Kirk vs. Q
What would've happened if they had met?
shareSome people have actually suggested that Trelaine was a rogue Q, which would explain a lot about his powers and his childish behavior, despite being a much more powerful being than the humans on the Enterprise.
shareInteresting theory about Trelaine.
shareTrelaine showed little of the power of Q. He also couldn't be a rogue Q because his parents stopped his childish manipulation of the Enterprise crew.
Trelaine's only information about earth was several hundred years out of date, as "if he was looking through a telescope". Q could appear anywhere in the universe at any time at any time period.
Kirk destroyed Trelaine's machine behind the mirror which temporarily disabled Trelaine's power. The Q need no mechanism for their power.
One might then argue that Trelaine was a young Q, but in Voyager, we see DeLancie's Q bring his son (also a Q) on board to see if "Aunt Kathy" Janeway could help with his discipline. Q's son showed none of the failings that Trelaine had if Trelaine were a Q.
Lastly, Qs weren't written into Star Trek for another 20 years or more.
I was somewhat troubled by the machine thing and Trelaine. He does have some traits of a Q, but like you pointed out, he lacked many aspects of their powers. So I'll go with your reasoning and assume that he was just a super-being in the child stage.
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