1:[2,#B],31:[2,#B],42:[1,#B],67:[1,#B],72:[2,#B],86:[2,#B],102:[1,#B],105:[1,#BI],124:[2,#B],130:[2,#B]@1vision quest@2Self-examination technique, often a rite of puberty, practiced by some Native Americans involving fasting, isolation, and the seeking of guidance from supernatural forces. Among the colonists of planet Dorvan V, an individual seeking a vision would go inside the Habak and light a fire. Eventually, the individual would enter a trance-like state and receive a vision, where he would receive guidance from the spirits. Lakanta claimed to have seen Wesley Crusher in one of his vision quests. Later, Wesley would see his father, Jack Crusher, in a vision quest of his own. (“Journey's End” [TNG]). Other Native Americans, including Chakotay, used an akoonah to aid their vision quest. Chakotay helped Captain Janeway experience her own vision quest in search of her animal guide. (“The Cloud” [VGR]). SEE: Torres, B'Elanna.
~1: [1, #b], 18: [3, #b], 95: [3, #b], 148: [3, #b], 183: [49, #i], 275: [2, #b], 284: [3, #b], 335: [1, #b], 459: [20, #i]@1VISOR@2Acronym for Visual Instrument and Sensory Organ Replacement. A remarkable piece of bioelectronic engineering that allowed Geordi La Forge to see, despite the fact that he was born blind. A slim device worn over the face like a pair of sunglasses, the VISOR permitted vision in not only visible light, but across much of the electromagnetic spectrum including infrared and radio waves. The VISOR operates on a subspace field pulse. The VISOR, while giving La Forge better-than-normal sight, also caused him continuous pain. (“Encounter at Farpoint, Part II” [TNG]). A device called a Visual Acuity Transmitter was once used with Geordi's VISOR in an attempt to allow transmission of Geordi's visual perceptions, but the device proved unreliable and the images were extremely difficult to interpret. To the untrained eye, the VISOR output resembled a crazy collage of swirling colors and vague shapes. (“Heart of Glory” [TNG]). Dr. Katherine Pulaski once proposed to Geordi a surgical procedure which would have replaced his VISOR with optical implant devices offering nearly the same visual range. Geordi declined the opportunity. (“Loud as a Whisper” [TNG]). At the time this scene was written and shot, the show's producers were indeed considering the possibility of giving Geordi “normal” sight, but both Gene Roddenberry and actor LeVar Burton eventually realized that a “miracle” cure would weaken Geordi as a role model to disabled people in our audience. La Forge and Centurion Bochra linked La Forge's VISOR with a tricorder to form a device capable of detecting neutrino emissions, since a standard tricorder was incapable of detecting this phenomenon. This improvisation saved both men's lives because they were trapped on planet Galorndon Core at the time. (“The Enemy” [TNG]). SEE: neural output pods. La Forge's VISOR provided the Romulans with a unique opportunity to use his neural implants to provide direct input to his visual cortex, giving them the ability to program La Forge's mind to commit criminal acts. The Romulans tried unsuccessfully to use La Forge to murder Klingon governor Vagh in 2367 with this technique. (“The Mind's Eye” [TNG]). In 2370, when Worf encountered a quantum anomaly, the presence of Geordi's VISOR would cause Worf to shift from one reality to the next. As Worf arrived in a quantum reality where Geordi was killed, the cause of his shifting was discovered, and the Data of that reality was able to suggest a solution to the problem. (“Parallels” [TNG]). Geordi's VISOR was modified by Dr. Tolian Soran in 2371 when La Forge was held captive aboard a Klingon bird-of-prey. The modified VISOR transmitted visual information back to the Klingon ship, giving Lursa and B'Etor to access to vital shield modulation data, making it possible for them to launch a devastating attack on the starship. (Star Trek: Generations). Geordi's VISOR was modeled on a hair clip donated to the show by UCLA researcher Kiku Annon.
~1:[2,#B],18:[26,#I],44:[2,#BI],46:[23,#I],75:[28,#I],105:[4,#I]@1Vulcan harp@2Stringed musical instrument from planet Vulcan. Spock enjoyed playing the instrument during his off-duty hours. The Vulcan harp was first seen in “Charlie X” (TOS), then later used in “The Conscience of the King” (TOS), in which he accompanied Uhura's song “Beyond Antares”; “Amok Time” (TOS); and “The Way to Eden” (TOS). A replica of the original prop, borrowed from Gene Roddenberry's office, was used in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. A Vulcan harp was seen in the mirror Kira Nerys's quarters in “Through the Looking Glass” (DS9). The prop was loaned to the show from the collection of Star Trek graphic designer Doug Drexler.
~1:[2,#B],42:[3,#B],48:[1,#B],59:[4,#B],73:[2,#B],98:[2,#B],119:[1,#B],123:[1,#B],132:[1,#B],139:[1,#B],169:[2,#B],177:[1,#B],190:[2,#B],216:[1,#B],225:[2,#B],235:[1,#B],270:[1,#B],324:[30,#I],368:[5,#I],374:[1,#BI]@1Vulcan mind-meld@2An ancient Vulcan ritual in which two persons are telepathically linked, sharing each other's consciousness. To Vulcans, mind-melding is a deeply personal experience, providing an intense intimacy. (“Dagger of the Mind” [TOS]). Scientifically, the process is described as a synaptic pattern displacement. (“The Passenger” [DS9]). Spock used a mind-meld in 2266 to determine the truth of Dr. Simon Van Gelder's apparently wild claims that he was the director of the Tantalus V penal colony. (“Dagger of the Mind” [TOS]). Spock occasionally used his mind-melding skills to provide a telepathic distraction to an adversary, as at Eminiar VII (“A Taste of Armageddon” [TOS]). Mind-melding can be performed with intelligences as diverse as humans, the robot space probe Nomad (“The Changeling”), the Horta (“The Devil in the Dark” [TOS]), and the Kelvans. When mind-melding with the Kelvan named Kelinda, Spock was able to glimpse the apparently humanoid creature's true form: an immense being with hundreds of tentacles. (“By Any Other Name” [TOS]). A mind-meld was used to permit Jean-Luc Picard to provide emotional support to Ambassador Sarek in 2366 when the ambassador was suffering the debilitating effects of terminal Bendii Syndrome. Sarek benefited from the captain's emotional control, but Picard had to endure the fierce onslaught of the ambassador's unleashed emotions. (“Sarek” [TNG]). In 2370, Sakonna unsuccessfully tried to perform a mind meld with Gul Dukat in an attempt to gather information for the Maquis. Dukat attributed his ability to resist the mind meld to his Cardassian training. (“The Maquis, Part II” [DS9]). The Vulcan mind-meld can be used so that one person can hone another's skill. In 2371, Tuvok proposed a mind meld with Kes in hopes of focusing Kes's telepathic abilities. (“Cathexis” [VGR]). Tuvok used a Vulcan mind-meld on Tom Paris in 2371 to view the memories contained in Paris's Banean neuroimplant. Tuvok used these memories to determine that Paris did not kill Banean scientist Tolen Ren. (“Ex Post Facto” [VGR]). The Vulcan mind-meld was first used in “Dagger of the Mind” (TOS). Mind-melds were also performed in “The Paradise Syndrome” (TOS), “Spectre of the Gun” (TOS), “The Omega Glory” (TOS), Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II, Star Trek III, Star Trek VI, and “Unification, Part II” (TNG). SEE: katra.
~1:[3,#B],98:[43,#I],142:[1,#B]@1Vulcan nerve pinch@2A Vulcan technique in which finger pressure is applied to certain nerves at the base of the neck, instantly and nonviolently rendering that individual unconscious. Although the technique appears to work on nearly all humanoid species (and several nonhumanoids as well), few non-Vulcans have been able to master the nerve pinch. (“The Enemy Within” [TOS]). The Vulcan nerve pinch can cause trauma to the trapezius nerve bundle. (“Cathexis” [VGR]). Spock tried, unsuccessfully, to teach the nerve pinch to Kirk, but many years later, Data was able to master the technique. (“Unification, Part II” [TNG]). The Famous Spock Nerve Pinch (as it became known to the show's production staff) was invented by actor Leonard Nimoy, who devised it because he thought Spock would not stoop to rendering an opponent unconscious with anything so crude as a karate chop. SEE: FSNP.
~1:[1,#B],18:[4,#B],27:[1,#B],29:[1,#B],53:[3,#B],67:[2,#I],71:[26,#I],102:[3,#I],108:[1,#I],112:[1,#I],114:[11,#I],126:[1,#B]@1Vulcan@2Class-M planet, homeworld to the Vulcan race. Hot and arid, Vulcan is a member of the United Federation of Planets. Vulcan was the homeworld of Spock and Sarek. The planet has no moon. (“The Man Trap” [TOS]). There are wilderness preserves on Vulcan. (“Life Support” [DS9]). Centuries ago, Cardassian serialist poet Iloja of Prim spent time on Vulcan while he was in exile. (“Destiny” [DS9]). The original Starship Enterprise visited Vulcan in “Amok Time” (TOS) and “Journey to Babel” (TOS). We also saw Vulcan (curiously with several moons — or at least nearby planets) in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, then again in Star Trek III and Star Trek IV. The Enterprise -D visited Vulcan in “Sarek” (TNG) and “Unification, Part I” (TNG). SEE: Vulcans.
Childhood and family. Worf, son of Mogh, was born on the Klingon Homeworld in 2340. As a young child, Worf accompanied his parents to the Khitomer Outpost in 2346.
Worf was orphaned later that year in the brutal Khitomer massacre, a Romulan attack in which 4,000 Klingons were killed. Worf was rescued by Sergey Rozhenko, a human crew member from the U.S.S. Intrepid. Sergey and his wife, Helena Rozhenko, adopted Worf and raised him as their own son, because it was believed that Worf had no remaining family on the Homeworld. (“Sins of the Father” [TNG]).
With his new family on the farm world of Gault (“Heart of Glory” [TNG]) and later on Earth, Worf found it difficult to fit into the alien world of Humans and was a bit of a hell-raiser. (“Family” [TNG]). Worf was raised along with an adoptive brother, Nikolai Rozhenko, the biological son of the Rozhenkos. (“Homeward” [TNG]). Nikolai entered Starfleet Academy at the same time as Worf, but later dropped out because he found Starfleet not to his liking. (“Heart of Glory” [TNG]).
Worf's hobbies include the building of ancient Klingon ocean sailing vessels in a bottle, considered difficult handiwork. (“Peak Performance” [TNG]).
Worf's adoptive parents remained close to him over the years, and made it a point to visit him in early 2367 when the Enterprise -D was docked at Earth Station McKinley for repairs. (“Family” [TNG]).
Worf had a son, Alexander Rozhenko, in 2366, with Ambassador K'Ehleyr, with whom he had been romantically involved. When K'Ehleyr was murdered by Klingon high council member Duras, Alexander returned to Earth to be cared for by Sergey and Helena. (“Reunion” [TNG]).
For some reason, Worf's experiences on Earth never included drinking prune juice. When given a taste of it by Guinan in 2365, Worf pronounced it “a warrior's drink” (“Yesterday's Enterprise” [TNG]).
The first Klingon in Starfleet. Following his graduation from Starfleet Academy in 2361, Worf held the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade, and served as flight control officer (conn) aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise -D. (“Encounter at Farpoint” [TNG]). (There is a three-year period between his graduation and the start of Star Trek: The Next Generation that is still unaccounted for.)
Worf was promoted to acting chief of security and made a full lieutenant following the death of Lieutenant Natasha Yar at planet Vagra II in late 2364 (“Skin of Evil” [TNG]). Worf felt intense guilt when Lieutenant Marla Aster was accidentally killed on an away mission in 2366, orphaning her son Jeremy Aster. Worf later took Jeremy into his family through the Klingon R'uustai, or bonding, ceremony. (“The Bonding” [TNG]).
In 2368, Worf's spinal column was shattered in an accident when several cargo containers collapsed onto him. Worf was left paralyzed, and his prognosis indicated little hope for a full recovery. In accordance with Klingon tradition, Worf refused medical treatment and opted for the Hegh'bat form of ritual suicide. He was dissuaded from taking his life when Dr. Toby Russell performed a dangerous experimental surgical procedure called genetronic replication, in which a new spinal column was generated to replace the damaged organ. The surgery was successful, in part because Klingon physiology includes redundancy for nearly all vital bodily functions. (“Ethics” [TNG]). SEE: brak'lul.
Worf once investigated a claim that his father had not died at Khitomer, but was instead being held prisoner at a secret Romulan prison camp in the Carraya System. Although the report was false, Worf did indeed find a prison camp where survivors of the Khitomer massacre and their families were being held. At the camp, Worf fell in love with a half-Romulan, half-Klingon woman named Ba'el. Worf led some of the prisoners to freedom, but the majority (including Ba'el) chose to remain, regarding the Carraya prison as their home. (“Birthright, Parts I and II” [TNG]). Worf and the freed prisoners all promised never to reveal the story of the prison camp at Carraya, so we assume Starfleet has no knowledge of it.
Worf was promoted to lieutenant commander in 2371 in a ceremony held on a holodeck representation of the 19th century sailing frigate Enterprise. (Star Trek: Generations). Following the destruction of the Enterprise -D, Worf accepted an assignment to serve as strategic operations officer at station Deep Space 9. (“The Way of the Warrior” [DS9]).
In Klingon politics. Worf was thrust into high-level Klingon politics in 2366 when he discovered that he had a biological brother, Kurn. The Klingon High Council had ruled that their father, Mogh, had committed treason at Khitomer. Worf and Kurn challenged this judgment, but found the High Council unwilling to hear evidence that the politically powerful Duras family had falsified the charges against Mogh. Although Worf was willing to die in the challenge to protect his family honor, he eventually chose to accept a humiliating discommendation rather than allow his brother to be killed. (“Sins of the Father” [TNG]). Worf later killed Duras for having murdered K'Ehleyr. (“Reunion” [TNG]).
Worf was once again dragged into high-level Klingon politics in late 2367 and early 2368 when a challenge to the Gowron regime by the Duras family triggered a Klingon civil war. Worf and Kurn agreed to support the Gowron regime in exchange for the rightful restoration of honor to the Mogh family. During the conflict, Worf was forced to resign his Starfleet commission because he would not otherwise be permitted to take sides in that internal political matter. (“Redemption, Parts I and II” [TNG]).
In 2369, Worf experienced a crisis of faith, and requested a leave of absence to visit the Klingon monastery on Boreth. While meditating to invoke visions of Kahless the Unforgettable, Worf met a very real vision of Kahless. It was discovered that this Kahless was in fact a clone of the original, created by the clerics of Boreth. At Worf's suggestion, and with the support of High Council leader Gowron, the new Kahless was installed as the ceremonial Emperor of the Klingon people in 2369. (“Rightful Heir” [TNG]). Worf's first appearance was in “Encounter at Farpoint” [TNG]). The character was conceived by Gene Roddenberry and Bob Justman, who wanted a Klingon on the bridge as a reminder to the audience that today's enemies can become tomorrow's friends. Although Worf was originally intended to be little more than a costumed extra with elaborate makeup, he has since grown into one of the most complex and interesting of Star Trek characters.
~1: [1, #b], 24: [2, #b], 59: [2, #b], 61: [2, #b], 65: [1, #b], 68: [1, #b], 102: [1, #b]@1Yridians@2Civilization of humanoids known as interstellar dealers of information. Yridian agents, working for Cardassian interests, were responsible for the murder of archaeologist Richard Galen in 2369, an effort to steal his research data. The Romulans intercepted communications between the Yridians and the Cardassians, making the Romulans aware of the importance of Galen's work. (“The Chase” [TNG]). SEE: humanoid life. Jaglom Shrek, who sold Worf information about Mogh, was Yridian. (“Birthright, Part I” [TNG]). Yridians were suspected of helping Cardassians transfer weapons into the Demilitarized Zone in late 2370. This claim was never proven. (“The Maquis, Part I” [DS9]). In 2371, Garak listed a Yridian as someone who might want Garak dead. (“Improbable Cause” [DS9]).
~1:[1,#B],12:[2,#B],28:[1,#B],77:[1,#B],134:[2,#B],138:[1,#B],156:[1,#B],182:[3,#B],189:[1,#B],244:[4,#B],251:[3,#B],271:[5,#B]@1Zek@2(Wallace Shawn). Wizened leader of Ferengi commerce who served as Grand Nagus. Zek had enormous ears and carried a cane of his likeness made from gold-pressed latinum. Zek convened a major trade conference on Deep Space 9 in 2369 to announce the appointment of his successor as grand nagus. Zek named Quark as his successor, and apparently died shortly thereafter. In fact, Zek's death was a ruse intended to test the suitability of his son, Krax, to one day assume the mantle as nagus. Zek came out of hiding when he realized that his son was not as mercenary as Zek would have liked. Zek therefore decided not to retire and remained the grand nagus a bit longer. (“The Nagus” [DS9]). Zek later recruited Quark to act as his negotiator to purchase tulaberry wine from the Dosi in the Gamma Quadrant, but it was a ploy by Zek to learn more about the mysterious Dominion, a powerful force in that region of space. (“Rules of Acquisition” [DS9]). Zek underwent a dramatic temporary personality change in 2371 after obtaining the Bajoran Orb of Wisdom and encountering the Bajoran Prophets. Zek had hoped that meeting the Prophets would help him learn enough about the future to make an imaginable profit, but instead, the wormhole aliens found Zek's acquisitive nature offensive. They devolved Zek's personality to a time before the Ferengi people revered profit above all. While in this non-competitive state, Zek rewrote all 285 Ferengi Rules of Acquisition, and formed the Ferengi Benevolent Association. Quark eventually convinced the wormhole entities to restore Zek to his former self. (“Prophet Motive” [DS9]). SEE: Ferengi Rules of Acquisition, Revised.
