Did We Ever See The Real Remmick

[USS Excelsior]

Since the conspiracy parasites were already moving cautiously for many months and their presence in the Federation is what prompted the Enterprise investigation in the first place then Remmick must have had the mother creature infested in him all along and would have been in charge of the investigation of what his species prompted in the first place.

 

[matthunter]

It puts a new spin on Remmick's line at the end of his first episode, where he hopes Picard can forgive him the adversarial grilling of the crew and expresses a desire to serve on the Enterprise one day... if that's the parasite, it could have infected the flagship if Picard had been in a more charitable mood...

 

[Vger23]

I always believed the Remmick from "Coming of Age" was the real deal. I figured that the parasites found out that Quinn and Remmick were on to them, and made it a priority to body-snatch them between that episode and "Conspiracy "

 

[matthunter]

I always believed the Remmick from "Coming of Age" was the real deal. I figured that the parasites found out that Quinn and Remmick were on to them, and made it a priority to body-snatch them between that episode and "Conspiracy "

It seems a little odd that Remmick was chosen for the "queen" parasite though, if they were already entrenched. And, if they weren't, why not have the queen use Quinn? Unless the queen can swap hosts and decided Remmick was a better choice due to the "man behind the man" aspect?

 

[Farscape One]

It does makes sense for Remmick to be the host of the queen.

He was the one collecting the data, asking all the questions, doing the actual work. It's easy for him to alter any data or evidence in the middle of the investigations so anyone above him reading those reports will find no issues, and therefore no cause to do anything. If the facts are presented as having a clean record, it's hard to ask more questions or go further. But if a sweep finds problems and a higher up still ignores it, that means someone else could potentially take the mantle of parasite hunting.

Putting it simply, it's far easier to cover up things during the investigation than after the investigation.

I think it's very possible Remmick was taken over by the parasite the entire time. Also explains his final line to Picard about wanting to serve there.

(Plus, Remmick is a better hiding spot than an admiral. An admiral is much more high profile and more prone to scrutiny. Remmick was a Lt. Cmdr. High enough to do a lot of things, but low enough to not really be scrutinized.)

 

[Vger23]

This was such a great arc. I wish "Conspiracy" had been a longer (2 pt) episode, or that they had followed-up in the 2nd season.

 

[somebuddyX]

I think if the original premise of Conspiracy had gone ahead then Remmick would never have been an alien and so wasn't one when Coming of Age was being made. In the aired episode and in-universe I think it happened after Coming of Age.

 

[Timo]

What does it entail, being Host to Queen? We don't really learn that Remmick in "Conspiracy" would be pulling any strings. Instead, he's barely ambulatory when performing the one apparent Queen Task, and acts as a bellhop the rest of the time. He even bows to Quinn's superiority when beaming him up to the Enterprise, despite there being no witnesses there.

We never learn who would have been the brains of the outfit. Although considering how this piece, originally conceived as a Maquis type conspiracy but then mutated into Body Snatchers, was further to blend in with the insectoid adversaries storyline that in turn became the Borg, we might speculate that the bugs here thought collectively and had no particular leader figure, neither on the spot nor standing by with the invasion fleet.

Might explain their downfall, too. Collective planning doesn't serve you too well if you become mute and deaf the moment you are inserted into a host!

Timo Saloniemi

 

[JediKnightButler]

Interesting thought. Not really sure there is significant evidence either way- or if the writers were planting seeds that Remmick was already compromised- although he didn't seem to be playing it that way. It just seemed like they were playing him up as an unlikable jerk, at least until the end. I think that it's more likely that he (and Quinn) got compromised between COA and CON

 

[trekshark]

I always believed the Remmick from "Coming of Age" was the real deal. I figured that the parasites found out that Quinn and Remmick were on to them, and made it a priority to body-snatch them between that episode and "Conspiracy "

I recently saw the last half of coming of age on tv and got to thinking about Quinn and Remmick. I think they were still themselves the first time we see them and the parasites caught wind of what they were up to and then infected them

 

[amp]

And Remmick's statement at the end of "Coming of Age" that he wants to serve on the Enterprise after he leaves the Inspector General's office can go both ways. Was he just an ambitious up-and-coming officer on the lookout for another prestigious assignment? Or, was he already compromised and trying to infect the crew of the Federation flagship?

 

[Eckauskas]

He was definitely infected for Coming of Age. There's no reason for him to have been taken over by the Queen in between this and Conspiracy.

I'm disappointed they never revisited these parasites, especially when they left it open with Datas line about the possibility of a homing beacon being transmitted. Even in a later series, there's potential for that to become a storyline.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

IMHO, Remmick had not yet been compromised when "Coming of Age" took place. I see no indication that he was anything other than what we saw: a dedicated investigator, doing his job.

And that's probably what made him a target.

Also, I think he was genuinely sincere in wanting to serve aboard the Enterprise after his tour of duty in the Inspector General's office. I really do think Remmick felt guilty about having to relentlessly grill the crew, and so he wanted to make amends for that.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

What "trekshark" and "Mr. Laser Beam" said.

 

[Mudd]

In the process of revising "Conspiracy" I imagine that Torme picked up on the Remmick line from the earlier episode and used it as a jumping-off place for the character's involvement. It may not have been Sandy Fries' or Shearer's intention to foreshadow Remmick's involvement, but the line became that in the later context.

I wonder if anyone has ever asked either of them if it was their intention that Remmick be involved in the original concept for "Conspiracy?"

 

[Timo]

I'm disappointed they never revisited these parasites, especially when they left it open with Datas line about the possibility of a homing beacon being transmitted. Even in a later series, there's potential for that to become a storyline.

And here I must again mount my hobby-horse and declare that Data was quite seriously mistaken about that signal.

No, it's not a homing beacon: these critters already very well know where Earth is. And their feared invasion fleet was in no way harmed by Picard and Riker's gunning down of the advance party; even if the main hive of the monsters is far away, it's up to that fleet to tell them where to find the big fat prey.

And no, it's not a signal saying "Come here". It's a signal saying "Remember that bit where we invited you? Forget about that. We totally blew it. In fact, turn tail and flee, right now, because these folks now know where you are. And they shoot to kill.".

The invaders were already on their way in. They had this grand plan where manipulation of key decisionmakers would open an invasion corridor for a very brief while. They could hope to hold the bridgehead for the "quiet weekend" they spoke of, and then it would be all over, one way or another. Now it was over in that less desirable way, and the Remmick creature thus had to send out an "ABORT! ABORT! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" signal.

So the critters ran. What sort of a rematch could they ever attempt? They are one-trick parasites who bet their future on the victim not being paranoid enough. Starfleet now has paranoia aplenty: measures capable of dealing with Founders will make short work of adversaries like this. Worse still, the critters are dramatically uninteresting. So they seek peaceful coexistence? Aka possess and conquer? Trek has no shortage of the type...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

the Remmick creature thus had to send out an "ABORT! ABORT! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" signal.

That could very well be it. And it certainly never occurred to me.

 

[Kor]

IIRC the novels brought the alien parasites back, including some unlikely connection with Trill symbionts.

Kor

 

[dupersuper]

IIRC the novels brought the alien parasites back, including some unlikely connection with Trill symbionts.

Kor

They also tried taking over another species in the comic books (one of the DC annuals).

 

[Timo]

I gather they could make a suitably comical comeback in Lower Decks. But that's about it.

Timo Saloniemi