Betazoids and Bolians: Opportunities for Good Storylines

[Maris Williams]

I really hate the fact that we always see the Bolians around, but they never have any real story lines. Same with the Betazoids. I mean, there's Deanna and Lxwana, but we don't really learn a lot about her people and life on Betazed. We just get tid-bits. I'm actually writing my own fictional characters. One is a CMO half Betazoid half Vulcan female and the other is a Bolian chief engineer. They work on one of the science space station.

Here's my question: what do you think the Betazoids and the Bolians are like? What are some of their defining features (like Vulcans and logic and Ferengi and greed)? What positions do you think they could hold on a starship? etc. etc.

 

[Tenacity]

I wonder if having Betazeds generally a part of Starfleet crews would be a disruption? Deanna wasn't a full telepath, both Tam and Luxanna demonstrated that they were totally unwilling to not read peoples minds on a casual basis, Luxanna in particular flouted the fact that she was doing so. Starfleet might not want Betazeds stationed aboard starships.

You can't use your eyes or ears to look into someone else' mind.

I like Bolians in general, what we know about them (occasional mentions) makes them sound like interesting people. I like that the makeup design gave them two "races," blue and grey. They have banks, currency (and currency fluctuations) which is another knife in the back of the "no money" thing, super sweet.

Appearances by Mister Mott were always great.

 

[Finn]

^Tam can't avoid it. He reads others' minds passively. That's why he was nuts.

 

[Timo]

Regarding the money thing... Are Bolians UFP members? I mean, individual Bolians may be (although it's not really a requirement for joining Starfleet or working on a UFP world or establishment), but the species or the planet or the nation?

The same goes for a great many species or cultures whose membership we take for granted nowadays...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Tracy Trek]

Wasn't it mentioned in Tin Man (the episode about Tam Elbrun) that Betazoids usually didn't develop full telepathic abilities until puberty, except for a few like Tam who could hear peoples thoughts since birth. And I guess that's why he had problems.

In the Voyager episode (I think it was called Meld) about Lon Suder, was it mentioned why he was a psychotic killer? Someone like him would have had a very hard time living around other Betazoids. They would have been able to sense how dangerous he was. And wouldn't he have had the full telepathic sense of his victim's fear as he killed them?

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

It wasn't fair to make Bolians just background characters/plot devices, which according to Memory Alpha they were on numerous occasions.

 

[Tenacity]

Are Bolians UFP members?

Good question, I can really see evidence both ways.

It's the same with Trill and some other worlds too. There's certainly a few (at least) who they might not be Federation members, even though we see some of their people in Starfleet and walking around on member planets.

Picard purchased a statue while on Risa, does that by itself mean Risa's not a Federation Member?

 

[Arpy]

Bolivians* were likely created to add some color to background shots. I wonder if future Trek series will create red aliens or purple or yellow ones for the same reason.

If you want to know what their cultures are like, read the Memory Alpha or Memory Beta wikis. Betazoids were featured prominently in the novels Imzadi and Battle of Betazed. I tend to think they don't have the same intimacy hang-ups as humans, reading each other's minds as casually as you take a glance at someone in the crowd or on the train (they do get married totally naked!). It's just as natural to them, and they probably have to get used to not reading people's minds from offworld, like you would to averting your eyes from people.

Janeway said in VOY's "11:59" that Bolians didn't like the state of 21st century Earth plumbing. Maybe they're a very hygienic people or have a close relationship with water. I think the Bank of Bolius is a prominent Federation bank (used in dealings with outsiders?) and wonder if they're also good with numbers.

*Lol you can thank autocorrect for that one!

 

[Timo]

Picard purchased a statue while on Risa, does that by itself mean Risa's not a Federation Member?

Janeway purchased a knife at a price on Vulcan... From an explicit Vulcan merchant no less.

"Vulcan merchant" is a concept going back to "Errand of Mercy" anyway. So there are complications to any attempt to enforce a total "no monetary exchange whatsoever" or even a "no consumer use of money" interpretation on the no-money issue. At best, we can do partial explanations for specific regions of the UFP or for specific situations, or then go for the lame "no cash" excuse.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Tenacity]

At best, we can do partial explanations for specific regions of the UFP or for specific situations, or then go for the lame "no cash" excuse.

I feel that a "perfect" description of the Federation's economy would take into account both the no money statements, and (in equal measure) the existence of money within the Federation and it's use internally.

Which is hard to reconcile, without dismissing (or downplaying) either one or the other.

Should Bolians and Risans (sp?) be Federation members, this would mean that some Federation members have money. But this wouldn't automatically mean that all members do. The complexity that Picard spoke of in FC might be that individual members decide on their own economies and the Federation strictly speaking doesn't have a unified financial structure.

This way Vulcan and others can have a financial system somewhat similar to today, and at the same time Picard (and later Jake Sisko) honestly can say money doesn't exist.

Both are true.

Whether money exists could depend on where you are within the Federation, and who you're talking to at the moment.

 

[Timo]

Ultimately, and thankfully, the actual onscreen evidence is basically all of the type where specific characters say "we have no money", possibly accompanied by "we have evolved beyond the need".

These are always specific characters. Jake Sisko is a child - children might not be allowed to have money in this world of evolved sensibilities. Jim Kirk is an outcast in alien time - his money might have been confiscated or left in the 23rd century. And Jean-Luc Picard speaks of motivations and sensibilities, not of whether he himself possesses means of monetary exchange.

So our best shot at an explanation might be to just point out that the premise of a moneyless Federation is false, not in fact established on screen...

Regardless, the issue of Bolian membership is interesting in its own right, as Bolians appear to conduct their own foreign policy, too, being in a separate conflict with the Moropa. Unless that just tells us more about the Moropa than the Bolians. Say, Turkey hates Greece and Greece hates Turkey, but neither as such hates NATO and both are members.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Tracy Trek]

Janeway said in VOY's "11:59" that Bolians didn't like the state of 21st century Earth plumbing. Maybe they're a very hygienic people or have a close relationship with water. I think the Bank of Bolius is a prominent Federation bank (used in dealings with outsiders?) and wonder if they're also good with numbers.

Wasn't there something said in another Voyager episode about Bolians and plumbing? If I recall correctly, it was something Neelix was saying to Janeway and it concerned some ship wide problem.

 

[The Wormhole]

Wasn't there something said in another Voyager episode about Bolians and plumbing? If I recall correctly, it was something Neelix was saying to Janeway and it concerned some ship wide problem.

There was an episode where a number of the ship's toilets were offline, causing unmanageable line-ups at the ones which were still active. This was especially problematic for the Bolians on the ship.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

There isn't a lot of evidence either way to whether Bolias is a Federation member. The only thing really suggesting it is is that we see a lot in Uniform and we know from Nog's storyline that you have to jump through a lot of hoops to get accepted into Starfleet if you're not from a member planet.

There might be some people uncomfortable around Betazoids but I think in Federation culture you learn to deal with aspects of other cultures that make you uncomfortable and question why it makes you feel uncomfortable instead of leading you to hate on it.

 

[The Wormhole]

22 out of 40 Bolians seen in all Star Trek were either Starfleet officers, civilians working for Starfleet, or posing as a Starfleet cadet. That's a high enough percentage for me to believe they are Federation members. Although it is worth noting a deleted scene from TNG stated they weren't.

 

[Timo]

Of course, it would be a propaganda triumph for Starfleet to enlist people from outside the UFP, especially from adversary cultures - see Worf...

There are also Bajorans flocking to Starfleet, again in a propaganda coup. "We are aiding our enemy's enemies who love to aid us in return" and all that.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Tenacity]

This was especially problematic for the Bolians on the ship.

Because of anatomical differences, at any given time Bolians are incapable of being as full of **** as your average Human.

And Jean-Luc Picard speaks of motivations and sensibilities, not of whether he himself possesses means of monetary exchange.

It's interesting to note that when Lily Slone asked Picard point blank if he got paid, Picard didn't directly answer.

and we know from Nog's storyline that you have to jump through a lot of hoops to get accepted into Starfleet if you're not from a member planet.

If not a member, how many Bolians wishing to enter Starfleet are going to have the same access to a senior Starfleet officer that Nog did?

Of course, it would be a propaganda triumph for Starfleet to enlist people from outside the UFP

I understand that many Filipinos join the US military (instead of their own) because if their homeland ever is attacked, they will be better able to defend it in the US military (instead of their own).

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Of course, it would be a propaganda triumph for Starfleet to enlist people from outside the UFP, especially from adversary cultures - see Worf...

There are also Bajorans flocking to Starfleet, again in a propaganda coup. "We are aiding our enemy's enemies who love to aid us in return" and all that.

Timo Saloniemi

I think you're projecting your own real world beliefs just a little too much into your view of Starfleet. Your comments apply to a real world version of the Federation, sure, but not in the fictional version in the show. In this fictional world, people practice what they preach without the real world hypocrisy. That's one of the reasons people are attached to it.

The reason I see Bajorans entering Starfleet is because they couldn't go home and they saw it as their best way to form a career for themselves and resist fascist regimes at the same time. There are probably a lot fewer who entered Starfleet after the Occupation ended.

 

[The Wormhole]

Excluding Bajorans who were part of Voyager's Maquis complement, there's only three Bajorans who have served in Starfleet. If you do count Voyager's Maquis, that number gets bumped up to six, though technically only five since Seska was actually a Cardassian disguised as a Bajoran. That's nothing compared to 22 Bolians, especially when you consider how many Bajorans we've seen in Trek overall.

 

[Tenacity]

Has anyone ever done a count on the number of Humans seen on the show? The way the Bolian and Bajoran were counted? Just curious.