Why didn't the Dominion shut down the WH?
- Thread starter Photon
- Start date
I too have asked this question in years past.
There is no good reason for them not to have.
Chalk this one up to another on the list unexplainable series fubars IMO, just like no penance for the disappearing ships in the wormhole that the wormhole aliens poofed away, Odo's combadge, the Bashir changeling causing lots of retroactive plotholes, the Martok changeling causing lots of retroactive plotholes, Odo being turned into a human instead of Bajoran, the Founders all looking like Odo 24/7 even when he's nowhere around etc. etc.
There is no good reason for them not to have.
Chalk this one up to another on the list unexplainable series fubars IMO, just like no penance for the disappearing ships in the wormhole that the wormhole aliens poofed away, Odo's combadge, the Bashir changeling causing lots of retroactive plotholes, the Martok changeling causing lots of retroactive plotholes, Odo being turned into a human instead of Bajoran, the Founders all looking like Odo 24/7 even when he's nowhere around etc. etc.
I see no particular reason for them to close down the wormhole. They want to snuff out all those star empires that try to resist them, and the wormhole allows them to do exactly that to the Alpha empires with minimum risk to their own turf. In contrast, shutting down the wormhole when it has been established that at least the Feds refuse to take "no" for an answer and will keep on trying to go to the Gamma Quadrant would be of no help: the Feds would come anyway, after a century or two.
Really, the only times the Alphans managed to send anything scary to Gamma through the hole were a) when they sent battlefleets that had already been thoroughly infiltrated by Founder agents and rendered harmless, and b) when they sent Odo, infected with a bioweapon. Closing down the wormhole would have prevented Odo from getting through - but the Founders would have wanted to get Odo back no matter what, so...
Timo Saloniemi
Really, the only times the Alphans managed to send anything scary to Gamma through the hole were a) when they sent battlefleets that had already been thoroughly infiltrated by Founder agents and rendered harmless, and b) when they sent Odo, infected with a bioweapon. Closing down the wormhole would have prevented Odo from getting through - but the Founders would have wanted to get Odo back no matter what, so...
Timo Saloniemi
How would that be achieved? I don't think we ever heard that these superbeings would have any sort of a vulnerability; every time our heroes worried about harming the Prophets, it was because of a threat to the Celestial Temple. In other words, it was speculated (but not confirmed) that the aliens might be harmed if the wormhole were destroyed, while it was never speculated that there would be a way to harm the aliens without harming the wormhole.
Dukat probably thought he had that part worked out when he went to the side of the Pagh Wraiths - but in the end, we didn't get confirmation that even the Pagh Wraiths would have been able to harm the Prophets.
Timo Saloniemi
Dukat probably thought he had that part worked out when he went to the side of the Pagh Wraiths - but in the end, we didn't get confirmation that even the Pagh Wraiths would have been able to harm the Prophets.
Timo Saloniemi
The Pah Wraiths knew a way. When one possessed Keiko, it forced Miles to turn the station into a weapon that could kill all of the wormhole aliens, while leaving the wormhole itself intact, I believe.
I always felt that the Dominion should have being the Pagh-Wraiths. Maybe with a trapped Founder in the Fire Caves.
If you consider that Odo was a top priority for them they wouldn't want the wormhole to be shut down. Also the Founders try to bring order to a chaotic world. They see a new part of the galaxy full of chaos. Their MO wouldn't be to turn a blind eye or to "protect" themselves. It would be to enforce order.
I have a question on a related subject. Were the Prophets actively denying travel through the wormhole to everyone during the war? Would a Dominion ship trying to enter the wormhole go to the same place the vanished ships from "Sacrifice of Angels" went? What about a Starfleet ship or an independent trader?
It's possible they just closed the entrances to wormhole so it never opened. The Pagh-wraith and Sarah Prophet being able to enter it could be explained as them using their skeleton key or whatever.
I'm also wondering if the Dominion telling the Federation (and whoever else) to stay on their side of the wormhole was a test. If the AQ races stayed on their side then the Dominion wouldn't be concerned about them for a while. However the fact that Feds ignored their warning in the name of exploration, etc probably caused the Dominion to ramp up their plans.
And why wouldn't it? "Stay out of our turf" is a very good test for determining whether the stranger is a friend or a foe - even if you aren't being entirely truthful about how much "yours" the particular corner of the turf really is.
And Feds = foes would of course be a foregone conclusion, quite regardless of whether the question was asked by an evil Dominion or a friendly Halkan Star Brotherhood.
Timo Saloniemi
And Feds = foes would of course be a foregone conclusion, quite regardless of whether the question was asked by an evil Dominion or a friendly Halkan Star Brotherhood.
Timo Saloniemi
Uh, remember the Pah-Wraith inside Keiko being killed by chroniton particles (from alterations she forced O'Brien to make to DS9 aiming to kill the Prophets) in The Assignment? Or the PW and Prophet being forced out of Jake and Kira from a more gradual increase in chroniton particles due to the pain it caused them in The Reckoning?
If this is true, then I wish the S31 bio-weapon would have wiped out all of the Founders. A superpower that wants no outside interference is one thing but to reserve the right to bring order to a chaotic universe is beyond the pale..
Hell, SF mighta sent some ships along w/the Carddies and Rommies
I believe that it was established in "Tears of the Prophets" that the Dominion had not tried to send any more ships through the wormhole out of fear that they would be lost. The Federation had no reason to travel into enemy territory, either.
My guess is, the Dominion was initially overconfident in their ability to sweep in and conquer the Alpha/Beta Quadrants. After all, they'd probably been sitting behind that wormhole for a good long while solidifying their military strength and conquering outlying systems in the GQ. Weyoun himself stated that the Dominion was founded over 10,000 years ago.
So instead of plugging the hole to this chaotic region, they saw a great big frontier that needed their "order" imposed upon. Once they got in there, Weyoun and the many other Vortas came to the conclusion that this would be a much bigger undertaking than they originally suspected. This feeling was then magnified when a large and needed chunk of their fleet was lost in the Wormhole. Most likely, if the Female Changeling could get back to the GQ she would have, then sealed the wormhole from the GQ side and left her forces to be slaughtered while she rebuilt the Dominion fleet. By that point, she was of course already incapacitated by the morphagenic virus and unable to sneak past the enemy lines via shapeshifting.
So instead of plugging the hole to this chaotic region, they saw a great big frontier that needed their "order" imposed upon. Once they got in there, Weyoun and the many other Vortas came to the conclusion that this would be a much bigger undertaking than they originally suspected. This feeling was then magnified when a large and needed chunk of their fleet was lost in the Wormhole. Most likely, if the Female Changeling could get back to the GQ she would have, then sealed the wormhole from the GQ side and left her forces to be slaughtered while she rebuilt the Dominion fleet. By that point, she was of course already incapacitated by the morphagenic virus and unable to sneak past the enemy lines via shapeshifting.
Why not just lure him to their side and shut it down behind him? Beyond his resentment, he'd but cut off from his adopted home.
For that matter would they have let him die in The Die Is cast?
Even though the Dominion is a vast multi-species empire.... all decisions essentially boil down to whatever the Founders want.
And the Founders wanted Odo badly. If you take them at face value, nothing... not even the Alpha Quadrant... was important as getting Odo back to the Link. They even agreed to surrender completely because of him.
And he was also the first of the Hundred to return.
Imposing Order was a secondary concern. So they would definitely want to keep the wormhole open.
As for the Prophets... they are generally oblivious or unconcerned with the comings and goings of other species but they made a specific exception for Sisko. He pleaded with them to stop the Dominion ships and they did... and it was implied in later episodes that no other Dominion ships entered either...
That marked a turning point in the war because now the Dominion could not rely on its vast resources from the GQ. They had to make due with their territories and allies in the AQ.
Dukat attempted to destroy the Prophets for his own personal reasons. At that point I don't think he cared at all about whether the Dominion could get more ships through the wormhole. He only returned to Damar and Weyoun because he needed help finding that object.
So we see that many of the events of DS9 really hinge on a few key individuals and their motives upon motives...
And the Founders wanted Odo badly. If you take them at face value, nothing... not even the Alpha Quadrant... was important as getting Odo back to the Link. They even agreed to surrender completely because of him.
And he was also the first of the Hundred to return.
Imposing Order was a secondary concern. So they would definitely want to keep the wormhole open.
As for the Prophets... they are generally oblivious or unconcerned with the comings and goings of other species but they made a specific exception for Sisko. He pleaded with them to stop the Dominion ships and they did... and it was implied in later episodes that no other Dominion ships entered either...
That marked a turning point in the war because now the Dominion could not rely on its vast resources from the GQ. They had to make due with their territories and allies in the AQ.
Dukat attempted to destroy the Prophets for his own personal reasons. At that point I don't think he cared at all about whether the Dominion could get more ships through the wormhole. He only returned to Damar and Weyoun because he needed help finding that object.
So we see that many of the events of DS9 really hinge on a few key individuals and their motives upon motives...
Actually in Emissary the Prophets close the wormhole because the corporeal entities using the wormhole were causing some discomfort to them. It's Sisko who persuades them to keep the wormhole open.
Which fits in with Sacrifice of Angels when they "close" the wormhole because of Sisko.
Well- the Dominion couldn't have wanted too because in "By Inferno's Light" they have a founder sabotage something so that it would be impossible to close it. The Founders knew they were going to butt heads with the AQ- they just thought it would be 200 years in the future (The Search?). So it was just a timing change, they obviously didn't want to avoid conflict.
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