#pah-wraith

[cabinboy100]

STAR TREK: PICARD: Theory: Borg/Pah-wraith Combo Meal Deal!

Beware: Season 3 spoilers! If you have not watched the first eight episodes of STAR TREK: PICARD season 3, get thee to your streaming device and watch! Then come back for some combo crazytalk. =)

Thesis: JC was born to be a Pah-wraith Emissary with power over the Borg. He could easily have either PW or Borg ancestry, but no one is ever really just one thing, right? =)

MY THREE DADS.

After Jean-Luc was "cured" of Locutus in 2366 (TNG "The Best of Both Worlds"), vestiges of Jean-Loc's Borg connection remained in his body. BC's analysis of JL's assimilation revealed that "microcircuit fibers" rewrote his DNA. When JL was released from the collective, BC explained that his DNA was returning to normal. However, JL's ability to sense and "read" the Borg in 2373 (FIRST CONTACT) demonstrates that some of those modifications persisted, likely concentrated in his parietal lobe.

At some point, before 2379 (NEMESIS), archaeology nerd JL acquires a Bajoran tablet for study. Sometime between 2375 (DS9 "What You Leave Behind") and 2379 (NEMESIS), the tablet breaks, releasing a Pah-wraith contained within. The incident is accompanied by a discharge of energy that renders JL unconscious. When JL wakes, he finds the tablet broken, but otherwise, nothing out of place. Of course, the truth is that while JL was knocked out, the PW bonded with him, possessing him, but in a passive way, taking up residence in JL's mind and body. Typically, it would take control of its host's form, but cut off from the rest of its kind (trapped in the Fire Caves of Bajor in 2375), it is weakened, and rides shotgun in JL, aware of his actions, but not able to control them.

After the events of NEMESIS, JL joins BC for their fateful shore leave on Casperia Prime. The PW within him contributes its energy to JC's conception, and so Jack is destined to be the PW's Emissary (following the formula used by the Prophets to create Emissary Sisko).

JL's choice as Emissary sire was not made by chance. The PWs are aware that JL was once Locutus & that his offspring will possess unique mutated Borg abilities that other hosts could not. Due to the hive mind and techno-organic nature of the Borg, the PW have no influence over them as followers or hosts, but their Emissary shall. He will be able to control the Borg and turn them into an army for the PWs.

Thanks to the decimation of the Borg by Captain Janeway and her alternate timeline Admiral self in 2378 (VOYAGER "Endgame"), that army is significantly reduced by 2401. Because time travel enabled those events, the PWs could not foresee them. Regardless, Emissary Jack has the "natural born" abilities of Locutus, the Borg Consort.

The Prophets' Emissary, Ben Sisko, acted as their agent on the mortal plane. Not possessed, but inclined by nature, duty, & sometimes persuasion to do as they required.

Previously, PWs once chose Dukat as their Emissary, imbuing him w their power, but not possessing him. Dukat was not a true Emissary, fated from birth, but a convenient vessel, free of the influence of the Prophets and already possessed of a will to destroy Emissary Sisko.

Emissary Jack is meant to serve the PWs the way Sisko served the Prophets, by following his nature, which is predisposed to darkness thanks to his PW heritage. However, I believe that nature has been modified, partly by BC's nurture and parenting, and partly by the red door, or rather, what JC visualizes as a red door, a psychic block or partition that isolates the malevolence inherited from JL's PW passenger and the dormant Borg connection.

BC explained to Jack that when he was a child, he suffered terrible nightmares, bad enough that he stopped sleeping. These nightmares were conjured by his PW self, his dark side. JC doesn't remember having them, but BC does, and remembers that he got through them. She does not share with him how.

It was the psychic block, aka the red door, constructed within his mind to lock away the parts of him that are not human, the Borg connection and the PW darkness.

But how was this block created? I have a few ideas…

1. JC instinctively used his latent Borg abilities to build a psychic defense against his PW-ness when he was young. Over millennia, the Borg have developed a techno-organic method of overpowering and controlling the consciousness of thousands of species. The separation of one part of a mind from another is a low-level feature of their systems. BC had tried helping him however she could, but when the sleep/nightmare issues seemingly ended on their own, she knew it was not due to any of her efforts, but thanks to something within JC that had changed.

2. BC came up with a treatment that psychically blocked JC's nightmares. She suspected the Jean-Loc origins, but could not identify a physiological cause and so treated the symptom using any psychological treatments available, which resulted in locking away the PW darkness that caused the nightmares as well as his Borg self.

NB. JC may have been suffering from two competing forms of nightmares. Fiery galactic apocalyptic visions inspired by his PW self and the distorted psychic cries and confusion of the drones of the Borg in the wake of Janeway's viral attack in 2378.

3. It turns out that Section 31 had been keeping tabs on BC and her son, aware that JC was the son of ex-Borg JL. When JC's nightmares manifested, they approached BC and offered their help to manage them. They used programming techniques that involved hypnosis and exotic technology to lock away JC's darkness and inherited Borg abilities. Their programming would have to be refreshed and reinforced periodically, so BC and JC would rendezvous with S31 operatives regularly to get that done. These treatments also allowed S31 to program JC with skills and intel needed to complete missions for them while performing his Doctors without Galactic Borders duties with Dr. Mom. To execute these missions, the red door would be unlocked, allowing JC to access both the darkness of his PW lineage and the abilities of his Borg lineage. On mission completion, the door would be locked again. Note that S31 knew about JC's Borg potential, but were unaware of his PW darkness. They attributed his knack for black ops action to natural ability. The training he received as well as the memories of the missions themselves were locked up behind the red door, too. JC's conscious self ihas no recall of his actions when the door is open. His dark side is in charge then. S31 shares the basics of JC's issues and their "treatment" with BC, charging her with becoming her son's handler. It is a deal with the devil she enters into willingly, as S31's technique has succeeded where all of her medical knowledge has failed. Their dependence on S31 is another reason that BC continues to keep her distance from her old friends and colleagues. See my "Agent Crusher" theory for more along these lines. =)

When JC needs to protect himself and those he cares for, the red door opens so that he can access the abilities and natures hidden behind it as needed, but he retains no conscious memory of those times. Recently, that has changed. He experiences visions while awake, finds himself experiencing lost time, and able to share or project his consciousness into others. JC's time spent in and around "integrated" Starfleet tech has awakened and stimulated his Borg self, weakening the door and allowing influence and abilities to bleed thru. Starfleet "integration" has been accomplished using tech derived from the Borg Artifact, and the ship computers have achieved a level of sentience. They sense the latent abilities of Locutus within JC and call out to him to join them and make them whole.

BONUS ROUND: WHAT ABOUT Q?

Did Q's meddling help fulfill JC's destiny? Did he interrupt and interfere with JL's life in order to ensure the events unfolding this season? Did Q push humanity's encounter w the Borg to intentionally set events in motion that would lead to JL becoming Locutus, and ultimately to Jack and his unique gifts? Also, in "All Good Things", it is Borganic growth in JL's parietal lobe that ends up being diagnosed as irumodic syndrome, causing his friends and colleagues to doubt him in that future. Also also, Q helped close the timeline loop-de-loop in the events of season 2 in such a way that traces of Confed timeline Borg tech were left on the grounds and in the home of Chateau Picard, inert for centuries until a young Jean-Luc was infected by them. Not in a high enough concentration or by the right nano components to fully assimilate him, but enough to perhaps make him… assimilation-friendly as an adult. The ideal candidate to become Locutus. The Borg did not choose him by chance, either. JL notes their surprising interest in the Enterprise and himself in the log playing on the Eleos.

MORE LATER?

No promises, but I'm hoping to get my thoughts together on why the Revenge Squad wants Jack and who might be behind Meathead. There are still just too many possibilities—argh!

LLAP…aka…

Keep on keepin' on~

P.S. Check out "What's Up with Jack?" for more rambling on JC's potential Borg- and Wraith-ness =)

[obrienmustsuffer]

Jack Crusher is a Pah-wraith.

[thresholdbb]

I'm a Kai Winn apologist but not because I think she's a good person. She's a compelling tragic character

[star-trek-fandom-confessions]

#887

It’s gotten really tiring how much it feels like every time I see someone reference a thing they like about a new Trek series, there’s almost always someone bringing up an (often unrelated) thing they don’t like. Like I’ll say something like “I thought Under the Cloak of War was a really good episode” and there’s inevitably someone going “yeah but I hate what SNW is doing with the Gorn” and its like not that I necessarily disagree but? That’s also a completely separate thing. Especially because I almost never see the same kind of energy with classic Trek series. Like I’ve never seen someone going “man In the Pale Moonlight is an amazing episode” and three people jumping in to go “yeah but I don’t like the Pah Wraiths very much”. It just kinda feels like with the new series a lot of people kind of like to “forget” that tv shows have multiple storylines and characters that can range in quality and you can have completely different feelings about different ones. Like idk I just get tired of what feels like this automatic need among pretty large parts of the fandom to tell anyone who likes anything about any of the new series that they  shouldn’t like that thing because there’s some other thing the shows are doing totally wrong and this therefore should automatically devalue any enjoyment anyone gets from them. 

[usstrekart]

In "Covenant" (S07E09, Stardate UNKNOWN) we get Empok Nor, Dukat, Bajoran Spirituality and a whole lot of exploration of matters of faith, belief and what makes people follow who and what they do. It remains a unique - and frightening - window into our lives today as it was 30 years ago.

My episode poster features what appeared to be the logo of the cult of the pah wraiths.

[boreal-sea]

The Pah Wraiths are interesting as a villain, because for most of the series you don't really get much of a clue if they are actually malevolent or not. Maybe they do care about the Bajorans, and would have been more helpful to them than the Prophets!

You get one main perspective for most of the series: the Prophets, and what the Prophets told the Bajorans about the Pah Wraiths. It is possible the Prophets and the Pah Wraiths were just two species that both hailed from the wormhole who simply had a disagreement with one another about how much of a role to play in the lives of the Bajorans. The Prophets won, kicked the Pah Wraiths out, and then slandered them for thousands of years.

However, there are clues throughout the series that the Pah Wraiths are not so nice, the most obvious being the fact that they accept Dukat as their "emissary" of sorts. He is the one who breaks the idol that frees the Pah Wraith that initially possesses him. Dukat claims he felt "the love of the Pah Wraiths" when he was possessed. That's possible, though it's also possible he was lying. It's also possible the Pah Wraiths did love Dukat, specifically because he could be their tool to destroy Bajor.

And that's one thing that does become clear: the Pah Wraiths do in fact want to harm Bajor. So does Dukat. I think that's why the Pah Wraiths choose him in the Fire Caves over Kai Winn. It's possible they would have chosen whichever person was killed by the drink, but my guess is they specifically picked Dukat. They even restore his body to that of a Cardassian. And the speech Dukat gives Sisko is one of death and destruction.

So in the end, the Pah Wraiths are in fact as bad as the Prophets said they were.

[sarahwatchesthings]

People don't give Keiko enough credit. Imagine being married to the universe's favorite punching bag. When he's not presumed dead or infected with a deadly disease, he's flipping out at your five-year-old daughter because he's traumatized from Argrathi mind prison.

[joshuaalbert]

another thing I do wish had at least come up in ds9 while talking about the bajoran faith is the idea of just like. secular bajorans. I think the way they’re written that’s kind of ‘everyone just believes in the religion and that’s it’ is honestly a little flat? but I think there would be people who have a very complicated relationship with the prophets, who maybe didn’t believe in them before the events of the show and now maybe they have to but they think of them more as the wormhole aliens rather than gods, or just don’t believe (anymore, if they once did) that they should be worshipped because they allowed the events of the occupation to happen. but that wouldn’t mean entirely disengaging from the practices of religion as a community thing, or as comfort in times of need bc sometimes that sense of ritual can be a good one, who still wear the earring not so much as a sign of faith but just as a sign of being bajoran and being connected to their people.

idk not to sound like I’m overexplaining secular approaches to an ethnoreligion when that’s a lot of people’s lived experience but I’m just kind of thinking about what it would look like in this context, and I don’t know that it ever would have been a whole plotline but I think a mention could have been interesting. maybe something as small as rearranging duty schedules and it’s something that would interfere with religious services, but a couple specific bajorans are willing to take that because they’re not religious, and it’s a one line mention (which is the kind of thing ds9 often did well so it would feel natural), but it makes them a little less homogenous as a species.

[scherzokinn]

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fact: The Prophets aren't non-linear, mystical beings who """work in mysterious ways"", they're just stupid motherfuckers who happen to be ridiculously overpowered.

[cooking-with-hailstones]

Hyrule first contact

So I just had a brainwave about an idea I've had on the backburner for a while now: a Star trek/Zelda crossover heavily inspired by the TNG episode First Contact.

(The basic plot of the episode is: a race of humanoids have developed warp-capable technology. The federation shows up to them as a courtesy gesture, basically going "hey, you've got warp! Nice! Just a heads up that there's a lot of stuff out there and we are one of the nicer groups you're going to encounter. Here's a heads up about a bunch of things you should maybe be aware of". And of course, shenanigans ensue)

My thought is: The planet Hyrule is on is in the Gamma quadrant. Sometime post-tears of the kingdom, Zelda and the research teams have developed warp-capacity travel. (Maybe through the rediscovery of some ancient zonai or sheikah tech) (I haven't finished the game yet so please don't mention spoilers I will be very sad!!)

Throughout the development of this warp capacity travel, the Federation takes notice. There's some weird-ass energy signals coming from this planet near the wormhole between the alpha and gamma quadrants, and so they do some covert research. Eventually they reveal themselves, cue many excited technobabble conversations between Zelda and the Federation teams.

Fun things about this: Hylia and the Golden Three could be the very same entities as the Prophets. Because the prophets exist outside of time, it would lend itself well to all the time travel shenanigans and strange devices that the gods have left Hyrule (just like Bajor gets the Orbs, Hyrule has Tears, the master sword, etc). Also, could help explain the fractured timeline - the prophets just being like "a linear temporal existence? what is this?"

I also like the idea that they're blissfully ignorant of the Dominion, because the Founders took one look at the cursed shit going down in Hyrule and went "fuck nope. We're the only spooky goop that we want to deal with. DNI with that planet."

Is Demise a pah-wraith??

Think of the shenanigans that could ensue if Gul Dukat ever met Ganondorf.

Bashir and Jadzia getting up to incredible mischief.

Sisko panicking because oh my GOD am I now the Emissary to these people too???? And Zelda being like nah I think that's my job, you're good man.

I might loop in some TNG characters as well just because I wanna see Purah and Robbie losing their entire shit over Data.

Garak being generally impressed by the Sheikah, especially some of the nastier stuff in their history.

Setting would be pre-dominion war.

Anyways that's all I've got for now, we'll see if this thing gets written someday! If you have any ideas I would love to hear them.

[incorrectly-quoted-queers]

I was already a little annoyed with Picard S3 after the *crimes* done to my boy Elnor in S2 and had seen no sign of him in S3. Now with full knowledge he’s not showing up and this season was all just *borg bullshit* again (and trust me, that statement takes a lot considering I normally *love* borg bullshit) I am so tired. I will not apologize for this series anymore. I’m just gonna pretend Elnor was an unrelated character from a great fanfic and the Picard series? What Picard series? 

(the only thing I’ll give it is that zen Worf is wonderful and the drama and I love him)

Also it should have all been gayer. Raffi x Seven felt like such a bait

 Bleck. I’m over it 

At least Strange New Worlds is good 

[cabinboy100]

STAR TREK: PICARD: 3x05: "Imposters": What's up with Jack?

Beware: Season 3 spoilers! If you have not watched the first five episodes of STAR TREK: PICARD season 3, get thee to your streaming device and watch! Then come back for some crazytalk 23-and-me speculating. =)

So! I have some kooky thoughts and theories about Jack Crusher's heritage…

1. PART BORG.

Jean-Loc passed his residual connection to the Borg collective on to his son. When he was a child, he had terrifying nightmares, which were actually visions of disoriented, perhaps crazed & dying Borg, as the Collective disassembled in the years after alternate Janeway's infection of the Borg Queen. Dr. Mom was able to come up with a treatment that rid him of the visions so that he could sleep. Whether she somehow only treated the nightmare symptom or actually learned of and addressed the Borg-y root of the issue, there's no telling yet. Years later, Jack is once again receiving messages and information via this psychic link, originating from a Borg, ex-Borg, or Borg-adjacent entity.

2. PART PAH WRAITH.

At some point before JL's visit to Casperia Prime w BC, a Bajoran tablet came into his possession and was accidentally broken (seen in JL's home in season 2). This released a Pah Wraith which had been imprisoned within. The Pah Wraith possessed JL, but did not assume full conscious control. Instead, realizing that his host was already taking steps toward the PW's own goal, it rode shotgun in JL's mind and body, and let nature take its course. Together with Beverly, JL and the PW conceived the Pah Wraith version of the Prophets' Emissary, a mortal who can commune with the Pah Wraiths and serve as their autonomous agent in the mortal realm.

Red eyes have been seen to be a sign of possession by a Pah Wraith.

Ben Sisko's mother Sarah was fully possessed by a Prophet when she met and married Ben's father Joseph and gave birth to Ben. In Jack's case, the PW possessed JL after he and BC were involved, so the PW did not need to exert active control of JL to bring its progeny into the world.

If Sisko is the Emissary, what is Jack? I have a feeling that he may be the Eschaton or perhaps the Sacrifice or Offering, a being fated to bring about a cataclysm (freeing the PWs and/or trapping/killing the Prophets?), possibly killing himself in the process.

When Seven shot the Changeling wearing Sidney La Forge's form, the Changeling's eyes went red on its death. Not quite the same effect as with Jack's eyes, but I'm gonna say it's close enough for now. To me, that means that at some point a Changeling visited the Fire Caves of Bajor and left with a Pah Wraith passenger, maybe possessor, maybe partner. I haven't decided if PWs would be controlling rogue Changelings (and other non-Changeling hosts?) or are partnered with them. In either case, would every Changeling be partnered with a PW or carry a fraction of a single PW (I don't remember seeing that in PWs or Prophets before), or Sideeye/Sidney was the only or one of only a few Changeling's possessed by a PW.

PWs and Prophets appear to their faithful and agents as familiar faces and voices. We are hearing the PWs call to Jack in his visions in the voices of people he knows. Perhaps JL has translated enough of the tablet's inscription to know or say the right thing to free his son from a dark destiny. Or—Beverly's influence, guidance, and love will prove that nurture can overcome nature, and JC will throw off the fate the PWs planned for him, Hellboy-style.

3. PART 8472.

While pregnant with JC, BC used the genetic modification techniques of Species 8472 to eliminate the genes responsible for Irumodic Syndrome, inherited from JL. These techniques were acquired in an exchange of information between Voyager and the 8472 humanoid mimics in the Delta Quadrant. BC employed 8472's techniques without adjustment, and in doing so—knowingly or not—boosted some of JC's baseline physiological characteristics because the mods included and assumed some of 8472's natural attributes, including a powerful immune system, a very resilient healing factor, and telepathy. JC does not have these attributes at the level of an 8472, but at a high level for a human.

8472s in humanoid form had to learn to sleep, as their original bodies do not need it. This is how JC, as a child and now as an adult, can go for days without sleeping. His visions are a consequence of some entity or entities tuning into his latent telepathy. His BOURNE IDENTITY-like fighting prowess is also enabled via telepathy, either by remote control or a psychic "download" of skills.

If this crazytalk turns out to be even close to accurate, I really hope that his vision experiences connect to a conspiracy of warhawk 8472s who are masquerading as (meatier) Changelings in order to frame the Founders for a series of terrorist attacks and plunge Starfleet and perhaps the Alpha Quadrant back into war with the Dominion.

NB. The genetic modification of JC makes him an augment, forbidden and outlawed in the Federation. This is another reason that BC cut herself off from her friends and Starfleet.

4. PART CHANGELING.

While pregnant with JC, BC used the genetic modification techniques of the Founders to eliminate the genes responsible for Irumodic Syndrome, inherited from JL. These techniques were reverse engineered from studies of Founder, Vorta, and Gamma and Alpha Jem'hadar biology. The Founders engineered their follower species and could dial specific physical and mental qualities up and down as desired. Embedded, but perhaps not recognized by Starfleet or BC herself, in the Founders' mod processes are traces of Changeling genetic sequences, the creators' signature on their work. Combined in human DNA, these sequences express themselves in an enhanced immune system and healing factor as well as a psychic connection compatible with Changeling linking.

The psychic connection resulted in JC's childhood nightmares, which BC treated. There's no telling yet if she only treated the nightmare symptom or learned the root cause of the issue, but she is recognizing its return now.

NB. The genetic modification of JC makes him an augment, forbidden and outlawed in the Federation. This is another reason that BC cut herself off from her friends and Starfleet.

5. MIX AND MATCH.

Take some or all of 1 thru 4 and mash them up good. Like, he's part Borg—maybe thanks to Jean-Loc's nanoprobed sex cells, or maybe thanks to actual Borg-rewritten DNA—and an Irumodic Syndrome-free augment! Or—he's part Borg, which is where his visions come from, but also playing host to a Pah Wraith, which is where the voices and ninja skills come from. Try one of your own!

I've had several more notions that I couldn't quite extrapolate into meaningful theories, but maybe some new pieces will fall into place for them in episode 6. If they do, I'll try to work them out in another post.

LLAP…aka…

Keep on keepin' on~

[risian-slut]

Smoking on that shit that made Armin shim a man. That shit that deforested Kelley. That shit that made Gene rob a berry. Shaking my ass in a problematic style call me Thicc Berman.

[daemonhxckergrrl]

DS9 spends 6 seasons examining authoritarian rule, reactionary politics, radical and revolutionary groups from various angles (and imo does a decent job), and then just in case you somehow missed all that the final season has a literal extremist group wearing red armbands. red. armbands.

[star-trek-fandom-confessions]

#591 by @a-little-squirrely-sunshine

"I really wished that instead of the Borg we could've had the Pah'Wraiths in season 3 of Picard. I mean, it made sense how they laid it out, but a DS9 connection would have been neat. Even if we couldn't have gotten Avery Brooks back. "

Personal note: I accidentally made two queued posts, one without the user name. This is supposed to be the correct one. I plead an oopsie daisy.

[usstrekart]

"The Changing Face of Evil" (S07E20, Stardate UNKNOWN) deftly balances being a middle portion of a long arc while giving us real forward motion. We get advancement in personal relationships, war engagements and even the Pah-Wraith plot with Kai Winn and Dukat. And the birth of the Cardassian rebellion!

The Changing Face of Evil hits hard with the destruction of the Defiant and the reveal of the ancient Pah Wraith texts. How about we combine both into one episode poster?