- "What is a Q?"
- "It's a letter of the alphabet as far as I know."
- - Worf and Tasha Yar (TNG: "All Good Things...")
The Q are a seemingly omnipotent and immortal species who form the Q Continuum, possessing the ability of instantaneous matter-energy transformation and teleportation, as well as the ability of time travel. The Q have control over space, matter, and time. (VOY: "Q2") In addition, Q spectacularly claimed to possess an IQ of 2005. (TNG: "Deja Q") They didn't make official contact with Humanity until 2364, when the crew of the USS Enterprise-D met "Q". (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint") At least one Q, acting on his own, had intervened and influenced Human affairs since at least the time of Isaac Newton. (VOY: "Death Wish")
The Q evolved over countless centuries into their current form and consider themselves to be the ultimate form of evolution. However, this often lead to a "been there, done that" feeling of apathy with regard to most of the universe. (VOY: "Death Wish") The exact circumstances of how the Q came to exist is unclear. While Quinn stated that the Q were once not unlike humanoid lifeforms, Q implied that the Q never came in to existence, but rather always were. (VOY: "The Q and the Grey")
The true extent of the abilities of the Q is somewhat unclear. While most Q claimed to be omnipotent, and at least one Q claimed they were all knowing, there is some reason to dispute these claims. Quinn implied that the Q are not completely omnipotent. However, considering that Quinn was a dissident, his claims may not have beeen entirely accurate. (VOY: "Death Wish")
Guinan considered some of the Q to be fairly respectable. One exception was the Q who often visited the crew of the USS Enterprise-D. (TNG: "Q Who")
An aspect of 24th century interactions with the Q included involvement in a Q Civil War. The Q had come to fear the influence of Human compassion and curiosity into their otherwise timeless, apathetic, and stable culture. The war was incredibly destructive to our dimension and involved weapons which, during a firefight, "incidentally" destroyed stars in various regions of Delta Quadrant space. The war was ultimately avoided upon the birth of Q Junior, restoring the Continuum to the status quo. (VOY: "The Q and the Grey")
The Qs' abilities were not only limited to members of the Q Continuum species, as Humans Amanda Rogers and William T. Riker experienced the powers of the Q. (TNG: "Hide and Q", "True Q")
Notable Members
- Q
- Q2
- Female Q
- Q Junior
- Colonel Q
- Judge Q
- Quinn (formerly a Q)
- Amanda Rogers (Q status unconfirmed)
- Amanda Rogers' parents
- William T. Riker (temporarily)
- Vash (temporarily)
Appearances
- TNG:
- "Encounter at Farpoint"
- "Hide and Q"
- "Q Who"
- "Deja Q"
- "Qpid"
- "True Q"
- "Tapestry"
- "All Good Things..."
- DS9: "Q-Less"
- VOY:
- "Death Wish"
- "The Q and the Grey"
- "Q2"