Trill

			Intelligent Lifeform Index

Trill
Four Letter Code	TRLL
Federation Status	Member
Planet of Origin	Trill
Encountered	Sometime in the 21st century contact was established with the Vulcans
T/E Rating	T0/E0
Current Tech Level	N+
List of Named Trills
Full ILI Gallery • Permitted Species Gallery

"The future holds the promise of new beginnings and better memories."

a Trill saying.

The Trill are a humanoid species native to the planet Trill. A small percentage of the Trill population co-exists with a sentient symbiotic organism known as a symbiont inside their bodies.

The resulting joined Trill have personalities which are a synthesis of the two beings including the memories, and to some extent the personalities, of the previous hosts of the symbiont. This way, the joined being gains all the skills and occupations of the previous hosts. As late as 2367, the fact that some Trill exist as a joined symbiotic species was widely unknown, even to Federation scientists.

Home System

• Quadrant: Alpha Quadrant
• Location: Kalandra Sector
• Proper Name: Trill system, Trillius system
• Star: It is a binary star system with one G-class star and one K-class star.
• Distance from Star: its orbit is approximately 181,761,413 million km (1.215 AU)
• Companions: 6 planets in the system including Trill
• Moons: it has 1 moon.

Home World

See also: Trill (planet)

History

The first years of Trill development are referred to as Oras aru'Zentu'il ("Age of Spring" or "Spring Age"), as it was the age when both Trills and Symbionts were born and began to grow peacefully.

Early History

As the humanoid Trill began to migrate out from the Mak'ala region thousands of years ago, it became impractical for many to make the journey to Mak'ala to request to be joined. As a result many of the Trill that made the journey to be joined were traveling merchants and traders. Due to the distance from Mak'ala it became common to transfer the Symbiont into someone close to the host when the host died.

Creation of the Symbiosis Commission

The Trill started keeping records of joinings in the 12th century. By this time many cultures and governments had developed so there were no global regulations over who received the Symbionts. Nepotism was rampant and it became increasingly common for new hosts to reassociate with the partners of the old host, much to the detriment of Trill society. In the 13th century, representatives from each government on Trill met to decide what to do. The result of these talks was the formation of the Symbiosis Commission to regulate the joining process and new laws were put into place regarding joining such as the law banning reassociation.

Space Age

Trill's first contact with alien life was in the early 21st century, when a Vulcan ship landed, proposing friendship and cultural information exchange. Trill society was deeply divided by this development, with many fearing the outsiders represented a threat to the symbionts. The ruling council eventually allowed for limited contact with Vulcans, but no other alien races. This first contact also led to increased security around and secrecy regarding the symbionts.

In 2038, two years before the arrival of the Vulcans, the Trill Science Ministry successfully tested the first warp drive. There were initial concerns about the safety of warp travel for joined Trill but the arrival of the Vulcans and the decision to conceal the symbionts caused progress to slow to a crawl. It wasn't until 2046 that it was deemed safe for joined Trill to travel at warp speeds.

Circa 2063, Trill was visited by the L'Dira. Trill's refusal to deal with the unknown race led to an attack on the planet, killing over fifty. This tragic error in understanding convinced the ruling council to increase their knowledge of the galaxy.

In the 22nd century, Lela Dax became the first woman to be appointed to the Trill ruling council which until that point had consisted solely of joined men.

It is not known when Trill and humans first made contact but Emony Dax is known to have visited Earth in the mid 23rd Century, where she was apparently close to Leonard McCoy.

Sometime prior to 2245 Tobin Dax once met the famous Cardassian poet Iloja of Prim while the latter was exiled on Vulcan.

Trill joined the United Federation of Planets shortly before the 2260s.

Travis Mayweather mentions having visited Trillius Prime, while still a member of his fathers freighter crew.

The planet joined the United Federation of Planets some time around the early 23rd century; before that the planet's military was the Trill Private Service. Madza Bral, a Trill politician, was elected Federation President not long afterwards.

Mirror Universe

In the mirror universe, it was unclear which side (if any) the Trill government took in the conflict between the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance and the Terran Rebellion. A number of individual Trill were part of the Rebellion, while others would attempt to remain non-aligned.

Government

In the 21st century, Trill was governed by a ruling council, composed solely of joined Trills, and primarily males. The council was lead by a head councilor, addressed as "Mr. Speaker". The council met in the council chambers, at the time one of the oldest and largest spaces in the capital city, adorned with acelon desks and capped by an opaque dome. As early as the mid-21st century, debate raged over abandoning the historic chamber for more modern building.

By the 24th century, Trill government was run by a President and a Senate, both housed in the Trill Senate Tower, in the city of Leran Manev. That government nearly collapsed when a terrorist attack killed or seriously wounded thousands of symbionts, including that of the president, Lirisse Maz. The Maz symbiont was successfully unjoined through use of an experimental drug, and Lirisse Durghan was able to maintain her position. (Source: DS9 - Worlds of DS9 novel: Trill: Unjoined)

Trill Senate Tower

The Trill Senate Tower is the seat of government for Trill, housing the chambers of the Trill Senate and the office of the President of Trill.

Trill Diplomatic Corps

The Trill Diplomatic Corps was a Trill diplomatic body.

In 2075, a member of the Diplomatic Corps met with several Vulcans, including T'Pau, who wanted to speak to Lela Dax after the L'Dira attacked Trill. Seljin Gandres was an Ambassador in the Diplomatic Corps. He spent several years dealing with the Pakleds on behalf of the organization.

In 2376, the Trill Diplomatic Corps was involved in Bajor's admittance to the United Federation of Planets. Using his connections, Hiziki Gard was assigned to be Ambassador Gandres' aide by the Corps.

Description

Waeyna Rajel

Most Trill are distinguished by two rows of spots going down each side of their body, from forehead to toe. Their skin color can vary. While the most seen combination is that of spots being darker than the skin shade, some darker skinned Trills may instead display spots that are lighter than their skin. How wide spread this variation is has not been researched.

Physiology

One of the main Neurotransmitters in the Trill brain is Isoboromine. One Trill peculiarity is that they are known for having cold hands.

Joined Trill are extremely allergic to insect bites; the biochemical connections between the host and symbiont can not tolerate the reaction caused by the insect's venom.

The few Trill that are given a symbiont are typically joined in their early to mid-twenties. The physical process of being joined is irreversible. Once joined, the host and symbiont are dependent on each other after 93 hours. If the symbiont is removed from the host, symbiont and host will die within hours, even if they are otherwise healthy, unless they are reimplanted with another host or symbiont.

The brain of a joined Trill has two cerebral nuclei and two different brain wave patterns. Julian Bashir compared them with two linked computers, which both work for the same task, in 2369.

With joined Trill consumption of synthehol could, in some cases, cause visions of prior hosts.

Joining

On average, only three hundred symbionts are available for hosting each year and about a thousand Trill apply for joining. Because there are many more humanoid Trill than symbionts, prospective hosts are weeded out by a demanding selection procedure, overseen by the Symbiosis Commission.

The competition for the few symbionts is fierce and attracts the brightest and most highly motivated of Trill society. Often the would-be hosts excel in their chosen fields and it is not uncommon for them to hold several degrees or distinctions prior to their joining. Prospective hosts may eventually become initiates under the supervision of a field docent, a joined Trill who evaluates the prospective host's suitability for joining and makes a recommendation to the Commission. A negative recommendation usually means the initiate is cut from the joining program.

Common belief in Trill society holds that only one in a thousand Trill make acceptable hosts. In fact, this figure is vastly understated, and nearly half of the Trill population is capable of being joined. The myth is perpetuated very carefully, though, in order to avoid the widespread chaos which would arise if the information were made public, since the symbionts would become, essentially, objects to be fought over, as people fought to gain the few prized symbionts.

Unless the joined Trill objects, a prospective host may request a specific symbiont. If a host is weak, the personality of the symbiont will overwhelm it. The joined Trill has several tools at their disposal for dealing with various aspects of their previous hosts.

The telepathic ceremony of zhian'tara allows a current host to divest the symbiont of the personality and all the memories of a previous host, which are temporarily hosted in volunteers. The transferring process is performed and supervised by a symbiont Guardian, an unjoined Trill telepath. The ceremony creates a chance for closure by having the new host address the previous hosts directly as a means of distinguishing their voices and cementing the sense of finality of its latest transition. Similarly, the Rite of Emergence can focus the voice of a single previous host among the memories of the other, allowing for a more direct converse in times of need for the current host.

The zhian'tara ritual is roughly similar to the Vulcan fal-tor-pan ritual, since both enable the respective species to perform a synaptic pattern displacement, the transfer of what could be considered as a soul (katra, pagh, etc.).

Psychology

Jadzia Dax joked that Trill don't look for romance the way Humans do. They consider it quite a nuisance and view it as a weakness of the young. Although a Trill host may have romantic feelings on occasion, it is the symbiont's wish to live on a higher plane and to try to rise above those sorts of temptations.

Trill law forbids reassociation between subsequent hosts of joined persons, whose symbionts were romantically involved in their previous hosts, as the main purpose of the transfer of symbionts is to experience new things in life. Trill who are found guilty of reassociation are expelled from Trill society, meaning that their symbionts die with their current host.

Religion

While it may not be considered a true religion all Trill and the Symbionts have a basic belief that one should care for their own body and health as well as that of the people around them. That to strive to better oneself is the best way to be true to one self.

Mythology

They have a complex and unusual set of early tales that detail the tentative first steps and early history of the two species and their development of the current joining process. What makes these tales so unusual is the divergent nature of the two species and how they both viewed it from their own perspective.

Society

As Trill society grew, their governments adopted a system influenced by the symbionts. The symbiont populations grew much more slowly than the Trill humanoid populations, so many Trills competed to have the right qualifications to be selected as a host. This general competitiveness showed through academic achievement and philosophical development—the symbionts made it clear that they would reject violent individuals who tried to become hosts by force. As a result, all Trill civilization stressed a high level of education and ethical personal responsibility.

By the time they'd covered all of their planet's landmasses, the Trill already had a unified world government, a meritocracy run through systems of examinations and scientific appointments. This system was well in place by the time the Trill met the Federation, but matters were still cool between the two powers. Trills valued their independence and their position as a neutral party. Over the exchange of several decades, it became clear that the Federation stood for the same high values that Trill society encouraged—and that the members of the Federation had embraced those values, due to long years of struggle and learning, having worked hard to establish what came naturally to Trill culture. Eventually, the Trill applied for and received Federation membership in one of the fastest turnaround times from application to completion.

The Trill have a civilization marked by a decided lack of conflict. The combination of environment taking off population pressures, crossed with the stabilizing influence of the peaceful symbionts, helped to make the Trill into intellectuals instead of warriors. Their war was not to subdue other cultures for resources, but rather to tame the environment.

By the 22nd century, Trills had largely tamed their world, and engaged in rudimentary space travel and contacts with other cultures through subspace radio. The close of the 22nd century saw the Trill invention of warp drive. By the 23rd century, Trill warp engines were on par with most Starfleet designs; Trill travelers became a common sight throughout the Alpha Quadrant, although their symbionts remained secret and the Trill had little desire to colonize or conquer other worlds.

Despite the relatively unusual nature of being a joined species, that aspect of their culture wasn't widely unknown until 2367, when the Odan symbiont had to be given a new host during the middle of tense negotiations on Peliar Zel. Such a public example of the dual nature of the Trill brought to the forefront what had previously been a very private matter to Trill for several millennia.

In contrast to the greater revelation of their nature, the Trill are not a secretive species. To them, the joined nature of their culture is normal and not something they would think to comment on without prompting. Indeed, joined Trill can be seen as particularly genial and many have served the Federation as distinguished ambassadors, including Odan and Dax.

Culture

The Trill mathematical system is noted for containing ethical modes.

Language

The Trill written language is composed of rounded-triangles with squiggly lines in them. It could be read by Miles O'Brien. The Trill language had different second person singular pronouns based on whether or not an individual was joined.

Rituals

The Zhian'tara is a Trill ceremony in which the present host can meet with past hosts. The personalities of past hosts are placed in the bodies of the current host's closest friends.

In 2376, during the USS Defiant's voyage in the Gamma Quadrant, Ezri Dax thought about returning to Trill when the mission was over to undergo the zhian'tara. Jarem Kaz had not undertaken the zhian'tara as of 2378.

Music

• Trill Bell Music - Trill bell music is a type of musical style which uses bell-like instruments. Trill bell music was enjoyed by Torias Dax and Nilani Kahn.

Instruments

Aside from Trill Bells other instruments from the planet include the following:

• Trill Flute
• Trill piano

Hoobishan Baths

The Hoobishan Baths (also known as the Baths of Trill) are a popular public bathing location in Leran Manev on Trill. In 2372, Jadzia Dax had a holographic program of the Baths that she used in Quark's holosuites on Deep Space 9. She invited Kira Nerys to join her in the recreation, although Kira found it difficult to believe they were actually there.

Odo once described the Baths as being like a monastery, when compared to Risa. Ensign La Monica, a crewmember of the USS Enterprise, once used a holographic program of the Baths, although she fell and broke her arm while using it.

Drink

Trill produces a variety of alcoholic beverages. As a whole they tend to have either a higher alcohol content or are sweeter than their Terran analogues due to a higher sugar content found in Trill grain and fruits.

See Also: Beer Wine And Spirit Lover's Guide to Trill

Food

Drinaer - Lamb dish with a spicy cream sauce and pasta. Traditionally made with a Ploriz Pasta, made out of a special grain that is nearly impossible to get off of Trillius Prime due to the Trill being protective of it. When made off world the grain can be substituted for a different kind.

Rose Capaya - fruit similar to a raspberry but sweeter. Can grow to the size of a fist.

Sports

The Trill ball game, similar to softball but with some crazy rules.

Trill Basketball Association is a basketball league on Trill and includes teams such as the Mak'ala Mavericks.

Galeo-Manada is a form of wrestling popular on Trill with tournaments being held on the planet.

Football is also played on Trill. One team is the Vrans City Feather Cats.

Customs

Trill Evaluation Board

The Trill Evaluation Board is an organized body of administrators on Trill and a branch of the Symbiosis Commission. The Board is responsible for evaluating Trill who are candidates to join with a symbiont and for preparing them for life after joining.

In 2375, Ezri Dax met with the Trill Evaluation Board several times after undergoing an emergency joining with the Dax symbiont. Unfortunately, beyond giving her counseling and some books to read, there was little they could do for her since she and the symbiont were already joined.

Symbiosis Commission

The Symbiosis Commission is the Trill organization responsible for nearly all aspects of the joining of a Trill host and symbiont. The Guardians work for the Commission and care for the symbionts before they are joined in the Caves of Mak'ala.

The Commission oversees the selection process for potential hosts and symbionts. Host initiates must pass all required tests and have their application approved by the Commission in order to become joined. Even then the Commission remains an authority in the joined Trill's life. They continue to care for the symbionts and give counseling for hosts; this includes requiring that joined Trill perform the Zhian'tara as a means of dealing with the memories of previous hosts. Joined Trill may serve the Commission by acting as field docent to prospective hosts.

The Commission also controls all information regarding the symbionts. Though nearly half of the population is capable of being joined, they claim that only one Trill in a thousand is capable, thus making the rare symbionts privileges to be earned, as opposed to commodities to be purchased or fought over. This nearly became public knowledge after an attempted joining between the Dax symbiont and Joran Belar, a violent sociopath. After Joran's execution, the Commission used a chemical memory block on the symbiont to suppress the killer's personality, and erased all records of the incident from their archives.

The Commission may also be responsible for concealing the joined nature of the Trill, which was not a public fact until 2367 when a crisis involving ambassador Odan revealed it.

Curzon Dax was a member of the Symbiosis Commission. From 2264 to 2280 Audrid Dax was the head of the Commission. Doctor Renhol worked for the Commission.

Order of the Guardians

The Order of the Guardians is a group of Trill who care for the Trill symbionts in the Caves of Mak'ala. They rarely leave the Caves and have a reputation of being odd.

In 2371, Jadzia Dax, Benjamin Sisko and Julian Bashir consulted the Guardian Timor for information on hallucinations Jadzia had been having.

The Guardians preside over the zhian'tara ceremony, transferring the memories and personality of past hosts into the bodies of participants. Ranul Keru was once a member.

Trill Initiates

Trill initiates are those of the Trill species who join an initiate program in order to train themselves for potential joining with a symbiont. The initiate program consists of an intense series of exams and evaluations, both mental and physical, that are designed to eliminate all but the most suitable and dedicated applicants. Over five thousand candidates qualify for the training each year. On average, only three hundred symbionts, annually, are available. As such, it does not take much for an initiate to be knocked out of consideration. Only the best and brightest are joined.

Initiates are first evaluated by the Trill Symbiosis Commission, which is responsible for their training. Near the end of the program the initiates are assigned to a field docent, a joined Trill who evaluates their suitability in real-world environments.

Curzon Dax was known to be a particularly harsh field docent and personally eliminated many candidates, including Jadzia. Jadzia went on to become the only initiate ever to be rejected and then later re-accepted for the program. The experience made her determined to be a different type of docent for initiates when she was charged with evaluating Arjin during his initiate period.

The strenuous nature of the evaluation can be intimidating for many initiates, and rejection often led to deep disappointment and loss of purpose. Verad serves as a striking example. After his rejection from the program, which he believed was unwarranted, he was determined to capture a symbiont from a current host and join with it outside the strictures of the Symbiosis Commission. To this end he removed the Dax symbiont from Jadzia Dax and was briefly joined with it in 2370.

Technology

The Trill are a technologically advanced species and the Trill Science Ministry is a leading center of learning and experimentation.

Two major factors contributed to the rise of Trill technology: the memories of symbionts, and easy access to ores and heavy metals. The symbionts could communicate with the Trill through Joining, although the ways and means of the first Joining remain shrouded in secrecy by the Trill Symbiosis Commission.

Symbionts passed from host to host but retained their memories and friendships, and kept Trill society centered on a long-term view. Geologically, the planet Trill's heavy tectonic activity led to the formation of quake caverns and eroded tunnels, through which the Trill could easily gain access to deposits of iron, aluminum, and other useful metals. The combination of the two factors led to the rapid rise of technology

Trill Science Ministry

The Trill Science Ministry is an educational institute and one of the premiere institutes of science in the Federation, on par with the Vulcan Science Academy. Located on the Trill home world, the Ministry was a leader in the field of spatial and subspace anomalies in the 2370s, in particular the study of wormholes.

Notable scientists at the Ministry included Lenara Kahn, Hanor Pren, and Bejal Otner, all of whom visited Deep Space 9 in 2372 to conduct experiments in the creation of artificial wormholes.

In 2373, the Science Ministry discovered a method of collapsing the Alpha Quadrant terminus of the Bajoran wormhole without harming the Prophets. Upon learning of the large Dominion invasion fleet heading for the wormhole, Captain Benjamin Sisko ordered the plan to be executed, but it was thwarted by a Changeling posing as Julian Bashir.

Economy

They have a diverse and well established economy that could be completely self-sufficient if needed. They import and export a wide variety of goods and have numerous long term and short term trade deals with a diverse number of other species.

Military

Trill Private Service

Trill Private Service was the space born military of the planet Trill until the planet joined the United Federation of Planets, when the organization was merged into Starfleet.

The Clif and the Rajel symbiont served in the Private Service until the merger.

Trill Defense Ministry

The Trill Defense Ministry is a body present within the Trill government which are charged with the protection of the Trill home world and its people.

Starfleet Intelligence Files

Eventually, the Trill applied for and received Federation membership in the early 23rd century in one of the fastest turnaround times from application to completion in Federation history. Since then they have been a very important and dedicated part of the Federation serving in many ways.

Sources

Both Memory Alpha and Beta were used as referances as well as the following movie Star Trek films: Star Trek: Insurrection, as well as the following TV episodes TNG: The Host, DS9: Emissary, DS9: The Way of the Warrior, (hologram) DS9: Children of Time, DS9: Valiant, DS9: Prodigal Daughter, DS9: Rejoined, DS9: A Man Alone, DS9: Invasive Procedures, DS9: Facets, DS9: Field of Fire, DS9: Equilibrium, DS9: Playing God, DS9: Dax, DS9: The Siege, DS9: Through the Looking Glass, DS9: Let He Who Is Without Sin..., DS9: Destiny, DS9: In Purgatory's Shadow, DS9: Shadows and Symbols and VOY: Author, Author, (hologram).

Also used were the following books, TOS - Mirror Universe novel: The Sorrows of Empire, ST - Mirror Universe novel: Rise Like Lions, TNG novel: Intellivore, TNG novel: Q & A, ST novel: Articles of the Federation, DS9 novel: This Gray Spirit, DS9 novel: Unity, DS9 novel: Time's Enemy, DS9 novel: Lesser Evil, DS9 novel: The Way of the Warrior, DS9 - Worlds of Deep Space Nine novel: Trill: Unjoined, DS9 anthology: The Lives of Dax, DS9 - The Lives of Dax short story: Infinity, DS9 short story: First Steps, DS9 short story: Sins of the Mother, DS9/TNG comics: Divided We Fall and the VOY novel: Old Wounds.

Finally the reference books Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, Decipher RPG module: Worlds and ST reference: Federation Passport were used as well.

Just for your Knowledge

A link between the Trill symbionts and the alien parasites seen in TNG: "Conspiracy" is suggested in the non-canon DS9 short story "Sins of the Mother" (in the anthology The Lives of Dax) and the novel Unity. This was expanded upon in Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Volume 2. The neural parasite was first seen as it traveled in a comet passing close to the Trill homeworld. Audrid Dax and her husband, Jayvin Vod, went to the comet with a Federation team to examine it when Trill scanners showed a being similar to a symbiont in the comet. However, as the Federation was unaware of the Trill's symbiotic relationships yet, it was kept in secrecy. Upon coming into contact with the chamber of the parasite, it bonded with Jayvin, as well as the Vod symbiont, ultimately causing both of their deaths.

The inconsistencies between TNG and DS9 Trill were dealt with in the novels by suggesting that ridged Trill and Trill who could not be transported were subgroups of Trill society; both were mentioned or shown during the scenes on Trill, and the inability of some Trill to be transported was a plot point. In the DS9 Relaunch novels dealing with Trill, the ability or inability to be transported is shown as simply a difference between various Trill ethnicities.

The comics took a far different course, such as the Star Trek: Divided We Fall mini-series, where the fact is completely ignored. In fact, both Odan hosts are shown, without facial ridges but with spots. All Trill in the series are shown with the spots instead, no reasoning given.

In another novel, Forged in Fire, the ridged Trill are said to result from a strain of the Augment virus that managed to infect a Trill colony through visiting Klingon traders. However, the Trill seemed not to be interested in working on methods of restoring the original Trill look, with this "sub-group" having recently (at the time the novel was set) being re-accepted back into Trill society. This division among the groups possibly explains why Odan was so different from other Trill encountered in the series.

References

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 Memory Alpha