In Wink of an Eye, the head Scalosian says there are only 5 of them left out of something like 900,000. Did the episode ever mention what happened to those other missing Scalosians? I sure don't recall any explanation, but.....
Did I Miss Something???
- Thread starter Spock's Barber
- Start date
The radiation around the planet caused the Scalosians to become sterile in addition to the hyperacceleration.
That's right. I remember now that they were going to use the Enterprise crew as breeding stock. But wouldn't it take decades for that large number of Scalosians to die off?
^ Okay. It's forgotten. Now where did I leave my car keys?
Damn Scalosians accelerated my car keys! 
That's right. If the 900,000 died off because they couldn't have babies, then the final five should have been super-elderly. I'll bet they were lying. They were just a contact team, and the planet's accelerated population was really there all along, enjoying life in the fast lane.
Or maybe the dialogue said something about volcanic disasters and radiation wiping out the masses. Not sure.
Either way, people living that fast would age and die off in weeks from our point of view, even though it seemed like a lifetime to them.
I always had the impression that the Scalosians themselves were not in that kind of danger, that they were hardier than the visitors lured in by their distress signal. That's why Rael was wildly aggressive in his attack on Kirk, who retreated because a scratch would kill him and only him.
Compton sure paid the price for his betrayal and the Scalosian woman he was promised!
JB
JB
I like how he still had his own kind of loyalty, in his own mind, anyway.
I never really thought about that.
Maybe thats the reason why Kirk didn't offer more Federation help.
By the time they got the paperwork sorted the last 5 Scalosians would be dead.
Instant old age. Okay, crewman Compton, you've had a busy day. Time for you to take your afternoon nap.
LOL. I love Wink of an Eye discussions, as it's my third or fourth-favorite episode and I think I actually may have the dialogue almost entirely memorized. The overall plotting issues don't bother me because of the heavy, thought-provoking sci-fi aspect. The dialogue is some of the best of the series, and the silent, invisible invasion of the Enterprise is the most effective and interesting takeover of the ship out of many.
Yes, Kor, if I was some junior-grade science lieutenant I might have called up to the bridge at episode's end and volunteered for Scalos Duty. You know, for research purposes only.
There is no question that only the "newly accelerated" are susceptible to cell damage. The Scalosians are not.
The episode avoids detailed discussion of the Scalosians' plight, another touch that makes it more mysterious IMO. Deela says that the planet suffered volcanic eruptions a long time ago, "in our history," which polluted the water and released radiation. The children all died, all of the men became sterile, and most of the women were barren (presumably verified by medical testing). The society then hatched the scheme of entrapping passing ships and using the men as breeding stock. She also says that she and her crew are handling the matter like "our parents and our parents before them." This implies, but does not necessarily mean, that Deela, Rael, the two male scientists and the unnamed (and quite attractive) female scientist whom we here cannot identify are themselves the product of alien-Scalosian breeding. In other words, there was a chance for a Kelvan-like solution to the problem, with Kirk convincing Deela that they were more alien now than Scalosian. I'm glad they didn't go in that direction even though the Scalosians arguably deserved better than Rojan and his brutal, cavalier murder of Yeoman Thompson.
I've always taken Rael's distress call at its word for some reason, probably because Spock's examination of the city seems to corroborate it in some respects and because Deela heavily implies that the invasion force is the last of the race, but it does seem likely that there were more than just five Scalosians in all.
If any of the novels, etc. ever went back to Scalos I would love to hear about it.
Instant old age. Okay, crewman Compton, you've had a busy day. Time for you to take your afternoon nap.
Strangely enough Compton was reborn into the Battlestar Galactica universe as the Warrior in the elevator who asked Cassiopea if she needed any company! And I think he died again too!
Ending up as frozen food for The Ovion insects!JB
The generic off-the-rack aliens bothered me the most. Lots of that in s3.
I always wondered how Kirk was able to have sex with her without damaging ANY of his cells? I've heard people joke about low impact sex but that would be ridiculous. Two bodies rubbing against each other is bound to damage some of Kirks cells.
Of course Deela liked Kirk and she might've taken special care not to "damage" him.
Of course Deela liked Kirk and she might've taken special care not to "damage" him.
Sitting down damages some of your cells.
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