Smooth-headed Klingons

Well, I finally saw the ENT episodes that explain why there are smooth-headed, swarthy Klingons in TOS but not in other Star Trek eras. I think the explanation is plausible (w/i the realm of science fiction plausibility) and seems to make sense to me generally. Although the ep doesn't explain whether all Klingons were infected w/ this genetic agent or just some of them. Also, we still don't know how the Klingons cured themselves of this genetic alteration.

However, I still can't figure out why this knowledge was completely forgotten by the Federation in the 24th century. And why are most Starfleet personnel unaware there once existed smooth-headed Klingons in the 23rd century?

Clearly, Starfleet had encountered Klingons in the TOS era & saw what they looked like. I'm sure there are visual records of Klingons from this era in the Starfleet database. But by the 24th century, it seems most Starfleet crews didn't realize the Klingons were once swarthy & smooth-headed (as evidenced by the DS9 ep Trial & Tribblations).

So it seems there would be still some questions to be answered in any future Star Trek series.

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Originally Posted by Jem'hadar

However, I still can't figure out why this knowledge was completely forgotten by the Federation in the 24th century. And why are most Starfleet personnel unaware there once existed smooth-headed Klingons in the 23rd century?

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Starfleet textbooks are remarkably text-heavy?

'cause the 23rd C eps were shot before good make-up effects?

Well, let's look at our own time. Are you extensively knowledgable of Polish dress, customs, slang, etc. from 1900? Or Greek? Or Russian? If the last 75-100 years of knowledge has been of bumpy-headed Klingons (especially since famous Klingons like Kor and Koloth have ridges again in the 24th Century) and the Klingons themselves don't like to talk about it (and probably actively suppressed images, etc., from that accursed time, once genetics overcame the effects of the virus), I could easily see people forgetting that the Klingons, for some 120 years or so, had no ridges. It's likely a medical footnote, more than anything else.

To answer one of the other implied questions - at least one of the TOS-era novels - Vanguard: Summon the Thunder, set in 2265 - had a scene with a Klingon planetary governor with ridges on his head commanding troops composed almost entirely of the smooth-headed type of Klingon. It gave the TOS type of Klingons a name in Klingon - QuchHa' - and the governor, at least, was of the opinion that this type of Klingon often had difficulty with honorable behavior.

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Originally Posted by Sea Tyger

Well, let's look at our own time. Are you extensively knowledgable of Polish dress, customs, slang, etc. from 1900?

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Yes!

I still like to think that the Smooth Klingons rose to power, threw away most of the 'Traditional' elements of Klingon society (bellicose behavior, honor above all things, wearing lots of leather etc.) and set up the society (at least superficially, maybe there were secret groups still following the old ways and/or ridged Klingons were 2nd class citizens) more like the one we saw in TOS. imho.

I like feeling that the Klingons deliberately engineered Romulan and Human Fusions in the 2220s out of a strange belief of how the fusions were the ideal foes that could easily fight on non-Jungle worlds, with Kor, Kang and Koloth getting reengineered into ridge heads to keep eventual civil war from breaking out, and..

Otherwise, It's what John M. Ford's Klingons (And the FASA ones) pretty much are.

And I generally have TNG fusion klingons, only they are very rare, except for a few fusion-heavy colony worlds.