Why didn't Kirk mention Khan Noonien Singh when admonishing Dr. Korby

The name of the pictureThe name of the pictureThe name of the pictureClash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP





.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;







up vote
11
down vote

favorite












In the Star Trek episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" Kirk finds out that Dr. Korby wants to perfect humanity by replacing humans with androids. The two have the following exchange:




KORBY: What you saw was only a machine, only half of what I could've accomplished. Do you understand? By continuing the process I could've transferred you – your very consciousness – into that android. Your soul, if you wish. All of you. In android form, a human being can have practical immortality. Can you understand what I'm offering mankind?



KIRK: Programming. Different word, but the same old promises made by Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar, Hitler, Ferris, Maltuvis.




Why didn't Kirk mention Khan as part of this list? I'd assume that one of the most prominent figures of the Eugenics Wars – and one having been prominent more recently than the three non-fictional characters in the list – would be a prime example for Kirk, especially given how strongly characters associated with the Federation throughout the franchise react to ideas related to improving humanity through scientific augmentation – because of the Eugenics Wars.



Clearly, the character of Khan had not yet been invented by the time this episode was written, but I'm wondering if there's any in-universe explanation for this omission.




star-trek star-trek-tos eugenics




share|improve this question

















  • 2




    Interestingly, when Kirk first encounters Khan he doesn't react with visceral hatred; "KIRK: He was the best of the tyrants and the most dangerous." - More like grudging respect...
    – Valorum
    Aug 6 at 0:22






  • 6




    For the same reason that Picard didn't mention the Xindi attack in the same breath as "Pearl Harbor and Station Salem One".
    – Emsley Wyatt
    Aug 6 at 1:30










  • Ferris? Clearly, Ferris Bueller was quite a busy boy after his day off.
    – Harper
    2 days ago
















up vote
11
down vote

favorite












In the Star Trek episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" Kirk finds out that Dr. Korby wants to perfect humanity by replacing humans with androids. The two have the following exchange:




KORBY: What you saw was only a machine, only half of what I could've accomplished. Do you understand? By continuing the process I could've transferred you – your very consciousness – into that android. Your soul, if you wish. All of you. In android form, a human being can have practical immortality. Can you understand what I'm offering mankind?



KIRK: Programming. Different word, but the same old promises made by Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar, Hitler, Ferris, Maltuvis.




Why didn't Kirk mention Khan as part of this list? I'd assume that one of the most prominent figures of the Eugenics Wars – and one having been prominent more recently than the three non-fictional characters in the list – would be a prime example for Kirk, especially given how strongly characters associated with the Federation throughout the franchise react to ideas related to improving humanity through scientific augmentation – because of the Eugenics Wars.



Clearly, the character of Khan had not yet been invented by the time this episode was written, but I'm wondering if there's any in-universe explanation for this omission.




star-trek star-trek-tos eugenics




share|improve this question

















  • 2




    Interestingly, when Kirk first encounters Khan he doesn't react with visceral hatred; "KIRK: He was the best of the tyrants and the most dangerous." - More like grudging respect...
    – Valorum
    Aug 6 at 0:22






  • 6




    For the same reason that Picard didn't mention the Xindi attack in the same breath as "Pearl Harbor and Station Salem One".
    – Emsley Wyatt
    Aug 6 at 1:30










  • Ferris? Clearly, Ferris Bueller was quite a busy boy after his day off.
    – Harper
    2 days ago












up vote
11
down vote

favorite









up vote
11
down vote

favorite











In the Star Trek episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" Kirk finds out that Dr. Korby wants to perfect humanity by replacing humans with androids. The two have the following exchange:




KORBY: What you saw was only a machine, only half of what I could've accomplished. Do you understand? By continuing the process I could've transferred you – your very consciousness – into that android. Your soul, if you wish. All of you. In android form, a human being can have practical immortality. Can you understand what I'm offering mankind?



KIRK: Programming. Different word, but the same old promises made by Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar, Hitler, Ferris, Maltuvis.




Why didn't Kirk mention Khan as part of this list? I'd assume that one of the most prominent figures of the Eugenics Wars – and one having been prominent more recently than the three non-fictional characters in the list – would be a prime example for Kirk, especially given how strongly characters associated with the Federation throughout the franchise react to ideas related to improving humanity through scientific augmentation – because of the Eugenics Wars.



Clearly, the character of Khan had not yet been invented by the time this episode was written, but I'm wondering if there's any in-universe explanation for this omission.




star-trek star-trek-tos eugenics




share|improve this question













In the Star Trek episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" Kirk finds out that Dr. Korby wants to perfect humanity by replacing humans with androids. The two have the following exchange:




KORBY: What you saw was only a machine, only half of what I could've accomplished. Do you understand? By continuing the process I could've transferred you – your very consciousness – into that android. Your soul, if you wish. All of you. In android form, a human being can have practical immortality. Can you understand what I'm offering mankind?



KIRK: Programming. Different word, but the same old promises made by Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar, Hitler, Ferris, Maltuvis.




Why didn't Kirk mention Khan as part of this list? I'd assume that one of the most prominent figures of the Eugenics Wars – and one having been prominent more recently than the three non-fictional characters in the list – would be a prime example for Kirk, especially given how strongly characters associated with the Federation throughout the franchise react to ideas related to improving humanity through scientific augmentation – because of the Eugenics Wars.



Clearly, the character of Khan had not yet been invented by the time this episode was written, but I'm wondering if there's any in-universe explanation for this omission.





star-trek star-trek-tos eugenics





share|improve this question












share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Aug 6 at 1:15









Ham Sandwich

5,59622168




5,59622168









asked Aug 5 at 23:56









Wmbuch

9816




9816







  • 2




    Interestingly, when Kirk first encounters Khan he doesn't react with visceral hatred; "KIRK: He was the best of the tyrants and the most dangerous." - More like grudging respect...
    – Valorum
    Aug 6 at 0:22






  • 6




    For the same reason that Picard didn't mention the Xindi attack in the same breath as "Pearl Harbor and Station Salem One".
    – Emsley Wyatt
    Aug 6 at 1:30










  • Ferris? Clearly, Ferris Bueller was quite a busy boy after his day off.
    – Harper
    2 days ago












  • 2




    Interestingly, when Kirk first encounters Khan he doesn't react with visceral hatred; "KIRK: He was the best of the tyrants and the most dangerous." - More like grudging respect...
    – Valorum
    Aug 6 at 0:22






  • 6




    For the same reason that Picard didn't mention the Xindi attack in the same breath as "Pearl Harbor and Station Salem One".
    – Emsley Wyatt
    Aug 6 at 1:30










  • Ferris? Clearly, Ferris Bueller was quite a busy boy after his day off.
    – Harper
    2 days ago







2




2




Interestingly, when Kirk first encounters Khan he doesn't react with visceral hatred; "KIRK: He was the best of the tyrants and the most dangerous." - More like grudging respect...
– Valorum
Aug 6 at 0:22




Interestingly, when Kirk first encounters Khan he doesn't react with visceral hatred; "KIRK: He was the best of the tyrants and the most dangerous." - More like grudging respect...
– Valorum
Aug 6 at 0:22




6




6




For the same reason that Picard didn't mention the Xindi attack in the same breath as "Pearl Harbor and Station Salem One".
– Emsley Wyatt
Aug 6 at 1:30




For the same reason that Picard didn't mention the Xindi attack in the same breath as "Pearl Harbor and Station Salem One".
– Emsley Wyatt
Aug 6 at 1:30












Ferris? Clearly, Ferris Bueller was quite a busy boy after his day off.
– Harper
2 days ago




Ferris? Clearly, Ferris Bueller was quite a busy boy after his day off.
– Harper
2 days ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes

















up vote
25
down vote



accepted










Kirk didn't know who Khan was until he met him,



...which occurred after the events of "TOS: What are Little Girls Made Of?" - Kirk had only a vague understanding of the events of the late 90's Eugenics Wars, none of the specifics relating to Khan. Kirk did not recognize Khan on sight, nor his name.



From the transcript of the episode "Space Seed":




KIRK: This Khan is not what I expected of a twentieth century man.



SPOCK: I note he's making considerable use of our technical library.



KIRK: Common courtesy, Mister Spock. He'll spend the rest of his days
in our time. It's only decent to help him catch up. Would you estimate
him to be a product of selective breeding?



SPOCK: There is that
possibility, Captain. His age would be correct. In 1993, a group of
these young supermen did seize power simultaneously in over forty
nations.



KIRK: Well, they were hardly supermen. They were aggressive,
arrogant. They began to battle among themselves.



SPOCK: Because the
scientists overlooked one fact. Superior ability breeds superior
ambition.



KIRK: Interesting, if true. They created a group of
Alexanders, Napoleons.



SPOCK: I have collected some names and made
some counts. By my estimate, there were some eighty or ninety of these
young supermen unaccounted for when they were finally defeated.



KIRK: That fact isn't in the history texts.




Later, after Spock reviews the historical files, Kirk and the officers have a discussion about the history of Khan, seemingly after reading up on him, in which the officers seem to have some manner of understanding of the history, but clearly neither Kirk nor knew enough of Khan to recognize him on sight, which would seem to imply that Khan wasn't well known enough (or on the top of his mind) to categorize at the time w/ those other dictators)






share|improve this answer























  • Well, when they made the movie of Khan's life he was portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch so that's what they visualized him as looking like. Seriously, it has been said that records of the time were fragmentary. And if you want to factor in Greg Cox's books (and I really want to), Khan ruled mostly from "behind the scenes".
    – Emsley Wyatt
    Aug 6 at 20:06

















up vote
11
down vote













Khan was no Kodos



In 2246 — twenty years before the events of TOS season one — thirteen-year-old James Kirk was on Tarsus IV when Governor Kodos ordered the deaths of four thousand people (half the population of the colony):




"The revolution is successful. But survival depends on drastic measures. Your continued existence represents a threat to the well-being of society. Your lives mean slow death to the more valued members of the colony. Therefore, I have no alternative but to sentence you to death. Your execution is so ordered, signed Kodos, Governor of Tarsus IV."



– Kodos, "The Conscience of the King" (TOS 1x12; 13th in order of production)




This childhood experience with the genocide of Tarsus IV's so-called less worthy population — and the resulting survivors' guilt — must have set the standard (in terms of deaths caused) for how the adult Kirk would evaluate tyrants.



Khan, compared to Kodos, apparently didn't cause that sort of harm on that scale:




"There were no massacres under [Khan's] rule."



— Scotty, "Space Seed" (TOS 1x24; 25th in order of production) ; quote from chakoteya.net transcript




"What Are Little Girls Made Of?" (TOS 1x09; 10th in order of production) may have been produced with Kirk's "The Conscience of the King" experience in mind; the two episodes were in development around the same time, much earlier than "Space Seed".






share|improve this answer



















  • 3




    why didn't he mention Kodos then either? ;)
    – NKCampbell
    Aug 6 at 3:45






  • 7




    @NKCampbell - He probably wouldn't want to talk about that due to survivor's guilt and PTSD, I'd expect.
    – Gaultheria
    Aug 6 at 3:54







  • 1




    lol - well played!
    – NKCampbell
    Aug 6 at 4:32






  • 5




    I'm sure that I'm not the only one who first read the intro as "Kang was no Kodos".
    – Spencer
    Aug 6 at 10:58











  • Kodos wasn't trying to create perfect humans, he was simply deciding who would live/die during a famine.
    – Arluin
    Aug 6 at 21:04










Your Answer







StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "186"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);

else
createEditor();

);

function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: false,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);



);








 

draft saved


draft discarded


















StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fscifi.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f192366%2fwhy-didnt-kirk-mention-khan-noonien-singh-when-admonishing-dr-korby%23new-answer', 'question_page');

);

Post as a guest

















2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes








up vote
25
down vote



accepted










Kirk didn't know who Khan was until he met him,



...which occurred after the events of "TOS: What are Little Girls Made Of?" - Kirk had only a vague understanding of the events of the late 90's Eugenics Wars, none of the specifics relating to Khan. Kirk did not recognize Khan on sight, nor his name.



From the transcript of the episode "Space Seed":




KIRK: This Khan is not what I expected of a twentieth century man.



SPOCK: I note he's making considerable use of our technical library.



KIRK: Common courtesy, Mister Spock. He'll spend the rest of his days
in our time. It's only decent to help him catch up. Would you estimate
him to be a product of selective breeding?



SPOCK: There is that
possibility, Captain. His age would be correct. In 1993, a group of
these young supermen did seize power simultaneously in over forty
nations.



KIRK: Well, they were hardly supermen. They were aggressive,
arrogant. They began to battle among themselves.



SPOCK: Because the
scientists overlooked one fact. Superior ability breeds superior
ambition.



KIRK: Interesting, if true. They created a group of
Alexanders, Napoleons.



SPOCK: I have collected some names and made
some counts. By my estimate, there were some eighty or ninety of these
young supermen unaccounted for when they were finally defeated.



KIRK: That fact isn't in the history texts.




Later, after Spock reviews the historical files, Kirk and the officers have a discussion about the history of Khan, seemingly after reading up on him, in which the officers seem to have some manner of understanding of the history, but clearly neither Kirk nor knew enough of Khan to recognize him on sight, which would seem to imply that Khan wasn't well known enough (or on the top of his mind) to categorize at the time w/ those other dictators)






share|improve this answer























  • Well, when they made the movie of Khan's life he was portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch so that's what they visualized him as looking like. Seriously, it has been said that records of the time were fragmentary. And if you want to factor in Greg Cox's books (and I really want to), Khan ruled mostly from "behind the scenes".
    – Emsley Wyatt
    Aug 6 at 20:06














up vote
25
down vote



accepted










Kirk didn't know who Khan was until he met him,



...which occurred after the events of "TOS: What are Little Girls Made Of?" - Kirk had only a vague understanding of the events of the late 90's Eugenics Wars, none of the specifics relating to Khan. Kirk did not recognize Khan on sight, nor his name.



From the transcript of the episode "Space Seed":




KIRK: This Khan is not what I expected of a twentieth century man.



SPOCK: I note he's making considerable use of our technical library.



KIRK: Common courtesy, Mister Spock. He'll spend the rest of his days
in our time. It's only decent to help him catch up. Would you estimate
him to be a product of selective breeding?



SPOCK: There is that
possibility, Captain. His age would be correct. In 1993, a group of
these young supermen did seize power simultaneously in over forty
nations.



KIRK: Well, they were hardly supermen. They were aggressive,
arrogant. They began to battle among themselves.



SPOCK: Because the
scientists overlooked one fact. Superior ability breeds superior
ambition.



KIRK: Interesting, if true. They created a group of
Alexanders, Napoleons.



SPOCK: I have collected some names and made
some counts. By my estimate, there were some eighty or ninety of these
young supermen unaccounted for when they were finally defeated.



KIRK: That fact isn't in the history texts.




Later, after Spock reviews the historical files, Kirk and the officers have a discussion about the history of Khan, seemingly after reading up on him, in which the officers seem to have some manner of understanding of the history, but clearly neither Kirk nor knew enough of Khan to recognize him on sight, which would seem to imply that Khan wasn't well known enough (or on the top of his mind) to categorize at the time w/ those other dictators)






share|improve this answer























  • Well, when they made the movie of Khan's life he was portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch so that's what they visualized him as looking like. Seriously, it has been said that records of the time were fragmentary. And if you want to factor in Greg Cox's books (and I really want to), Khan ruled mostly from "behind the scenes".
    – Emsley Wyatt
    Aug 6 at 20:06












up vote
25
down vote



accepted







up vote
25
down vote



accepted






Kirk didn't know who Khan was until he met him,



...which occurred after the events of "TOS: What are Little Girls Made Of?" - Kirk had only a vague understanding of the events of the late 90's Eugenics Wars, none of the specifics relating to Khan. Kirk did not recognize Khan on sight, nor his name.



From the transcript of the episode "Space Seed":




KIRK: This Khan is not what I expected of a twentieth century man.



SPOCK: I note he's making considerable use of our technical library.



KIRK: Common courtesy, Mister Spock. He'll spend the rest of his days
in our time. It's only decent to help him catch up. Would you estimate
him to be a product of selective breeding?



SPOCK: There is that
possibility, Captain. His age would be correct. In 1993, a group of
these young supermen did seize power simultaneously in over forty
nations.



KIRK: Well, they were hardly supermen. They were aggressive,
arrogant. They began to battle among themselves.



SPOCK: Because the
scientists overlooked one fact. Superior ability breeds superior
ambition.



KIRK: Interesting, if true. They created a group of
Alexanders, Napoleons.



SPOCK: I have collected some names and made
some counts. By my estimate, there were some eighty or ninety of these
young supermen unaccounted for when they were finally defeated.



KIRK: That fact isn't in the history texts.




Later, after Spock reviews the historical files, Kirk and the officers have a discussion about the history of Khan, seemingly after reading up on him, in which the officers seem to have some manner of understanding of the history, but clearly neither Kirk nor knew enough of Khan to recognize him on sight, which would seem to imply that Khan wasn't well known enough (or on the top of his mind) to categorize at the time w/ those other dictators)






share|improve this answer















Kirk didn't know who Khan was until he met him,



...which occurred after the events of "TOS: What are Little Girls Made Of?" - Kirk had only a vague understanding of the events of the late 90's Eugenics Wars, none of the specifics relating to Khan. Kirk did not recognize Khan on sight, nor his name.



From the transcript of the episode "Space Seed":




KIRK: This Khan is not what I expected of a twentieth century man.



SPOCK: I note he's making considerable use of our technical library.



KIRK: Common courtesy, Mister Spock. He'll spend the rest of his days
in our time. It's only decent to help him catch up. Would you estimate
him to be a product of selective breeding?



SPOCK: There is that
possibility, Captain. His age would be correct. In 1993, a group of
these young supermen did seize power simultaneously in over forty
nations.



KIRK: Well, they were hardly supermen. They were aggressive,
arrogant. They began to battle among themselves.



SPOCK: Because the
scientists overlooked one fact. Superior ability breeds superior
ambition.



KIRK: Interesting, if true. They created a group of
Alexanders, Napoleons.



SPOCK: I have collected some names and made
some counts. By my estimate, there were some eighty or ninety of these
young supermen unaccounted for when they were finally defeated.



KIRK: That fact isn't in the history texts.




Later, after Spock reviews the historical files, Kirk and the officers have a discussion about the history of Khan, seemingly after reading up on him, in which the officers seem to have some manner of understanding of the history, but clearly neither Kirk nor knew enough of Khan to recognize him on sight, which would seem to imply that Khan wasn't well known enough (or on the top of his mind) to categorize at the time w/ those other dictators)







share|improve this answer















share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited Aug 6 at 13:42


























answered Aug 6 at 2:07









NKCampbell

25.2k790136




25.2k790136











  • Well, when they made the movie of Khan's life he was portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch so that's what they visualized him as looking like. Seriously, it has been said that records of the time were fragmentary. And if you want to factor in Greg Cox's books (and I really want to), Khan ruled mostly from "behind the scenes".
    – Emsley Wyatt
    Aug 6 at 20:06
















  • Well, when they made the movie of Khan's life he was portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch so that's what they visualized him as looking like. Seriously, it has been said that records of the time were fragmentary. And if you want to factor in Greg Cox's books (and I really want to), Khan ruled mostly from "behind the scenes".
    – Emsley Wyatt
    Aug 6 at 20:06















Well, when they made the movie of Khan's life he was portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch so that's what they visualized him as looking like. Seriously, it has been said that records of the time were fragmentary. And if you want to factor in Greg Cox's books (and I really want to), Khan ruled mostly from "behind the scenes".
– Emsley Wyatt
Aug 6 at 20:06




Well, when they made the movie of Khan's life he was portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch so that's what they visualized him as looking like. Seriously, it has been said that records of the time were fragmentary. And if you want to factor in Greg Cox's books (and I really want to), Khan ruled mostly from "behind the scenes".
– Emsley Wyatt
Aug 6 at 20:06












up vote
11
down vote













Khan was no Kodos



In 2246 — twenty years before the events of TOS season one — thirteen-year-old James Kirk was on Tarsus IV when Governor Kodos ordered the deaths of four thousand people (half the population of the colony):




"The revolution is successful. But survival depends on drastic measures. Your continued existence represents a threat to the well-being of society. Your lives mean slow death to the more valued members of the colony. Therefore, I have no alternative but to sentence you to death. Your execution is so ordered, signed Kodos, Governor of Tarsus IV."



– Kodos, "The Conscience of the King" (TOS 1x12; 13th in order of production)




This childhood experience with the genocide of Tarsus IV's so-called less worthy population — and the resulting survivors' guilt — must have set the standard (in terms of deaths caused) for how the adult Kirk would evaluate tyrants.



Khan, compared to Kodos, apparently didn't cause that sort of harm on that scale:




"There were no massacres under [Khan's] rule."



— Scotty, "Space Seed" (TOS 1x24; 25th in order of production) ; quote from chakoteya.net transcript




"What Are Little Girls Made Of?" (TOS 1x09; 10th in order of production) may have been produced with Kirk's "The Conscience of the King" experience in mind; the two episodes were in development around the same time, much earlier than "Space Seed".






share|improve this answer



















  • 3




    why didn't he mention Kodos then either? ;)
    – NKCampbell
    Aug 6 at 3:45






  • 7




    @NKCampbell - He probably wouldn't want to talk about that due to survivor's guilt and PTSD, I'd expect.
    – Gaultheria
    Aug 6 at 3:54







  • 1




    lol - well played!
    – NKCampbell
    Aug 6 at 4:32






  • 5




    I'm sure that I'm not the only one who first read the intro as "Kang was no Kodos".
    – Spencer
    Aug 6 at 10:58











  • Kodos wasn't trying to create perfect humans, he was simply deciding who would live/die during a famine.
    – Arluin
    Aug 6 at 21:04














up vote
11
down vote













Khan was no Kodos



In 2246 — twenty years before the events of TOS season one — thirteen-year-old James Kirk was on Tarsus IV when Governor Kodos ordered the deaths of four thousand people (half the population of the colony):




"The revolution is successful. But survival depends on drastic measures. Your continued existence represents a threat to the well-being of society. Your lives mean slow death to the more valued members of the colony. Therefore, I have no alternative but to sentence you to death. Your execution is so ordered, signed Kodos, Governor of Tarsus IV."



– Kodos, "The Conscience of the King" (TOS 1x12; 13th in order of production)




This childhood experience with the genocide of Tarsus IV's so-called less worthy population — and the resulting survivors' guilt — must have set the standard (in terms of deaths caused) for how the adult Kirk would evaluate tyrants.



Khan, compared to Kodos, apparently didn't cause that sort of harm on that scale:




"There were no massacres under [Khan's] rule."



— Scotty, "Space Seed" (TOS 1x24; 25th in order of production) ; quote from chakoteya.net transcript




"What Are Little Girls Made Of?" (TOS 1x09; 10th in order of production) may have been produced with Kirk's "The Conscience of the King" experience in mind; the two episodes were in development around the same time, much earlier than "Space Seed".






share|improve this answer



















  • 3




    why didn't he mention Kodos then either? ;)
    – NKCampbell
    Aug 6 at 3:45






  • 7




    @NKCampbell - He probably wouldn't want to talk about that due to survivor's guilt and PTSD, I'd expect.
    – Gaultheria
    Aug 6 at 3:54







  • 1




    lol - well played!
    – NKCampbell
    Aug 6 at 4:32






  • 5




    I'm sure that I'm not the only one who first read the intro as "Kang was no Kodos".
    – Spencer
    Aug 6 at 10:58











  • Kodos wasn't trying to create perfect humans, he was simply deciding who would live/die during a famine.
    – Arluin
    Aug 6 at 21:04












up vote
11
down vote










up vote
11
down vote









Khan was no Kodos



In 2246 — twenty years before the events of TOS season one — thirteen-year-old James Kirk was on Tarsus IV when Governor Kodos ordered the deaths of four thousand people (half the population of the colony):




"The revolution is successful. But survival depends on drastic measures. Your continued existence represents a threat to the well-being of society. Your lives mean slow death to the more valued members of the colony. Therefore, I have no alternative but to sentence you to death. Your execution is so ordered, signed Kodos, Governor of Tarsus IV."



– Kodos, "The Conscience of the King" (TOS 1x12; 13th in order of production)




This childhood experience with the genocide of Tarsus IV's so-called less worthy population — and the resulting survivors' guilt — must have set the standard (in terms of deaths caused) for how the adult Kirk would evaluate tyrants.



Khan, compared to Kodos, apparently didn't cause that sort of harm on that scale:




"There were no massacres under [Khan's] rule."



— Scotty, "Space Seed" (TOS 1x24; 25th in order of production) ; quote from chakoteya.net transcript




"What Are Little Girls Made Of?" (TOS 1x09; 10th in order of production) may have been produced with Kirk's "The Conscience of the King" experience in mind; the two episodes were in development around the same time, much earlier than "Space Seed".






share|improve this answer















Khan was no Kodos



In 2246 — twenty years before the events of TOS season one — thirteen-year-old James Kirk was on Tarsus IV when Governor Kodos ordered the deaths of four thousand people (half the population of the colony):




"The revolution is successful. But survival depends on drastic measures. Your continued existence represents a threat to the well-being of society. Your lives mean slow death to the more valued members of the colony. Therefore, I have no alternative but to sentence you to death. Your execution is so ordered, signed Kodos, Governor of Tarsus IV."



– Kodos, "The Conscience of the King" (TOS 1x12; 13th in order of production)




This childhood experience with the genocide of Tarsus IV's so-called less worthy population — and the resulting survivors' guilt — must have set the standard (in terms of deaths caused) for how the adult Kirk would evaluate tyrants.



Khan, compared to Kodos, apparently didn't cause that sort of harm on that scale:




"There were no massacres under [Khan's] rule."



— Scotty, "Space Seed" (TOS 1x24; 25th in order of production) ; quote from chakoteya.net transcript




"What Are Little Girls Made Of?" (TOS 1x09; 10th in order of production) may have been produced with Kirk's "The Conscience of the King" experience in mind; the two episodes were in development around the same time, much earlier than "Space Seed".







share|improve this answer















share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited Aug 6 at 2:27


























answered Aug 6 at 2:12









Gaultheria

7,40811844




7,40811844







  • 3




    why didn't he mention Kodos then either? ;)
    – NKCampbell
    Aug 6 at 3:45






  • 7




    @NKCampbell - He probably wouldn't want to talk about that due to survivor's guilt and PTSD, I'd expect.
    – Gaultheria
    Aug 6 at 3:54







  • 1




    lol - well played!
    – NKCampbell
    Aug 6 at 4:32






  • 5




    I'm sure that I'm not the only one who first read the intro as "Kang was no Kodos".
    – Spencer
    Aug 6 at 10:58











  • Kodos wasn't trying to create perfect humans, he was simply deciding who would live/die during a famine.
    – Arluin
    Aug 6 at 21:04












  • 3




    why didn't he mention Kodos then either? ;)
    – NKCampbell
    Aug 6 at 3:45






  • 7




    @NKCampbell - He probably wouldn't want to talk about that due to survivor's guilt and PTSD, I'd expect.
    – Gaultheria
    Aug 6 at 3:54







  • 1




    lol - well played!
    – NKCampbell
    Aug 6 at 4:32






  • 5




    I'm sure that I'm not the only one who first read the intro as "Kang was no Kodos".
    – Spencer
    Aug 6 at 10:58











  • Kodos wasn't trying to create perfect humans, he was simply deciding who would live/die during a famine.
    – Arluin
    Aug 6 at 21:04







3




3




why didn't he mention Kodos then either? ;)
– NKCampbell
Aug 6 at 3:45




why didn't he mention Kodos then either? ;)
– NKCampbell
Aug 6 at 3:45




7




7




@NKCampbell - He probably wouldn't want to talk about that due to survivor's guilt and PTSD, I'd expect.
– Gaultheria
Aug 6 at 3:54





@NKCampbell - He probably wouldn't want to talk about that due to survivor's guilt and PTSD, I'd expect.
– Gaultheria
Aug 6 at 3:54





1




1




lol - well played!
– NKCampbell
Aug 6 at 4:32




lol - well played!
– NKCampbell
Aug 6 at 4:32




5




5




I'm sure that I'm not the only one who first read the intro as "Kang was no Kodos".
– Spencer
Aug 6 at 10:58





I'm sure that I'm not the only one who first read the intro as "Kang was no Kodos".
– Spencer
Aug 6 at 10:58













Kodos wasn't trying to create perfect humans, he was simply deciding who would live/die during a famine.
– Arluin
Aug 6 at 21:04




Kodos wasn't trying to create perfect humans, he was simply deciding who would live/die during a famine.
– Arluin
Aug 6 at 21:04












 

draft saved


draft discarded


























 


draft saved


draft discarded














StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fscifi.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f192366%2fwhy-didnt-kirk-mention-khan-noonien-singh-when-admonishing-dr-korby%23new-answer', 'question_page');

);

Post as a guest
































































Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is the equation of a 3D cone with generalised tilt?

Image
Clash Royale CLAN TAG #URR8PPP up vote 2 down vote favorite What is the equation of a 3D cone with generalized tilt? I've noticed that in most equations given to represent a cone, there is no parameter which defines the tilt of the cone in 3D space and that most of them have their point at the origin $(0,0,0)$ - I was wondering if anyone could give me a more generalized cone equation for a cone in any position in 3D space 3d share | cite | improve this question edited Jul 25 '16 at 0:05 ervx 9,425 3 13 36 asked Jul 24 '16 at 15:38 Charlene 11 2 2 Welcome to Math.SE! Could you please explain a few things to help people give an answer useful to you: 1. What do you mean by "generalized tilt"? 2. Are you asking about a right circular cone? Does the angle at the vertex matter? 3. What form of answer (implicit, parametric...?) are you looking for? 4. If this is homework, what tools do you have available, an...
Read more

Color the edges and diagonals of a regular polygon

Image
Clash Royale CLAN TAG #URR8PPP up vote 5 down vote favorite 1 Here is the problem: For what $n$ is it possible to color the edges and diagonals of an $n$-side regular polygon with $dfracbinomn23$ colors, such that you use every color exactly three times and for every color the three segments (edges or diagonals) with that color form a triangle? Trivially $nequiv 0 text or 1 pmod3$. I can also prove that if the statement is true for $k$ than it is true for $3k$ as well. How to finish? Please help! Thanks combinatorial-geometry share | cite | improve this question edited Aug 6 at 21:57 alcana 118 4 asked Aug 6 at 21:15 Leo Gardner 356 11 Even assuming "polyhpn" in the title is a typo for polygon , it is unclear what you mean by "the edges and sides". Aren't the side of a regular polygon the same as the edges? A regular $n$-sided polygon has $n$ edges. – hardmath Aug 6 at 21:20 3 $n$ ne...
Read more

Relationship between determinant of matrix and determinant of adjoint?

Image
Clash Royale CLAN TAG #URR8PPP up vote 2 down vote favorite We are studying adjoints in class, and I was curious if there is a relationship between the determinant of matrix A, and the determinant of the adjoint of matrix A? I assume there would be a relationship because finding the adjoint requires creating a cofactor matrix and then transposing it. linear-algebra determinant adjoint-operators share | cite | improve this question asked Nov 17 '17 at 17:32 CluelessCoder 32 5 For a square matrix $A$ of order $n$, we have $A(operatornameadj A)=(operatornameadj A)A=|A|I_n$ where $I_n$ is the identity matrix of order $n$. This should tell you about the determinant of the adjoint in terms of that of $A$ (use multiplicative property and other elementary properties of determinants). – Prasun Biswas Nov 17 '17 at 17:35 1 @CluelessCoder: see here: math.stackexchange.com/questions/516127/…...
Read more