How would Kirk have coped with meeting Q?

[Damian]

Picard's line made him seem hopelessly naïve; with Q's power, he could have used his limitless ways of warning the Federation about the Borg, even transport one Enterprise member to the parts of the galaxy where the Borg had assimilated and/or destroyed civilizations. That would be warning enough, but he was being vindictive and did not care that an unprepared Federation--all of those lives/worlds--could have been wiped from history through assimilation.

I don't deny any of that. I was just saying Q was a complicated being. He could be twisted, dangerous and vindictive. But at the same time I don't think he wanted to see humanity destroyed. As time went on he did seem to gain a grudging respect for humanity.

I think in some ways that's what made him such a great character. He wasn't really a villain, or a hero, but in fact he could be all those things at the same time.

In "Q, Who" he was indeed being vindictive. He didn't really care 18 lives were lost. But at the same time he gave Picard, and the Federation, a vital warning of an extremely dangerous villain that sooner or later was going to come calling. The Borg were coming. But Q's actions gave the Federation an early warning, a heads up. So while being vindictive, he was also giving a helping hand. And he actually seemed to gain a new found respect for Picard when Picard basically begged Q for his help.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

I wonder though what were the limits of Q's power? Could he have restored those 18 people back to life at the end of the episode had he chosen to?

 

[johnnybear]

He would have been annoyed by his foolishness!
JB

 

[at Quark's]

Except that they probably wouldn't have believed him. After all, he already had put them through his 'mindgames' in (presumably) created realities before. Why would this time be any different? (To be fair, they even could have chosen to believe that after the events of Q Who.)

Just remembered that probably, the crew accepted it all as real because Guinan was aboard and confirmed the Borg had atttacked her people about a century before.

So I suppose that's how Q could have convinced them: show them everything, and then say, 'you can choose to not believe me but please go talk with Guinan - you know we're not friends.'

 

[Damian]

Just remembered that probably, the crew accepted it all as real because Guinan was aboard and confirmed the Borg had atttacked her people about a century before.

So I suppose that's how Q could have convinced them: show them everything, and then say, 'you can choose to not believe me but please go talk with Guinan - you know we're not friends.'

I never got the sense that there was any doubt any of that was real. Now they did confirm some of what they saw with Guinan.

And let's not forget, as pointed out, while it did serve as an early warning about the Borg, Q did what he did for vindictive reasons. Picard had gotten a bit cocky with Q and Q wanted to teach him a lesson.

That's why I agree Q can be vindictive and even petty--but he has also helped humanity.

As for how would Kirk have handled Q---I actually think maybe a combination of Sisko and Janeway. He wouldn't be afraid to punch him in the face (figuratively if not literally) but he might have also tried to charm him a bit. And with Kirk it was usually a bit of a team effort with Spock and maybe McCoy as well.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

I still ponder things like Q Who. Could Q have restored the 18 dead people or does that violate any kinds of laws or rules regards Q powers? Picard kind of mentions this so I do wonder if there were finite limits on what a Q can and can't do.

 

[Damian]

I still ponder things like Q Who. Could Q have restored the 18 dead people or does that violate any kinds of laws or rules regards Q powers? Picard kind of mentions this so I do wonder if there were finite limits on what a Q can and can't do.

Q could reverse time, so he probably could have taken the Enterprise to a time before they died and prevent them from dying.

But could he bring someone back who had died? That's an interesting question. I suspect the writers never wanted to cross that line. We never saw any actual limits to his power, except those imposed by his fellow Q. Judging from what we've seen of his powers I would imagine there is little the Q are incapable of in the 'mortal' realm. So I would think it is something he is capable of but the Q do have some 'code of conduct' they are supposed to follow and I would suspect bringing people back from the dead would be taboo.

 

[Damian]

You know though, in "Hide and Q" when Riker is given the power of the Q he has the chance to save a child who had died and bring her back to life. So that seems to indicate this is a power they have. Q encourages him to save the girl even (but not for altruistic reasons).

That might indicate that mortals are not important enough to the Q to exercise that power. Or I suppose it still could be taboo as Q is banished from the continuum after the events from that episode (though not really for encouraging Riker to bring the girl back to life--though that may have been part of the justification for his sentence).

 

[suarezguy]

The writers wouldn't have been interested in having Q appear often, at least not more than twice. To think that Q would have, the show would have had to have been a pretty different kind of show.

I don't think Kirk would have really beaten Q, the writers would have more likely been willing to, as with "Charlie X" and "The Squire of Gothos" just have other Q come in to punish him (but with those episodes done they also wouldn't have seen much point in having a third similar character and story).

 

[Noname Given]

He would have shot out Q's mirror device and ultimately gotten Q's parents involved as he was being a brat...oh, wait...

 

[Marsden]

Kirk would have convinced him to destroy himself.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Kirk would have convinced him to destroy himself.

Kirk logic wins all the time.

 

[johnnybear]

Kirk's lack of logic is what fools the computers and allows him to defeat them!!!
JB

 

[Spot261]

He'd have had sex with her in an airlock.

 

[SolarisOne]

He'd have had sex with her in an airlock.

True. There's absolutely no reason Q couldn't switch into a feminine form and get it on with Kirk. (I actually find that the Q being presented as having two sexes complete with binary gender roles rather peculiar, but that's a whole different discussion.)

 

[Phoenix219]

Watch “The Squire of Gothos”.

Yup. Its the prequel to Encounter at Farpoint. Q is Trelane, all grown up. I swear! (who's up for an episode by episode thread detailing how the TOS crew could handle each TNG episode better? )

 

[IMC Headquarters]

Q: James Tiberius Kirk! Oh what an honor this is! I'm going to have a whale of a time! Two whales, even. I've got to hand it to you, Captain. A giant green hand...
KIRK: You have me at a disadvantage, Mister...???
Q: Oh just call me Q. Which comes before R. Which happens to be your real middle initial, by the way. R for Ramming Speed. Your father's little joke.
KIRK: I don't understand...
Q: No you wouldn't, would you? Your mind is so linear. Five year mission in deep space crawling around in this oversized bathtub filled with rubber duckies in gold and blue and red shirts. How long have you been? Out here, that is? Three years?
KIRK: I take it you have a wider perspective on the galaxy?
Q: So wide I don't know why I bother with you little microbes. Sorry. I take that back. You're all little blobs of fat and hair, like tribbles. Most of you. So cute. And so harmful to the environment when your numbers go unchecked.
KIRK: Are you here to check our numbers, Q?

 

[johnnybear]

I tend not to think of Q and Trelane as being of the same race to be honest! I've read the novel and heard the many theories but since nothing was ever said on screen I take it as a no!
JB

 

[MAGolding]

Yup. Its the prequel to Encounter at Farpoint. Q is Trelane, all grown up. I swear! (who's up for an episode by episode thread detailing how the TOS crew could handle each TNG episode better? )

I tend not to think of Q and Trelane as being of the same race to be honest! I've read the novel and heard the many theories but since nothing was ever said on screen I take it as a no!
JB

I remember reading in some early TOS novel that Trelane was a child Organian, or possibly mere speculation that he was. But it seems highly unlikely that Trelane could be both a baby Organian and a baby Q, so maybe fans should admit that their attractive speculations should be considered mere speculations and not try to elevate them to the level of fanon, let alone canon, prematurely.

 

[Phoenix219]

I remember reading in some early TOS novel that Trelane was a child Organian, or possibly mere speculation that he was. But it seems highly unlikely that Trelane could be both a baby Organian and a baby Q, so maybe fans should admit that their attractive speculations should be considered mere speculations and not try to elevate them to the level of fanon, let alone canon, prematurely.

I thought it was pretty obvious with my statement (I swear!) that it was speculative joking. I like the idea, of course, especially if going directly from Squire to Farpoint, but obviously its head canon.