This video is a little different from my usual stuff as it pertains to real world lore, rather
than just Star Trek, but recently I poseted a video on Species 8472 and what they got
up to after the events of the shows as depicted in Star Trek Online and I got a couple of
comments regarding the name selected for the species in the game, that being the Undine.
Yes I pronounced it Un-dyne repeatedly even though it’s supposed to be Un-deen and the
reason for that one is simple, habit. Outside of the game, the term undine, still doing
it, is used in mythology and like many mythological works, I tend to stumble across them as written
before I hear them told, so let’s look at the real world undine and why this name may
have been chosen for Species 8472. Well the word itself is from the Latin word,
unda or undina which means wave, as in ocean waves. The term was eventually corrupted into
Undine, or Ondine and used to describe a freshwater nymph.
Much later in the 19th century, a story was written called “Undine”, by Friedrich
de la Motte Fouque about a water-dwelling spirit who pursued a romance with a land-bound
knight. If this is a familiar tale it’s because it is often cited as the inspiration
for Hans Christian Andersen’s “Little Mermaid”. However, there are some differences
as the undine wished to experience and poses a human soul, something the elemental spirits
lack and only through marriage could they achieve their own, becoming human and mortal
in the process. This fairy tale has strong aquatic themes
though the story itself has little bearing on the narrative of Star Trek, (unless there’s
a horrific interspecies romance subplot that I don’t know about). But the take-away is
that an Undine is a water-elemental and its use in literature often has it appear human
and become mortal. Species 8472 are biological entities that live beyond out realm of existence
in the poorly charted dimension of fluidic space.
In this realm, an organic liquid permeates the entirety of space, complete with currents
and for all intents and purposes, is a giant ocean. Except yellow-green and for some reason
I imagine it as slimy. And in it live these creatures that have telepathic abilities and
can adopt humanoid form with technology. So the similarity was drawn between species 8472
and water elementals as they both dwell within liquid realms and can resemble humans, but
at their core, are not. Substitute the bits about magic for science and there’s your
parallel. I’m pretty sure that Undine is the term
that the Federation gave Species 8472, probably feeling it was less of a mouthful and more
personable than a Borg designation. The Klingons call them “Qa’meH quv” which means replacers
of honour with dishonour, fitting for their interpretation of the species as usurpers.
The actual name for the species is still unknown as they are a telepathic species, they may
not even communicate with words, just thoughts and as seemingly the only inhabitants of fluidic
space, why would the need to identify themselves as a species anyway?
So, yeah, just a quick video to clarify some things. Yes it is pronounced Undeen, it’s
just a habit I’m going to have a hard time breaking, but I love the origin of the term
and its base in our world’s myths and tales. Although I have to say species 8472 is far
better looking, I mean three legs? Fwoar. Anyway,
Thanks for watching. I’m planning to do some more of these smaller videos that I can
drop over the weekends on various Trek related topics so that there’s a Trek related presence
on the channel, other than STOSS, the Online Lore series so hopefully this will be the
first of many such lore-bytes. I frequently turn to the comments for inspiration so perhaps
if you have a question on trek lore, I can answer it in one of these weekend videos?
Anyway, thanks again and goodbye.