- "Are you a student of history, sir?"
- "I am..."
- -Spock and Flint
Flint was an immortal Human from Earth who lived under several aliases over a span of 6000 years. During his lifetime, Flint watched humanity evolve from savagery and barbarism, and knew (and was) some of the greatest minds in Earth history. In 2269, at the age of six thousand one hundred and three years old, Flint was apparently dying from old age after having left Earth and all of its complex magnetic fields within which he had been formed.
Physical characteristics
Flint's cause of immortality was a form of instant tissue regeneration which was coupled with a form of perfect biological renewal. A side effect of this condition was sheer strength twice that of normal Humans.
Flint himself appeared as a medium built Caucasian human with white hair, although over his enormous lifetime Flint's appearance may very well have changed. At various points in history, Flint had taken up several aliases, some of whom looked nothing alike.
Chronology
Early history
Flint was born as Akharin during the 4th millennium BC in Mesopotamia where he grew up to become "a soldier, a bully, and a fool." Sometime shortly before the year 3800 BC, Flint was deployed in an ancient battle and fell in combat after receiving a serious wound to his heart. After Flint did not die, he realized his immortal nature and began living a portion of a life, achieving various accomplishments and sometimes marrying (Flint would later state that he had married over a hundred times), then discarding one identity for another before his true nature could be suspected.
Between 3000 and 2000 BC, Flint lived primarily in the Middle East, in particular the lands associated with the Bible. He was at one point the basis for the biblical character of Methuselah. Sometime around 1400 to 1200 BC, Flint (who was now well over two thousand years old) also knew the historical figure Moses.
A thousand years later, circa 970 BC, the now nearly three thousand year old Flint adopted his first (known) alias which would became a major figure in world history this being the Jewish King Solomon. Some four hundred years after that, Flint had moved himself to the region of ancient Greece where at one point he knew the philosopher Socrates. Two hundred years later, in 356 BC, Flint again became a major historical figure when he assumed the alias of Alexander the Great. (TOS: "Requiem for Methuselah")
Key Dates
- 3834 BC: Born as Akharin
- Circa 3000 BC: Lives as Methuselah
- Circa 1400 BC: Knows Moses
- 973 - 933 BC: Lives as King Solomon
- Late 5th century BC: Knows Socrates
- 356 - 323 BC: Lives as Alexander the Great
common Era
By the first century CE, Flint was approaching 4000 years of age and had lived through nearly the entirety of recorded history (up to that point). By this time, he had lived as at least two world leaders (Solomon and Alexander) and had seen death on a scale beyond imagination. In his own words two thousand years later, Flint "had seen a hundred million fall and had tossed enemies into [death's] grasp". In his later years, these early experiences with human kind would make Flint see Earth as a savage and barbaric place regardless of the era.
Around 30 CE, Flint was again living in the Middle East and at some point became associated with the religious figure Jesus. Again, Flint became the basis for a biblical character when he was known by the name Lazarus.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, Flint appears to have moved into Europe where, in the 6th century, he was residing in England where he became known as the wizard Merlin. For most of the early Middle Ages, the identities and lives led by Flint are unknown; however, in the 14th century he was living in the city of Constantinople where he witnessed the start of the bubonic plague. As Flint would later describe:
- "Constantinople; summer, 1334. It marched through the streets, the sewers. It left the city by oxcart, by sea, to kill half of Europe. The rats, rustling and squealing in the night as they, too, died. The rats..."
Key Dates
- Circa 33 CE: Lives as Lazarus and (presumably) knows Jesus.
- Mid-6th century CE: Lives as Merlin
- 1334 CE: Lives in Constantinople, where he views the horrors of the bubonic plague
Renaissance
A holographic representation of Leonardo da Vinci
At the dawn of the so called "Age of the Renaissance", Flint hCE seemingly abandoned his early ambitions of world leCEership and military conquest and insteCE began to focus on improving the human condition through the study of art and science. Sometime after 1450, he assumed the identity of an Italian under the alias Leonardo da Vinci. This is perhaps one of the most famous identities Flint ever held since while he lived as da Vinci, Flint created works of art which would be well known centuries later. The painting "Mona Lisa" is one such work; it eventually found its way into the hands of the criminal Kivas Fajo before being retrieved by Federation authorities thanks to the efforts of the android officer Data. (TOS: "Requiem for Methuselah", TNG: "The Most Toys")
Leonard da Vinci "died" in 1519 CE after which Flint moved on to assume different unknown identities. He apparently remained in Italy since, circa 1600 CE, he knew the scientist Galileo. Flint eventually left this life as well, moving into the 1700s under several other "names we do not know." (TOS: "Requiem for Methuselah")
- 1452 - 1519: Lives as Leonardo da Vinci
- Circa 1600: Meets Galileo
- c. 1455: Acquires a Gutenberg Bible
- c. 1623: Acquires a Shakespeare first folio
19th and 20th centuries
At the start of the 19th century, Flint was apparently still residing in Europe and, as early as 1833, he had adopted another alias which could become famous as the musical composer Johannes Brahms. As Brahms, Flint resided mainly in Austria and wrote several musical pieces which would still be popular centuries later. Most of the 19th century was spent living as Brahms, with Johannes Brahms "dying" in 1897. (TOS: "Requiem for Methuselah")
Sometime in the latter 20th century, Flint would acquire a painting by Reginald Pollack or perhaps even lived as Pollack himself.
Key Dates
- 1833 - 1897: Lives as Johannes Brahms
- Late 20th century (circa 1965-1990): Acquires a work of art produced by Reginald Pollack
21st and 22nd centuries
Flint's activities in the 21st and 22nd century are largely unknown as he did not speak of who he was or what was he doing during this period when encountered by Starfleet officers a hundred years later.
Sometime in the 2100s, Flint acquired a bottle of Saurian brandy. He was also presumably still on Earth when the United Federation of Planets was founded in 2161 although, seventy years later, Flint would leave due to "the unpleasantness of life on Earth and the company of people." (TOS: "Requiem for Methuselah")
23rd century
Flint's Home on Holberg 917G
In 2239, living as the interstellar financier Brack, Flint bought the planet Holberg 917G in the Omega system. It was uninhabited, and he took great measures to keep up that appearance. Flint built a magnificent home on the planet where he lived a reclusive life. While living on Holberg 917G Flint engineered a succession of female androids in the quest for an undying love partner. Each bore the name Rayna, and the final, perfect manifestation – Rayna 17 – was not allowed to know of her failed predecessors.
In 2269, the Federation starship USS Enterprise arrived in orbit over Holberg 917G, in dire need of that planet's ryetalyn deposits as an antitoxin for the Rigelian fever which had infected the entire crew. Flint then introduced himself to the landing party, just short of their being killed by Flint's robot M-4.
Hoping to jump-start Rayna 17's emotions, Flint allowed her to interact with the visitors. The android fell in love with James T. Kirk, but could not transfer this emotion back to her disappointed creator. Forced to choose between her suitors and unable to hurt either, she ceased to function much to Flint's horror.
Spock deduced from musical pieces by Brahms (written in modern ink) and da Vinci paintings, all authentic on contemporary canvas, that Flint must be very long-lived. After this was revealed, however, Doctor Leonard McCoy later discovered that Akharin/Flint was finally dying since his immortality had been sustained by Earth's complex fields, and had been sacrificed in the relocation to Holberg 917G. Flint stated that he would devote the time before his imminent natural death to the improvement of the Human condition.
Key Dates
- Circa 2210-2220: Assumes the identity of Mr. Brack
- 2239: Purchases the uninhabited planet Holberg 917G
- Circa 2240-2269: Lives as Flint on Holberg 917G
- 2269: Discovered by the crew of the USS Enterprise
Acquisitions
Flint gathered a large collection of original works of visual art. Some were his own creation (as daVinci); other works included Taranullus lithographs and paintings by Pollack and Sten. Besides his original and unknown Brahms scores, Flint possessed a Shakespeare First Folio and a Gutenberg Bible. (TOS: "Requiem for Methuselah")
| Previous aliases of Flint |
|---|
| Akharin • Methuselah • Solomon • Alexander the Great • Lazarus • Merlin • Leonardo da Vinci • Johannes Brahms • Abramson • Brack |
Appendices
Background
Flint was played by actor James Daly.
The film The Man from Earth, also written by Bixby, is about a similar main character; born in the stone age, living indefinitely, and having been or known important historical figures.
In the Voyager episode "Concerning Flight", Janeway comments that Kirk claimed to have met Leonardo da Vinci. This implies that he either broke his promise to Flint to not reveal his identity or revealed this after Flint's death.
Reginald Pollack was the only one of Flint identities based on a living figure when the episode "Requiem for Methuselah" was produced, although whether Flint lived as Pollack, or just had one of his paintings, is not made clear. The real Pollack lived from 1924 to 2001.
According to Entertainment Weekly, a fifth season episode of Star Trek: Enterprise was "on the drawing board" to reportedly have featured Flint, under a previous alias, coming into contact with the crew of the Enterprise (NX-01). The episode never made it to a script write, but initial storyboard ideas suggested a confirmation of Flint's alias of Abramson as a famous Earth scientist with possible connections to Flint knowing either (or both) Henry Archer and Zefram Cochrane. The episode would have ended with some type of discovery of Flint's nature by Phlox, leading to Flint's negative views on discussing his background with anyone, thus avoiding the "disaster of intervention" that he mentioned later in the Original Series episode.
Apocrypha
Flint is featured as a supporting character in the novel Federation, where his primary guise as a billionaire industrialist seems to have already begun devoting himself to the betterment of the Human condition. He also appears in The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume One as Dr. Wilson Evergreen, the leader of an Antarctic station preparing to repair damage to the ozone layer, where he meets Gary Seven and is "killed" by a young Khan Noonien Singh. He also appears in the novel The Cry of the Onlies, where he comes aboard the Enterprise to help defeat a cloaking device he invented. Later on, the crew of the USS Enterprise-E had an encounter with him in the novel Immortal Coil. He also made an appearance in the story "Immortality Blues" in Strange New Worlds 9, living in New York City when World War III began.
External links
- Template:NCwiki
- A fan essay on the life of Flint