DS9 Stories/News: Deep Space Nine Races – The Dominion (2)

Cont.

Founders / Changelings

Dominion Logo

Long ago, the Changelings, or the Founders, where explorers, roaming the stars in search for other races. But unfortunately they were met with distrust and hatred from other “solid” races wherever they went. Eventually, the Founders started to build up an empire to protect themselves, and to impose order on a chaotic universe. The empire, called the Dominion, is now the most powerful force in the Gamma Quadrant.

The Founders can shape into almost everything, even a cloud, and they can also change their mass. While shaped into something else, it is practically impossible to tell the difference between a Founder and the real thing. The only drawback is, that they have to return to their original gelatinous state every 16 hours, to regenerate.

They live together in the “Great Link”, which is the very foundation of their society. This is a state of merging of both form and thought, and with a sharing of idea and sensation, which provides a meaning to their existence.

The day-to-day administration of the Dominion is delegated to the Vorta, wile the military section is taken care of by the Jem’Hadar. The main traders are the Karemma.

Shapeshifter, original form is gelatinous

Founder in humanoid form

http://www.belgarath.net/?FramePage=/v5/xeno/founders.asp&

 

Jem’Hadar Soldier	Jem’Hadar Special Forces Soldier

The Jem’Hadar are a genetically engineered species, created by the Founders in order to protect them. It is encoded into their genes, that the Founders are their “Gods”, and that they have to abide by their laws. They are the main, and most feared, soldiers in the Dominionbusiness empire.

 They are extremely attentive and highly intelligent, and takes pleasure in fighting the enemies of the Dominion. In fact they look forward to any battle, and this makes them the most feared soldiers of the Dominion. Also, if they ever fail in a mission, they take their own lives in shame.

In order to keep their soldiers in submission the Founders have programmed the Jem’Hadar to lack a certain enzyme, which they are addicted to from their birth. They must have this enzyme, called Ketracel White, or they will get ill, and eventually die. Also, to keep the Jem’Hadar from rebelling, there are no women of the species, so natural procreation is impossible.

The Jem’Hadar are often commanded by a Vorta, and they find themselves dominated by them.

The Jem’Hadar uses mainly two types of space ships, a small Attack Craft, and a larger Battle Cruiser.

Jem’Hadar Language

DS9 Stories/News: Learning to Love Star Trek, Part 45: “Q-Less”

Source: http://scifiblock.com/features/blog/learning-to-love-star-trek-part-45-q-less.htm

By Robert Ring, Mon, 11/15/2010 – 20:43

“Learning to Love Star Trek” is a weekly blog series by Sci-Fi Block Editor in Chief Robert Ring, begun January 1, 2010. In this series of blog posts, Robert is endeavoring to determine whether he can make a Star Trek fan out of himself through an exposure to a combination of episodes from Star Trek the Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation (Update: TNG has now been replaced with Deep Space Nine). Click here to read his introduction to the experiment.

Coming off two disappointing episodes, I sat down to watch “Q-Less” this week, and I have to say I view it as another disappointment. This episode is slightly famous simply for having Q in it, but I find the story to be scattered and pointless. When it ended, I caught myself wondering what had just happened.

The archeologist Vash shows up on Deep Space Nine after a two-year stint acquiring artifacts from the Gamma Quadrant. One of these artifacts is a mysterious and very valuable crystal, which, unbeknownst to everyone, begins draining the station’s power. Also unbeknownst to everyone (except Vash), Q has followed Vash back to the station, as he seems to be in love with her — or something like love, at least. Vash finds him annoying, though (don’t we all?), and will have nothing to do with him. Eventually these elements lead to Vash and Quark auctioning off her artifacts, and Q playing his trademark pranks on the crew of DS9 while the increasingly powerless station drifts toward the wormhole.

An invaluable energy-sucking crystal, or a beehive from the year 5000?

I hardly know what to say about this one. There’s almost nothing interesting or dramatic about it whatsoever. We know the station isn’t going to be swallowed by the wormhole, so we just watch the crew run around nearly mindless trying to figure out what to do. Q presents something of a dilemma, but he hardly does anything other than pester Vash and force Sisko to box him. Usually you at least have the question of, “How do we keep this omnipotent being from causing us problems?” but the problems here are minor, so if we just go along with it, we come out okay. As far as the “Deep Space Nine might be destroyed!” plot, we can’t find excitement in trying to figure what the characters should do because it’s all crew members trying to do things that we can hardly even understand, and we know it’s going to turn out alright anyway. It’s pretty much wasted time.

Incidentally, there are two things I find interesting in this episode. Both are small. I like how when Odo tries proving to Quark how little he cares for material items, Odo is caught off-guard by Quark asking him how he would like a latiunum-plated bucket to sleep in. It is as if the writers are saying, “Yes, Quark’s extreme materialism may not be healthy, but we all value material items to some extent. ” Second, Q’s explanation as to why he is so infatuated with Vash is thought-provoking. You’d think a godlike entity would have little need for a human companion, but through her, he explains, he is able to experience feelings like wonder — things he can’t experience himself as an all-knowing being. I had to stop and give some thought to the concept of an omnipotent being lacking the ability to understand something that is uniquely human (or, in the terms of a world populated with hundreds of intelligent species, uniquely mortal).

Unfortunately, for the other forty-four minutes of the episode (commercial-less), I’m left with one question: What’s the point? Some bad stuff happens, they figure out what the problem is at the last second, and everybody comes out safely. Q isn’t the only similarity this episode shares with what I’ve seen of The Next Generation.

DS9 Stories/News: Sci-Fi Lessons – Crazy things I’ve learned from years of Sci-Fi

Source: http://scifilessons.wordpress.com/

Lesson #11: How to tell if someone is a vampire.

Lesson #10: In space, no one can hear your explosions.

Lesson #9: Most aliens are bipedal.

Along with speaking English, most intelligent aliens look a remarkable amount like humans.  It is amazing that creatures developed so similarly, even though we lived in different planets and different galaxies.  Even the Breen, a species in Star Trek whose bodies are never seen except completely encased in suits, are bipedal.  The Breen are mysterious, with only guesses regarding why they wear the suits and what they look like underneath.  They seem so foreign, yet at the same time, so similar in their two-legged-ness.  Not only are they bipedal, but like humans, they also have two arms and one head.  I know that the Alien Actors Guild (AAG!) only allows bipedal aliens to join, making it extremely difficult for film or television to employ non-bipedal creatures.  However, producers could make more effort towards equal representation of the non-bipedal variety.

Farscape does the best job so far on Earth at including aliens with multiple extremities in major and positive roles.  Pilot is one of the few non-bipedal aliens to serve as a main character.  Moya, the spaceship, is also without legs, although with great propulsion, and is a major element in the show.  Indeed, the series could not exist without some form of Moya.  I hope she asked for a raise.   Although Rygel XVI isn’t exactly without two legs, the fact that the deposed Hynerian leader flies around on his Thronesled most of the time, rarely walking or showing his legs, makes him appear non-bipedal at times.

Shows are making progress towards the inclusion of more or less legs.  However, it will be a long time before the leggy or leggless creatures feel accepted in the hearts of earthlings.

Lesson #8: Zombies come in two speeds: slow and fast.

Lesson #7: The cuter something is, the more dangerous it may be.

Lesson #6: Sci-Fi has a complex relationship to black leather.

Lesson #5: What to do when I accidentally become invisible.

Lesson#4: Mutants are hip.

Lesson #3: Red blinking lights are generally bad.

Lesson #2: Looting corpses is a crucial survival skill.

Lesson #1: Most aliens speak English.

It may be British English, American English, or Australian English, but indeed, most aliens speak English. Perhaps this all began because “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” many spoke English. Maybe that’s where we learned the language from. At the time of the Stargate film in 1994, aliens in the Stargate universe did not in fact speak English. Between 1994 and the beginning of 1997 series, aliens in multiple galaxies had all learned English. Perhaps Daniel Jackson taught them while he was living on another planet or they simply heard Earthlings were coming (just the American English speaking kind) and they wanted to be prepared. I appreciate the effort, especially in such a short time.

There are a few aliens out there who don’t speak English, such as all sorts of species in Star Trek and in Farscape. Apparently those crews were able to travel far enough to find areas of space that English hadn’t pervaded, at least until a wormhole brought Ben Browder and Claudia Black to Stargate Command and the world of English-speaking aliens. Oddly though, the translator microbes in Farscape gave an Australian accent to those speaking, even though the listener spoke with an American accent. What an odd translation quirk!

The tenacious Star Trek crew was able to understand alien-speak via the “universal translator.” The universal translator worked on the basic scientific principle of magic. With a click of a button, magically everyone could understand each other and the camera could record English-speak. For the uninitiated, “universal translator” is code for “writers’ pitiful attempt to deal with alien communication problems.” At least they made an attempt, albeit a sad one.

The influence of English across the universe is amazing and unbounded. With this sort of power, I don’t see how non-English speaking cultures here on Earth have any hope.

DS9 Stories/News: Garak Favorite Quotes

Source: http://whysnape.tripod.com/garakquotes.htm

Garak Quotes

I am sure most of those will remind you of Snape!

 

Garak:That’s the eleventh ship to fall out of formation.
Dax: Nice of you to keep track, Garak(!)
Bashir: He can’t help being negative, it’s in his nature.
Garak:On the contrary. I always hope for the best.
Experience, unfortunately, has taught me to expect the worst.

Garak: I believe in coincidences. Coincidences happen every day. But I don’t trust coincidences.

  Bashir (A doctor, and Garak’s only friend): Assuming you’re not a spy…
Garak: Assuming…
Bashir: …then maybe you’re an outcast.
Garak: Or maybe I’m an outcast spy.
Bashir: How could you be both?
Garak: I never said I was either.

Toran(old political enemy): How the mighty have fallen. (referring to Garak being a tailor now)
Garak: Toran?
Toran: It’s Gul Toran now. (Gul: army higher grade)
Garak: They made you a Gul? I didn’t realize the situation on Cardassia had gotten so desperate.(Cardassia is Garak’s home land)

[Later]

Toran : Go back to your sewing kit, tailor!
(Garak zaps/shoots Toran)
Garak: Well, some people should never be promoted.

Garak: Living on this station is torture for me, doctor. The temperature is always too cold, the light’s always to bright, every Bajoran on the station looks at me with loathing and contempt. (Bajorans come from Bajor, the planet occupied by Cardassians like Garak for 40years of war. So they don’t like his race at all!)

Garak: Doctor, did anyone ever tell you that you are an infuriating pest?
Bashir: Chief O’Brien, all the time, and I don’t pay any attention to him either.

Garak: There was a time, doctor, oh there was a time when I was a power; the protegee of Enabran Tain himself (his father). Do you have any idea what that means?
Bashir: I’m afraid I don’t.
Garak: No, you don’t, do you? You don’t know much of anything.

Bashir: And so they exiled you.
Garak: That’s right! And left me to live out my days with nothing to look forward to but having lunch with you.
Bashir: I’m sorry you feel that way. I thought you enjoyed my company.
Garak: Oh, I did! And that’s the worst part. I can’t believe that I actually enjoyed eating mediocre food and staring into your smug sanctimonious face.

Bashir: Why are you telling me this, Garak?
Garak: So that you can forgive me, why else? I need to know that someone forgives me.

Bashir: What I want to know is, out of all the stories you told me which ones were true and which ones weren’t?
Garak: My dear doctor…they’re all true.
Bashir: Even the lies?
Garak: Especially the lies.

Garak: And you think that because we have lunch together once a week you know me? You couldn’t even begin to fathom what I’m capable of.

Ziyal(Garak’s number one enemy’s daughter! She’s in love with him, and he cared for her, too): Kira and my father both told me that you used to be an agent of the Obsidian Order. That you had my grandfather tortured and killed and that you could easily kill me without a second thought.
Garak: Although I seldom credit the Major or your father with being entirely trustworthy in this case…they’re both telling the truth.

Ziyal: You’re intelligent and cultured…and kind.
Garak: My dear, you’re young, so I realize that you’re a poor judge of character.

Garak: (to Dukat, Ziyal’s father) You do have a lovely daughter. She must take after her mother.

Ziyal  : Well, what’s going to happen to you?
Garak: Ooh well, let me tell you a story. I once knew a Cardassian, a dashing, handsome young man with a promising career, but one day, through no fault of his own, he found himself exiled and alone with nowhere to turn. But did he give up? No. He struck upon a brilliant plan: instead of fleeing for the rest of his life he sought shelter in the one place no one expected him to go: in a stronghold of his people’s most hated enemies. There, surrounded by hostile strangers, he built a life and there, against all odds, against the merciless logic of the universe itself, he thrived.
Ziyal: By becoming the greatest tailor in the galaxy.
Garak: And the moral of the story, my dear, is to never underestimate my gift for survival.

Unfortunately, Garak did come back but Ziyal had just been killed!! What a tragedy!! He had just warmed up to her!  Guess tragic characters do remain as such in the head of writers!

Kira: She loved you.(talking about dead Ziyal who fell in love with him)
Garak: I could never figure out why…..I guess I never will.

Garak: Look at this place; it’s pathetic! To think that this is what my life has been reduced to; this sterile shell, this prison.

Jem’Hadar (enemy): Put down your weapons!
Garak: I have them! I have them. By all means, commander, do as they say. (he takes his friends as prisoners…)
Bashir: Garak… (incredulous that his friend turns on them)
Garak: You heard me, doctor. I’m glad to see the plan is going as scheduled.
Jem’Hadar: What plan is that?
Garak: You mean no-one told you? You see, I pretend to be their friend and then I shoot you.
(Garak zaps two Jem’Hadar)
Sisko (DS9′s captain): Well done, Garak.
Garak: Well, it’s just something I read once in a book.(He wants them to believe that he only came up with the idea by reading books, but the truth is he is an efficient spy and used such techniques often)

Bashir: The trouble with Cardassian enigma tales is that they all end the same way: all the suspects are always guilty.
Garak: Yes! But the challenge is determining exactly who is guilty of what.

Garak: To think, after all this time, all our lunches together you still don’t trust me. There’s hope for you yet, doctor.

Bashir: I can’t believe you’re not pressing charges.
Garak: Constable Odo and Captain Sisko expressed a similar concern, but really doctor, there was no harm done.
Bashir: They broke seven of your transverse ribs and fractured your clavicle.
Garak: Ah, but I got off several cutting remarks which no doubt did serious damage to their egos.
Bashir: Garak, this isn’t funny.
Garak: I’m serious, doctor! Thanks to your administrations I’m almost completely healed but the damage I did to them will last a lifetime.

Regent Worf: Then you can spend the rest of your life contemplating your failure as you labour alongside the other slaves in the ore processing center.
Mirror Garak (alternate universe): It’s nice to have something to look forward to.

Founder Leader (Head enemy): There were NO Cardassian survivors.
Garak: You mean…they’re all dead?
Founder Leader: They’re dead. You’re dead. Cardassia is dead! Your people were doomed the moment they attacked us. I believe that answers your question.
Garak: It was a pleasure meeting you.

Odo (DS9 constable) : Interesting that a simple tailor should just happen to have a high-level security code.
Garak: Yes, isn’t it? And if my nose didn’t hurt so much I’d tell you a fascinating story about how I came to possess it.

Garak: Very good, doctor. You’ve come a long way from the naive young man I met five years ago. You’ve become distrustful and suspicious. It suits you.
Bashir: I had a good teacher.

Garak: I’ve been a fool. Let this be a lesson to you, doctor, perhaps the most valuable one I can ever teach you: Sentiment is the greatest weakness of all.
Bashir: If that’s true it’s a lesson I’d rather not learn.

(General Martok, a Klingon, was composing an epic war song about their situation while in prison. Garak is the only one who can save them by working in a tight space, but he has claustrophobia)
Garak: I just have to finish what I started. After all, a verse about the Cardassian who panicked in the face of danger would ruin General Martok’s song.
Martok: That would be unfortunate.
Garak: Now, if you’ll excuse me…my dungeon awaits.

O’Brien: What’s the matter?
Garak: Well, it’s just that lately I’ve noticed that everyone seems to trust me. It’s quite unnerving, I’m still trying to get used to it. Next thing I know people are going to be inviting me to their homes for dinner.
O’Brien: Well, if it makes you feel any better, I promise I will never have you over.
Garak: I appreciate that, chief.

O’Brien: You look different.
Garak: How so?
O’Brien: That’s not the face of a tailor.
Garak: I’m not a tailor. Not for the moment, anyway.

Garak: I don’t need someone to walk in here and hold my hand. I want someone to help me get back to work and you, my dear, are not up to this task. Well, look at you; you’re pathetic. A confused child trying to live up to a legacy left by her predecessors. You’re not worthy of the name Dax. I knew Jadzia. She was vital, alive. She owned herself, and you, you don’t even know who you are. How dare you presume to help me? You can’t even help yourself. Now get out of here, before I say something unkind.

DS9 Stories/News: Deep Space Nine Characters/What We Can Learn From Star Trek

Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/424548-Deep-Space-Nine-Characters?list=tags&tag=doodle

by Chuck Borowicz Pro | February 13, 2012

Chuck Borowicz

A few illustrations I’ve been working on for a blog post about Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and web design. Characters (from left to right): Captain Sisko, O’Brien, Dr. Bashir, Quark, Odo and Kira.

http://boroworks.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/what-we-can-learn-from-star-trek/

What We Can Learn From Star Trek

I cut cable TV over a year ago and I don’t miss it. And why should I? I have Hulu and Netflix and can rent movies on Apple TV if I want to. Trust me, I can still watch just as much boloney, albeit without commercial breaks and having to wait a week for those pesky cliffhanger episodes to resolve. Netflix is my go-to. My instant-cue is packed with gems like “Cheers”, “The Office”, “Doctor Who” and “Top Gear” but lately it’s been all about “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”

Set on a space station at the edge of the Alpha Quadrant (our known universe) the Federation crew of the station, aptly named Deep Space Nine (DS9), sits at the edge of a wormhole that leads to another side of the universe that would take lightyears to reach otherwise. Glossing over details, let’s just say that action, adventure and romance ensue. As with any series in the Star Trek universe there is a foe, an uneasy ally, copious story arcs and lots of character development. The human condition has always been top-of-mind to the franchise which accounts for its longevity but I can’t help but notice something new when I watch it with my web designer’s cap on.

Uh, oh. I relate to Star Trek.

Away Teams

A staple of the show from its meager-budget beginnings in the 1960s, Away Team members’ disciplines are designated by gold, teal and red uniforms; standing for engineering and tactics, science and medicine and command officers. Beamed to far-away worlds and assigned with collecting data on environment, indigenous life, culture and the always likely threat – the away team benefits from being multidisciplinary.

Transporters offline? Alien technology needs figuring out? There’s a gold shirt for that.

Someone on the away team injures themselves or a virus causes the crew to become ill? There’s a teal shirt for that.

The team needs to come to a quick consensus on strategy when a hostile alien has them under fire? There’s a red shirt for that.

The command officer is the data collection point and requires others on the away team to report back to them. Communication, even over-communicating is integral as the command officer is only as strong as the supporting crew.

On a side note, some might be quick to point out that the “red shirts” are always the ones getting killed on the away missions. I hear ya. Keep in mind I’m talking about DS9 and not the original series. For whatever reason, the color designations switched. Everyone happy? Good. Let’s engage warp-drive.

Holo-Suites

An enclosed room in which objects and people are simulated by “holoemitters,” Starfleet officers use them for recreation as well as training and diagnostics. Perfect for recreating and simulating events for analysis, they can build a prototype of a project before creating the real McCoy, testing it under simulated conditions.

We might not have holo-suites, but prototyping and testing under field conditions ought to resinate with most of us.

Security and Trust

DS9 security isn’t Starfleet-centric. Led by a shape-shifter named, Odo, Bajoran officers from the neighboring planet, Bajor, work with Starfleet security. The joint effort is founded on trust — a collaboration stemming from an act of good-will and trust-building between the Federation and the Bajoran government. The mixed company means both sides benefit from a richer economy of tactic and tech. They don’t always share the same opinion on how station security should be handled but they respect the command structure and that’s what makes it work.

Starfleet trusts their ally to get the job done, just like we would place our own trust in a vendor or contractor to make sure a project is completed successfully.

Work From Anywhere

When DS9 first aired in 1993 I’m pretty sure none of the writers or folks in the prop department knew what a mainstay tablets like the iPad or Kindle would turn into by 2010.

The captain has a tablet. The doctor has a tablet. Ensigns get a tablet. Even the captain’s son, an aspiring writer, has a tablet. It’s like Oprah transported herself into the future and shouted, “Everyone gets an iiiiii-Paaaaaaaaad!”

Having a tablet or a laptop means you’re not tethered to a desk, an office, or even your own home. You can go anywhere and that’s a strength in our industry. The fact that we can pick-up a laptop, communicate via email, Skype or instant messaging, share files through Dropbox or CloudApp from anywhere with a Wi-Fi signal is true power. Like any good science fiction, we also have the ability to set-up a 3G hotspot and tether its signal in a pinch. We don’t even need a gold-shirt to do it.

Speaking of communicating, the little Starfleet badges they wear function as communication devices. May as well be a cell phone.

Risa and Raktajinos

Even a Starfleet or Bajoran officer needs to take a break. Whether it’s a vacation to the pleasure planet, Risa or a 15-minute break for a Raktajino, a popular Klingon drink, everyone benefits from a little me-time.

Since we can be mobile with our work it’s tempting to keep the nose to the grindstone. I’m constantly doing this: “If I keep working just 15 minutes longer I can get this thing done!” You know that 15 minutes could turn into an hour, right? The occasional weekend getaway or simply grabbing a cup of tea away from work can chase burnout away.

Making Friends

The majority of DS9 takes place during war-time. The losses are considerable and the story-lines can be dark. Often times the show’s characters work through personal conflicts with one another, sometimes due to cultural differences, eventually becoming friends only to see the other person re-assigned to another ship or in worse cases, killed in the line of duty. The driving narrative of Star Trek isn’t just about exploring, working together to learn and make life better. It’s also about forming friendships, sometimes to the extent that the people you work with become family.

Okay, you got me. That’s not about web design per se, but look at it this way — while we’re boldly creating web experiences that no one has designed before let’s not forget, a valuable part of working with others is in the act itself. After all, we’re a community that heavily populates Twitter, reaching out to one-another constantly – even to complete strangers. We’re lucky to be able to form connections so readily.

Girls Can Kick Ass Too

DS9 marks the first series in the Star Trek universe where a female is cast as 1st Officer. It would be another series before we saw a female in the captain’s chair. Tough, self-assured and smart, the character Kira Nerys epitomizes someone who doesn’t let gender bias stand in the way of getting the job done.

Another strong female lead on DS9 is science officer Jadzia Dax. She is also a confident, intelligent woman who doesn’t mind picking up a bat’leth, drinking some blood-wine and hanging out with the Klingons.

I think the message is pretty clear. Girls can kick ass and deserve equal pay and equal respect in the workplace. To steal a phrase from another Star Trek series, “Make it so.”

Be A Ferengi… Sometimes

Always looking for profit, Ferengi culture is mercantile, based on the principles of capitalism. Sometimes seeking short-term gain, other times making concessions in order to secure a larger payoff in the long-term, the Ferengi are masters of accounting.

The web community is the most freely giving industry you’ll ever meet. It seems like someone is always creating a new jQuery function or a really sharp set of UI glyphs and giving them away for free. Seems anti-Ferengi. However, creating and freely distributing code or a design asset can lead to a long-term payoff like steady work with a company that took notice of you because of that work. Profit is just as important to someone creating free Photoshop templates at home as it is to the big boys who work with corporations. In a manner of speaking, everyone’s gotta pay the rent. As freely giving as our industry is it’s important to be a Ferengi from time to time when it comes to tracking hours and keeping the books up-to-date.

Epilogue

Oscar Wilde said, “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” Star Trek reaffirms that statement. We’ve got more mobile devices than Kirk and Spock had tribbles and while I don’t pine for a future where I’m zapped into little molecules and beamed up, our industry already benefits from remote collaboration, the next best thing. Just another reason to love my job… and Star Trek.