Anyone have any ideas on "average" and maximum observed life spans for Klingons (and other major races, excluding known immortals)? Those Klingon codgers from TOS were at least as old as McCoy, but they looked a lot less frail. Does this indicate that Klingons live longer than humans? They also have redundant body systems. Vulcans, on the other hand, seem to live even longer than giant tortoises.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Assuming the "K Gang" was in their early-to-mid 30s in the 2260s, that puts Koloth & Kang around 140 (�5) in 2370, & Kor around 145 in 2375. Arne Darvin looked to be in his mid or late thirties, possibly early forties in 2267, & looked damned good 105 years later, so...
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
Makes sense Klingons would have a natural life-span given their redundant organs.
Of course, I would think any Klingon over thirty would be 'old.'
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
Yeah, they tend not to die of natural causes. Has ANY Klingon we've seen died of natural causes?
Posted by Masao (Member # 232) on :
Not unless a batleth to the head can be considered natural for a Klingon.
Come to think of it, dying of natural causes isn't nearly dramatic enough for any species. Off the top of my head, I can only think of Lal (maybe), Sarek, and Picard's "wife" in Inner Light.
Posted by Timo (Member # 245) on :
And even Sarek might have died in the prime of his life, stricken down by the Bendii syndrome. Other Vulcans might live to four hundred or longer for all we know.
Umm, did Curzon Dax die naturally?
As for the Klingon age estimates, one could speculate that the TOS Klingons weren't in their thirties at all. Given how fast Alexander has grown in TNG and DS9, and how Klingons tend to perform violent rites of passage at an early age, I wouldn't wonder if Kang was only fifteen when confronting Kirk in "Day of the Dove".
Alexander joined the Defence Force at the age of eight, it seems (with the body of what on Earth would be a relatively mature teenager). That would leave plenty of time for ambitious warriors to rise through the ranks before the age of fifteen or so.
Worf was rapidly graying at the age of, what, sixty, in "All Good Things...", so apparently some sort of decay sets in early. But after that initial graying, it indeed seems Klingons could live forever unless killed in battle. Which would explain their nasty attitudes - struggle for resources must be intense when there is so little "natural" relief to population growth.
Timo Saloniemi
Posted by Phelps (Member # 713) on :
Actually, I think it's a misconception that Alexander aged fast.
He could've been born either in 2360 (a year after Worf and K'Ehleyr were last together before "Emissary"), or 2366 (a year after "Emissary").
I read through the script of "Reunion" -- it makes any of these dates possible. What narrows it down is "New Ground", where Worf's adoptive mother makes comments about Alexander being just like Worf at his age (she knew Worf at the age of six and later), and where Worf tells Alexander he was younger than Alexander is now when Khitomer happened. That gives Alexander an age of seven at least.
Of course, we have the stardate of 43205 of his birth which can be disregarded like many other wrong stardates, and the statement that Alexander was three years old when K'Ehleyr died ("Firstborn" -- doesn't support *any* of the two birthdates, unless Klingon children are carried for years before being born, or Alexander is speaking about Klingon years, or simply misremembering).
A birth date of 2360 would make him 14 in the DS9 episode, which also fits.
[ December 07, 2001: Message edited by: Phelps ]
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
There's an audio book out voiced by Armin Shimmerman playing Quark (I think it's the rules of Acquisition on tape...) where he gives the natural lifespan of a Klingon and then makes some remark about them killing each other off before that. It was over a hundred years (like 180 or something) but I can't remember for sure.
It's not canon, just an interesting aside.
Posted by Grokca (Member # 722) on :
Guess it really depends on who they piss off.
Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
Two things:
I'm pretty sure that "Reunion" had a line that gave the distinct impression Alexander came about during the night on the holodeck from "The Emissary"
The memory is kinda faint here, but I think in the second DS9 episode with Kor, Odo, I think, had a line about "a drunken Klingon who must be about 150 years old" (I'm paraphrasing) in reference to Kor. Somebody care to chime in?
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
Yeah, I think Shik confirmed that Kor & Co. were in the range of 150 years.
As for 'Reunion', I don't remember it that well. I don't think they ever said anything in specific, tho.
Posted by Woodside Kid (Member # 699) on :
Odo says something to the effect of "There s a drunken Klingon, must be a hundred years old" singing the songs. That's the reference to Kor. The line about the 150 year old Klingon is talking about Koloth. I don't know the exact wording (can't find my copy of "Blood Oath"), but I do remember the sequence of references.
