10 MORE Oldest Characters In The Star Trek Universe

7. Hodin And Odona

Star Trek The Gideon
CBS Media Ventures

Hodin and Odona were native to the planet Gideon. Theirs is a special case. Technically, they are not immortal, but the planet's lack of germs in its atmosphere allowed its inhabitants to develop certain abilities. These included the power to continually regenerate their cells, allowing them to greatly expand what would be considered a normal human lifespan.

This had the unexpected consequence of massive overpopulation on Gideon. It also led to a complete lack of medical personnel, as they were simply not needed.

The Gideon Council conceived a plan to effectively poison their population, introducing antibodies from foreign visitors into the local populace. This, it was hoped, would effectively cull a large portion of the people, thus reducing the strain on resources.

Though Odona is selected as a guinea pig, she is cured of the Vegan choriomeningitus she contracts from Kirk. There really is no resolution to the issue of overpopulation on Gideon by the episode's end, which is one of the stranger elements of the story. As it stands, Gideon may simply collapse under the weight of its population at one point. 

 
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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"