History Literature / TheFinalReflection

* ExpospeakGag: After a human diplomat makes a proposal that Krenn finds horribly insulting, he relieves his feelings by using an alien language the humans don't know "to curse the Humans and their riding animals".[[note]]"--and the horse you rode in on!"[[/note]]

* WeHaveThoseToo: During Krenn's first visit to Earth, the Federation holes a dramatic public unveiling of the transporter -- "Thirty years in development, and now certified safe for intelligent life." In response, Akhil rises from his seat and has the Klingon ship beam him up, provoking shocked silence from most of the audience and uproarious applause and laughter from Dr. Tagore.

** Tagore's library includes ''Literature/SpaceCadet'', ''[[Creator/MarkTwain The Innocents Abroad]]'', and ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing''.

* WeHaveThoseToo: During Krenn's first visit to Earth, the Federation holes a dramatic public unveiling of the transporter -- "Thirty years in development, and now certified safe for intelligent life." In response, Akhil rises from his seat and has the Klingon ship beam him up, provoking silent shock from most of the audience and uproarious applause and laughter from Dr. Tagore.

* AllThereInTheManual: The Klingon-centered boxed expansion set (creatively titled ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Klingons]]'') that Ford worked on for [[{{Creator/FASA}} FASA's]] ''Star Trek'' TabletopRolePlayingGame expanded on many things mentioned only in passing in the book (such as the Klingons' rank structure, their battles with the [[KnightTemplar relentless]] [[StarfishAliens Kinshaya]], and [[DoomsdayDevice how]] [[FromNobodyToNightmare Ford's version of Kahless the Unforgettable]] created a unified Empire and led it to the stars).

* {{Fiction 500}}: Maxwell Grandisson [=III=], a man rich enough to make his home in a high-class hotel -- as the sole occupant -- and powerful enough to ask for and get a personal meeting with Krenn and his subordinates. Although interested in making peace with the Klingons, he gives the impression of someone who is used to getting his way in all things; according to [[ColonelBadass Colonel Rabinovich]] he's an [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain anti-Semite as well]].

* SleepLearning: Klingons have a version of this, "dream learning", which Krenn uses to learn to speak Federation Standard rather than rely on the proto-Universal Translator. It's effective but not pleasant, because it interferes with proper dream sleep and results in disturbed and unrestful sleep. It can also be used to "[[ManchurianAgent program]]" people, so you have to be careful who you get your tapes from -- Krenn quietly discards the ones the Admiralty gives him and instead uses some supplied by a linguist Akhil knows.

** While most English-speakers won't spot it, "Akhil" is a real Indian name. Given the novel also features a prominent Indian character, this probably isn't coincidence.

* AerithAndBob: After joining the navy, [[MeaningfulRename Gelly becomes Kelly]]. During a layover at a Federation starbase during the first peace mission, some Starfleet personnel joke that there's an Irishman on the Klingon crew.

* SleepLearning: Klingons have a version of this, "dream learning", which Krenn uses to learn to speak Federation Standard rather than rely on the proto-Universal Translator. It's effective but not pleasant, because it interferes with proper dream sleep and results in disturbed and unrestful sleep.

** A subtle one -- in the ''TOS'' episode [[Recap/StarTrekS3E7DayOfTheDove "The Day of The Dove"]], Klingon transporters are seen operating with a different color pattern and without the characteristic screeching sound. Instead of waving it off as [[SpecialEffectsFailure a mistake]], Ford took this and ran with it, indicating that the sound from Federation transporters came from a secondary carrier wave added to provide a bit more safety; the ever-practical Klingons decided a silent transporter was more valuable than a one percent decrease in errors.

* RiteOfPassageNameChange: Every Klingon alters their name when they determine the career path they will pursue in their adult life. Klingon* s entering the Klingon Navy have a name beginning with K (thus Vrenn becomes Krenn, and Gelly becomes Kelly); Marines have names beginning with M; civilian scientists and technicians have names beginning with A; and so on.

** A subtle one –- in the ''TOS'' episode [[Recap/StarTrekS3E7DayOfTheDove "The Day of The Dove"]], Klingon transporters are seen operating with a different color pattern and without the characteristic screeching sound. Instead of waving it off as [[SpecialEffectsFailure a mistake]], Ford took this and ran with it, indicating that the sound from Federation transporters came from a secondary carrier wave added to provide a bit more safety; the ever-practical Klingons decided a silent transporter was more valuable than a one percent decrease in errors.

* {{Retcon}}: The terse one-word Klingon "sentences" in ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' are explained as "Battle Language."

* RiteOfPassageNameChange: Every Klingon alters their name when they determine the career path they will pursue in their adult life. Klingons entering the Klingon Navy have a name beginning with K (thus Vrenn becomes Krenn, and Gelly becomes Kelly); Marines have names beginning with M; civilian scientists and technicians have names beginning with A; and so on.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The Klingons' expansionist and conquest-driven culture is based on their belief that all life is divided into ''komerex'' (literally "the structure that grows") or ''khesterex'' ("the structure that declines"); any culture that doesn't continue to grow and develop is regarded as a failure and fit only to serve its betters. Underlining this, their own name for their society, though usually translated as "Klingon Empire", is ''Komerex Klingon''. They have some difficulty figuring out which of these the Federation is - it grows, but in a way utterly foreign to the Klingon mindset.

** A subtle one – in the TOS episode [[Recap/StarTrekS3E7DayOfTheDove "The Day of The Dove"]], Klingon transporters are seen operating with a different color pattern and without the characteristic screeching sound. Instead of waving it off as [[SpecialEffectsFailure a mistake]], Ford took this and ran with it, indicating that the sound from Federation transporters came from a secondary carrier wave added to provide a bit more safety; the ever-practical Klingons decided a silent transporter was more valuable than a one percent decrease in errors.

** Also, Krenn is shown with a smooth forehead -- in other words, as a TOS Klingon. The text doesn't specifically state that Krenn has forehead ridges, but Gelly suffers a lot of teasing in the orphanage because she doesn't, so the implication is there that Krenn is of the "imperial race" (see HalfHumanHybrid below) and so would have them.

* ShoutOut: Tagore's library includes ''Literature/SpaceCadet'', ''[[Creator/MarkTwain The Innocents Abroad]]'', and ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing''.

* TranslationConvention: Noted at the beginning of the story that some common ranks are translated to be more familiar. Other terminology is rendered slightly 'off' to emphasize the Klingons' alien culture. For example, rather than saying things like 'make it so' / 'aye, sir', when giving and receiving orders, the Klingons say 'Action' / 'Acting'.