effective.
It still invokes disbelief that Vaughn is that physically active in Starfleet, especially in a combat role.
Who's to say that standard medical treatments won't do a lot to combat the aging process by the 24th Century?
ETA:
Let me put it this way:
I have no more trouble believing that in the 24th Century, Vaughn could be a physically active officer in Starfleet than I do believing that in the late 1990s and early 2000s, 70-something-year-old Patrick Stewart could be an action hero. It just depends on the person.
But McCoy was about 30 years older than Vaughn.
And looking back the Original Series and movies...McCoy seemed to be aging much faster than EVERYONE else. Sometimes its just in the genes
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