Klingon

Biology

Klingons possess a robust and enduring biology as well as large and muscular statures. Klingons have been seen on multiple occasions possessing physical strength equal to or superior to that of Jem'Hadar and Hirogen, two other races possessing immense strength, and the half-human B'Elanna Torres proves more than a match for a Vulcan. Their anatomy is redundant and supernumerary; every organ has a backup, including an extra set of kidneys, an eight-chambered heart, a third lung, a secondary brain stem, as well as an extensive and hardy skeletal structure. This redundancy is evident even at the cellular level; for example, the Klingons have backup synaptic networks in their nervous systems, allowing them to grow a new spine, as was demonstrated with Worf when his spine was surgically removed and replaced with a transplanted, genetically cloned new one. Their rapid metabolism allows injured Klingons to heal quickly. All of this makes Klingons extremely hardy and difficult to kill, as necessitated by their aggressive nature, and resistant to physical trauma, environmental exposure, and illness. Klingons alone have a natural resistance to "the Phage," which plagues the Vidiians of the Delta Quadrant. Like Cardassians, they avoid cold temperatures. Klingons also have a heightened sense of smell as suggested in "Birthright, Part II" in The Next Generation, when Worf and a Klingon boy go hunting and can track an animal by scent.
Klingon children are fierce and aggressive by nature; from as soon as they can walk, they are instructed into honing their hunting and combat skills, strengthening their physical prowess and agility. Like humans, they go through a form of puberty, which, as Picard puts it in Star Trek: Insurrection "hardly does it justice" and includes sudden bursts of hair growth, extreme mood swings, violent tendencies, and the Klingon equivalent of acne (called 'Gorch' in Klingon).

Culture

In comparison to The Original Series, Klingon culture is thoroughly examined in later series' episodes, part of a larger movement by Star Trek writers to deepen viewer understanding of the alien races of the franchise.[32] The Klingons adhere to a strict code of honor, similar to feudal Mongolian or Japanese customs, although some, such as Gowron, appear to struggle to live up to their ideals. Their society is based on war and combat; ritual suicide is often preferred over living life as a crippled warrior, and may allow a warrior to die with honor. To be captured rather than killed in battle brings dishonor to not only the captive but his descendants. Death is depicted as a time for celebration, not grief.[33]
Klingons are depicted as a spiritual people. According to their legends, Klingons slew their own gods.[15] The equivalents to heaven and hell are called Sto-Vo-Kor and Gre'Thor, respectively; in Sto-Vo-Kor, battle and feasting can be eternally won and shared, while those sent to Gre'Thor are condemned to eternal torture unless their honor is restored by living relatives. Those who do not die in battle may not enter Sto-Vo-Kor; relatives undertake quests to guarantee their deceased comrades entry into paradise. Despite believing in an afterlife, the Klingons perform a form of last rite. This consists of spreading the eyes open, humming in anticipation of the final breath and roaring skywards when the warrior dies, warning the dead a Klingon warrior is coming (as shown in "Heart of Glory"). Yet Klingons have no burial rites, and dispose of corpses by the most expedient means available, considering them "empty shells".[33]
The Klingons' spiritual leader is Kahless, a messianic historical figure who established early codes of honor and was the first Klingon emperor. His fabled weapon, the Sword of Kahless, is depicted as a unique bat'leth that serves as the Klingon equivalent of the Holy Grail.[34] In the TNG episode "Rightful Heir", Kahless appears in the flesh to Worf, who had doubted his Klingon faith.[35] This Kahless is revealed to be a clone, created in an attempt to bring Klingons together, and who is chosen to lead the Klingon people as a figurehead.[15]

Language

Marc Okrand is the author of several books about the Klingon language, which he developed.
The Klingons have their own language that was developed for the feature films, often described as "guttural". For The Motion Picture, James Doohan, the actor who portrayed Montgomery Scott, devised the initial Klingon-language dialogue heard in the film.[36] For The Search for Spock, Marc Okrand, who created the Vulcan dialogue used in the previous film, developed an actual working Klingon language based on Doohan's original made-up words.[37]
Okrand was presented with a difficult task of contriving a language that sounded alien, while still simple enough for the actors to pronounce.[6] While most constructed languages follow basic tenets of natural languages — for example, all languages have an "ah" sound — Okrand deliberately broke them. He chose the rarest form of sentence construction, the object-verb-subject form: the translation of the phrase "I boarded the Enterprise", would be constructed as "The Enterprise boarded I."[38] Okrand reasoned the language would be indicative of the culture - the Klingons' language focuses on actions and verbs, like Mongolian. Adjectives do not strictly exist; there is no word for "greedy", but there is a verb, qur, which means "to be greedy".[39] The language does not contain the verb "to be", which meant Okrand had to create a workaround when director Nicholas Meyer wanted his Klingons to quote Shakespeare and the famous line "to be, or not to be" in The Undiscovered Country.[6] Initially, Okrand came up with "to live or not live", but Plummer did not like the sound of the line. Okrand went back and revised the phrase to "taH pagh, taHbe' ", roughly meaning "whether to continue, or not to continue [existence]".[6] The Klingon language has a small vocabulary compared to natural languages, containing around 2,000 words after it had been created in the 1990s.[22] After its initial creation, Okrand has frequently created new words, so that the total number of words has grown up to approximately 3,000.[40][41]
Okrand persuaded Pocket Books to publish The Klingon Dictionary in 1985; in it, Okrand elaborated on the Klingon language's grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. While Okrand expected the book to only sell as a novelty item, eleven years after publication it had sold 250,000 copies.[39] Dedicated Klingon enthusiasts, some but not all of whom were Star Trek fans, created the Klingon Language Institute, which published multiple magazines in the language. While Paramount initially tried to stop the Institute from using its copyrighted language, the company eventually relented. The Institute has since published Klingon translations of Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Tao Te Ching, Gilgamesh, and has translations of some books from the Bible on its website.[22] The Bible proved to be difficult to translate, as Christian concepts like atonement—and words like God (until the recent addition of Qun meaning "god")—are not found in the Klingon vernacular. From time to time, Okrand has amended the "official" list of Klingon vocabulary due in part to requests from the Institute and other groups.[42] Other Klingon groups run blood drives, bowling teams, and a golf championship.[43]
The Klingon language's prevalence is not limited to books; a three-disc video game, Star Trek: Klingon, requires players to learn the language to advance.[44] In May 2009, a joint collaboration between the KLI, Simon & Schuster, and Ultralingua launched the Klingon Language Suite for the iPhone concurrent with the release of the new movie. The popularity of the language meant that in 1996 it was considered the fastest-growing constructed language, ahead of other languages such as Tolkien's Elvish or Esperanto. In 2018, the language learning app Duolingo added a Klingon language course,[45] which is as of June 2022 is in Beta.[46] While the language is widespread, mastery of the language is extremely uncommon. Okrand himself is not fluent, and the actors who speak the language in the Star Trek series are more concerned with its expression than the actual grammar.[39] According to the 2006 edition of Guinness World Records, Klingon is the most spoken fictional language by number of speakers,[47] Klingon is one of many language interfaces in the Google search engine,[48] and a Klingon character was included in the Wikipedia logo[49] before its May 2010 update, when it was replaced by a Geʿez character.
Starships Main article: Klingon starships As the Klingons are portrayed as a warrior culture, Klingon starships are usually depicted as warships, heavily armed with a variety of particle beam weaponry and antimatter warheads. Many Klingon ships also make use of cloaking technology to hide the vessel from view. The first Klingon ship design used in The Original Series, the D7-class battlecruiser, was designed by Matt Jefferies to evoke a predator's shape akin to that of a manta ray, providing a threatening and instantly recognizable form for viewers. The configuration of Jefferies' design featured a bulbous forward hull connected by a long boom to a wing-like main hull with the engine nacelles mounted on each wingtip. Later Klingon starships by other designers kept to this same overall configuration, although updated to reflect their respective time periods: Rick Sternbach's designs for The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine drew on elements of Starfleet ships features to reflect the alliance between the Federation and the Klingons,[50] while John Eaves' designs for Enterprise incorporated more rugged and primitive construction to make the vessels appear consistent with the earlier time period.

Homeworld

The Klingon homeworld has been given several names; according to Marc Okrand, the planet would have been referred to in several ways, just as Earth is referred to variously as "the world" or "Terra". Early Star Trek literature referred to the planet as Klinzhai, but The Next Generation episode "Heart of Glory" called the planet Kling. The film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country established the name as Kronos; Okrand later devised the Klingon transliteration "Qo'noS".
In Star Trek Into Darkness, the planet's name is both spelled and spoken by Starfleet personnel as Kronos.
According to the non-canon "Klingon for the Galactic Traveler", Qo'noS (said to be in the Omega Leonis star system) is depicted as green when viewed from space. It includes a lone, huge land mass with a vast ocean, a severely tilted axis that causes wild seasonal changes, a turbulent atmosphere and extremes of both warm and frigid weather.[51] The planet is also home to the Capital City of the Klingon Empire, which features prominently in several episodes of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. In Star Trek Into Darkness, one province of Qo'noS is depicted as an unpopulated and abandoned post-industrial sprawl. A moon, Praxis, about 1/4 of the diameter of Qo'noS is seen in orbit. Its destruction was a plot point in the film The Undiscovered Country, the after-effects driving the plot of the film and later events in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Religion
According to legend, Kortar, the "first" Klingon, and his mate were created in a place called QI'tu'. The two destroyed the gods who made them and turned the heavens into ashes. This event is recounted in marriage ceremonies through the following, singular passage:
"With fire and steel did the gods forge the Klingon heart. So fiercely did it beat, so loud was the sound, that the gods cried out, 'On this day we have brought forth the strongest heart in all the heavens. None can stand before it without trembling at its strength.' But then the Klingon heart weakened, its steady rhythm faltered and the gods said, 'Why do you weaken so? We have made you the strongest in all of creation.' And the heart said... 'I am alone.' And the gods knew that they had erred. So they went back to their forge and brought forth another heart. But the second heart beat stronger than the first, and the first was jealous of its power. Fortunately, the second heart was tempered by wisdom. 'If we join together, no force can stop us.' And when the two hearts began to beat together, they filled the heavens with a terrible sound. For the first time, the gods knew fear. They tried to flee, but it was too late. The Klingon hearts destroyed the gods who created them and turned the heavens to ashes. To this very day, no one can oppose the beating of two Klingon hearts."
In the episode "Barge of the Dead" on Star Trek: Voyager, B'Elanna Torres envisioned the Barge of the Dead in penance for the dishonour her Klingon mother, Miral, felt for not raising her half-human daughter to be a Klingon warrior of the Way of Kahless. As she attempted (successfully) to escape going to Gre'Thor, realm of the dishonoured dead, B'Elanna met Kortar, whose fate when he died was to ferry Klingon souls over the River of Blood, to Gre'Thor's gates, where the demonic being Fek'lhr waited to consume particularly loathsome souls.
In the TNG episode "Rightful Heir", the clone of Kahless refers to a Klingon legend, telling of his return near a star that is visible from the night sky of the Klingon homeworld. This, combined with the Klingons' strong religious tradition, could suggest that religious beliefs might have been a driving force behind early Klingon space travel. However, several sources from the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine universe have stated that space travel was one of the legacies left behind by the marauding Hur'q, who pillaged the Klingon homeworld of Qo'nos, taking with them the sacred treasures of the Klingons, including the Sword Of Kahless.[9] Kahless's star has at least one planet orbiting it, and the first Klingons who landed there built a monastery. Warriors that came after have visited, hoping to receive enlightenment through a vision of Kahless.[7]
Afterlife . Klingons who follow the Way of the Warrior, the belief system developed by Kahless the Unforgettable, value honor above all else. Those who die with purpose and honor are said to join Kahless, who had been the first Klingon emperor and a messianic figure in the Way of the Warrior, in the Black Fleet in Sto'Vo'Kor, a paradise where battle and feasting can eternally be shared and won. Sto'Vo'Kor is similar to Valhalla of Earth's Viking culture. In regard to Honor" their society is based on war and combat; ritual suicide is often preferred over living life as a crippled warrior, and may allow a warrior to die with honor. To be captured rather than killed in battle brings dishonor to not only the captive but his descendants are tainted for two following generations (The only ways to expadite the shame of capture is either to commit suicide or to contuine to fight the captors until death ("By Inferno's Light" Star Trek Deep Space Nine). Those who commit treason are put to a slow death by the Klingon High Council while their descenants are "tainted" for six following generations.
The honored dead are not mourned, but celebrated. The eyes of a dead warrior are opened, and all fellow Klingons present roar to tell the warriors in Sto'Vo'Kor that the warrior is joining them. The body of the dead warrior is viewed mainly as an empty shell to be disposed of; particularly well-respected warriors have their companions accompany the body for interment or disposal, "just" to keep away predators (though a privately held act of respect for the departed). Warriors who may have a question about whether they will be worthy to enter Sto'Vo'Kor, such as not having died in glorious battle, may have a dangerous quest held in their name by their surviving mate and his or her companions. If they win their stated deed or battle, they win honor for their late warrior and entry to paradise. To die of Natural causes is looked upon as a horrible way to end one's life (The Royale: Star Trek The Next Generation). While Klingon greatest honor is to die in battle, even in midst of a Klingon Civil War sometimes on a neutral part of the Klingon Home world, enemies will show their prowess as warriors by rountinely Head butt each other's foreheads, or even will share the Klingon beverge Bloodwine (knowing full well that they would kill each other in battle). To decline to drink bloodwine and pouring it on the ground signals that the Klingon opposite another Klingon are blood enemies as is calling an Klingon opponent a 'traitor" and backhanding him across the face. The War Cry of Klingons are "Long Live the Klingon Empire!"
Klingon beliefs were recorded in a series of scrolls collectively referred to as the paq'batlh, or Book of Honor. One prophecy, possibly taken from this book, was of the Kuvah'magh, a religious figure predicted to appear at some future time. Miral Paris, daughter of Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres, was thought by some expatriate Klingon cult members in the Delta Quadrant to be this new spiritual leader.
Gre'Thor (in Klingon, ghe'tor or 'ghe''or) is the Klingon afterlife where the dishonored go when they die. It is the Klingon equivalent of hell and is guarded by a fearsome demon, Fek'lhr (roughly pronounced "Fek-Lar"; in Klingon, veqlargh).[10] Those unfortunate Klingons who find themselves in Gre'Thor are faced with eternal torture by Fek'lhr and his demons; however, Klingon legend allows for souls to be saved from Gre'Thor, usually by heroic sacrifices performed by friends and family (Kahless, for example, once willingly journeyed to Gre'Thor to save his brother, Morath, and send him to Sto'Vo'Kor).
If a Klingon dies and is fated to journey to Gre'Thor, they will find themselves on the Barge of the Dead, which travels the "river of blood" on its way to Gre'Thor. Klingon souls on the Barge are tempted by siren-like voices, masquerading as friends and family, who try to lure them off the edge and into the river.
Under normal circumstances it is difficult for the souls of dead Klingons to leave Gre'Thor, as in the expression "I will surrender when spirits escape from Gre'Thor!", but the legend of Kahless does allow for such things. Another example is the mother of B'Elanna Torres, who was initially sent to Gre'Thor due to her daughter's misdeeds but was eventually released.