|
Klingons (Klingon: tlhIngan) are a warrior race of humanoids in the fictional Star Trek universe. They were recurring antagonists in Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) and later became the uneasy allies of the United Federation of Planets. They were introduced in the episode Errand of Mercy (1967). Klingons were created by screenwriter Gene Coon. They were named for Lieutenant Wilbur Clingan, who served with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry in the Los Angeles Police Department.• Klingon biology Roughly humanoid in appearance, Klingons typically sport long manes of luxuriant hair with moustaches and beards common among males. Perhaps their most prominent external feature is their ridged forehead. These intricate, bony patterns, which are also visible on their feet and backs, vary by family line and are an evolutionary remnant of their prehistoric crustacean forms, when Klingons had a more extensive exoskeleton. In the original series they were typically portrayed with bronze skin and facial hair suggestive of North Asian peoples such as the Mongols (in fact, Gene Coon's only physical description of them in his Errand of Mercy script is "Oriental, hard-faced" and a memo further specifies they should be "the Ho Chi Minh type"). In Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the Klingons were "reimagined" or retconned and were depicted with ridged foreheads, new uniforms, and a distinctive language. Gene Roddenberry said the movie era Klingons are closer to his original vision, but could not be realized in a low-budget television show. Most Klingon body functions incorporate multiple redundancies, such as redundant stomachs, lungs, livers, an eight-chambered heart, and twenty-three ribs. This characteristic, known as "brak'lul," makes Klingons incredibly resilient. Klingon ribs are arranged in a latticework; the structure might be compared to chainmail. Klingon teeth are typically serrated, with multiple edges and ridges. The character Mr. Spock once said Klingons lack tear ducts, although Klingon myth states that Kahless once filled the ocean with his tears. The Klingon expected lifespan is at least 150 years. However, it is typical that male Klingons die young while in battle and not of natural causes. Klingon pregnancies run 30 weeks. The process of giving birth can sometimes take days. Interbreeding is possible with Betazoids , humans , Romulans , and with medical intervention, Trills . Klingon traits remain dominant over several generations. depicts Klingons having violet blood (based on the metal ion manganese according to some unofficial sources), but all other depictions of Klingon blood have been red like human blood. In Star Trek universe terms, this may have resulted from a unique atmospheric gas mix on the Klingon vessel - as suggested by the renegade boarding party's need to wear environmental suits, rather than merely wearing disguises. However, Colonel Worf noticed that the slain Colonel West did not have Klingon blood, so they realized that the Klingon appearance was a disguise. (Note that this was in supplemental footage, not included in the original film release.) This indicates that at the time, red was not the normal Klingon blood color. Another widely discussed possibility is that the color change was a side-effect of the Augment Virus. (The mundane reason behind the issue is that violet blood allowed Star Trek VI to maintain a PG rating rather than something more restrictive. It also facilitates discerning Klingon blood from other species' blood without the aid of a tricorder or similar means; Colonel Worf makes this distinction during the movie's dénouement.) Human-looking Klingons
Fan speculation Over the decades, several non-canon novels and comic books attempted to suggest reasons for the change, including the suggestion that the humanlike Klingons were a different race. The early-1990s DC Comics graphic novel, Debt of Honor suggested that the humanlike Klingons were discommoded (a concept introduced in TNG). However, several Klingons who appeared humanlike in Star Trek: The Original Series made appearances on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager with full ridges. It has been suggested that the character of General Chang in , whose features are less pronounced than other Klingons, might be a remnant of the humanlike Klingons. The Star Trek RPG (FASA) published by FASA before ST:TNG aired in 1987 suggested the Klingons of the original series were actually human/Klingon "fusions" (hybrids) based on the premise that Klingons took 'know thine enemy' to its logical extreme in that incorporating human DNA and presumably human characteristics into Klingons would make them much more effective in combating them. The "movie" Klingons were "Imperial Race" Klingons, i.e. purebred. FASA enlisted the aid of the late Star Trek novelist John M. Ford to depict the Klingons as being part of a paranoid society of both "human-fusion" and "Imperial" Klingons living together, complete with sophisticated nomenclatures, a Klingon Emperor, "thought admirals" and an afterlife known as the "Black Fleet". For lack of any other explanation, the FASA explanation was widely accepted in fanon until it became superseded by ST:TNG episodes. Given the different canon policy of Gene Roddenberry and Paramount Pictures at the time, the explanation was assumed to be canonical, until 1988 when it was decided that all of FASAs contributions to Star Trek were non Canon (and the current canon policy was firmly established). This caused some controversy among Star Trek fans of the 1980s. (See Star Trek RPG (FASA)) In the real world of Gene Roddenberry and other Star Trek story-makers, the change was said to actually be an attempt to make the Klingons more alien, as an ongoing set of characters whose race was nearly identical to humans was considered too unrealistic. This change took place, initially, during the Star Trek movies, when the new Hollywood budget first allowed a much more alien race, but talking about the reasons behind it was treated as a sort of friendly taboo by people associated with the series. Episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine showed Kang and other Klingons first seen in the original series as humanlike as now being more like the later Klingons, and the issue was finally acknowledged (and evaded) in the Deep Space Nine episode Trials and Tribble-ations, when Worf, time travelling to 2268 with several others from the crew of DS9, encountered the humanlike Klingons. Worf acknowledged that they were Klingons, but Klingons do not like to talk about the issue, especially with non-Klingons. The issue was approached in one of the final episodes of Enterprise and finally established a canonical answer to the issue, despite many fans being upset with the outcome. The cause revealed In February 2005 a two-part storyline on Star Trek: Enterprise, "Affliction" and "Divergence", explained canonically why the Klingons changed their appearance. In an earlier series of episodes, the Augments, humans grown from genetically engineered embryos from the Eugenics Wars of the late 20th century, were defeated by Captain Jonathan Archer and the Enterprise NX-01 in Klingon space. The Klingon High Council feared that Starfleet was developing armies of Augments and that they would pose a serious threat to the Empire's existence. Even when they were told by the Vulcan High Command that the Augments were created without Starfleet's knowledge or consent, they remained suspicious and so decided to fight fire with fire. The Klingons gained access to the genetic material of the human Augments, and wanted to adapt this genetic engineering to augment their own species. The experiment did not work correctly; at first, subjects did gain increased strength and intelligence, but their nervous systems could not handle the strain and they died. One of the test subjects had a virulent flu, which — combined with the genetic changes wrought by the experiment — became a deadly, airborne plague that spread rampantly across the Empire, from world to world, causing the physical changes to change them into the human-looking Klingons of Kirk's day. Dr. Phlox of the Enterprise NX-01 formulated a cure for the virus, however not before millions of Klingons were physically altered. And owing to the genetic nature of the virus, these alterations were passed to succeeding generations of offspring. The Klingons were apparently so embarrassed by the fallout from this disaster, that they absolutely refused under any circumstances to discuss the incident with outsiders in later years. There is also evidence (illustrated by the ignorance of members of the Deep Space Nine crew who encounter humanlike Klingons during time travel into the past in Trials and Tribble-ations) that knowledge of the change might become lost to mankind over time. The Enterprise storyline also indicates that an early form of the Starfleet intelligence service Section 31 was somehow involved in the transformation of the Klingons. Phlox indicated that "someday" the physical alterations could be reversed. The episode "Divergence" revealed that not all Klingons were affected by the virus. No canon explanation has yet been offered to suggest why only the humanlike Klingons were seen in The Original Series, save for statements made in "Divergence" that the genetically altered version of the race would be stronger and more intelligent, suggesting they may have been desirable soldiers in later Klingon/Federation conflicts. The Klingons in Star Trek: The Motion Picture were the first Klingon crew that was shown to be dealing with something other than the Federation, so there is no evidence proving these particular Klingons had ever been afflicted. Other possible explanations include the idea that by the time the cure to the virus had been administered to all Klingons, every last one was infected by the virus so that they would have been changed somewhat by the virus anyway. This could also explain the "darker-skinned" Klingon observation stated above. The darker Klingons could have been descendants of Klingons that had only been in the initial stages of alteration when they were cured, so that they retained their more natural pigmentation. It is also possible that some Klingons used cosmetic surgery to restore their pre-alteration appearance. However, the ridge-development cure must have been developed before 2293, the year of . The Star Trek: Voyager episode "Flashback", which depicts events that took place in 2293, shows the Klingon Kang with ridges, though he had none in the original series episode "Day of the Dove." It can be calculated, therefore, that the humanlike appearance of the Klingons lasted for at least 119 years, since these two episodes of Enterprise took place in 2154, and the reversal mentioned by Phlox could have happened before Star Trek: The Motion Picture which takes place in 2271, but had definitely happened by 2293. In the Star Trek: Vanguard novel Summon the Thunder, the humanlike Klingons are called QuchHa', or the unhappy ones. They usually serve in their own units, although sometimes they are known to mix with the rest of the fleet personnel. All attempts at retconning aside, the changes in Klingon appearance can best be explained by an inconsistent treatment of pre-existing material by the series' and movies' writers. Fans have followed several variations of both canon and non-canon sources to produce Klingons with varied fusions, mixtures and heritages. These are portrayed in fiction, fan-produced films, and in professional fiction, such as The Final Reflection and How Much for Just the Planet? by John M. Ford and Kahless by Michael Jan Friedman. Culture Government As of 2369, the Klingon people and their interstellar empire became governed by the High Council and a figurehead emperor, although in the past the emperor's role was much more powerful. The Klingon political state is referred to as the Klingon Empire, although the name "Imperial Klingon Empire" was used once. Prehistory Billions of years ago, the first sentient humanoids in the Milky Way seeded their DNA across the galaxy, mixing it with local DNA. Klingons, therefore, developed partly from the indigenous prehistoric life on Qo'noS and partly from alien DNA. Little is known of the Klingons before the establishment of the Empire. Their religion states that the first Klingons destroyed the gods who created them. Klingon physiology with its redundancies and great strength is ideal for military operations. These characteristics suggest the Klingons were at one time a vassal race. 1st millennium The Klingon Empire was founded circa 900 AD on the Klingon homeworld of Qo'noS by Kahless the Unforgettable when he slew the tyrant, Molor. The Empire went through several dynasties of rulers, experiencing a period between the 2nd and 3rd known as the "Dark Time", a 10-year experiment in democracy. Around the 14th century, Qo'noS was invaded by the Hur'q, who pillaged many treasures, including the sword of Kahless. The Klingons eventually expelled the Hur'q, which is the Klingon word for "outsider", from their homeworld. According to "The Klingon Empire: A History in Brief", found in the official Star Trek Klingon Academy Cadet Manual (page 163), the Klingons gleaned their advanced technology from the invaders, and used it to expand their empire into space. If the Klingon designs were in fact stolen, and not developed on their own, this might explain why Klingon technology seems to advance so little during the ensuing centuries compared to other planets, such as Earth. It also explains how such a warlike and anti-intellectual civilization was able to develop warp drive, in that they reverse engineered it from the technology of an invading race. By 2069 the High Council was formed, eliminating the position of Emperor until 2369. 22nd century Around the early part of the 22nd century, the warrior class began exerting a greater influence throughout Klingon society, radically altering, notably, the justice system. In 2151, a faction in the Temporal Cold War from the 28th century attempted to alter the timeline by using the Suliban Cabal to incite unrest within the Klingon Empire. This resulted in the first contact between Klingons and Humans and sparked the first voyage of the Warp 5 vessel, ''Enterprise''. Concurrent with this mission, Enterprise communications officer Hoshi Sato became the first known human to learn the Klingon language. Although initially positive, the relationship between Starfleet and the Klingon Empire remained on shaky ground during the first few years of contact, with Enterprise being fired upon by a Klingon battle cruiser only a few weeks after the vessel's trip to the Klingon homeworld. By 2152-53, Captain Jonathan Archer had become a fugitive from Klingon justice, and at one point Enterprise destroyed a Klingon vessel carrying the then-head of the House of Duras who was pursuing the fugitive. The long-term fallout from this has yet to be revealed in canon, although the crew of Enterprise redeemed themselves somewhat in 2154 by helping the Empire stop the Augment Virus from becoming fatal. 23rd century Around 2218, relations between the Empire and the Federation degenerated substantially, with intense hostility lasting until 2293. In 2266, war between the Federation and Klingon Empire is stopped before it can begin by the interference of the Organians. The Organian Peace Treaty forced on both sides holds each to a non-aggression pact and an establishment of a neutral zone in which each side must nonviolently compete for trade agreements with any planets. The Organian influence, frequently mentioned during the original series, completely disappears in the movies, for reasons that have yet to be explained. In 2267 the Klingons and the Romulans forged a military alliance and the Klingons traded several D7 battlecruisers in exchange for cloaking technology. The basis for this alliance was grounded in real-world economics; the script called for a Romulan ship to appear, but the original Romulan ship model was not available so rather than go to the expense of building a new one, the Klingon D7 model was substituted. In 2293 the atmosphere of Qo'noS was contaminated when Praxis, one of its moons, and its primary mining facility, exploded. This event was a turning point in relations between the Klingons and the United Federation of Planets, as the Klingon Empire could not afford to maintain their excessive military activities and deal with this new problem (parallels with the breakdown of the Cold War, the nuclear catastrophe at Chernobyl, and the relationship between the United States and the cash-strapped former Soviet Union were obvious). Thus the two entered into an alliance which was maintained for many years until it was suspended for a couple of years after 2372 because of the Cardassian invasion. The resolution to the Qo'noS atmosphere issue is yet to be explained. Though a planet Qo'noS is shown to still be inhabited and still the Empire's seat of power well into the 24th Century, differences between both appearance and distance from Earth in various incarnations of Star Trek taking place both before and after this event may indicate the capital was moved to a new planet, maintaining the old name. It is, however, unclear whether this was in fact the intended implication, or merely the result of continuity errors. 24th century
Possible future The Klingons will not recover from the losses they suffered during the Dominion War until 2385, according to a 2375 estimate by Section 31. In Crewman Daniels' timeline, the Klingons join the Federation by about 2554. Alternate timelines A few episodes featuring alternate timelines have shown a variety of developments in Klingon history and politics. Klingon leadership See also | |||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||
 |
|
| |