Death

Death was the permanent end of all life functions in a lifeform (or part of a lifeform in the case of tissue damage). It could also mean the absence of life or the state of being dead. Many cultures address this process as it applies to sentient beings in spiritual terms, including the holding of wakes, memorials, and funerals following the death of an individual. One who was in the process of dying was said to be on their deathbed. (, , ) Slang terms for death included "croak". ()
While being held hostage by a commando of the Andorian Imperial Guard in June 2151, Sub-commander T'Pol was told by the Andorian Tholos that he heard about Vulcan mating rituals and that Vulcan women force their men to fight each other to the death. He then asked her if she would like him to kill someone for her. ()
In 2365, Nagilum, in the guise of Data, asked Captain Jean-Luc Picard what death is. According to Picard, there are two contemporary philosophies. One is the belief that death is the transformation into an indestructible and unchanging form. According to this belief, the purpose of the entire universe is to then maintain that form in an afterlife in an Eden-like place. The other, contrary belief, is that death is simply blinking into nothingness. Picard himself believed that the existence of lifeforms is part of a reality beyond what is currently understood as reality and therefore both philosophies are insufficient. () In 2371, Harry Kim told Hatil Garan that an individual's fate after death was considered an unanswered question, despite the efforts of medical experts, philosophers, and theologians. ()
Death is sometimes perceived as an event common to all living things. In 2366, Captain Jean-Luc Picard used death and his mortality as a way to show Nuria and her people that he was no different than they were, and certainly not a god they named "the Picard". ()
According to Apollo, the race of the Greek gods was immortal, but also for them, there was a point of no return. As their species could alter their form, they could spread so thin that they would disappear from existence. Apollo poetically described this event as returning to the cosmos on the wings of the wind. Apollo was the last of the gods to die in 2267. () 
Sargon considered himself dead although his mind was stored and active in energy form inside a receptacle. He described the final destruction of his consciousness as departing to oblivion. ()
The Borg Collective considered death to be an irrelevant concept in their philosophy. () When a drone was damaged beyond repair, it was discarded. All of the drone's experiences and memories lived on inside the collective consciousness. This was considered immortality by the Borg. ()
Artificial lifeforms could cease functioning through induced self-destruction. ()
Death may also be seen as a personification, attributed to a single entity, figure, or symbol. In this form, Death is known by many names, one of the more common being the "Grim Reaper". In 2370, the encountered an alien probe that began to transform the Enterprise into an alien city, complete with hieroglyphic symbols, one of which was the symbol for Death (). In 2267, Lazarus equated his parallel universe counterpart as "Death" and "Anti-Life" (). Neelix (and possibly other Talaxians) also have a concept of a "specter of death" ().
In 2369, while explaining the nature of linear time to the Prophets, Commander Benjamin Sisko also explained the concept of death, stating that Jennifer Sisko was a most important part of his existence, but that he had "lost her some time ago." The Prophets, however, showed him that he spent much time in his mind dwelling on Jennifer's death, reliving his tragic experience on the , that he "existed" there, something that was most certainly not linear. ()
The scientists Dr. Bathkin and Dr. Elias Giger held unusual beliefs regarding death, believing that most if not all "natural deaths" were the result of cellular ennui, or the boredom of a body's s. This theory was generally held low regard by the general scientific establishment, which Giger derided as being "soulless minions of orthodoxy." ()
Many cultures considered death to be something welcomed, not feared. These included Klingons, whose culture put a high premium on honorable death, and the Vaadwaur, whose children were taught to fall asleep each night imagining different ways to die. () The Vhnori believed that death led to the next stage of an individual's existence, the Next Emanation, another dimension where the consciousness evolved to a higher level and the physical body was restored. As a result of these beliefs, it was common for Vhnori to choose to die due to unhappiness or to avoid becoming a burden to one's family in the event of infirmity. ()
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== Resuscitation ==
== Faking death ==
Faking one's death was a common tactic employed to gain some advantage. Reasons for faking one's death included:
*Espionage: In 2268, Kirk faked his death at the hands of Spock to 1) take on the alias of a Romulan following cosmetic surgery so he could steal a cloaking device, and 2) enable the Vulcan to distract to a Romulan commander. ()
*Framing: In 2267, Benjamin Finney faked his death at the hands of Kirk to punish the captain for causing his demotion. ()
*Testing another: In 2369, Grand Nagus Zek faked his own death by going into a Dolbargy sleeping trance and named Quark his successor in order to test his son Krax's fitness for the position. ()
There were also reasons for faking another person's death:
*Winning a fight: In 2267, McCoy faked Kirk's death during Spock's koon-ut-kal-if-fee to allow Spock to win the fight and free himself from any marital obligations to T'Pring. Instead of the tri-ox compound he was supposed to give Kirk, he administered a neural paralyzer instead, simulating death. The ruse fooled Spock. ()
*Greed: In 2366, noted and merchant Kivas Fajo had kidnapped Data for his own personal collection of rare and valuable objects, and had it appear that Data perished in a hytritium explosion. Fajo described Data as his "crown jewel" and "beyond comparison." ()
== After death ==
Something that happened after one's death was said to happen posthumously, such as the awarding of a medal. In an alternate timeline, Jake Sisko noted to Melanie that the benefit of publishing a work posthumously was that nobody could ask you for rewrites. ()
== Appendices ==
=== Quotes on Death ===
"He's dead, Jim."
:- Leonard McCoy (various)
"When you've lived as many lives as he (Spock Prime), fear of death is illogical." 
"Fear of death is what keeps us alive."''
:- and ()
"How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life…" 
: - James T. Kirk ()
"Today is a good day to die."
:- Worf (; )
"…this was the day that I lost Jennifer. I don't want to be here."
"Then why do you exist here?"
:- Benjamin Sisko and a Prophet in Jennifer's form, on a replication of the ()
=== Related topics ===
*After death
**Afterlife
**Autopsy
**Barge of the Dead
**Death certificate
**Death toll
**Morgue
**Obituary
**Resurrection
**Rigor mortis
**Stillborn
**Ceremonies
***Ak'voh
***Funeral and death rituals
***Resolution
***Wake
*Causes of death
**Allergic reaction
**Assassination
**Death penalty
**Death ray
**Death wish
**Decapitation
**Drowning
**Euthanasia
**Firing squad
**Hanging
**Kill setting
**Poison
**Purification squad
**Suicide
**Terellian Death Syndrome
**Vulcan death grip
*Casualty reports
**Casualty report
**Termination report
*Casualty lists
**Bajoran Militia casualties
**Civilian casualties
**MACO casualties
**Mirror universe casualties
**Starfleet casualties (22nd century | 23rd century | 24th century)
**Redshirt
*Other
**Immortality
**Star Trek deaths
=== Additional references ===
*Episodes:
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*Movies:
**Death in Arizona
**Orgy of the Walking Dead
*Novels:
**A Good Day to Die
**A Time to Die
**Dead Zone
**Death's Angel
**Death Count
**Death in Winter
**Death of a Neutron Star
**Spock Must Die!
**The Death of Princes
*Comics:
**Death of a Star
== External links ==
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de:Tod
Category:Death