NCC-42069

Gurgeh stared at the board. He reflected that the best games were the games that were so hard. And that what this game was. Where would he move the space piece next?

"Well, Gurgeh!" harrumphed the space alien. "Perhaps now you see that the game is so hard?" Gurgeh nodded. The game was so hard. That night, he thought about the space board. He glanded a drug that made the game less hard, but even then, it was still so hard. Gurgeh was immortal and rich, but still he didn't want to lose, because it would be better to win. But the game was so hard.

The robot flew over. "Gurgeh!" said the robot. If you don't win, there will be a space murder, and maybe a space rape!" Gurgeh was appalled. "I must win the space game," he said. He sighed.

The next day, the alien bragged: "I will win the space game! I am the best at winning the space game!" Gurgeh sighed. But then Gurgeh saw what he would do: instead of moving the space piece to the left, he would move it forward. The alien was so surprised. "But... but the game is supposed to be so hard!" But Gurgeh was very smart. He moved the piece again, and in a way that was so smart.

horseshit is false, unreliable, and horses are very reliable. bullshit is also false, but carries an additional implication of trickery, while bulls are extremely straightforward and guileless.

Like, he’s pretty much always willing to debase himself for a deal, but he actually does have a really high sense of dignity. When he’s calling Sisko out for disrespecting the Ferengi in S2x26 The Jem’Hadar he points to the ways that Humans don’t treat the Ferengi well but he also comments that despite their cunning, and their tendency towards deceit, the Ferengi are not violent people. They don’t enslave others, they don’t fight interstellar wars, they don’t colonize. They are in fact better or potentially more moral than the other races in this context. The Ferangi may double cross you, but they won’t physically harm you.

And in House of Quark like, yeah he’s really scared about what’s going on but when he demands to see the financial records, his voice is even and serious. He really demonstrates how he is a clever and thoughtful person.  AND he solves the problem by manipulating his understanding of Klingon honor to survive a battle he couldn’t win. In The Maquis he OUT LOGICS a Vulcan by using a Ferengi concept of value to advocate for peace (and sets up a pretty clear reason as to why Ferengi largely don’t get involved in wars, they don’t try to make peace “more expensive” than it needs to be). 

And I think some of this has to do with the fact that Ferangi seem to have a SHOCKINGLY well developed sense of forgiveness, and Quark is no exception. In Move Along Home, he is terrified. He thinks he might have to send his friends to their deaths (once again proving his has no stomach for violence). But as soon as it turns out to be a game? No problem! All is forgiven, let’s see if we can make a deal. In The Grand Nagus Rom tries to KILL him, and he’s forgiven in a heartbeat. I guess that is what allows them to not be violent, they have their very specific codes and you can double cross people within it but that’s the nature of the beast. They don’t hold onto grudges or blame. 

Discovery's version of the Klingon D7 Battlecruiser. From Marc Bell's Artstation, which also has the USS Discovery, Disco's Enterprise and loads more

digital oil painting of the man the myth the android: data 

Leonard McCoy

Back to the roots. One of my all-time favourite characters.