Tribble
| Intelligent Lifeform Index |
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| Tribble | |
|---|---|
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| Four Letter Code | TRBL |
| Federation Status | None |
| Planet of Origin | Iota Geminorum IV |
| Encountered | ENT: The Breach |
| T/E Rating | T0/E0 |
| Current Tech Level | Animalistic |
| List of Named Tribbles | |
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Full ILI Gallery • Permitted Species Gallery | |
History
Tribbles, in their natural environment, evolved to be a very slow-breeding species. After Human DNA was artificially spliced into them by unethical researchers in the mid-23rd century, the species mutated and became infamous for their now-astoundingly fast reproduction rate.
Federation scientists have long been speculated about the role the species could play in several artificial ecosystems, including as a food source or for medical or therapeutic purposes as their coos are soothing to a number of humanoid species.
The Klingon Empire has long considered the species an environmental pest fit only for extermination, and over the years have implemented scheme after scheme in order to rid the galaxy of the fast-reproducing tribble, to the extent that tribbles typically display an instinctual fear response when in the presence of a Klingon (or exposed to Klingon pheromones, see below).
In the 2260’s it was discovered that genetically engineering tribbles to be sterile was a safe, reliable process of eliminating their ecology-destroying reproduction rates, leading to some to declare them as “great pets”. However, even minor errors in the genetic sequencing in this process can lead to the afflicted tribbles clumping together into “tribble colonies”. Fortunately, treatment is easy (a “simple shot” of neoethylene), at which point the tribbles revert to their individual units and become “safe”.
Research into tribbles and their therapeutic properties continues, although some restaurants also offer them as a meal ingredient, which does not sit well with some.
Description
While predominantly pink or a light brown, tribbles come in many different colours of coats. Some species have even been reported to have been striped.
Physiology
Though distantly related to ptribbles[1], tribbles are incapable of directly harming sentient beings. They have the peculiar ability to coo and cause many humanoids to relax. However, they react violently to Klingon pheromones.[2]
Left unchecked, tribbles can rapidly multiply and devastate entire ecosystems on a planetary scale.[3] An entire half of a tribble's metabolism is solely devoted to reproduction. Born pregnant, a single tribble with sufficient food could quickly increase its number exponentially through asexual reproduction, bearing an average litter of ten and producing a new generation every twelve hours. With such a high reproductive rate, Tribbles have turned into docile critters that find nothing better to do than just sit down and eat, all day if necessary. Since they are purely hedonistic in nature, they have never achieved a higher tech level than just eating and sleeping.
Starfleet Intelligence Files
In 2393, the Tribble Fanciers Association Convention's inauguration dinner on StarBase 118 was abandoned due to weaponised tribbles genetically modified to administer poison, causing comas. The 118 Starfleet contingent synthesize a Klingon pheromone that effectively repels and contains the tribbles, and Boris Malinov is discovered to be responsible. Regardless, the convention overall was largely successful and drew 26,000 visitors to the starbase.[4] The association chooses to hold the 2394 convention on Penthara IV.[5]
References
