What's your take on the Rigellians?

[Bry_Sinclair]

Until ENT, the Rigellians/Rigelians had only ever been mentioned but never seen. When they did actually appear on screen they looked nothing like Vulcans, even though it was said on several occassions that they shared similar physiologies. In TMP, there were a species of Rigellians (also called the Chelons) who were evolved from sabre-toothed turtles.

In my fanfic writing, I have it that the Beta Rigel System is huge and one of the most densely populated systems in the Alpha Quadrant. About fourteen planets and two dozen moons, and in total around ten different species evolved within the system, which (though very different races) all call themselves Rigellians.

Ones I use/have identified so far:
Beta Rigel II -- The sabre-toothed turtle Chelons
Beta Rigel IIIb (moon) -- Look mostly human, except with dark veins clearly visible. They are very genetically compatable with other species
Beta Rigel V -- The pale-skinned Rigellians seen in ENT
Beta Rigel VI -- Vulcanoid
Beta Rigel VII -- Bronze-skinned, red-haired species (developed by TheLoneRedshirt). The Kaylar are in the minority, inhabiting a small valley

Anyone else think its such a cramped place?

 

[C.E. Evans]

In the Star Trek: Star Charts book, the Rigel VII that the Enterprise once visited under Pike's command is actually in another star system and has a different formal name from the other worlds in the more well-known (and presumably closer to Earth) Rigel Colonies. But within the Rigel Colonies, I think they also have it where Rigel X is the actual homeworld of the Rigelians, but both it and the other colonized planets in the system are very cosmopolitan and feature immigrants and visitors from many worlds across the Quadrant and beyond.

We're used to star systems like Sol in which there's only one Class-M world.

 

[Sci]

Anyone else think its such a cramped place?

The TOS episode "The Doomsday Machine" listed Rigel as being part of the "most densely crowded" part of known space.

If Earth is Washington, DC, and Vulcan and Andor are akin to Boston and Philadelphia, I always liked to imagine that Rigel is the equivalent to New York City: This incredibly big, densely-populated system that dwarfs most other population centers in size and is one of the cultural centers of the Federation.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

The TOS episode "The Doomsday Machine" listed Rigel as being part of the "most densely crowded" part of known space.

It has been a long time since I last saw any TOS, so my memory of episodes is very hazy. This must've just stuck with me somehow and dictated my thoughts on Rigel.

 

[Captain Rob]

Wasn't Mr Hengis from "Wolf in the Fold" from Rigel? He looked like a normal human without any makeup. Except for the evil murdering beast hiding inside of him, of course.

 

[Timo]

The mention of "Rigel colony" or "Rigel colonies" (the plural is difficult to hear in the dialogue), in combination with the numerous incompatible descriptions of "Rigel planets", prompts one to wonder if this Rigel culture isn't an exceptionally expansionist one. Any reference to a "Rigel world" could be analogous to references to "human worlds": the sky could be littered with little Rigels settled by this culture.

It would probably be a multispecies culture since time immemorial, even if there originally existed a single leading species there - again perhaps analogous in position to humans as the daredevil explorers and expansionists of the UFP. And it would be one of those romantic ancient cultures in decline, with little memory of its past other than a vague concept of lost grandeur.

It would be open to speculation whether the name of the culture had anything to do with the old Earth/Arabic term "leg" as applied to numerous constellations and variously spelled as Rigel or Rigil or Rijil - or whether it was the native alien name of the culture and only coincidentally resembles the modern English pronunciation of that Arabic word.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

In my head, Rigel has many planets/moons that can support life. So once all the Rigellians started leaving their respective planets a rush was on to claim territory. This led to a period in their history known as the Colony Wars, which lasted for decades. Once peace was finally established, they formed the Rigel Interplanetary Alliance and began working as their own mini-Federation until they were involved in founding the UFP in 2161.

But that's just how I have it worked out.

 

[Sci]

In my head, Rigel has many planets/moons that can support life. So once all the Rigellians started leaving their respective planets a rush was on to claim territory. This led to a period in their history known as the Colony Wars, which lasted for decades. Once peace was finally established, they formed the Rigel Interplanetary Alliance and began working as their own mini-Federation until they were involved in founding the UFP in 2161.

But that's just how I have it worked out.

Well, we know for a canonical fact that Rigellians were not founding members of the Federation: Humans, Andorians, Vulcans, and Tellarites were established to be such in ENT's "Zero Hour."

The novel Articles of the Federation establishes that those four species were actually divided into five founding states: Earth, Vulcan, Andor, Tellar, and Alpha Centauri.

Star Trek: Star Charts establishes that the Rigel colonies are united into a single Federation Member state known as the United Rigel Colonies.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Well, we know for a canonical fact that Rigellians were not founding members of the Federation: Humans, Andorians, Vulcans, and Tellarites were established to be such in ENT's "Zero Hour."

The novel Articles of the Federation establishes that those four species were actually divided into five founding states: Earth, Vulcan, Andor, Tellar, and Alpha Centauri.

I've always found it odd that the UFP was founded by just four species, even though the Coalition of Planets had thirteen species at the talks and the CoP is said to be the precurser to the UFP. Though I know it may not be canon, I like to think that the Federation founders included the Rigellians, Denobulans and Centaurians (a separate species and not human colonists), as well as maybe one or two others.

Star Trek: Star Charts establishes that the Rigel colonies are united into a single Federation Member state known as the United Rigel Colonies.

Thats what I think as well, the numerous species are united as one. Though in my thinking there are about ten individual species, who then went onto colonies other planets and moons within the system, so not all the planets inhabited are colonies. But then again over time the name could change.

 

[Sci]

Well, we know for a canonical fact that Rigellians were not founding members of the Federation: Humans, Andorians, Vulcans, and Tellarites were established to be such in ENT's "Zero Hour."

The novel Articles of the Federation establishes that those four species were actually divided into five founding states: Earth, Vulcan, Andor, Tellar, and Alpha Centauri.

I've always found it odd that the UFP was founded by just four species, even though the Coalition of Planets had thirteen species at the talks and the CoP is said to be the precurser to the UFP.

I don't think it's that odd, actually. It makes sense that more worlds might be willing to join a mere coalition, an alliance, than were willing to yield their sovereignty and join a single interstellar state like the UFP. Eventually they'd see the advantages and chose to join, after seeing how it worked out for the first few Members.

Though I know it may not be canon, I like to think that the Federation founders included the Rigellians, Denobulans and Centaurians (a separate species and not human colonists), as well as maybe one or two others.

Maybe they joined in the first few years after the Founding?

 

[USS Excelsior]

And Rigel is a red giant.

 

[Timo]

But Beta Rigel isn't.

Anyway, most of the habitable planets in Trek are probably artificially made such. Even a red giant might sport dozens of Earths, terraformed after the star's expansion and taking advantage of the fairly long period of relative stability that the giant will enjoy.

Well, we know for a canonical fact that Rigellians were not founding members of the Federation: Humans, Andorians, Vulcans, and Tellarites were established to be such in ENT's "Zero Hour."

That's overinterpreting Daniels' words a bit. All he says is this:

"You're down there, right now, with Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites, getting ready to sign the Charter."

Daniels might simply not have had the patience to list all the species participating in the signing; the three may be but a small sample of the actual shortlist. How short that list really is, is anybody's guess: Daniels may have omitted just two species, or then eleven.

We do know that he also says this:

"The membership is going to grow. Dozens, eventually hundreds of species. A United Federation of Planets."

So the membership doesn't start with dozens of species yet. But it could start with a dozen as far as canon is concerned.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Therin of Andor]

The novel Articles of the Federation establishes that those four species were actually divided into five founding states: Earth, Vulcan, Andor, Tellar, and Alpha Centauri.

This is derived from Ballantine's "Star Trek Starfleet Technical Manual", which listed five founding member planets by their star/planet nomenclature, and "Star Trek Starfleet Medical Reference Manual", which associates each of those star/planet with a species name.

Star Trek: Star Charts establishes that the Rigel colonies are united into a single Federation Member state known as the United Rigel Colonies.

So did the previous "Star Trek Maps" (Bantam) - IIRC the Rigellian Colonies were an early UFP member but not a founder. "Maps"' version also included the Kalar ("The Cage") and the Orions as being in the same Rigellian system as all the others. "Star Charts" separated those two species to other systems.

 

[Sci]

Well, we know for a canonical fact that Rigellians were not founding members of the Federation: Humans, Andorians, Vulcans, and Tellarites were established to be such in ENT's "Zero Hour."

That's overinterpreting Daniels' words a bit. All he says is this:

"You're down there, right now, with Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites, getting ready to sign the Charter."

Daniels might simply not have had the patience to list all the species participating in the signing; the three may be but a small sample of the actual shortlist.

I really think the context and delivery implies that this is not the case.

 

[Timo]

Oh, I'm sure the writers thought that only these four species would be included. All I'm saying is that the fictional character did not say anything that would actually limit our options - or more relevantly, those of future writers.

Certainly Rigelians could have been among the founding species, if they indeed are a species. For all we know, the early Federation consisted of political blocks, with the four species listed above forming one block (and thus standing next to each other when preparing to sign), while other species formed other blocks (and thus stood apart).

Timo Saloniemi