In The Naked Now the polywater virus seems to go from person to person, infecting them almost immediately. Except with Riker, who holds off until the very end.
How does he manage that?
asked Jun 29, 2012 at 20:02
-
7The main symptom is a suppression of inhibitions, Riker has no inhibitions, so it doesn't show.– NominSimJun 29, 2012 at 20:36
-
1That actually sounds like a plausible answer.– AncientSwordRage ♦Jun 29, 2012 at 22:01
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
Victimes of the Polywater virus "...start sweating profusely at first, then lose their inhibitions, acting as though as they have been intoxicated."
While there is little canonical evidence(if any) of Riker being able to hold his liquor better than others(since most drinking involving "alcohol" should be assumed to come from synthohol and therefore be devoid of the trademark symptoms), there are a great many instances of Riker having little to no inhibitions in the first place.
Riker is a very extroverted individual, his wikipedia article describes him as a "bold, confident officer" who is "comfortable on the Enterprise"; a "ladies man" with "a willingness to occasionally disregard the chain of command".
This describes a person who is comfortable with who they are, and with what they are doing, and is why when exposed to the Polywater virus that causes people to lose their inhibitions, Riker succumbs last. Essentially, he is a man who lives his life with little to no inhibitions, which means that their loss takes the longest to show.
Essentially, if you could sit down and a drink with Riker, I would guess that it would take quite a few drinks to notice any change in his personality/mannerisms: this is the explanation for the same apparent unchanging attitude that he reflects during his polywater infection.
Just like getting drunk. Some people have better ability to hold their liquor.
