Hello, Ric here with another index video, this time looking in to Star Trek’ super
social species with stretchy smiles, the Denobulans. This species was introduced with star Trek
Enterprise and has been present alongside the development of humanity and the United
Federation of Planets since its inception back in 2161, although it was not one of the
founding races. Your standard Denobulan stands around 5 to
6 foot and is a fairly typical humanoid race. They do however possess a number or cartilage
like protrusions around the face and the rest of the body such as down the spine. They also
have a strongly elastic skin that can exhibit a number of exaggerated emotions. This elasticity
is used in an evolved defence mechanism where they puff up their face to shock potential
danger, though this is less likely to work on sentient species. They also had extended
tongues and their nails grew at a faster rate than humans, therefore personal grooming often
had numerous extra steps involved. Just as well then that they required only a couple
of hours of sleep to function properly. This was compensated for by a hibernation period
that occurred once a year for just under a week; around 6 days. A Denobulan was unable
to be roused during this state without chemical interference, but such an awakened individual
functioned poorly, akin to a human suffering from sleep-deprivation.
They also have rather strong immune systems, likely an adaptation to their close living
conditions and their internal organs were more complex than a human’s. Their neurology
was also very different from that of a human, but about on par in terms of capabilities
though this did mean that a Denobulan mind was less susceptible to effects that could
affect a human mind, but more vulnerable in other ways. For example they seem to have
a lower tolerance to certain radiations and vivid hallucinations are considered a normal
part of a stressed Denobulan mind. Pheromones play a strong role in Denobulan
biology with the species smelling each other as a form of intimate greeting and an amplification
of these pheromones during their mating cycle. This can create a more aggressive attitude
in males for a time. They were also affected by the pheromones of other species such as
the Orions, however they had soporific effect rather than an excitable one.
The Denobulans also have a strong dexterity that allowed them climb and scale rock faces
with little effort. Denobula is located in the Denobula Triaxa
system which may actually be the Iota Bootis trinary star system located in the Alpha Quadrant.
The species was already well known to the Vulcans and after first contact with Earth
in 2063, the Denobulans were quick to visit the new planet and introduce themselves by
2130. This is in contrast to their own first contact with the B’Saari which took them
a long time to adapt, having reached the conclusion that they were alone in the universe. The
revelation that they were not caused them to revaluate their philosophies and it doesn’t
seem that maintain a religion any more. They soon initiated a number of exchange programs
with the fledgling Starfleet including an interspecies medical exchange where professionals
would work among each other’s people for experience. This is a reflection of their
incredibly social and curious nature and despite their need for companionship, they do have
a great patience, willing to go years without seeing another of their own species so long
as they have the company of others. They appointed an ambassador to Earth, even before the formation
of the Federation. The planet itself has one supercontinent that
houses the whole Denobulan population and extensive oceans. Their warp drive technology
was the work of a scientist called Parnikee, who studied numerous theories around the fabric
of space-time. The Denobulans ties to humanity lead them to observe the formation of the
Coalition of Planets between the Andorians, Humans, Tellarites and Vulcans and sign up
as an affiliated world of the United Federation of Planets. They did not become a full member
for another few decades however, but by the 24th century, they were an official member
of the Federation. There were 12 billion inhabitants of Denbula
and they all lived on a single continent. This may be the result of overpopulation however,
with the advent of space travel and numerous opportunities to expand, the Denobulans have
chosen not to do so and instead choose to maintain this very close community. They have
a proclivity towards social behaviour because of this and find large populations to be reassuring
having existed in this societal style for some time. However, it should be noted that
physical contact from a stranger is considered uncomfortable for a Denobulan, but I can relate
to that. This communal nature extended to their relationships
and it was expected that every Denobulan would have up to three spouses, with each of those
having three of their own. This could lead to very extended family trees with over 700
relations. They didn’t seem to place a great emphasis on maintaining a family lineage or
marrying for political gain which is just as well. With the number of relations each
Denobulan attained; it would make documenting this an incredibly complex affair.
Most of the species were also fairly open with their sexuality and marriage was not
an exclusive affair regarding copulation and open discussion of such events were not subject
to the same stigma that other races apply them.
In terms of technological level, the Denobulans experimented with genetic manipulation, and
although regulated they did not have humanities poor experiences with the science and continued
to moderately apply genetic engineering to their people. In fact Denobulan medicine and
medical research was rather advanced, even for the galactic standard at the time and
many practitioners were always innovating and learning of new techniques from exposure
to other cultures. They have been warp capable for at least 350
years as their first appearance in Star Trek Enterprise and maintain a number of research
stations and institutions, however, they have very few bases beyond the Denobula Triaxa
System, unlike most other races who found colony worlds and claim territories to settle.
This too stems from their preference for a close communal lifestyle and while seemingly
solely based on Denobula, it is common to find teams of Denobulans abroad learning,
investigating and mingling with other species out of curiosity. This has led to them being
involved in relatively few wars and skirmishes and may be why they initially refused to completely
join the Coalition of Planets as doing so would tie them to species who did claim resource-rich
worlds and try to explore beyond their initial reach. In a phrase, the Denobulans seemed
content to explore within their comfort zone. Their history, like many other species however,
wasn’t free of interstellar wars, with a war fought against the Antaran throughout
the 1800s. This was a bloody conflict with casualties numbering in the millions and much
demonizing of the opponent leading to some bitter feelings even into the 22nd century.
This shows that the Deobulan’s do have their own military force and will deploy it if needed.
They had numerous institutions based on their homeworld with many scientific branches united
under the umbrella of the Science Academy. It’s easy to assume that the entirety of
Denobulan society revolves around the sciences from our exposure to Phlox and other characters
that all seem to have a background in fields such as geology and genetic engineering. Even
taking into account the nature of the Enterprise’s operations being mainly centred around exploration
and such, there do seem to be a higher percentage of academics and scientists in Denobulan society.
They also have relatively few forms of passive entertainment, such as film as they find greater
satisfaction from exploring the lives of other people than being presented with a tale. Their
clothing was also rather plain with little ornamentation, especially for work garb.
While smaller grudges and personal strife are relatively common, these are tempered
by the strong sense of patience and compassion that the species possesses and means that
major internal conflicts are far more difficult to sustain.
Thanks for watching this index on the Denobulan people. There’s a lot on the species that
comes from Star Trek Enterprise, however, much of it centres around the complexity of
their relationships and the population of their homeworld with little on the governmental
structure and industries of Denobula itself. We get the sense that they are also a very
curios people and tend to learn from other species but unlike say, humanity, they idea
of simply casting off into the unknown seems to have little appeal and they are content
to learn at their own pace. With this one wrapped up, there are two more
species that are up for the viewer voted index with either the space-dumpers, the Malon of
the Trek universe or perhaps the space-boars, the Gamorreans of Star Wars fame. So you can
vote in the comments below by liking the appropriate comment and if I forget to link them, as last
time, then comment your choice and I’ll have to count them all one-by-one. As I had
to for this one which I made at 109 for Denobulan and 24 for Geonosian. So I’m thinking of
moving the vote over to the community tab where there’s a more accurate voting system,
however it does potentially involve a few more clicks on your end to vote and the Community
Tab isn’t compatible with every media device so it’s up to what you find easier.
Thanks again, and until the next video, I’ve been Ric and I’ll see you later. Goodbye
and Optimism!