Desiccation

Desiccation was the process of thoroughly drying an object. 
The process could be performed through thermolytic reaction, as was speculated to be the cause of death to a crewmember of the , discovered by Tom Paris in 2376. The officer was, in fact, attacked by a nucleogenic lifeform, which caused the desiccated every in their body. ()
Vacuum-desiccation was a common and intentional means to dispose of a Ferengi corpse as part of the Ferengi death ritual.
The process was completed almost immediately after death, which began with dismemberment of the body and resulted in a collection of fifty-two disks, marked with the Ferengi Seal of Dismemberment, and sold as a collectible in private sales or on the Ferengi Futures Exchange. ()
The status of the Ferengi in life determined the price set on a disk of their remains. 
For example, in 2369, the purported vacuum-desiccated remains of Grand Nagus Zek were selling for twenty s of latinum per disk. Nava was originally hesitant to pay that price but purchased a disk anyway when Krax promised him it would be worth twice as much in a year. ()
In 2370, Odo facetiously offered to buy a piece of Quark's vacuum-desiccated remains when he learned that Fallit Kot was bent on killing him. ()
The remains of Plegg, which Quark attempted to sell in 2370 for three strips of latinum per disk, were not as highly valued. They were also discovered to be frauds since Plegg was still alive. ()
When Nog sold off his boyhood treasures before leaving for Starfleet Academy in 2372, he had among his collection several disks of desiccated remains of notable Ferengi. ()
Later that year, Quark, after being misdiagnosed with Dorek Syndrome, auctioned his own remains on the Exchange where Brunt purchased the entire collection for five hundred s of latinum. ()
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Category:Chemistry
Category:Death
Category:Culture