because they are cute and fluffy and everyone wants to hug them :
Members of the Federation.
- Thread starter Deranged Nasat
- Start date
I tend to think the former date is a little too early and the latter a little too late.
In Cast No Shadow, set in 2300, a Betazoid (Dr. Malla Tancreda) is involved with the Federation, and while that means nothing for Betazed's membership, I did get the impression that Betazed was indeed within the Federation fold. In The Last Roundup, set in 2294, an implicitly Betazoid character is serving President Ra-ghoratreii, and the writing suggests that Betazoids are quite new to the Federation - mention is made of their "proven ability" to sense emotions and intentions even over subspace, as though it's a novelty. I tend to go for the late 2280s as the most likely point of admission.
Has any mention ever been made as to whether 'Betazed' is the real name that they call their own world? It just seems too convenient - Betazed, i.e. Beta-Zed (some kind of code word or abbreviation used on the star charts).
Yeah, but there's been other cases in the novels - Rihannsu, Dhei-Lta - where they explained how a planet name like that came about that way. I assume that they want to know if there was ever anything similar in a novel for Betazed.
That's true, but the books have often tried to work around it. (Actually, sometimes the TV shows did this too, I think, like making Kronos "Qo'noS", perhaps suggesting that the name is coincidence).
Vulcan is T'Khasi or Minshara, among others.
Romulus and Remus are ch'Rihan and ch'Havran, Romulans are Rihannsu (since the modern novel 'verse uses the latter at times, I'm assuming the Duane planet names are also in use).
Sauria is Lyaksti'kton.
The Rigel Worlds are Raij'hl.
Delta is Dhei-Lta, Deltans are Dhei-tan.
EDIT: Idran beat me to it. What he said!
Plus. we have Mol'Rihan for New Romulus (the planet) and Nova Roma (the city on Rator III) in the STO continuity.
I loved the idea Bernd Schneider once suggested in his EAS pages, that the name for the Romulans could've come about due to a temporal loop - Archer reading about the Romulan Star Empire in the library and then assigning the name to the alien attackers from "Minefield".
I loved the idea Bernd Schneider once suggested in his EAS pages, that the name for the Romulans could've come about due to a temporal loop - Archer reading about the Romulan Star Empire in the library and then assigning the name to the alien attackers from "Minefield".
Does it qualify as a temporal loop if it was a person's experiences in traveling to an alternate future that prompted something in a thereafter revised past/present?
^In the same sense that "Yesteryear" is a loop because Spock had to see an alternate present in which he didn't exist in order to perform the action in the past that guaranteed he would exist. Loops can involve more than one timeline.
^ And "Yesterday's Enterprise".
How did the Xindi end up joining? According to Memory Beta the only reference to that is a short story that I have not read.
How they joined isn't explained in the story; it simply asserts that a Xindi is a member of the UFP government in the 24th century (if it's the story I think you mean).
Thanks, I figured it was probably something like that.
They tend not to get mentioned very much in Trek Lit, despite them being kind of a big deal in Enterprise. Feels like you could tell a story about what happened to them from Ent-modern Trek
They tend not to get mentioned very much in Trek Lit, despite them being kind of a big deal in Enterprise. Feels like you could tell a story about what happened to them from Ent-modern Trek
Well, ENT did establish that their territory was very far away, so it's reasonable that they're still beyond Federation space in the 24th century, or at least out on the fringes. And at the end of their arc, they had a new homeworld to establish, something that could easily be the work of centuries. If anything, I'd find it more implausible if they were heavily featured in the TOS or TNG eras.
So this was something I compiled a few weeks ago, based off of Deranged Nasat's most recent list. Here, I determine which Federation members are established explicitly as such in canon, which ones are suggested and which ones are non-canonical. The list is somewhat inconsistent about using species names versus planet names; generally, I tried to be conservative about what is actually "canon", though I wasn't particularly consistent in how I went about that. The point is that there are some cases where only the species was named, and the planet is left unspecified, in which case I list the canonical species name. (Or vice-versa, though I don't think that ever actually happened.)
Part of my motivation for developing this list was to outline just how much of the larger TrekLitverse was grown from the onscreen Trekverse by our beloved tie-in authors. The TrekLitverse really is a much richer and more widely explored universe, and we have them to thank for that.
On the other hand, sometimes I like to focus more on the primary source material and imagine (for myself) other interpretations of and extrapolations from onscreen Trek. So having an epistemologically-differentiated list is nice for those purposes, too.
So, here we go:
founding planets:
Earth
Vulcan
Andoria
Tellar Prime
Alpha Centauri (see NOTE)
additional member races, planets and states, canonically-established, more or less:
Algolians
Arbazan
Ardana
Benzar
Betazed
Bolarus IX
Caitians (name is non-canonical)
Coridan
Deltans
Efrosians (name is non-canonical)
Grazerites (name is non-canonical)
Haliia
Ktaris
Hekarans
Pacifica
Peliar Zel II
Rigel IV
Risa
Trill (see NOTE)
Xindi (though unclear when; may be anytime before 2500s)
Zakdorn
[canonical appearance, non-canonical name, membership is likely but non-canonical] (see NOTE):
Aaamazzara
Arcadians (seen in Federation Council Chambers in The Voyage Home)
Ariolo (seen in Federation Council Chambers in The Voyage Home)
Bzzit Khaht (seen in Federation Council Chambers in The Voyage Home)
Edosians/Triexians
Ithenites (name and membership are both canonical, but not specifically linked to onscreen appearance)
Kasheeta (seen in Federation Council Chambers in The Voyage Home)
Kazarite
Zaranite (may be seen in Federation Council Chambers in The Voyage Home)
[canonical appearance or members, canonically members but possibly as colonies]:
Aldebaran/Aldebaron
Archer IV
Arvada III
Alpha Proxima II
Berangaria
Beta Antares
Caldos II
Cestus III
Deneva
Izar
Mars
New Paris
Sirius IX (canon is vaguely suggestive of membership; on the other hand, no one's done anything with it either way)
Tau Ceti (I'm somewhat skeptical about how technically Tau Ceti worlds were established as part of the Federation; however, once again, like Archer IV, it seems very likely)
Vega IX
[canonical appearance or mention, non-canonical membership]:
Arcturus
Argelius
Arkenites
Andros III
Antos IV
Antedeans
Atrea IV
Aurelia
Axanar
Bajor
Bilana III
Bre'el IV
Bynaus
Cairn
Cygnet XIV
Delb II
Denobula
Draylax
Elas
Elaysians (see Gemworld, below)
Evora
Gallimites
Icor IX
Inferna Prime
Iotia
Janus VI
Kyppr
Lorillians
Magna Roma
Makus III
Medusans
Napeans (multiple canonical members in Starfleet, which is suggestive of membership)
Nasat
Ramatis III
Regulus
Rhaandarites
Sauria
Tandar
Terra Nova
Tessen III
Tiburon
Troyius
Tyrellia (five Tyrellians are onboard the Enterprise-D at one point and Starfleet officers are stationed on the planet in apparently non-extraordinary circumstances, which means Tyrellia is likely a Federation member)
United Worlds and Colonies of Rigel
Zalda
non-canonical:
Alonis
Antares VIII
Asarion
Candelar IV
Carnegie
Damiano
Dedderei
Delta Sigma IV
Gemworld (Gemworld is the non-canonical name for the homeworld of the canonically-established Elaysian species)
Gnala
Hermat
Huan
Koa
Lendrin
Meldrar I
Ochat
Ontailians
Oriki
Pahkwa
Parnasi
Pandril
Pentam V
Pythagos Clans
Scoridia
Seleneans
Sulamid
Threllvia
Valzhan
Vobilin
Vestios
Xeletians
Ysa
Zanri
NOTE on Alpha Centauri: Memory Alpha has run itself ragged debating whether or not Alpha Centauri was a founding member of the Federation; it is certainly never made explicit. If memory serves, though, Daniels refers to the Federation being founded by four species, not four planets. So, depending on whether you interpret canon to indicate Alpha Centauri as being a human colony, it could still be possible. In any case, Alpha Centauri should probably be included instead under canonical appearance or members, canonically members but possibly as colonies.
NOTE on Trill: Technically, Trill has never been canonically declared a Federation member; while Curzon Dax's ambassadorship would certainly be a strong argument in favor, and indeed, that is the prevailing argument for including Arbazan as a canonical member, it is plausible that the great Curzon Dax was so illustrious and so well respected (particularly by the Klingons) that he was individually granted citizenship, in order to be a Federation ambassador. On the other hand, Trill not being a member is more consistent with "The Host," and I've long felt that TrekLit could've done a better job of reconciling the apparent contradictions between the Trill's portrayal in that episode and later in Deep Space Nine. (I don't think they're really as severe as many people think they are.)
NOTE on all those random species from The Voyage Home: So this is a weird situation. We have a handful of species here that we see exactly once, fuzzily, in the background. Never seen before or since. Their names (and in most cases, the only clear pictures we have) come from production artwork. Yet, we are led to believe that not only are they Federation members, they are Federation Councillors!
Therefore, it feels inaccurate to place them on the same level as Betazoids, Coridanites, etc.
That scene is difficult for other reasons, not the least of which is that there are way too many Starfleet officers ostensibly part of the Federation Council. (This is a problem we've run into elsewhere, too: c.f. "Rapture." But still.)
Thus, given the brevity of their appearances, and given potential alternative explanations, I hesitate to describe those species as being canonically members.
Part of my motivation for developing this list was to outline just how much of the larger TrekLitverse was grown from the onscreen Trekverse by our beloved tie-in authors. The TrekLitverse really is a much richer and more widely explored universe, and we have them to thank for that.
On the other hand, sometimes I like to focus more on the primary source material and imagine (for myself) other interpretations of and extrapolations from onscreen Trek. So having an epistemologically-differentiated list is nice for those purposes, too.
So, here we go:
founding planets:
Earth
Vulcan
Andoria
Tellar Prime
Alpha Centauri (see NOTE)
additional member races, planets and states, canonically-established, more or less:
Algolians
Arbazan
Ardana
Benzar
Betazed
Bolarus IX
Caitians (name is non-canonical)
Coridan
Deltans
Efrosians (name is non-canonical)
Grazerites (name is non-canonical)
Haliia
Ktaris
Hekarans
Pacifica
Peliar Zel II
Rigel IV
Risa
Trill (see NOTE)
Xindi (though unclear when; may be anytime before 2500s)
Zakdorn
[canonical appearance, non-canonical name, membership is likely but non-canonical] (see NOTE):
Aaamazzara
Arcadians (seen in Federation Council Chambers in The Voyage Home)
Ariolo (seen in Federation Council Chambers in The Voyage Home)
Bzzit Khaht (seen in Federation Council Chambers in The Voyage Home)
Edosians/Triexians
Ithenites (name and membership are both canonical, but not specifically linked to onscreen appearance)
Kasheeta (seen in Federation Council Chambers in The Voyage Home)
Kazarite
Zaranite (may be seen in Federation Council Chambers in The Voyage Home)
[canonical appearance or members, canonically members but possibly as colonies]:
Aldebaran/Aldebaron
Archer IV
Arvada III
Alpha Proxima II
Berangaria
Beta Antares
Caldos II
Cestus III
Deneva
Izar
Mars
New Paris
Sirius IX (canon is vaguely suggestive of membership; on the other hand, no one's done anything with it either way)
Tau Ceti (I'm somewhat skeptical about how technically Tau Ceti worlds were established as part of the Federation; however, once again, like Archer IV, it seems very likely)
Vega IX
[canonical appearance or mention, non-canonical membership]:
Arcturus
Argelius
Arkenites
Andros III
Antos IV
Antedeans
Atrea IV
Aurelia
Axanar
Bajor
Bilana III
Bre'el IV
Bynaus
Cairn
Cygnet XIV
Delb II
Denobula
Draylax
Elas
Elaysians (see Gemworld, below)
Evora
Gallimites
Icor IX
Inferna Prime
Iotia
Janus VI
Kyppr
Lorillians
Magna Roma
Makus III
Medusans
Napeans (multiple canonical members in Starfleet, which is suggestive of membership)
Nasat
Ramatis III
Regulus
Rhaandarites
Sauria
Tandar
Terra Nova
Tessen III
Tiburon
Troyius
Tyrellia (five Tyrellians are onboard the Enterprise-D at one point and Starfleet officers are stationed on the planet in apparently non-extraordinary circumstances, which means Tyrellia is likely a Federation member)
United Worlds and Colonies of Rigel
Zalda
non-canonical:
Alonis
Antares VIII
Asarion
Candelar IV
Carnegie
Damiano
Dedderei
Delta Sigma IV
Gemworld (Gemworld is the non-canonical name for the homeworld of the canonically-established Elaysian species)
Gnala
Hermat
Huan
Koa
Lendrin
Meldrar I
Ochat
Ontailians
Oriki
Pahkwa
Parnasi
Pandril
Pentam V
Pythagos Clans
Scoridia
Seleneans
Sulamid
Threllvia
Valzhan
Vobilin
Vestios
Xeletians
Ysa
Zanri
NOTE on Alpha Centauri: Memory Alpha has run itself ragged debating whether or not Alpha Centauri was a founding member of the Federation; it is certainly never made explicit. If memory serves, though, Daniels refers to the Federation being founded by four species, not four planets. So, depending on whether you interpret canon to indicate Alpha Centauri as being a human colony, it could still be possible. In any case, Alpha Centauri should probably be included instead under canonical appearance or members, canonically members but possibly as colonies.
NOTE on Trill: Technically, Trill has never been canonically declared a Federation member; while Curzon Dax's ambassadorship would certainly be a strong argument in favor, and indeed, that is the prevailing argument for including Arbazan as a canonical member, it is plausible that the great Curzon Dax was so illustrious and so well respected (particularly by the Klingons) that he was individually granted citizenship, in order to be a Federation ambassador. On the other hand, Trill not being a member is more consistent with "The Host," and I've long felt that TrekLit could've done a better job of reconciling the apparent contradictions between the Trill's portrayal in that episode and later in Deep Space Nine. (I don't think they're really as severe as many people think they are.)
NOTE on all those random species from The Voyage Home: So this is a weird situation. We have a handful of species here that we see exactly once, fuzzily, in the background. Never seen before or since. Their names (and in most cases, the only clear pictures we have) come from production artwork. Yet, we are led to believe that not only are they Federation members, they are Federation Councillors!
Therefore, it feels inaccurate to place them on the same level as Betazoids, Coridanites, etc.
That scene is difficult for other reasons, not the least of which is that there are way too many Starfleet officers ostensibly part of the Federation Council. (This is a problem we've run into elsewhere, too: c.f. "Rapture." But still.)
This leads me to wonder whether or not we were actually seeing the Federation Council proper in those scenes. Perhaps it was a subcommittee, with many observers– not unlikely given the interstellar significance of the case of James T. Kirk, renegade and terrorist. In which case, the Bzzit Khaht, Kasheeta and the others would be representatives from non-aligned planets (perhaps from along the Federation-Klingon border?) invited to observe the proceedings.
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Good list, Paper Moon.
The only issue I find with it is that Inferna Prime, Delb II and Bilana III should be in the "canonical mention, non-canonical membership" category.
As for the troubling implications of the Council being filled with people in Starfleet uniforms, my personal interpretation is that former Starfleet personnel are permitted to ceremonially retain their uniform upon leaving the service to enter politics. The novels seem to support this, in that President Thelian, in his comic appearance, was wearing a uniform, and Articles of the Federation listed him as a former Starfleet officer.
The only issue I find with it is that Inferna Prime, Delb II and Bilana III should be in the "canonical mention, non-canonical membership" category.
As for the troubling implications of the Council being filled with people in Starfleet uniforms, my personal interpretation is that former Starfleet personnel are permitted to ceremonially retain their uniform upon leaving the service to enter politics. The novels seem to support this, in that President Thelian, in his comic appearance, was wearing a uniform, and Articles of the Federation listed him as a former Starfleet officer.
Have you ever read the TOS novel Excelsior: Forged in Fire?
I tend toward the idea that the people in Starfleet uniforms in the council chamber in TVH were observers or witnesses, not Council members. After all, the issues under debate were Starfleet-related, so it made sense that there would be Starfleet representatives in attendance to testify or argue before the Council.
And, sadly, there's nothing "weird" about TVH featuring aliens we only see once and never again -- or at least, nothing unusual. Trek is unfortunately full of background aliens seen once and ignored by later productions.
And, sadly, there's nothing "weird" about TVH featuring aliens we only see once and never again -- or at least, nothing unusual. Trek is unfortunately full of background aliens seen once and ignored by later productions.
Good list, Paper Moon.
The only issue I find with it is that Inferna Prime, Delb II and Bilana III should be in the "canonical mention, non-canonical membership" category.
Thanks! And good catch; not sure what in particular would've made me miss those, so I'm glad you corrected me! Will edit.
Yeah, that's definitely a possibility, though it's still a large bloc of the Council being represented by former Starfleet officers. I'm just not sure how consistent that depiction of Starfleet within the larger life of the Federation is; is the organization really that sprawling? Seems almost suffocating.
(On the other hand, the fact that a Starfleet JAG had some jurisdiction in the case of Richard Bashir might imply that, yes, Starfleet is that much of a sprawling organization.)
For comparison, about one-third of the US Senate and the US House is composed of veterans. So, depending on how sprawling you think the present-day US military is, perhaps it's not such a leap to imagine so many veterans on the Council.
I have not read it, though I believe I am familiar with how it addresses the inconsistency.
Victims of the Klingon Augment Virus, right?
Did AotF specify that she actually was from Trill? Or only that she was Trill? For example, she could be Rigelian. In fact, that's what I'm going to go with in my headcanon until it's established otherwise.
In any case, Trill is probably the most extreme example of an ambiguous presentation in canon that TrekLit has interpreted in one way but could also be validly interpreted in a totally different direction. I'm reminded of some the things FASA did in the late 80's, based on TOS, the first few movies and the first season of TNG, which ended up being a totally different direction than the TV show went in.
I agree. That said, the fact that we see multiple Caitians in flag officer uniforms suggests to me, nonetheless, that Caitians are Federation members. Normally I don't think that single instances of representation in Starfleet should be taken too seriously as evidence of Federation membership (c.f. Worf, Nog, Ro and possibly the Dax's), but a pair of high-level officers being present at top-level activities of the Federation government seems like a great enough preponderance of evidence to assume membership, at least in this specific case.
Agreed that it's not unusual. What's weird is that, unlike other background aliens, these folks were in the Federation Council chambers, suggesting not only that they were Federation members, but members of at least some (possibly temporary) importance. It's an odd imbalance, from an analytical perspective, anyway.
Also, that brings up another interesting assumption that TrekLit has made: that all member planets/species/states hold individual representation on the Federation Council. That variable throws another wrench into analyzing those scenes from The Voyage Home.
