Ornithoid life form

			Intelligent Lifeform Index

Ornithoid life form
Four Letter Code	ORNI
Federation Status	Unknown
Planet of Origin	Extragalatic in origin, but found on Pyrus VII
Encountered	TOS: Catspaw
T/E Rating	T0/E0
Current Tech Level	V
List of Named Ornithoid life forms
Full ILI Gallery • Permitted Species Gallery

Starfleet Intelligence has designated this species a Class 1 Priority

"Where did your race get this ridiculous predilection for resistance, hmmm? You examine any object. You… you question everything! Is it not enough to accept what is?"

Korob.

The Ornithoid lifeforms are an advanced, sentient species from outside the Milky Way Galaxy. As a result there is absolutely no data available regarding their home system, home world, environment or plans.

In some references they are called the Old Ones (Extra Galactic).

History

Because they come from somewhere outside of our Milky Way galaxy we know nothing about their history.

Government

The only two Ornithoids ever encountered by Federation personnel answered to the Old Ones; it is unclear if this was the name of their government or an Ornithoid agency or something else entirely.

Description

They are slight beings only inches tall, with a fragile and delicate appearance. In some ways they resemble some kind of unusual insect, almost like a praying mantis that has been crossed with a large shrimp from Earth.

With the use of their transmuter technology they were able to appear in a number of different forms, each one visually undistinguishable from the real thing.

Physiology

Without the amplification of their substantial mental abilities via their transmuter technologies, their tiny bodies and fragile physiology left them unable to survive in environments better suited for humanoids.

Psychology

While they have only been encountered once as far as we know by Federation personnel, we did learn that they seem to be completely alien to human-type emotions.

ESP

All of their abilities took their force of will connected to a device they called a transmuter.

The female could read and control the minds of other intelligent species. In this way she controlled various members of the USS Enterprises crew and made them do her bidding.

She also could perform what she called sympathetic magic. An example of this was when she created a model of the USS Enterprise and placed it in the flame of a candle. The real ship orbiting above began to grow very hot.

The male sealed the model in a clear block of some kind and the ship above was suddenly surrounded by a force field unlike anything they have ever encountered. All efforts to analyze it fail.

Religion

Because they come from somewhere outside of our Milky Way galaxy we know nothing about their religion.

Mythology

Because they come from somewhere outside of our Milky Way galaxy we know nothing about their mythology.

Society

Because they come from somewhere outside of our Milky Way galaxy we know nothing about their society.

Culture

Because they come from somewhere outside of our Milky Way galaxy we know nothing about their culture.

Customs

Because they come from somewhere outside of our Milky Way galaxy we know nothing about their customs.

Technology

They have advanced technology that is capable of extraordinary matter manipulation with a replication/transporter dubbed "transmuter" which is used to assume different forms on the many higher-gravity worlds they encounter. As a result based on this and the fact that we know they come from somewhere outside of our Milky Way galaxy that they must be more advanced than we are.

Economy

Because they come from somewhere outside of our Milky Way galaxy we know nothing about their economy.

Military

Because they come from somewhere outside of our Milky Way galaxy we know nothing about their military.

Federation Intelligence Files

Two Ornithoid explorers, Korob and Silvia, set up an observation outpost on Pyris VII in the 23rd century. They encountered the USS Enterprise and held members of the crew for study in 2267. Both died after James T. Kirk destroyed their means of support in an effort to escape capture.

The Old Ones were an authority to whom Korob and Sylvia owed some form of duty or fealty. Presumably, they sent the two explorers to Pyris VII to learn. Korob reminded Sylvia of this duty, but she had become intoxicated by sensation (something that did not exist where she and Korob were from), and rejected his opinion that her actions were not in accordance with her responsibilities.

The Old Ones made several mistakes. They gave Korob, the senior member of their exploration team, a more powerful transmuter, but failed to realize that he lacked the will to use that power, even when his colleague Sylvia became irrational. They failed to realize the dangers of being immersed in sensation (the cause of Sylvia's irrationality).

In the 24th century, information about the Ornithoids was used in schools as teaching aids in comparative xenobiology lessons.

In 2369 Jake Sisko was working on his homework on a PADD that featured two drawings of the Ornithoid lifeform.

Later that year, a Bajoran student also had a PADD with drawings of the lifeform on his desk, which also featured a computer monitor with similar drawings.

Sources

Both Memory Alpha and Memory Beta were used as sources as well as the TV episodes TOS: Catspaw, DS9: In the Hands of the Prophets, DS9: A Man Alone, DS9: The Nagus and DS9: If Wishes Were Horses.

Also used was the written reference book the Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual and The Star Trek Compendium.

SDC

This file was updated and approved by the SDC on 10 November 2014.

Content from this article may have
come partially, or entirely from
 Memory Alpha

		SPECIES PROFILE UPDATED This profile was revised by the Species Development Committee.		REV 239112.22
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