If Odo had never linked with the Female Changeling in "BEHIND THE LINES", would he have never contracted the disease? Or was it ingrained in his genetic structure that, once he was made a solid, it simply laid dormant and only reactivated and crept up on him slowly, resuming where it left off when he was made a solid? Either scenario would explain why he was affected by it MUCH later than the rest of the Changelings.
They said on the show. The disease progresses according to how often changlings change form. Odo said in his semi-Bajoran form almost all the time, so the disease progressed slowly. When he started helping the Cardassian rebellion, changing form frequently, the disease progressed more quickly. The changlings in the link, and the female changing in the Alpha Quadrant, however, changed form often recreationally so they got sick quickly.
I think I wasn't clear in my question. What I mean to say is, since Odo was infected during his time on Earth and he infected the Link, was the disease fully taken out of him when he was made a solid? Or did it just lay dormant until he became a Changeling again? Or did he become reinfected when he linked with the Female Changeling? For that matter, the Female Changeling said they forgave Odo in "BEHIND THE LINES". Is it possible they created the situation for the infant Changeling to end up merging and giving Odo back his abilities? Especially considering that Bashir WAS a Changeling during that time.
Changelings change shape at least once every day don't they? They have to get their rest. I kinda of assumed it lay dormant and then when Odo linked with a fellow Changeling, it was designed to activate at that point.
I was under the impression that Odo was free of the disease during the period in which he was solid. Whatever that allowed him to shift was removed from him, and the disease resided in those elements. When he linked in Behind the Lines, he was reinfected.
That could be how he was infected. Odo was only supposed to be a carrier for the disease. I always thought he infected the rest when he linked with the female, but that would be problematic.
All sorts of options are possible at the very least - but I'd count the "Odo, too, is destined to die when he's made the carrier" option as a much stronger one than an "Odo himself will survive being a mere carrier" one. I mean, Starfleet would want Odo dead, too, as he's a Changeling and the Changelings are the enemy. And it's not as if they'd have to worry about Odo dying too soon, because it suffices for him to visit the Link once and he's done. It sort of appears that the Link screwed themselves twice over the Odo matter. First, they somehow engineered Odo's need to visit the Link in "Broken Link" (I suspect the red-clad woman was an agent infecting Odo with something, knowingly or unknowlingly), thinking themselves ah so clever - but ended up getting themselves infected with the deadly bioweapon. Then, they thought they punished him with Solidity - but ended up saving him from said weapon for the time being. Timo Saloniemi
I don't know who at SF Medical infected Odo, but Sloan didn't want him to die. He felt bad for Odo. He just couldn't do anything as risky as curing him. Then again, Bashir said that at least 70+ people would have had to have been involved.
Trusting Sloan on this doesn't sound like a good idea. It involves the concept of "trusting Sloan", after all... They way I could see "Extreme Measures" playing out is with Sloan doing his bit for the king and the country till the very last, pretending that there existed a Section 31 that could take the blame for what Starfleet did. The pretense would be pretty simple to maintain - all Sloan needed was himself and a holodeck, after all. Plus some access to Starfleet Intelligence proceedings, but Sloan could have that regardless of whether S31 really existed or not, and regardless of whether Starfleet wanted him to have that information and do that dance or not - and in any combination of those pairs. Timo Saloniemi
Are you saying Sloan is just another Joe blow intelligence worker for Starfleet, and that S31 is a big hoax, designed to take the blame for the more questionable SF decisions, should they ever be uncovered?
That's one way it could work. Regardless of whether Sloan is on SF Intel payroll for doing that, or volunteering because he thinks it's cool. It appears that back in the 22nd century, there really was this bunch of fairly incompetent intel operatives who called themselves Section 31. Whether such a thing would still exist in the 24th is debatable, especially as it claims to draw its legitimacy from "the Starfleet Charter", while the 22nd century bunch did the same but from the charter of a completely different Starfleet. Rather, it might be sort of like how every exclusive club today is the "direct descendant" of a 16th century cabal of mystics or Alexander the Great's war council (barring a pedigree going back to Atlantis, that is). Timo Saloniemi
The organization exists. SF Command protects their anonymity. Unless it's all a hoax that Starfleet has created. As for Sloan, he's pretty ninja for a wannabe. He can turn Admirals to Badmirals, flies in newer model, cloaked starship, and no one knows how he gets on and off DS9. He's also pals with the head of Romulan intelligence.
Section 31 never meant for the disease to spare Odo, just to kill him slower. Odo infected the great link in Broken Link, not Behind The Lines. The stardate when he was at Starfleet Medical was a season 4 stardate.
How should we know this? By trusting Sloan? Cloaks can be purchased from the nearest friendly Ferengi, as seen in "Profit and Loss". As for the rest, it just takes gall. And certainly the best con men make it lucrative for their marks to be conned - Romulans would love to exploit a Federation Emperor Norton for his delusions. Especially if they not only were convinced that Sloan was delusional, but also happened to be correct in their convictions. The nice thing about this is that Odo needn't die slower: dying at the exact same rate as the Female Founder would be just fine, too. And the question was whether another infection took place in "Behind the Lines", and in which direction. The Female Founder is actually a pretty nifty benchmark for us, because she would have little reason or excuse to Change more often or more actively than Odo. That is, both these characters would benefit from being a constant, visible presence at their posts, and would have little time or incentive to assume other forms. Timo Saloniemi
The official explanation is that Odo gets infected with the Section 31 virus when he is examined by Starfleet Medical in Homefront. He briefly links with another changeling shortly afterwards, so the virus could be spreading immediately. As for the changeling's own virus, that apparently is given to Odo at some point in To the Death when Weyoun 4 claps him on the shoulder (though I can't actually remember that bit myself). In Broken Link Odo has to return to his homeland. The female changeling links with him on the way and later they both merge into the ocean, so then the entire planet is presumably infected.
It was pretty clear in the episode where they all had the shared Tarak Nor dream Odo was never really a solid, just locked in one form. It's unlikely he was cured in that period.
What I wondered about is how Dominion medical (genetics) engineering seems somewhat superior to that of the Federation in general, and also, they should be expected to have far more experience in 'morphogenics' than the Federation, yet section 31 still manages to create a morphogenic virus no Vorta doctor can find a cure for...
Humans...their ingenuity knows no bounds. They can outmorphogenic the changelings, outcomputer the Borg, outthink the think tank, outmaneuver the Romulans, outbat'tleth the Klingons, and they can even impress the Q!