From: ccoprdj@prism.gatech.EDU (Jorge Diaz)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.current
Subject: Re: Comments on DS9 "Emissary" **SPOILERS**
Date: 8 Jan 93 18:36:42 GMT
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology

>> Well, the original mind of the humanoid might meld with the Trill 
>> and form a single mind; [Stuff deleted]

This is what I believe.  I thought that both consciousnesses "melded"
into one.

>I've had problems with the Trill since first seeing "The Host."

OK, I've never seen The Host, but I'll comment anyway. :-)

>I didn't notice any reluctance by the replacement host in that 
>episode, but I was disturbed by the immediate and complete acceptance 
>of the slug by the crew and the consequent skirting of the ethical 
>and biological questions involved.  If no benefit is realized by the 
>humaniod hosts, then the slugs are not sybiots, but rather parasites 

Not quite true.

According to what I learned in biology, to be considered a parasite, the slug
would have to HARM the host.  There's another term for a relationship in
which one member benefits and the other does not.

However, based on dictionary definitions:

Parasitic describes a relationship in which one member lives off another while
contributing nothing to the survival of the host.

Symbiotic describes a relationship in which two more more organisms live in
close association that may or may not be of benefit to each.

So, there is a region of overlapping definitions, if the host gains nothing
through the relationship.

>and a transporter biofilter would do the right thing by 'curing' a host.

Not necessarily.  For example, a pregnant woman gains nothing from the
fetus growing inside her.  Would a transporter biofilter do the right
thing by "curing" her?

>Besides which, how could the symbiosis have begun naturally?  We've only 
>seen artificial linkings so far.

This is the part that bothers me.  It's possible that the symbiosis can
occur naturally, but is very painful (might even result in the death of
the host).  Again, take the example of a pregnant woman.  Years ago, childbirth
was often very painful and it was not uncommon for the mother to die during
childbirth.  Today, we have artificial methods to remove the child from the
womb.  That does not mean that it cannot happen naturally.

>If there is no natural symbiosis, how 
>was the artificial one discovered and implemented, and by whom?

See above.

>The 
>slugs seem not to have the necessary appendages to implant themselves, 
>and what host would think it possible, let alone chose to do so?  I 
>can't ignore them now, as I preferred to do previously.  So...

This I can't answer, because I've never seen one of the slugs outside a
host.


Now, as for *why* a host would do it:

If our theory is correct, that both consciousnesses become one through this
pairing, then I can see a benefit.  The host would join the consciousness
of the slug.  This would give him access to years and years of new experiences
and memories that he/she might never have experienced otherwise.  It also
gives him a much longer lifespan (he/she will live on in the slug, when the
slug takes on a new host).  If these things live for hundreds of years, this
might give many people the "immortality" they crave.

Just my $.02

-- 
Jorge Diaz                       | "I want you to remember, Clark... in all
Georgia Institute of Technology  |  the years to come, in your most private
Office of Information Technology |  moments...my hand at your throat.  I want
ccoprdj@prism.gatech.edu         |  you to remember the one man who beat you."
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