Antaak was a Klingon man who was a physician in the 22nd century. Born into a family of warriors, his father disowned him when he chose medicine over becoming a warrior.
Biography[]
In the year 2149, Antaak, posing as a Mazarite, met briefly with Doctor Phlox at the Interspecies Medical Exchange on Tiburon. (ST reference: The Star Trek Encyclopedia)
During the 2150s decade, Antaak was involved in mutagenic research. When the Klingons recovered several human Augment embryos from a wrecked bird-of-prey in 2154, Antaak and his fellow researchers seized upon an opportunity to develop their own augments. Their efforts failed, with a virus unleashed on many Klingons which threatened the Klingon race with extinction. Thanks to the efforts of the Denobulan physician Phlox and Antaak, the disease was contained, but millions of Klingons were affected - losing their cranial ridges and becoming more human-like in attitude and appearance. (ENT episodes: "Affliction", "Divergence")
In 2165, after the death of Chancellor M'Rek, he and Phlox discovered that the Chancellor's death wasn't due to natural causes. M'Rek had been murdered by none other than one of Antaak's own sons, Krit who followed in his father's footsteps and became a geneticist himself. Antaak and Phlox revealed their findings to the Klingon High Council. Antaak swiftly discommendated his son, who was then executed on the Council's orders. (ENT - Rise of the Federation novel: Live by the Code)
Antaak spent the remainder of his life attempting to find a cure for the disease. In 2173, he believed that he had succeeded, and released a retrovirus at the Qu'Vat colony designed to reverse the effects of the augment virus. While the virus did restore the appearance of some Klingons, it killed them within minutes. Antaak himself died from this new plague he had accidentally unleashed on the Klingons living on Qu'Vat. (ST novel: Excelsior: Forged in Fire)
It was not until the late 23rd century that the Klingons were able to purge this Augment DNA from their genome, thanks in part to the efforts of Antaak's grandson Hurghom. (ST novel: Excelsior: Forged in Fire)
Appendices[]
Appearances and references[]
Appearances[]
- ENT episode: "Affliction"
- ENT episode: "Divergence"
- ST - Klingons - Blood Will Tell comic: "Against Their Nature": Brief cameo in the form of a flashback to the events of "Divergence".
- ENT - Rise of the Federation novel: Live by the Code
- ST novel: Excelsior: Forged in Fire
External link[]
- Antaak article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.