Eugenics Wars.

[Christopher]

And people with a 50 % enhanced lung volume....

I'm wondering how that could be done without requiring a 50% larger chest cavity. Maybe by adding more and smaller alveoli, increasing the surface area even further without increasing the overall size of the lungs.

Not to mention the arrogance of superior people in general.

I've never bought that idea. People of lower intelligence and ability are often just as arrogant. If anything, the dumber people are, the more convinced they are of their superior wisdom and authority. (See: many presidential candidates and Hollywood studio executives.)

I liked the suggestion of ENT's Augment trilogy that the "superior ambition" of the Augments was not some universal flaw of all superhuman beings, but a flaw in their specific genome, a design error (or a conscious choice by unethical designers) that amplified their aggression rather than their empathy and wisdom. This makes sense; after all, Spock has abilities superior to most any human, but he also possesses great humility and self-restraint, and has always been content to follow rather than lead. And while Julian Bashir is certainly arrogant, it's never been to a dangerous degree, because he also has highly developed empathy and ethics.

Of course, it also fits what I hinted at in DTI: Watching the Clock, that the Augments were the result of clandestine intervention by the same Temporal Cold War faction behind the Suliban Cabal (which was part of why the Aegis sent Gary Seven to Earth as a countermove). That would mean they were deliberately engineered to be weapons, hence the prioritization of aggression over empathy.

 

[Kilana2]

And people with a 50 % enhanced lung volume....

I'm wondering how that could be done without requiring a 50% larger chest cavity. Maybe by adding more and smaller alveoli, increasing the surface area even further without increasing the overall size of the lungs.

Not to mention the arrogance of superior people in general.

I've never bought that idea. People of lower intelligence and ability are often just as arrogant. If anything, the dumber people are, the more convinced they are of their superior wisdom and authority. (See: many presidential candidates and Hollywood studio executives.)

I liked the suggestion of ENT's Augment trilogy that the "superior ambition" of the Augments was not some universal flaw of all superhuman beings, but a flaw in their specific genome, a design error (or a conscious choice by unethical designers) that amplified their aggression rather than their empathy and wisdom. This makes sense; after all, Spock has abilities superior to most any human, but he also possesses great humility and self-restraint, and has always been content to follow rather than lead. And while Julian Bashir is certainly arrogant, it's never been to a dangerous degree, because he also has highly developed empathy and ethics.

Of course, it also fits what I hinted at in DTI: Watching the Clock, that the Augments were the result of clandestine intervention by the same Temporal Cold War faction behind the Suliban Cabal (which was part of why the Aegis sent Gary Seven to Earth as a countermove). That would mean they were deliberately engineered to be weapons, hence the prioritization of aggression over empathy.

Bashir's level of arrogance decreases over the seasons. And his saying that he's got superior eye-hand coordination is a simple fact. His abilities are certainly helpful in his job as surgeon where a steady hand and a certain level of concentration is essential.

As to the lung volume: Klingons have a higher lung volume due to redundant organs. How it can be increased in humans beats me, though. I don't follow contemporary discussion about gene doping, because they cause a headache.

You're right of course, feeling superior doesn't always correlate with intelligence. Other factors come into play like power, delusions of grandeur or corruption.

As to Khan Vol. 1: At the beginning Roberta was stunned by the Chrysalis children and their abilities. Later she was dismayed when she saw the children with diviant behavior (epileptic seizures, austism, hyperactivity...). It's one thing to exclude genetic defects. The question is where to stop. No physical weaknesses, more stamina, no myopia, no allergies..... All sounds very tempting. Some of the children seem to be more intelligent than their educators. I can relate to Roberta, who is a little frightened at one point.

 

[Christopher]

As to the lung volume: Klingons have a higher lung volume due to redundant organs.

Yeah, but think about what that means. Wouldn't more lung volume require a larger chest? It's something that would require a visible external change to the dimensions of the body -- in the same way that a bigger brain would require a bigger skull, a la the Talosians. And yet Klingons and Augments have normally proportioned bodies. So how do you give them bigger lungs without enlarging the torso? Something else inside the chest cavity would have to be made smaller to compensate. But that could be detrimental. And having multiply redundant organs like the Klingons have, inside a chest cavity of the same size as a human's, doesn't make a lot of sense, unless somehow all their organs are much more compact.

 

[Karzak]

Who is to say that what constitutes "regularly" sized organs for humans must be so for Klingons?

All we know is that (most) Klingons have bodies roughly similar to the average human. Everything else is extrapolation.

Perhaps all the magic biological stuff is in their turtle-heads?

 

[Kilana2]

Even Dr. McCoy wasn't able to save Gorkon's live because he lacked knowledge of Klingon anatomy. We should talk with Dr. B'Oraq about it.

There is a former Dutch swimmer with a funnel chest. I always wondered if his organs are in a normal position. Obviously he doesn't have any cardio pulmonary disadvantages. It strikes me as the contrary of what we are talking about right now: fewer space, a smaller chest cavity.
My medical knowledge has its limits, though. I think Karzak is right. Klingon organs might be different in size and capacity.

 

[Christopher]

Who is to say that what constitutes "regularly" sized organs for humans must be so for Klingons?

All we know is that (most) Klingons have bodies roughly similar to the average human. Everything else is extrapolation.

Sure, in general -- but in this case we're talking specifically about the volume, i.e. the size, of the lungs. So if you're going to have bigger or more lungs, then either the chest has to be bigger or the other organs have to be smaller. That much can be said for sure.

That's why I think it might be better to define it less in terms of volume and more in terms of area -- the surface area of the alveoli. The spongier and more finely divided the stuff inside the lungs is, the greater the surface area you can pack into the same volume. That's the function the alveoli play as it is, giving the lungs a much higher internal surface area than they'd have if they were just hollow bags of air. Making the alveoli even finer would increase the capacity of the lungs without actually changing their volume.

 

[Kilana2]

I'm currently enjoying the situation Greg mentioned in one of the movie threads about Chekov's devices the Navy took away from him.....

Meanwhile young Khan gets above himself....

 

[Kilana2]

Anastasia Komananow's name should be Komananowa according to Russian naming conventions (females receive an additional -a after endings like -ow, ew and -in, if I'm not mistaken).
Yet it was already wrong in the DS9 holo episode with Kira as Komananov......

 

[Christopher]

Well, the name in "Our Man Bashir" was an Ian Fleming-style sexual-innuendo pun -- suggesting either "Come On and Off" or "Come On Enough." Which is why it bothered me when the Eugenics Wars novels established the existence of a real person with that fake surname. (When I read the book, I mentally gloss it to "Komanov," which is a real Russian surname. Although I suppose I should gloss it to "Komanova," as you point out.)

 

[Kilana2]

Well, the name in "Our Man Bashir" was an Ian Fleming-style sexual-innuendo pun -- suggesting either "Come On and Off" or "Come On Enough." Which is why it bothered me when the Eugenics Wars novels established the existence of a real person with that fake surname. (When I read the book, I mentally gloss it to "Komanov," which is a real Russian surname. Although I suppose I should gloss it to "Komanova," as you point out.)

Well, at least in Our Man Bashir it was just a holo character.
I don't know, as this thread is `werrrrrrrry old´ (as Chekov would put it), maybe the Komananow issue has been already discussed. Or Greg Cox has an answer. Maybe I'm so fussy, because I had to deal with people with Russian ancestry in my class, especially females....

 

[Greg Cox]

Well, the name in "Our Man Bashir" was an Ian Fleming-style sexual-innuendo pun -- suggesting either "Come On and Off" or "Come On Enough." Which is why it bothered me when the Eugenics Wars novels established the existence of a real person with that fake surname. (When I read the book, I mentally gloss it to "Komanov," which is a real Russian surname. Although I suppose I should gloss it to "Komanova," as you point out.)

Well, at least in Our Man Bashir it was just a holo character.
I don't know, as this thread is `werrrrrrrry old´ (as Chekov would put it), maybe the Komananow issue has been already discussed. Or Greg Cox has an answer. Maybe I'm so fussy, because I had to deal with people with Russian ancestry in my class, especially females....

I plead guilty on this one. I lifted the name from the DS9 episode and didn't think about it any harder than that.

To be honest, I can't remember if I even picked up on the fact that the name was supposed to be a silly sexual innuendo . . ..

 

[Kilana2]

And it should be Raissa Gorbatschowa for that matter.

Nonetheless, Vol. 1 of the Eugenic Wars is still great. Almost finished. Now I have to wait about three or four weeks for Vol. 2. This time I don't order it via the Post.

 

[Kilana2]

Khan (Vol. 1) has been `assimilated´. Serves him right .

(Khan instead of Jean-Luc as Locutus would give me the creeps . Luckily, the Borg are no more).

I think Gary Seven believed in the good in man when he tried to recruit young Khan as agent. Obviously empathy and humility were not included in his genetic profile. Even Roberta has to concede, that Khan is up to no good.

Kaur was pregnant when she perished. God knows what a devil Khan's brother or sister would have become. I guess, it would have been another boy, because Kaur doesn't strike me as someone to let females rule the world.

 

[Kilana2]

Almost finished part II. Grandiose. Can't get enough of Gary Seven and Roberta.