Year 5. Issue 16. Who are the 5 founders of the Federation.

[Mike Doyle]

Fairly vague to avoid spoilers.

There are a couple of panels in this issue that highlight the founders of the federation. They both show members of FIVE species.

Human, Andorian, Tellerite, Vulcan and... someone else?

At first glance they seem human but actually they seem to have a pattern on their bald head, veins/tattoo I’m not sure. Maybe Deltan? Alpha Cetauran?

I’d post a picture but not sure if that’s allowed for something that just came out today.

Anyway it confused me as I thought it was fairly well established there were 4 founder species.

 

[Christopher]

At first glance they seem human but actually they seem to have a pattern on their bald head, veins/tattoo I’m not sure.

Facial tattoos suggest ENT-style Rigelians, though they weren't bald.

 

[Extrocomp]

I don't think they are tattoos. In issue 13, the markings on Admiral Koraxi's head turned red when he got angry. I'm guessing this is the new version of the Alpha Centaurans.

 

[Christopher]

I don't think they are tattoos.

Well, we don't actually know if the markings on Rigelians are tattoos or not. The books have assumed they are, but it's conjectural.

I'm guessing this is the new version of the Alpha Centaurans.

There ain't no such animal. "Metamorphosis" established clearly that "Zefram Cochrane of Alpha Centauri" was an Earth human. The original outline established that he was famous for leading the first expedition to Alpha Centauri, so it was an epithet in the manner of "Lawrence of Arabia" or "Scott of the Antarctic."


Anyway, Year 5 has some pretty bizarre errors in it, like portraying Tholians as able to exist in Class-M conditions in some issues while paying lip service to their superhot environment in others.

 

[Extrocomp]

There ain't no such animal.

That's true for the current novels. But in the FASA continuity and some of the older novels, Alpha Centaurans did exist. They were humans transplanted from Earth by the Preservers in the 5th or 3rd century BC and Zefram Cochrane was one of them.

In the LUG/Decipher continuity, Centaurans were a human-like race that diverged from humans 400,000 years ago according to mitochondrial DNA evidence. Zefram Cochrane was an Earth human who migrated to the Centauran homeworld after he became disgusted with the continued in-fighting among the nations of Earth.

If my guess is right, the Year Five series would be the first time Alpha Centaurans are presented with a non-human appearance.

 

[Enterprise1701]

I don't think they are tattoos. In issue 13, the markings on Admiral Koraxi's head turned red when he got angry. I'm guessing this is the new version of the Alpha Centaurans.

I concur with that assessment for the time being.

There ain't no such animal. "Metamorphosis" established clearly that "Zefram Cochrane of Alpha Centauri" was an Earth human. The original outline established that he was famous for leading the first expedition to Alpha Centauri, so it was an epithet in the manner of "Lawrence of Arabia" or "Scott of the Antarctic."

Well, Federation-era Starfleet officers have been repeatedly observed revering colonial-era European explorers for "discovery" in spite of the existence of Native Americans and even Leif Ericson. Maybe Zefram Cochrane established a peaceful joint species society like what some works imply to be the case for Number One's home planet Illyria.

 

[Christopher]

That's true for the current novels. But in the FASA continuity and some of the older novels...

Yes, yes, I know all that, obviously. I've known it for decades. But I emphatically disagree with it. It's a profound misreading of "Metamorphosis." The episode is quite clear that Cochrane is an Earth human, as long as you consider the entire context instead of just that "of Alpha Centauri" line in isolation. Also, ENT: "Twilight" establishes Alpha Centauri as a human outpost. So I object to talking about "Alpha Centaurians" as if their existence were a given. I consider it a long-discredited notion.

After all, the makers of ENT were sufficiently fond of the old fan references to canonize Earth, Vulcan, Tellar, and Andor as founders. If they'd bought into the "native Centaurian" nonsense, they would've included them too. But they didn't.

If my guess is right, the Year Five series would be the first time Alpha Centaurans are presented with a non-human appearance.

"Demons" and "Terra Prime" showed several alien species at the Coalition of Planets talks, including Coridanites, Denobulans, Rigelians, Ktarians, and several unidentified species. I wouldn't be surprised if the comic had picked one of those to be the fifth species represented. (Although it would help if we could see a scan of the image in question.) After all, licensed tie-ins are only obliged to follow canon, and canon has only established four founder species for certain. No tie-in would be under any obligation to presume that Alpha Centauri was the fifth. They could easily say Rigel or someone else was a founder in addition to those four.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Facial tattoos suggest ENT-style Rigelians, though they weren't bald.

I bet the illustrator was hedging his bets. For fans of the "Technical Manual", "Medical Reference Manual" and "Star Trek Maps", it is an Alpha Centaurian. For fans of ENT, it's one of the representatives of the Rigel Colonies.

Ah, I see CLB just added a new post.

 

[Christopher]

For fans of the "Technical Manual", "Medical Reference Manual" and "Star Trek Maps", it is an Alpha Centaurian.

Huh? The TM treated Alpha Centauri as an Earth colony (with a centaur-based flag/emblem), and indeed implied that 61 Cygni and Epsilon "Indii" [sic] were Earth colonies too. The Med Ref Man didn't mention Alpha Centauri at all, as far as I can tell from a quick skim. And STM said the "native" Centaurians were transplanted from Ancient Greece -- and also that Cochrane was an Earth native who settled there later in life, making me wonder why they bothered to claim that at all. In any case, none of them asserted the existence of a native Centaurian species.

 

[Therin of Andor]

The Med Ref Man didn't mention Alpha Centauri at all, as far as I can tell from a quick skim. And STM said the "native" Centaurians were transplanted from Ancient Greece -- and also that Cochrane was an Earth native who settled there later in life, making me wonder why they bothered to claim that at all. In any case, none of them asserted the existence of a native Centaurian species.

The compilers of the "Medical Reference Manual" used 61 Cygni and Epsilon Indi (as mentioned in the STM), as the home planets for the Tellarites and Andorians by using each planetary nomenclature as a species genus. Perhaps not the intention of Franz Joseph, but later used in Bantam's "Star Trek Maps" as well.

The "Spaceflight Chronology" specified that the Alpha Centaurians were humanoid but with some differences to humans, eg. opposable pinky fingers.

 

[Christopher]

The compilers of the "Medical Reference Manual" used 61 Cygni and Epsilon Indi (as mentioned in the STM)

Yes, of course, but what's that got to do with Alpha Centaurians?

 

[Mike Doyle]

I'm still new here, how do I put a screen shot up? Do I have to upload it somewhere else first?

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

In the long-deprecated Spaceflight Chronology, native Centaurians are almost identical to Humans, except for having opposable pinkies. (Note emphasis on "long-deprecated.")

And as I recall, there were some old Reeves-Stephens novels that apparently followed that lead, even to the point of the Centaurians claiming Cochrane (or Cok'raan, or something similar) as one of their own.

On the other hand, Brad Ferguson's Crisis on Centaurus contradicts all of that.

But Earth-colony, indigenous sentient, or both, I've never heard of anything to contradict that Alpha Centauri was a founding member of the Federation.

 

[Enterprise1701]

I'm still new here, how do I put a screen shot up? Do I have to upload it somewhere else first?

Yes, this board bans hotlinking. I recommend using Imgur for free image hosting.

 

[Mike Doyle]

Thank

Yes, this board bans hotlinking. I recommend using Imgur for free image hosting.

you!

The guy far right https://imgur.com/a/EhJQRpA

 

[Christopher]

But Earth-colony, indigenous sentient, or both, I've never heard of anything to contradict that Alpha Centauri was a founding member of the Federation.

That's the conventional assertion in tie-ins, but it's still purely speculative. In canon, it's never been addressed one way or the other. And new tie-ins are only obligated to follow canon. They're completely free to contradict earlier tie-ins. So there is not one blessed thing to stop a comic book or novel from saying that the fifth founder was some other world.

I know I read an article somewhere listing the various alternative depictions of the founding members in different tie-ins, so I know they don't all agree with the traditional five, though they all include the canonical four from ENT. I can't remember where that article was, though. I can't find it on Memory Alpha or Beta or Ex Astris Scientia.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

That's the conventional assertion in tie-ins, but it's still purely speculative.

Quite.

 

[publiusr]

In the long-deprecated Spaceflight Chronology, native Centaurians are almost identical to Humans, except for having opposable pinkies. (Note emphasis on "long-deprecated.")

Now I liked that take--maybe the source of the space brothers of contactees

 

[Therin of Andor]

I'm still new here, how do I put a screen shot up? Do I have to upload it somewhere else first?

This one? I thought I already had it on Flickr already, but I had to wait till I got home.


Star Trek Year Five issue 16 by Ian McLean, on Flickr

Yes, of course, but what's that got to do with Alpha Centaurians?

Nothing. I must have misremembered the Alpha Centaurians weren't included in the "Medical Reference Manual". The diagram I remembered was in the "Spaceflight Chronology".

But my post was also in response to your earlier comment, "implied that 61 Cygni and Epsilon "Indii" [sic] were Earth colonies too."

I know I read an article somewhere listing the various alternative depictions of the founding members in different tie-ins, so I know they don't all agree with the traditional five, though they all include the canonical four from ENT. I can't remember where that article was, though. I can't find it on Memory Alpha or Beta or Ex Astris Scientia.

Me too, maybe here? (but it is refusing to load at the moment):
https://forgottentrek.com/creating-the-federation/

Weird. It loads in Chrome but not Safari. It does have the newspaper clipping from "Generations" re Alpha Centauri as a founding member.

 

[Mike Doyle]

This one? I thought I already had it on Flickr already, but I had to wait till I got home.


Star Trek Year Five issue 16 by Ian McLean, ."

That’s the one. Guy on the far right.