Apollo and Q

[broberfett]

In the old episode of TOS they encounter Apollo in Who Mourns for Adonais. When they try to attack him he is usually looking or not caught off guard and he zaps all their phaser and drains all their devices. If he wasn't looking or paying attention could someone shoot him with a .45 pistol or a phaser and kill him? He did say he was immortal, so I guess severely injure him.

If Q was just talking to Picard in human form and Worf just pulled his phaser on Level 16 and shot him in the head, would that kill him? Would it even harm his human body?

 

[Ziz]

So, you're guessing that the omnipotent being in question can only defend himself if he knows the attack is coming?

 

[broberfett]

Q wasn't really omnipotent or omniscient. Q wouldn't know things and he would ask questions that he seemed genuinely curious about. Apollo showed to be a normal human on the tricorder except an extra organ in his chest.

 

[captcalhoun]

no one carries .45s any more so that wouldn't work.

and Q would be just as likely to turn your phaser into a carrot or something.

 

[MetalPants]

I think Q would know the instant someone decided to try to harm his person.

 

[Vanyel]

MetalPants said:
I think Q would know the instant someone decided to try to harm his person.

He might, he did after all freeze that guy in Encounter at Far Point. He was also able to tell that Federation without a Captain Picard would be nearly 100% identical to the one with Picard.

Then there's Q-Pid where Q gave the creation a life of its own and told the crew that he had no idea how it'd turn it. Now that could be one of Q's deceptions, he may have know exactly what was to play out and only said he didn't to get Picard to show his feelings for Vash.

We have more or less the same thing in All Good Things..., he helped Picard. Did he know that without his help Picard would have failed?

I think he did know what was going to happen in Q-Pid and All Good Things..., that being the case I don't think he could be snuck up on and killed.

The Q and the Grey would also hint that only Q weapons or other Q can hurt or kill a Q.

 

[RainCrystal]

I saw that Apollo episode from TOS and wondered if those gods were the Q or a seperate race?

 

[erastus25]

RainCrystal said:
I saw that Apollo episode from TOS and wondered if those gods were the Q or a seperate race?

My interpretation is no. We never see any indication that any of the Q rely on a power source or give off human anatomical readings. To me, Trelane and Apollo are more likely to be of the same species than either is to be a Q.

 

[JD]

RainCrystal said:
I saw that Apollo episode from TOS and wondered if those gods were the Q or a seperate race?

The New Frontier books actually have a two parter that deals with Apollo's people. In the books more of his people, who are call Beings, pop up and start causing all sorts of trouble. Sadly that's about all I remember of them.

 

[Timo]

Basically, Apollo in the books was supposed to be a reclusive and somewhat mentally deficient member of the species, exaggerating his uniqueness and importance to all those he encountered. The others were capable of many "supernatural" feats, but were quite biological in basic nature.

Spoiler: several PAD [i

NF[/i] books on the subject]Lieutenant Palamas, impregnated in the TOS episode by Apollo (although this was cut from the final script), turns out to be a great-grandmother to Excalibur navigator McHenry, who is partially divine as the result...

Many "conventional techniques", such as phaser fire, have an effect on Apollo's kin in the books.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[captcalhoun]

the Beings show up and offer to bring about a golden age by givnig the Feddies 'ambrosia' the so-called food of the gods, in return for being worshipped and don't take kindly to being declined.

 

[greenmystik]

But why wasn't Q able to mess with McHenry? Are they on equal footing with the Continuum or just below them like the Organians?

 

[captcalhoun]

McHenry speculates in "Being Human" that it's because he is so convinced of his human nature it over-rode Q's powers somehow.

 

[Timo]

...Although it may just be that Q was so surprised and amused to discover the truth that he stopped whatever he was doing, and went away chuckling. That is, the "resistance" that McHenry put up was not potent, but merely surprising, and ultimately amusing.

I wonder if Guinan would have put up a stiffer fight in "Q Who?"...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[greenmystik]

^ I would have loved to see those two fight. Although it also made the El Aurian seem a lot more powerful than we were led to believe. I think that was a bit of sloppy writing there. The only other time we see more El Aurian is in Generations and in that DS9 episode and none of them seem any different than humans. Other than the fact that they seem to live a couple centuries or so.

 

[Timo]

...And they all make for excellent con men. Or women.

That would be a nicer divine power to have than telekinesis or omniscience or ability to hurl lightning bolts, IMHO.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[greenmystik]

But shouldn't Q already possess all of this??? Hell shouldn't he be able to just control the mind rather than con it???

 

[JD]

I don't think we've ever actually seen them control people minds though have we?

 

[Danoz]

Q likes to refer to himself as all powerful, but clearly he isn't. Even Guinan was able to spook him (though not stop him from hurling the Enterprise into Borg space). The Voyager's dealings with Q suggested that Q could procreate, die, and that their societies were as fallable and open to internal warfare as any mortal society. Now, Q's ability to maniuplate time and space to the degree at which he does suggests that the Q "continuum" also exists in some form of linear time (so the Q are not "wormhole aliens" or anything like that).

It would be difficult to reconcile the powers of the most powerful aliens in Trek.

 

[Danoz]

JD said:
I don't think we've ever actually seen them control people minds though have we?

The young lady Q made Riker fall in love with her at the flip of a switch.