[dmm]

How dare you imply that Scotty would make a whale tank out of transparent alumina! Alumina (a glass or crystal) is brittle compared to aluminum (a metal), and might shatter when subjected to the stresses of time traveling in a cranky Klingon warbird. Then what would happen to humanity when the whale blubbers to the mysterious probe "Help, I feel like I've been shot with a shard cannon"?