Trek already cured death

[Ben Maxwell]

One of the big complains I am seeing is that Khan's blood cures death. Well by the time TNG rolled around, Death had already been cured. In the Neutral Zone Beverly resurrects 3 frozen humans stored in a satellete.

"Data," Picard says, "They were ALREADY Dead!"

 

[Bad Thoughts]

One of the big complains I am seeing is that Khan's blood cures death. Well by the time TNG rolled around, Death had already been cured. In the Neutral Zone Beverly resurrects 3 frozen humans stored in a satellete.

"Data," Picard says, "They were ALREADY Dead!"

Really? Did it work every time? If I remember correctly, cryonics was described as an unreliable technology that the three people, frozen at the point of death, happened to be able to benefit from where so many had not. What was real even today is that it is possible to revive someone after clinical death, but that does not preclude the need to treat the injuries and diseases that they have. Kirk, on the other hand, was brought back to life in spite of massive radiation exposure, which would affect every system simulaneously. That's far more complex and widespread than the diseases that killed the three people who died in the 20th century (a clot, booze, heart disease). Presumably, those diseases would not have killed anyone in the 24th century. Massive radiation exposure would still be deadly.

 

[Mach5]

I vaguely remember death being curable in Voyager as well...

 

[Christopher]

Heck, there have been many cures for death that got ignored because they would've changed the status quo too much. Transporters can reverse aging, and should be able to heal injuries as well. (Beam an injured person directly to sickbay? Okay, why not just tweak the transporter pattern so they materialize without the injury? Then you wouldn't even need sickbay.) DS9's first season gave us a trifecta: quick-cloning in "A Man Alone," the ability to download one's mind into a new body in "The Passenger," and death-repairing nanotech in "Battle Lines." Among the three of those, death could've been conquered altogether. The Federation should've already had immortality and the fountain of youth long before they discovered the Ba'ku's magic ring radiation.

 

[Greg Cox]

I vaguely remember death being curable in Voyager as well...

Just off the top of my head, Seven used her nanoprobes to bring Neelix back to life once.

 

[Commishsleer]

I think I remember in TNG at least on one occasion Picard beaming up the recently dead and seeing what Beverley could do about it. The implication was on some occasions that Beverley could revive them.

Nomad revived Scotty from the dead in TOS too.

 

[Ln X]

Wouldn't it be cool if from now on McCoy's diagnosis for freshly dead people would be 'he has a mild case of death'.

Super regenerative blood? I've got no problems whatsoever with that because it is one of several miracle cures out there in the Trek universe. In Voyager applying modified Borg nanoprobes can undo cellular decay several hours after the patient has died.

 

[Christopher]

I think I remember in TNG at least on one occasion Picard beaming up the recently dead and seeing what Beverley could do about it. The implication was on some occasions that Beverley could revive them.

That was "Code of Honor."

In fact, our current definition of death is different from the past definition, because modern medical science allows reviving people later in the process than was once considered possible, at least when the conditions are right. Death isn't an on-off switch, but a gradual change of biological state, and as medicine improves, we gain the ability to halt and reverse the change further along in the process. So what looks like incurable death to a culture at a lower level of medical science can be reversible near-death to a more medically advanced one. That was the intent behind "Code of Honor" and "The Neutral Zone" -- they assumed this process that's already underway would continue to advance into the future. (Although I do feel "Zone" made it far too easy, showing Beverly completely curing all three corpsicles in a matter of minutes.)

 

[JarodRussell]

I vaguely remember death being curable in Voyager as well...

Just off the top of my head, Seven used her nanoprobes to bring Neelix back to life once.

But only for that specific cell damage and that specific time frame. It wasn't a cure for everything.

 

[M'Sharak]

One of the big complains I am seeing is that Khan's blood cures death. Well by the time TNG rolled around, Death had already been cured. In the Neutral Zone Beverly resurrects 3 frozen humans stored in a satellete.

"Data," Picard says, "They were ALREADY Dead!"

By the time TNG rolled around?

How about in TOS, Season 1 - McCoy dead, is alive again by end of episode (cured off-camera by unnamed alien medical repairs which are probably not magic.)

Season 2 - Scotty dead, is cured by Nomad (method not specified, but dialogue strongly suggests not magic.)

Season 3 - Maybe Chekov only thought he was dead, but it was convincing to the others. Still, he got over it (cure uncertain, as death uncertain. Possibly magic.)

Death has never been an insurmountable obstacle in Star Trek, when the narrative called for things to be otherwise. Khan's augment blood, as a means to cure death by acute radiation poisoning? Psh, not really a problem.

 

[Christopher]

^Not to mention the incredibly advanced medicine of the Fabrini and the Eymorgs' ancestors. Starfleet had access to both sets of medical databases, so you'd think their medical technology would've taken a quantum leap forward in the ensuing years.

 

[M'Sharak]

^Not to mention the incredibly advanced medicine of the Fabrini and the Eymorgs' ancestors. Starfleet had access to both sets of medical databases, so you'd think their medical technology would've taken a quantum leap forward in the ensuing years.

You'd think so, but those records are apparently still tied up in some cavernous warehouse at Starfleet Medical, where their Top Men are Working On It Now.

 

[Kevman7987]

...where their Top Men are Working On It Now.

"Who?!"

 

[BillJ]

But only for that specific cell damage and that specific time frame. It wasn't a cure for everything.

The only reason it wasn't a cure for everything is because the writers' didn't want it to be a cure for everything. Plus, I must of missed the part of the movie where Khan's blood was used to cure everything.

 

[M'Sharak]

...where their Top Men are Working On It Now.

"Who?!"

"Top... men."

 

[Sindatur]

And let's not forget Spock's brain was removed, which can't be especially healthy for you. If you become brain dead after a few minutes or hour of brain not functioning, surely walking around without a brain for hours or days has gotta be pretty fatal. (Nope, I'm not going to give examples of Politicians that walk around without brains)

Jem could heal anything, so, I'm sure she could probably heal fatal injuries, though it would likely kill her.

Q has reversed death at least once or twice.

 

[BillJ]

Jem could heal anything, so, I'm sure she could probably heal fatal injuries, though it would likely kill her.

She was truly, truly outrageous.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

From TNG - Second Chances they could replicate the transporter trick that duplicated Riker.

From TNG - Relics and DS9 - Our Man Bashir they could store transporter patterns indefinitely with more computer memory.

From ENT - Similitude they can clone people with Lyssepian Eels and use Dr. Phlox's life extension method to give them a normal human lifespan.

They should be able to give people android or free roaming holographic bodies (you could do it with 24th century tech, not just the 29th century mobile emitter).

 

[saddestmoon]

Jem could heal anything, so, I'm sure she could probably heal fatal injuries, though it would likely kill her.

She was truly, truly outrageous.

Ha! Well-played!

'It's Showtime Synergy!'

 

[CorporalClegg]

In Star Trek, death is merely an inconvenient, passing phase. Muggles don't understand.