Klingon redundancies

[The Mighty Monkey of Mim]

The thing about the biological redundancies is that if they really work the way they're described in Ethics, it should be impossible to kill a Klingon with something as simple as one stab with a dagger and yet we constantly see Klingons killed in exactly that manner.

Wouldn't that be where the "good design in theory, but in practice, all the extra organs means just that much more can go wrong" bit comes into play, though? Twice as many organs to be struck by a single blow, twice as many reservoirs for infection to spread from, twice as much strain on the healing process, and so on...

B'Elanna ostensibly worried about such potential issues in "Lineage" (VGR), too...

DOCTOR: There's no valid medical reason to do what you're proposing.
B'ELANNA: I disagree.
DOCTOR: You want to delete entire DNA sequences. The genes that create redundant organs, for example.
B'ELANNA: They're superfluous.
DOCTOR: Those redundancies are there for a reason.
B'ELANNA: Does my daughter need a third lung to survive?
DOCTOR: Strictly speaking, no. But having it may be beneficial. Some geneticists believe the extra lung evolved to give Klingons greater stamina on the battlefield.
B'ELANNA: My daughter is not going to be a Klingon warrior.
DOCTOR: With all due respect, you have no idea what your daughter's going to be. What if she develops an interest in athletics? Greater lung capacity would be an advantage. The point is, there's no reason to arbitrarily remove genetic traits.
B'ELANNA: It's not arbitrary! It's preventive.
DOCTOR: How so?
B'ELANNA: That third lung could become diseased, couldn't it?
DOCTOR: I suppose.
B'ELANNA: Then what I'm suggesting is no different than removing an appendix before it becomes inflamed.
DOCTOR: Why tamper with biological systems that evolved over aeons?
B'ELANNA: Like curvature of the spine?

(Although, of course, her concerns ultimately turned out to be deeper seated and less rational than that, having more to do with the trauma she suffered being treated like a "monster" as a child herself.)

Didn't seem of any benefit to her when it came to weathering the effects of the virus earlier in "Macrocosm" (VGR), either...

TORRES: I may never look at food again.
PARIS: I thought Klingons didn't get nauseated. You have a redundant stomach.
TORRES: Well, right now, they're both unhappy...[passes out]

-MMoM

 

[Tenacity]

it's understood that Klingon males generally have a different number of them than humans.

Perhaps zero?

 

[WarpFactorZ]

Wouldn't that be where the "good design in theory, but in practice, all the extra organs means just that much more that can go wrong" bit comes into play, though? Twice as many organs to be struck by a single blow, twice as many reservoirs for infection to spread from, twice as much strain on the healing process, and so on...

Maybe that's why most Klingon weapons have at least two pointy ends. The knife from STIII, the Bat'leth, etc... More to hit with a single blow.

 

[Lord Garth]

CRUSHER: Unnecessary? The Klingons refer to it as the brak'lul. Almost every vital function in their bodies has a built-in redundancy in case any primary organ or system fails.

So if one reproductive organ fails, at least they have the other!

 

[WarpFactorZ]

I just realized: this discussion gives Kirk's TVH swear a whole new meaning. Maybe he thought it up when dealing with Klingons.

"Well... a double dumb-ass on you!"

 

[The Mighty Monkey of Mim]

I just realized: this discussion gives Kirk's TVH swear a whole new meaning. Maybe he thought it up when dealing with Klingons.

"Well... a double dumb-ass on you!"

In all seriousness, though...might be too soon by half for Kirk to be cracking Klingon jokes at that juncture.

(Puns ostensibly not intended.)

-MMoM

 

[The Mighty Monkey of Mim]

RUSSELL: It's a good design in theory, but in practice, all the extra organs means just that much more that can go wrong.

Infinitesimally small nitpick (and not with you at all) of no real significance here, but I happened to be re-watching "Ethics" (TNG) last night—naturally paying particularly close attention to this scene—and noticed the second "that" is a minor transcription error and should be omitted. I've sent the correction along to Chrissie/Chakoteya, and amended my previous posts that also duplicated it. (With very few exceptions, she does almost all of her wonderfully useful and time-saving transcripts entirely on her own, by ear, and so naturally such small errors are bound to crop up here and there. I've found it never hurts to check relevant passages against the aired episodes, time permitting of course...which it doesn't always. She is quite welcoming of corrections, so everyone should feel free to help her out in her valiant efforts wherever you may notice them!)

-MMoM

 

[Philip Guyott]

Serious question, seriously.

What no one has explained is how one procreates with two penii? We have seen that urine passes through both penii. But what about seminal fluid? Does he tie a knot in the redundancy?

Also do Klingon women also have a redundancy for their reproductive parts?

Hopefully all this and more will all be explained in season two!

 

[The Mighty Monkey of Mim]

What no one has explained is how one procreates with two penii? We have seen that urine passes through both penii. But what about seminal fluid? Does a Klingon have to insert both penii to ejaculate or does he tie a knot in the redundancy?

Also do Klingon women also have a redundancy for their reproductive parts?

Hopefully all this will all be explained in season two!

I'd rather they leave something to the imagination...but if we must...

I would think the fellow we saw urinating in the alley likely filled up one bladder, and then kept on drinking until he filled up the other, thus needing to empty them both. Doesn't necessarily mean he wouldn't be able to empty only one barrel at a time under less urgent circumstances.

It would seem logical enough to me that double penes would indeed be complemented by double vaginae...at least in those varieties of Klingon possessed of them. (Hard to say how the Augment virus or having a parent of another species might affect the arrangement in various individuals.) But I don't see why both of either would necessarily need to be engaged simultaneously in order to stimulate a climax. Indeed, there are humans who are capable of that without any direct stimulation of the genitalia at all! Yet, it might well make things easier and/or more pleasurable for some.

-MMoM

 

[The Mighty Monkey of Mim]

Alternatively, since the penis is more analogous (or rather homologous) to the clitoris than the vagina, perhaps females would have dual clitorides and merely a forked vagina? Or perhaps some other arrangement altogether.

And if the entire reproductive tract were duplicated, might this then raise the possibility of becoming pregnant by two different individuals simultaneously? (On the other hand, might complete duplication be counter-indicated by them apparently having only two mammae?)

A fascinating—or should that be "fucking cool"—discussion, but this might be a bit much even for CBS All Access to handle...

(Oh, the puns!)

-MMoM

 

[Awesome Possum]

DVDA is vanilla for Klingons.

 

[The Mighty Monkey of Mim]

DVDA is vanilla for Klingons.

Mere minutes ago I was looking up the properly stuffy scientific plural terms for these anatomical features, and just now had to follow by looking this up. Quite a surreal experience. My apologies to Google!

-MMoM

 

[The Mighty Monkey of Mim]

Also, someone had to do this...it might as well be me...

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-MMoM

 

[XCV330]

DVDA is vanilla for Klingons.

I had to look that up.
I'm going to go format brain now

 

[DaveyNY]

I had to look that up.
I'm going to go format brain now

DVDA is vanilla for Klingons.

Just getting 4 humans into the proper position for this can take an exorbitant amount of time.
Leading more often than not to 'Erectus-Limpidity' and lower torso spasms.
(not to mention intimate scrotal-entanglement)

In my book, the Klingons got it made, they even throw in leather on most occasions.

 

[OpenMaw]

I could use a shower.

 

[Butters]

Are we to assume then, that Klingons also have two bum holes? Given the general organ redundancy, dual uninary systems, and the volume of unprocessed food matter they devoure at those battle after parties. Gorging without purging.

They must get through a lot of bogroll.

 

[Philip Guyott]

If Klingon's have lots of redundancy's why aren't they bigger then they are? If they have more internal organs than humans, would they not need bigger bodies to contain them?

 

[Tosk]

I could use a shower.

...Yes.

 

[Tim Thomason]

If Klingon's have lots of redundancy's why aren't they bigger then they are? If they have more internal organs than humans, would they not need bigger bodies to contain them?

Klingons have smaller organs than humans. Thus why Klingon females are fascinated with Human males.