Skip to main content

star trek - Why addict the Jem'Hadar to Ketracel White?



One of the few things that bothers me about the Dominion arc in Deep Space Nine is the Jem'Hadar. I enjoy the concept but I don't understand why they would be genetically addicted to Ketracel White (or anything else for that matter).


There are some obvious problems




  • When they run out, the Jem'Hadar go ballistic and kill everything in sight uncontrollably.




  • With the Gamma Quadrant and the supply of White cut off, Starfleet's first move was to go after 'White' production in the Alpha Quadrant. The Dominion may as well have put signs up saying "this is our weak spot."





  • In Hippocratic Oath, Bashir and O'Brien meet a Jem'Hadar who was decanted without the addiction. As soon as a Jem'Hadar realizes that he doesn't need the White, he realizes he doesn't have to do what his Vorta tells him and it goes downhill from there.




Since The Dominion has already proven that it is capable of breeding loyal and obedient servants (The Vorta) then why would they use an addiction that would open them up to such obvious liabilities instead of simply breeding the qualities they wanted into their soldiers?



Answer



The Ketracel White is used to keep the Jem Hadar loyal to the founders as well as functioning as their sole source of food and drink. In the event that they become disloyal to the Founders (something that's apparently a rather more common occurrence than the Founders would like the Federation to believe) they can simply withdraw access to the substance and they'll all die.



BASHIR: I know that the Jem'Hadar have been genetically engineered by the Dominion to be addicted to what you call ketracel-white. And that by controlling the supply of the drug, the Founders maintain control over you.


GORAN'AGAR: The Vorta. They are the ones who control the drug. They are the ones we came here to escape.


BASHIR: Escape? You're trying to leave the Dominion?



DS9 : Hippocratic Oath



and



SISKO: Couldn't the Founders just order them to surrender? From what I know, the Jem'Hadar have been genetically conditioned to obey them.


WEYOUN: The Founders' ability to control the Jem'Hadar has been somewhat overstated. Otherwise we never would have had to addict them to the white.


SISKO: Sounds like the Dominion isn't quite as stable as you'd like us to believe.


DS9: To the Death



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF

tolkiens legendarium - Did Gandalf wear his Ring of Power throughout the trilogy?

After Gandalf discovered that Sauron was back and sent Frodo on his quest to Rivendell, did he continue to wear Narya (one of the Three Rings)? It seems like a huge risk to continue to wear it after the Nazgûl (Ringwraiths) started to try and reclaim the One Ring; if they managed to get the ring to Sauron, couldn't he be corrupted by his power? Whatever powers Narya bestows upon him couldn't possibly be worth the huge risk, could it? Answer When Sauron forged the one ring and put it on his finger, the other ring bearers were immediately aware of him and his intentions and removed their own rings. There is no reason why they couldn't merely do so again. As soon as Sauron set the One Ring upon his finger they were aware of him; and they knew him, and preceived that he would be master of them, and of all they wrought. Then in anger and fear they took off their rings. "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age," Silmarillion