Q question

[Starfleet Engineer]

Did the "Q" in Q Continuum stand for anything?

 

[Angry Fanboy]

Angry Fanboy

Quiff.

 

[Christopher]

I have the impression from somewhere that the original idea was that Q stood for "question," basically -- Q was the questioner, the inquisitor who challenged humanity to answer for itself. But that's an impression I got from an old interview I read (perhaps with DeLancie, or maybe someone else), and I've never seen corroboration.

 

[T'Girl]

Originally there was a A Continuum. It fell, and was replaced by others.

The Q Continuum is the seventeeth continuum.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Quartermaster.

 

[The Wormhole]

Quartermaster.

On that note, the novel I, Q (co-written by John de Lancie) does say there is also an M Continuum.

 

[Christopher]

^Oh, I get it. And I suppose there's a 007 Continuum serving under them.

 

[Lt. Cheka Wey]

I have the impression from somewhere that the original idea was that Q stood for "question," basically -- Q was the questioner, the inquisitor who challenged humanity to answer for itself. But that's an impression I got from an old interview I read (perhaps with DeLancie, or maybe someone else), and I've never seen corroboration.

Were other Q judging/challenging species like De Lancie Q? Did the Cardies, Pakleds and whatever had their own Q inquisitors/teachers?

 

[The Wormhole]

^Oh, I get it. And I suppose there's a 007 Continuum serving under them.

Well, a Double Oh Continuum at the very least, I'm sure.

 

[Christopher]

I have the impression from somewhere that the original idea was that Q stood for "question," basically -- Q was the questioner, the inquisitor who challenged humanity to answer for itself. But that's an impression I got from an old interview I read (perhaps with DeLancie, or maybe someone else), and I've never seen corroboration.

Were other Q judging/challenging species like De Lancie Q? Did the Cardies, Pakleds and whatever had their own Q inquisitors/teachers?

I'm not saying that was the in-universe explanation. I'm saying I have the impression that's why Roddenberry chose that name for the character -- because he conceived the character as an inquisitor, an entity that would challenge Picard to answer for humanity. Although that's secondhand. On reflection, I think I got the impression from an old Starlog interview with John DeLancie where he said he was the "Q" and Picard was the "A," or something like that.

Although I have, in fact, offered an in-universe explanation for why Q identified himself and his continuum in that way, late in my TNG-prequel novel The Buried Age. And it's along similar lines to what I've been discussing.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Wasn't Q named for a fan whose last name started with Q?

 

[Dream]

I always thought it was odd that Q's name was the exact same as one of the letters of the English language.

It was official too, since all the other Q went by that name!

 

[teacake]

We just choose to spell it 'Q'. We could have spelled it Cue or Queue. I don't think Q ever told humans it's to be spelled in a particular way.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Maybe Q just made that name up on the spot, because that's all he thought the humans could handle.

 

[The Wormhole]

Q is simply an approximation of the name that humans can comprehend. Just like they don't really look human, that's done for human comprehension. And the Continuum isn't really a gas station in the middle of nowehere, or the American Civil War.

Who knows what they actually call themselves, or what they or the Continuum really look like.

 

[Captain McBain]

The Q were named after a long-time fan. I believe her name was Janet Quarton.

 

[xortex]

It stood for Questor of course, an alien machine.