List of Trek questions that keep us up at night

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Lursa was pregnant, but we never found out who the father was or what eventually happened to the baby.

I think it was the TNG ep where adult Alexander travels back from the future, and he possesses a knife that was owned by Lursa's family. So the baby probably did survive into adulthood. Perhaps Alexander won it in a duel?

 

[locutus101]

^ Lursa was pregnant, but we never found out who the father was or what eventually happened to the baby.

I think it was the TNG ep where adult Alexander travels back from the future, and he possesses a knife that was owned by Lursa's family. So the baby probably did survive into adulthood. Perhaps Alexander won it in a duel?

Probably the way Worf got Martok's son's Knife in Way Of The Warrior.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Does that mean that they were able to repair the damage done by the Martians in "Mars Attack"?

Mount Rushmore spontaneously repaired itself while Tom Jones was singing "It's Not Unusual." Because he's just that awesome.

It's near excellent, and a Klingon-speaker can follow along in it! Which came as a very nice surprise to me, as I had recently started learning Klingon when I saw the episode for the first time.

The Frasier people actually got Marc Okrand to translate the speech into Klingon, so the original translation is considered correct almost by definition.

In related news: Frasier is the best show ever.

Oh, that is awesome. It would have been the easiest thing in the world for them to just make up some gibberish for Kelsey Grammer to say, but instead they went to the time and effort to have actual Klingon. But then, I understand that most of Frasier's other references, like opera and wines, were accurate as well.

Plus, they probably realized that actual Klingon would be much funnier.

 

[Six of Twelve]

Is it harder to assimilate joined Trills because of the smbiont? Or do the nanoprobes travel freely to the symbiont as well. It seems as if the Borg are geared to assimilating humanoid life forms only, as that's the only type of drone we've ever seen. We've discussed the difficulties of assimilating a Founder and we saw the impossibility of assimilating Species 8472.

I predict that with a joined Trill, the host would be assimilated as easily as any other humanoid species, but the symbiont would be unaffected, thus the resultant drone would be half connected to the collective, while the symbiont would remain an individual. And I'd guess the Queen wouldn't detect the individuality of the symbiont, as she'd have all of the host's thoughts and wouldn't see anything amiss. So, a joined Trill wouldn't be an ideal drone, from the Borg point of view.

 

[loghaD]

I predict that with a joined Trill, the host would be assimilated as easily as any other humanoid species, but the symbiont would be unaffected, thus the resultant drone would be half connected to the collective, while the symbiont would remain an individual. And I'd guess the Queen wouldn't detect the individuality of the symbiont, as she'd have all of the host's thoughts and wouldn't see anything amiss. So, a joined Trill wouldn't be an ideal drone, from the Borg point of view.

Ooh, hadn't thought of that. I suspect the Borg would face difficulties at first, but given enough samples they would adapt to assimilate the Trill, symbiont at all.

I imagine a process like this:
The first specimen dies because the assimilated host cannot communicate with the non-assimilated symbiont.
In the next few specimens, the host is assimilated and separated from the symbiont, which then dies. The symbiont is replaced by a virtual symbiont which mimic's the symbiont's functions well enough for the host to survive.
A few specimens later, and they are able to keep both the host and the symbiont alive. They learn to extract memories from the symbionts, allowing them to harvest several generations' worth of knowledge.

I could also imagine that because Trill symbionts are so rare (only a few thousand, according to Bashir in Invasive Procedures, or perhaps tens of thousands based on the 500 who are joined every year), they might keep a few joined Trill prisoner without assimilating them while they figure out how to perform the assimilation, so as not to waste valuable specimens.

 

[Finn]

Is it harder to assimilate joined Trills because of the smbiont? Or do the nanoprobes travel freely to the symbiont as well.

I predict that with a joined Trill, the host would be assimilated as easily as any other humanoid species, but the symbiont would be unaffected, thus the resultant drone would be half connected to the collective, while the symbiont would remain an individual. And I'd guess the Queen wouldn't detect the individuality of the symbiont, as she'd have all of the host's thoughts and wouldn't see anything amiss. So, a joined Trill wouldn't be an ideal drone, from the Borg point of view.

No.. Just no. There's no reason why the symbiont wouldn't be affected. Not to mention if the host' was assimilated, the borg would know about the symbiont....

 

[locutus101]

Do the borg really need to talk to one another or do they get all their information through the collective consciousness?

 

[loghaD]

Do the borg really need to talk to one another or do they get all their information through the collective consciousness?

I suspect that there are situations where drone-to-drone data transfer is necessary, for instance when somehow separated from the vinculum. Apart from that, I suspect that Borg communication is much like the cloud: All its data isn't stored in one place, but rather spread out across multiple drones and devices, with back-ups in case one unit is disabled.

For example, when information on Starfleet combat tactics is needed by the unit which is responsible for regeneration, it might connect to another unit which has information and processing functions relevant to combat, distributed over both drones and devices.

 

[locutus101]

I suspect that there are situations where drone-to-drone data transfer is necessary, for instance when somehow separated from the vinculum. Apart from that, I suspect that Borg communication is much like the cloud: All its data isn't stored in one place, but rather spread out across multiple drones and devices, with back-ups in case one unit is disabled.

For example, when information on Starfleet combat tactics is needed by the unit which is responsible for regeneration, it might connect to another unit which has information and processing functions relevant to combat, distributed over both drones and devices.

They seem highly vulnerable through their communication network though. Oddly enough Picard wasn't able to give the order himself as Locutus, yet he was able to tell Data what order to give through him to cause the cube to self-destruct, apparently it was simply an order to get in a dormant state.

 

[Stevil2001]

This post from last month details a bit on the non-canon origins of the Vulcan planet names. "Minshara class" is, of course, canon. But I don't think it was used by anyone to refer to the planet Vulcan until Christopher Bennett used it in his novels.

Christopher's smart and all, but he doesn't get credit for every neat retcon. The very post you linked to indicates it was not his idea to use "Minshara" to refer to "Vulcan."

 

[Six of Twelve]

I watched Unimatrix 0 @gain today and thought the Borg queen made an error in judgment by going after the U0 drones. They were happy enough with their sanctuary, where they could be individuals during their regeneration cycles and functioned as normal drones when awake. Axum didn't think to develop a virus until the queen started messing with them, and didn't even think to try to retain their memories while awake and resist the collective until Janeway suggested it to him. All they originally wanted was to be left alone while enjoying their sanctuary while regenerating. If the queen had left well enough alone, she'd not have lost all those drones.

 

[Mojochi]

If Miles plays the cello, & Keiko plays the clarinet, why have I never seen them in any kind of group or duet together? Those 2 instruments would compliment each other quite well actually. Seems like a big missed opportunity. I mean if a married couple both play instruments, they almost certainly would play together from time to time.

 

[ihno]

And adding to that: How did they manage to perform Brahms' Quintet with four instruments, yet still you could hear all five (TNG, Sarek).

 

[Mojochi]

And adding to that: How did they manage to perform Brahms' Quintet with four instruments, yet still you could hear all five (TNG, Sarek).

& wtf are they playing it at a Mozart recital for?

 

[ihno]

possible answers:
a) Well, Brahms liked Mozart very much and the people from the future are so advanced that they all hear the little Mozart quotes in the Brahms piece.

b) Well, Brahms was Flint from TOS. Maybe Mozart was too? They should have called it "Flint concert" instead perhaps.

 

[locutus101]

And adding to that: How did they manage to perform Brahms' Quintet with four instruments, yet still you could hear all five (TNG, Sarek).

I believe they were air playing with holographic instruments while the computer was playing the correct tune. That's the only explanation.

 

[Mojochi]

Honestly though, it is possible that they lacked a 5th for their recital, & just let the computer play back the missing part while the others played. It seems like that would be contrary to the spirit of a live recital, but it's still possible

 

[stardream]

I watched Unimatrix 0 @gain today and thought the Borg queen made an error in judgment by going after the U0 drones. They were happy enough with their sanctuary, where they could be individuals during their regeneration cycles and functioned as normal drones when awake. Axum didn't think to develop a virus until the queen started messing with them, and didn't even think to try to retain their memories while awake and resist the collective until Janeway suggested it to him. All they originally wanted was to be left alone while enjoying their sanctuary while regenerating. If the queen had left well enough alone, she'd not have lost all those drones.

One of the many reasons Unimatrix Zero is my least favorite of the Voyager Two-parters. That and the silly love story.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Yes, but remember - they'll become dissatisfied and wish their lives were always like that, or at least more like that and less conflict ("fight, protect, discover" rather than "kill, assimilate, destroy".) Give someone a taste of a better life and they're ruined for less.

 

[Six of Twelve]

Yes, but remember - they'll become dissatisfied and wish their lives were always like that, or at least more like that and less conflict ("fight, protect, discover" rather than "kill, assimilate, destroy".) Give someone a taste of a better life and they're ruined for less.

Axum told Seven of Nine they'd known each other for 18 years through U0 @nd that they'd been close for 6. They'd been satisfied with that until the Queen started messing with them. I stand by my original post.