KOBALI: Cultural Index
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
- The Kobali are Delta Quadrant aliens in Star Trek that revive people to add to their populace and change them into more Kobali, featured in the Voyager episode Ashes to Ashes, we learn of them through Ensign Lyndsay Ballad and her second life as she seeks to return to the starship.
Star Trek Online developed by Cryptic Studios and Perfect World.
Star Trek Picard/Strange New Worlds/Lower Decks/Enterprise/Voyager/Deep Space Nine/Discovery and The Next Generation are all owned by Paramount Pictures/CBS and distributed by CBS.
This Video is for critical purposes with commentary.
I really wish Lyndsay Ballard had been a minor character since the first episode so that we could get to know and like her just long enough for her to be killed off and it would have meant more when she came back. Kim Rhodes absolutely slayed that role.
I know right. I really wish Voyager was the one that got more serialized over DS9 for this reason, and others.
It's not like they didn't even have a minor chance to do that. In Latent Image the Doctor broke down over failing to save Ensign Jetal due to having to choose one person in triage. They could have brought her back for this episode.
Any dead named character would have worked better than "Random Ensign we made up for this episode so Harry could be sad."
I think it should have been Lon Suder.
He had established friendships, and was in the middle of a redemption arc when he died. It would have been nice if he got a second life to complete it in.
@@danieltilson4053 that and more brad dourif is always fun.
I liked the episode and agree the actress was great. However, I did notice a small inconsistency: Harry notes he was always in love with her but decided just to be friends rather than pursue it when they were both posted to Voyager. Except we know Harry was already in a committed resolutionship at this time. Minor, I know but an anomaly
The only time as a Starfleet Captain on STO I've had to agree with the Vaadwaur regards the Kobali over there treatment of those former Colonists left behind, or what is essentially abuse of a Corpse without consent for there own gain.
To be fair, they do knock it off after you expose them.
Yes and no. Calculus start to change when you're talking about survival of the species/genocide etc. Yes, it is ethically.... problematic, but certainly allowing the culture to slowly die out even (so even without Vaadwaur attack), would be even more horrific. I'm glad that the game gave them the option in the end, but I have my doubts if real life would be so kind to them. There is also their cultural/religious aspect - it is self serving of course, but that's kind of normal. And big plus for them is that they were still doing it to the pods that failed with time. They didn't use those that didn't fail. Which again, given that they were slowly dying race, I don't know if they wouldn't make more... scary choice.
@@jannegrey593 since they are so advanced, reanimating & recombining dead tissue is more of a choice than a necessity, they could have figured out something else if they really wanted to...
I find their practices deeply problematic. Lindsey should have been allowed to leave if that was her wish they were essentially holding her prisoner.
@@DerDrecksack87 It may not be true reanimation but rather just turning off base adult stem cancerous cells of their species to break down and assume the cells of the original organism. Once complete turning it off and the new multicellular organism would have the trace remnants of memory functions as that would fall in line of not being invasive but also not too harmful to the new organism. So their original genetic makeup to reintroduce traditional reproduction is lost and too risky to attempt to bring back. So as advanced as it sounds, they are afterall comparable to starfleet's tech so if starfleet cant figure out a way to save them; its not too far of a stretch to say they are not really reanimating corpses.
We really need more “friendly”/“not evil” necromancer stories out there.
being a necromancer is nothing but evil. you think the dead want to be reanimated and do other peoples bidding? fuck no. absolutely not
Something I was reminded of when you spoke of exploring other genre outside of Sci-Fi, I had recently remembered that Connor Trineer played a fugitive ranch-owner in the crime show Numb3rs. Really kind of a departure for him, but he played the role well enough. He didn't have extensive lines, but he was able to characterize a man who had been wrongfully charged with murder.
Am I the only one who felt the episode wasted potential by not bringing back the ensign from the episode where the EMH had a mental breakdown over her death? Because they set up the episode like it was her, she one of Harry's close friends, yet it was a character we'd never seen or heard of prior.
...probably more of that lovely "but we'd have to pay the writer who came up with the character" nonsense that's plagued Trek for decades...
I was thinking, they are the same character before i discover memory alpha, for a while
Because of a specific mission in Star Trek Online I hate the Kobali, and Harry Kim. Listening to Harry and his Kobali ex rehash their relationship from that Voyager episode, while trying to perform parkour through a vast and very dangerous maze, scarred me for life.
I always thought the kobali was an interesting species that could have been featured more in trek, the reproduction alone had a ton of possibilities story wise
Part of the reason for their advanced technology, besides the medical tech needed for their reproduction, could be that they have technical knowledge from the donor species.
The memories may fade but the skillsets could remain.
Anyone else think that the Borg Queen, at least from First Contact, looks VERY Kobali? Could make sense as an origin for the Borg: a splinter of the Kobali started with assimilating corpses, then realized that it's easier if they are still alive.
I remember this episode. Basically, this species is just clinging on to life Buy their fingernails, The problem is their fingernails are not theirs 😕
imagine if they had their resurrection technology combined with the medical knowledge of the Vidiians. That would definitely make them a heck of a force to be reckoned with.
There doesn't appear to be a need to transform the resurrected into a Kobali at all.
i rather think the Vidiians would find countermeasures for the Kobali resurrection or at least one that hinders the transformation
Two things I do wonder...does the Rebirth process work on bodies that are *already* Kobali? Makes for some interesting connotations then, if they can reincarnate their own. Also...scary thought: Have the Borg not managed to get their manipulators on any Kobali? Imagine Borg with Rebirth technology added to their nanites...
You would have thought the Borg would be very eager to assimilate them to acquire the technology of resurrection maybe its somehow incompatible with their assimilation process
Seven did say that the Borg are able to bring back drones that had died , even brought Nelix back that one episode. So maybe they did, but didn't need the rest of it since they use nanites?
Well, the Borg question seems pretty much answered, as far as resurrecting their own though. The kobali are few in number due to how they have to reproduce, each life is is a precious part of a tightly knit community from what little we see. So I doubt murder happens very often if at all. Their tech can heal most injuries and disease so accidental death they couldn't prevent would likely make the body unsuitable to reuse. Plus they can't reverse aging so geriatric kobali can't be recycled. Of course tech always improves so that could be an interesting story down the line.
The Borg can already regenerate flesh, even dead flesh (this is why those Ferengi were after Seven that one time) - they just don’t care to. That is, for some reason assimilation of a new drone was more efficient or something.
I have to admit, I am curious about how long a Kobali lives for? In STO, you meet a Kobali who was once an old man. Does he have a new full lifetime or does his "new life" only last a percentage??
I would guess you are mostly reset to young adult age. It seems a extreme enough process to do that.
there is what was potrayed at the time
vs how the sci-fi tech would work given earth science knowledge gained after first introduction of sci-fi element
because of how extensive the biological rewrite is; the process would need to be able to replenish telomeres. if not the species would not be able to make use of biological replacements but instead be forced to full body cybernetics
thusly they should've gained biological immortality, perhaps at the cost of sterilization. even with biological immortality the mental pysche could still collapse given enough time but this is slow. additionally members of their species die due to accidents/fatal events and combat
the addition of new members via conversion is a slow and inconsistent process in the vastness of space and without forcing other populations to fork over their dead. as the were shown to go after non combat opportunities instead (abandoned corpses); the main driver of corpse conversion is to prevent their species from disappearing due to continual decline of population as opposed to expansion
this all fits together giving them both a relatively low rate of death as well as rate of gain
Their way if life is so... Efficient. Nothing wasted. I respect that. And I wonder how the Borg regard them?
The name Jetliya was actually intended to be the new Kobsli name for Ensign Jetal, who we actually did get to become somewhat more invested in. Unfortunately, the writer of that episode had copywritten the character of Ensign Jetal for themselves, so CBS/Paramount had to invent Lindsay Ballard for the episode because they had been denied the right to use Jetal.
Lindsay's acress was super cute. I think the makeup made her even moreso. I had such a crush back in the day when this was on TV.
With this information about the KOBALI revealed, it makes me think that maybe more could be added, like perhaps two separate factions of them.
One faction of KOBALI who want to remain with the traditional ways of doing things, and the other faction who don’t approve of that way of living.
In addition I imagine the faction, who don’t approve of the old traditional ways, they went looking for a planet for themselves to live on that is far away.
To add I imagine they eventually discovered a planet for themselves to live on, and they started forming their own way of living their lives.
Plus to add I imagine most of them are interested in meeting other races, and to add develop bonds with those races.
There was a follow-up story to the 'Voyager' episode featured in the Star Trek Online MMORPG.
If you're a fan of the Voyager series, STO is a decent enough game.
Lots and lots of Missions and story arcs/campaigns to go through everything 'Trek' like.
Just my opinion, this is one of the most interesting species that the Voyager meets in the show. Is their method of reproduction disgraceful? Are they dishonoring corpses? Is it wrong because the dead doesn't give consent(obviously)? Or are they just doing what is necessary to survive? Classic Trek moral complex stuff, love it
Not shown in the episode Ashes to Ashes, the Kobali's sick surfing skills. Its Spring Break every day on Kobali Prime.
So, they've basically discovered a more involved form of Time Lord regeneration.
Also, hopin' Ric gets into Stargate; I'd love to see an index on the Goa'uld!
the Kobali show an inherent trait of Star Trek: If a Race isn't a Regular they fell into obscurity and while seeking out NEW Life on a "weekly" basis is ok, buuut then Star Trek is only a show with less then an hour and a Resetbutton most of the Times so People can watch any Episodes anytime.
And Sadly not everyone get's the Treatment of the Trill with DS9, the Andorians with ENT and the Kobali with STO and some to lesser extent like the Iconians but not the ones from the "Dear Doctor" ENT Episode or the Mono-Gender J'naii from TNG
Here’s some you haven’t touched on:
Kerbals
Kryptonians
Yautja
Fascinators
Thanagarians
Unas
Prawns
Na’vi
Irken
Vogons
Goa’uld
Nox
Asgard
Thermians
If they can resurrect people you'd think members of their own people would simply not die. Ever.
As explained they cant reverse age,so they can only bring back those who died young
well, I gues it do depends on how much they can tune the process. if they can re trigger the re animation in a kobali that died, but still preserve the old host. or if it works by reconstructing and reformating the brain. meaning a resurrected Kobali is simply a new one.
Well, as the video covers, it seems they can't use bodies that are beyond repair, with the implication that death via old age might fall under that. So, once the body's "natural span" is up, they can't do anything with it.
That would be easier wouldn’t it? Less interesting, but easier haha
Yay. Happy day. Miss these videos
Interesting idea, kind of like Tarchannen III critters and Lyaarans mixed in a blender.
Pity I missed it. Seems like there's ground for more stuff to happen with them.
Rick, I am wondering if it's possible that you can do a video explaining why Starfleet sometimes aggressively pursues the temporal prime directive, and sometimes they completely ignore it. There are quite a lot of examples of their pursuit of it, but a few examples in which they did nothing were- Captain's Holiday, Non-Sequitor, Shattered, The Year of Hell
Simple: lazy writing for plot convenience
Could the resurrection tech be used on people who had not yet already perished? Sounds a bit like those who declare that resistance is futile?
I hope will see the Kobali again in Nu Treks.
I wonder how well the Kobali could understand or navigate the gravitational wave phenomenons in the Delphic Expanse seen in Enterprise?
Borrowing from another franchise from my point of view they are evil Lindsay had her memories she should have been allowed to leave if that was her wish.
I suggest these for future Cultural Index videos:
Acamarian
Capellan
Takaran
Sheliak
Talarian
Skrreea
Yridians
Ullians
Zakdorn
J'naii
Vissians
Lurians
Malcorians
Mintakans
Xahean
Moneans
Tamarians
Valakians and Menk
Elasians and Troyians
*Importance of Izar Colony and Alpha Centauri in the STM
Was there a reason why polls for the next species don’t happen anymore? I haven’t seen them in a while.
Probably in discord or something
Greg's fault.
I do think it's plausible that their intrinsic understanding of waves would come in handy in surfing.
Big vibes of Ann Leckie's Ancillary technology.
The borg queen looks like a kobali...
I hate these guys so much.
What I find so offensive about them is that they not only steal the corpses of other species to resurrect without prior consent of the individual but essentially condemn them to die all over again as the person they were slowly fades from existence.
This is incredibly disrespectful and as far as I'm concerned legitimately evil.
The Vaadwaur may be utter pricks but they were in the right and we were railroaded into supporting the wrong side as far as I'm concerned.
The Kobali are monsters.
A whole sentient species surviving by defiling the corpses of others, a people advanced enough to travel space but unable to see that their practices are wrong on so many levels, the species should not exist.
I agree
Thank you❣️ I thought this race was one of the most interesting creations out of all the ST franchise.
Re: zombies...as _Resident Evil, I Am Legend, & TWD_ established, it's more likely a transformation than a reanimation, such as _N.o.t.L.D_ etc.
Therefore, imo *the race with the Phage* are more like the cinematic monsters than the culture of recyclers featured here. 😁
I totally think a form of organ donor card is the best way to source new bodies. A lot of us get a checkbox when getting government IDs at some point in our lives asking if we want to donate our organs, Kobali should go around to neighboring planets handing out Kobali donor cards. Always good to know what a loved one's advanced directives are in case it ever came to that.
i like the kobali i want to see more of them they are a fascinating species
Thank you
I imagine the Klingons and Kobali making some kind of arrangement. Many see the dead as empty shells to be disposed of with respect but not sentiment.
I think it would make for an interesting story.
While others see messing with the dead as sending their souls to hell.
..."Other sci-fi franchises and beyond" - Ysoki might work as a stepping stone from sci-fi to fantasy if you want to ease into the 'beyond' part of that considering they're in both a science-fantasy TTRPG (Starfinder) and an actual fantasy TTRPG (Pathfinder)
Can a Kobali reanimate a Kobali, assuming they didn't die from old age?
Would the Kobliads have enough information for an entry? Ever since I started playing Star Trek Resurgence, I was curious about them
I've always thought of the Kobali as a former weapon. Or a former attempt at assimilation from the species that would become the Borg.
This episode bothered me just a bit. Putting aside if there is a spiritual life after death point. The whole idea of desecration of a dead body and the person still remember who they were is horrific to me.
Even in the Star Trek universe, there are some alien races that find any tampering with a dead body. It could lead to some sort of conflict.
I found it strange that this race haven't started any wars or conflicts with other aliens over this practice.
What the kobali do is still gross, but there is no afterlife.
@Bacxaber I meant that it's more complex in a Star Trek universe type of thing. I mean, they did an episode with B'Elanna Torres going to the Klingon 'afterlife' to save her mother's honour. So, the idea of an afterlife is still explored there.
Lyndsay, who was human before and coming back as something else. Not remembering anything afterwards from death. The idea of a soul or the closure to that. That in itself can be traumatic. Neelix had a similar experience in another episode with him dying. It shook him pretty hard, only to remember darkness.
I know the writers and Gene himself pretty much left out any religions for the human race in that universe but not for other alien races.
Sorry, I didn't really want to get into this sort of thing. It's just a bit of a grey area when talking about this topic.
You're not wrong about the klingon thing, but it does go against the "what does God need with a spaceship" and Q ideas. @@JoeyXSmith
It would be interesting for the Kobali to establish treaties with other humanoid species to claim their accidental dead. With this level of technology, accidental deaths would be few.
Their Homeworld is called, Kobol. Wait, wrong franchise.
Love the nod to Battlestar Galactica in this Star Trek species video.
By Your Command.
So Say We All!
I wonder if the Kobali's genetic rebirth technology has a connection with the Borg's assimilation nano-technology. Since both species originate from the Delta Quadrant, an overlap at some point in the history of both species would not be impossible.
Something about them always unsettles me.
I guess it is self limitation that they don't take volunteers. They would in all likelihood grow too fast if they did not have to search for bodies.
Just this pretty good chance of getting some closure post game end would probably flood them with volunteers. I mean this deal seems pretty good.
I always thought there was some potential for the back story of the borg in the kobali, resurrected dead bodies? ring a bell? either that their tech was assimilated and adapted by early proto-borg or that bit of their tech was adapted from captured or discovered borg wreckage early in the borgs development when they were less formidable.
I agree, especially with how similar borg queen's look in appearance to Kobali as well
lol was just watching lower decks and when shaxs was revived it made me wonder if something similar is done
Was Star Treck based on Larry Nivens Tales of Known Space?
Kobali - The closest thing to a necromorph, in the Star Trek universe.
🎉🍿
I hadn’t thought of the story potential of the Kobali before, but yeah CIG is right.
Kobali are bassicly employing Time Lord regeneration. Just an observation
The Kobali could also have been viewed poorly because other Delta species might view their ressurection process as being not too different from Borg assimilation.
On the one hand, their method of reproduction seems unobjectionable -- the dead person isn't doing anything with their former body. On the other hand, many cultures have hangups about desecrating the corpses of their loved ones, or disturbing graves. Decomposed bodies eventually become parts of new life on a molecular level, but seeing the corpse walking around with a new person essentially growing inside of it until it is subsumed is a bit different.
It seems wrong to think of it as the original person getting a second chance at life, though. It isn't resurrection. The process will completely eradicate the original identity and memories over time. The new kobali is no more the original person than an ant being animated by the cordyceps fungus is the original ant. The kobali reproductive retrovirus colonizes the dead tissue and repurposes it. If the dead body didn't reanimate or regain consciousness until the process was complete, there would be no sense of it being the same person.
The subtle horror is that the process of reanimating the body restores access to some of the memories of the original brain before they are overwritten, so there is a walking, talking, thinking proto-kobali who has a mixture of the corpse's memories and the memories of the kobali it is becoming.
Mirror Kobali are probably horrifying.
🙂 more cultural indexes these ae uniquely intellectually enjoyable
Just think if the Kobali ever found a culture that practices excarnation (leaving bodies out to be eating by carrion and eliminated via the elements) like the Tibetan sky funeral or Zoroastrian Tower of Silence. If that culture had no problem with the Kobali taking the body or wasn't advanced and accepted the sudden disappearance of the body as the "gods" that would be interesting.
3:16
They like Guardians from destiny but without the light or ghosts.
If the Kobali were aggressive, they could end up being a threat similar to the Borg.
With the Lindsay Ballard episode, they should have used a known character. Literally any named character that died. Sure, there's only a few of those... But they would have been far better than Lindsay Ballard... Because at least then we wouldn't be asking "Who?" When they said who they were.
It just occurred to me that what if the Kobali had some part to play in the planet where nobody dies? I know that's the Gamma Quadrant but it's not impossible to migrate from one Quadrant to another.
A civilization of necromancers
You know I’m still wondering what do the Kobali do with their Dead?
Everybody heard about the bird, bird, bird, bird, bird is the word!!!!
Could the borg be an offshoot just more tech basic.
How did she even find voyager? she is supposed to have died around season 4 during the many hirogen episodes. voyager had a couple of shortcuts in the meantime:
Season 4 Episode 26: "Hope and Fear": they got 300 lightyears closer to home.
Season 5 episode 1 : "Night" : 2500 Lightyears
Season 5 Episode 6 :"Timeless": they saved around 10 years. which must be around 10.000 Lightyears if we think that the voyager takes normally 1 year for 1000 Lightyears on average.
Season 5 Episode 16: "Dark Frontier Part 2": A whole 20.000 Lightyears closer to home
Season 6 Episode 7: "Dragon's Teeth": 200 Lightyears,
Season 6 Episode 9: "The Voyager Conspiracy" they saved 3 years. which is probably around 3000 Lightyears if we still assume they need around one year for 1000 Lightyears on average.
And then they somehow meet her again during Season 6 Episode 18 where the voyager should be halfway across the galaxy by now. How fast are their ships?
The Creators of Voyager played fast and loose with canon and low intelligence as they also didn't care about continuity.
I wonder if the process could reanimated someone who was already a kobali...
Someone played the Necroids on Stellaris quite a bit, hm?
The Kobali are what happen when you get isekai back into the same reality...
Can Borg assimilate Kobali?
Can Kobali resurrect a dead Borg?
Necromancers..., or zombies?
They generally kinda look like Asari from Mass Effect
I ❤ Ric🖖🏻
Given their genetic expertise, I wonder why the Kobali did not try to solve their problem through cloning. Inbreeding isn't an issue for them, and I don't know how much genetic diversity there is among the Kobali. Surely, mass cloning operations would be easier than hunting the Delta Quadrant for just-right corpses?
Who are you when you are not being Rick?
i could quite easily imagine the kobali encountering a species of religious zealots, seeing the Kobali as undead abominations who rob graves and interfere with the corpses of their honoured dead
the Frankenstein species
I mean... I know I would consent to their rebirth process if I was asked.
They look like Tuvix.
I wonder if any one volunteers for that
What species I wonder would be to alien for them to convert their dead. Jem'hadar would be a strange one.
The Caretaker
@@thatg6838 True, true, just far to alien, or probably insectoid species & many others. Would have to be roughly the standard Star Trek humanoid.
8472, reavers, avatars, breen, changelings, tholians, and possibly the gorn would be too alien.
@@Bacxaber Avatars?
@@Bacxaber Medusans, Jaradans, Tzenkethi, Melkotians, Voth probably.
VOY had creepy aliens.
Very nomadic?
Change a Kobali back to a human? Impossible for Federation science
Change a salamander back to a human? Super easy, barely an inconvenience!
Change an ultraviolet alien back to a human? Super easy, barely an inconvenience!
Change a puppet back to a human? Super easy, barely an inconvenience!
I would like to see a few Kobali aliens, appear in the next season of (STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS) show series.
I also would like to see a few of them, appear in one, or two of the spinoff shows of (STAR TREK: DISCOVERY).
That would not work at all since both of those take place in the alpha and beta quadrants and the Kobali are in the Delta quadrant, them EVEN being mentioned let alone appearing would fu k up star trek timeline more than it already is
@@Domjot5569 it would certainly work for Discovery, having had 800 years for some to travel to the other side of the galaxy (or indeed the new Warp-replacement drives making the entire galaxy easy to access)
Well the Federation would be ideal friends, if not for distance. The Atheist Humans would likely have few issues with being consensual donors.
🤘😆🤘
Why not alter the change so the reanimated people could reproduce
No way I would have let these aliens take her back. They violated her corpse. Janeway was simply the worst captain out of all the shows. Including the new ones. If I was Admiral Paris I would have stripped her of rank and took her ship away as soon as they came out of transwarp in the last episode. God she was horrible.
Soft biological Borg?
I'm all for live and let live but these things are parasites.
All I know is Kim Rhodes played the main role and I adore her. If they would have killed her character off in Supernatural I would have quit watching.