Star Trek: Tribble-Related Conspiracy Theory

[The Durvin]

So...they reproduce incessantly, eat almost nothing, and Klingons are seriously allergic to them? That REALLY sounds like an anti-Klingon bio-weapon. It doesn't seem to be strong enough to kill them, but it distracts them really badly and leaves them unable to function--useful for both hand-to-hand combat and inter-ship warfare, if you can get them into the ventilation system. I know they've been mentioned as being originally from a certain planet, which the Klingons blew up, according to Worf on DS9...which seems a little extreme if they're just native fauna. Klingon society being honor-based, I'm a little surprised they would be willing to commit genocide against fuzzy puffballs, however allergenic they may be.

Okay, I'm done nerding out. Comments?

[Devonix]

So...they reproduce incessantly, eat almost nothing, and Klingons are seriously allergic to them? That REALLY sounds like an anti-Klingon bio-weapon. It doesn't seem to be strong enough to kill them, but it distracts them really badly and leaves them unable to function--useful for both hand-to-hand combat and inter-ship warfare, if you can get them into the ventilation system. I know they've been mentioned as being originally from a certain planet, which the Klingons blew up, according to Worf on DS9...which seems a little extreme if they're just native fauna. Klingon society being honor-based, I'm a little surprised they would be willing to commit genocide against fuzzy puffballs, however allergenic they may be.

Okay, I'm done nerding out. Comments?

You've gotten your info a bit wrong. Klingons aren't allergic to Tribbles. Tribbles have a natural aversion to Tribbles. The Klingons destroyed the Tribble homeworld because they are a dangerous animal. You get one tribble on a planet and allow it to go unchecked and it can destroy an entire ecosystem in a manner of months.

A handful of tribbles getting onto a ship can remove the entire ship of all food. Think of them as a highly dangerious self replicating locust swarm.

[Mando Knight]

Except adorable.

Info from the various TV series on tribbles is here (http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Tribble).

[razark]

...eat almost nothing...
If by "nothing" you mean "everything that they can get close enough to ingest", then yes.

[Mistral]

You've gotten your info a bit wrong. Klingons aren't allergic to Tribbles. Tribbles have a natural aversion to Tribbles. The Klingons destroyed the Tribble homeworld because they are a dangerous animal. You get one tribble on a planet and allow it to go unchecked and it can destroy an entire ecosystem in a manner of months.

A handful of tribbles getting onto a ship can remove the entire ship of all food. Think of them as a highly dangerious self replicating locust swarm.

It's mutual, actually, though it's not an allergy. Klingons hate tribbles just as much as tribbles hate Klingons. All evidence seems to suggest that they are natural, and that, as you say, the Klingons wiped them out because of that disgust and the ecological threat.

Best tribble trivia: in the TAS episode, all of the tribbles are bright pink, because no one realized that the animation director was colorblind.

[Worira]

Best tribble trivia: Tribbles are bisexual, reproducing at will.

[Gnoman]

It's mutual, actually, though it's not an allergy. Klingons hate tribbles just as much as tribbles hate Klingons. All evidence seems to suggest that they are natural, and that, as you say, the Klingons wiped them out because of that disgust and the ecological threat.

Best tribble trivia: in the TAS episode, all of the tribbles are bright pink, because no one realized that the animation director was colorblind.

That's the same reason why the Kzinti warship was pink.

[Mando Knight]

Best tribble trivia: Tribbles are bisexual, reproducing at will.

They aren't bisexual, they reproduce asexually. One tribble is all you need to restart the tribblepocalypse.

More tribble trivia: you can watch the TAS episode on CBS's website for free.

[Brother Oni]

It's mutual, actually, though it's not an allergy. Klingons hate tribbles just as much as tribbles hate Klingons.

According to the Memory Alpha site, it's because they can't stand the smell of each other.

However something I vaguely remember from The Trouble With Tribbles episode is that a tribble's shriek has an adverse reaction on the Klingon nervous system, similar to nails on a chalkboard.
Added to the loathing that Klingons have of any anything cute and fluffy, I'm not surprised they hunted tribbles down.

[Ravens_cry]

It was the logical thing to do.
I wonder what would happen if the Borg assimilated the Tribble?
They might assimilate the reproductive capability AND the cuteness.

[McStabbington]

According to the Memory Alpha site, it's because they can't stand the smell of each other.

However something I vaguely remember from The Trouble With Tribbles episode is that a tribble's shriek has an adverse reaction on the Klingon nervous system, similar to nails on a chalkboard.
Added to the loathing that Klingons have of any anything cute and fluffy, I'm not surprised they hunted tribbles down.

Well, the hearing is mutual too. When the Klingons gather together and sing songs of the Great Tribble Hunt, it makes quite a racket.

[Mando Knight]

It was the logical thing to do.
I wonder what would happen if the Borg assimilated the Tribble?
They might assimilate the reproductive capability AND the cuteness.

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRqxEeZ7jVoKhkd5Zx-XQBBkQd_OiJVDUahpBzIBmlCbNuKNOa5 (http://www.stowiki.org/Tribble_of_Borg)

I am... Tribble of Borg. Resistance... is futile. Your life as it has been... is over. Your replicators will service... us.

[Ravens_cry]

Not . . .as adorable as I was hoping for.

[The Durvin]

Sorry about all the factual errors; I was going off memory and Wikipedia.

But if the Borg assimilated Tribbles, I think they wouldn't treat them the way they do most bipeds, like they're just more bodies to absorb; the Borg have the capability to copy abilities found in host species, don't they? (Shouldn't they? Don't tell me Lego Genetics would break the suspension of disbelief!) It seems to me that the Borg would develop a new kind of drone based around the eat-everything-and-reproduce-infinitely Tribble, plus those gun-things that can instantly assimilate people (I'm going off memory again, but I'm pretty sure they did that in First Contact). Then they could begin infecting ships via spores instead of invasion, which sounds a lot more efficient to me.

[Nai_Calus]

I am horrified by this idea. And yet so very intrigued.

I have several toy tribbles. They have so far failed to breed, thankfully.