Charlie X

[BillJ]

If Charlie were ever integrated back into society, and Starfleet decided he had killed those people, Charlie would have to serve time in a prison, which couldn't end well.

Charlie Evans simply could never be reintegrated into society. It would be like turning Gary Mitchell loose in society.

 

[Gojira]

Didn't the Thasians repair the damage Charlie had done? So other than those on the Antares everyone Charlie harmed on the Enterprise was restored.

 

[Timewalker]

But that's the point. The Antares crew was dead. The woman (and anyone else) who suffocated because Charlie literally deleted their noses and mouths, would presumably not have been brought back - because they were DEAD.

It would have been a terrifying death, as they couldn't breathe, couldn't call for help, and couldn't even see to try to go for help. They'd have had less than 2 minutes, tops, and that's only if they'd immediately held their breath as soon as it happened.

About the only chance they'd have had would be if some other crew came by and got them immediate help, or if they'd grabbed a knife and cut into their own heads to open a way - any way - to get oxygen into their lungs.

Any way you look at it, this was a truly horrible thing, and I can't see anyone who could do such actions as being redeemable.

 

[Nine of Four]

Any way you look at it, this was a truly horrible thing, and I can't see anyone who could do such actions as being redeemable.

I agree whole-heartedly. Charlie killed approximately 30 people, and would most certainly serve a life sentence if he was ever accepted back into society.

 

[Gojira]

But that's the point. The Antares crew was dead. The woman (and anyone else) who suffocated because Charlie literally deleted their noses and mouths, would presumably not have been brought back - because they were DEAD.

I didn't get that idea from the episode. I got the impression all those harmed on the Enterprise were restored.

Not that you're wrong, because what they said at the end was ambiguous.

 

[Timo]

If Charlie were ever integrated back into society, and Starfleet decided he had killed those people, Charlie would have to serve time in a prison, which couldn't end well.

Not in the TOS context, he wouldn't. He would be sent to get therapy in an asylum, and if that didn't work, he'd be sent to Elba II until he got cured (which might be life, but apparently would only be until "Whom Gods Destroy" when an universal cure for the final incurables appears to be introduced). No set length of incarceration, no punitive angle to it.

I mean, look what happened to Lenore Karidian. She murdered half a dozen people, and got the therapy. Probably folks like "Lethe" were mass murderers or worse, too, before receiving their therapy; it's just that Dr. Adams practiced a variant of it that wasn't exactly accepted, and got poor Lethe as the result. Other asylums would produce better reformed murderers.

As an aside, oxygen deprivation probably isn't that big a problem in the TOS era: lungs can be entirely bypassed and tri-ox injected into the blood instead. And it's something found in every paramedic's pouch, apparently. So rescue before extensive brain damage is certainly a possibility, although far from a given.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Gary Mitchell]

If Charlie were ever integrated back into society, and Starfleet decided he had killed those people, Charlie would have to serve time in a prison, which couldn't end well.

Charlie Evans simply could never be reintegrated into society. It would be like turning Gary Mitchell loose in society.

Hey, I'm not that bad. I'm great at parties.

 

[Push The Button]

I have always hated Charlie as a character. He is much less likable than any Klingon or Romulan that appeared in the original series, and even villains of the week like Khan, Apollo, Roger Korby, Kodos and Flint were more sympathetic.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

The horrible things Charlie did to people don't really fit with the general tone of the series. You could argue that the show hadn't entirely found itself yet. Charlie's atrocities were a growing pain that would not reflect the future course of the series.

 

[Warped9]

I have always hated Charlie as a character. He is much less likable than any Klingon or Romulan that appeared in the original series, and even villains of the week like Khan, Apollo, Roger Korby, Kodos and Flint were more sympathetic.

Charlie behaved like a spoiled brat whose powers allowed him to act on impulse with terrible consequences. His whole life he developed no impulse control and no empathy whatsoever for others simply because he hadn't needed to because of his isolation.

In more familiar terms imagine an indulged youth with the means and privilege to do whatever he pleased and without any consideration for others.

It's not surprising he would be a hard character to sympathize or identify with.

 

[Ssosmcin]

All it would take is a traffic jam on the way to work to set Charlie off.

Or an office boner.