[Nate the Great]

So I'm watching the SFDebris review of "The Trouble With Tribbles" again, and once again I wonder why Cyrano Jones would bother dealing with tribbles when he'll only make a couple sales before they multiply to the point of worthlessness...

PNQ: How about the following as a slight plot modification?

Quadrotriticale is a a recent invention, right? Of course the full effects on humanoids would've been studied before it was sent to Sherman's Planet, but what about the effects on tribbles?

Let's say that in their natural state tribbles age and reproduce at a safe rate: they're great pets! But what if you feed them quadrotriticale? Suddenly the tribbles' metabolism mutates to the point where they age to maturity very quickly and breed much larger litters.

Furthermore, what if it's not the normal quadrotriticale after all: it's the poison that Darvin added to it that mutates tribbles? He inadvertantly laid the seeds for his own exposure and defeat. This would be a plot twist that could've provided for an explanation why McCoy takes so long figuring things out: he's never seen the poison before so he wouldn't know it's effect on humanoids, much less tribbles.

Would this have worked?