There are many factions and powers in the Star Trek universe and not all of them are
as open as the Federation in sharing information on their species.
Even the Romulans, with all their closed boarders and secrecy have made themselves targets of
Federation intelligence and engaged in diplomatic relations several times throughout history.
However one scaly species has scant intelligence to scan as it is secluded and aggressively
territorial.
Not even their origin is known for certain: The Gorn.
Hi there, Ric here again with the next cultural index, returning as always to the trek universe
and an iconic race all due to the only prime timeline appearance that they had in the Original
Series.
A Gorn also appeared in a single Enterprise episode but this was set in the Mirror Universe,
so canonically we don’t know much about them.
Therefore great segments of this index will contain Memory Beta content to help construct
an image of a race that otherwise is shrouded in obscurity.
The First official Contact with the Gorn came in 2267, when they attacked the Federation
colony world of Cestus III, purging all the inhabitants from the planet’s surface as
the Gorn claim it was in their space.
As with the Ferengi, the Federation had been aware of the Gorn’s existence for some time,
through second hand information and the like, but had never encountered them in an official
capacity, nor knew where they resided until the Cestus III incident, which many
term a massacre.
Undoubtedly a brutal event, Cestus III was indeed in Gorn space, a fact unknown to the
Federation, which has a habit of recklessly expanding into unexplored territory.
After the massacre, relations between the Gorn and the Federation were tense for several
years, but no offensive was ever conducted on either side.
2269 marked an end of the standoffish Federation-Gorn rivalries, with the two powers eventually
deciding to respect each other’s territory.
It’s worth noting that Cestus III was a federation colony again by 2371, so it’s
possible that the Gorn allowed the UFP to settle the world in reparation for the massacre.
A very diplomatic gesture if true.
In 2282 A Federation shuttle crashed on a Gorn training planet.
The Gorn actually sent a rescue party to help the survivors… which was then shot in fear.
The issue was resolved with no further fatalities and the officers returned to the Federation.
This shows that despite initial meetings as rivals, neither government wanted conflict.
By 2370, Federation and the Gorn relations were peaceful, if not productive.
However during the Dominion war they apparently signed a non-aggression pact with the Dominion.
In 2374, a political upheaval saw the Black Crest faction take a more militant approach
to the Federation and some hostilities ensued, despite this they eventually fought alongside
the Federation in the final days of the Dominion War thanks to a diplomatic mission form the
Enterprise E. By 2379, diplomatic relations were expected
to resume as before.
Though some sources say that rising Klingon interest in Gorn space is a prelude to a takeover
from the Empire.
The Gorn’s homeworld is an unknown.
Most sources say that it is a great jungle planet known as Gornar to the Federation,
or Agornu, located in the Tau Lacerae system of the Beta quadrant.
The Gorn call it S’sagaron though there is a differing legend to their origin which
we’ll address in a minute.
The jungle world has a humid, muggy atmosphere and great swamps that spread for miles before
giving way to ocean.
For easier navigation and perhaps the preservation of their landscapes or the avoidance of the
large dinosaur like creatures that roam the surface, most travel was conducted by a network
of caves and underground tunnels.
Gornar’s gravity is 1.4gs explaining why they have a naturally higher musculature and
very slow movements, by galactic averages.
So the number of different names and conflicting reports about the origin of the Gorn is further
muddied with rumours that they are actually of extra-galactic in origin.
There is a story that they originally arrived in the Beta Quadrant through a wormhole from
another Galaxy.
This is unlikely unless it happened thousands of years ago, but I cannot exactly prove otherwise
so thought I’d mention it here.
This data comes from the Kelvin timeline, interestingly enough however, it could tie
into an older story that said that the Gorn developed on three planets in the same system,
Gdhar 1,2, and 3.
However after the invention of interplanetary travel, it was discovered that none of these
worlds were the origin of the species and they came from elsewhere, so perhaps they
really are extra-galactic in origin.
Or these could simply be colony worlds in Gorn space.
After all, the Gorn were sending out colony ships before the invention of warp drive in
their culture so perhaps a few worlds splintered off.
Frustratingly we just don’t know for certain.
Biologically, the Gorn are reptilian.
Cold blooded, they would likely require a hot environment to function in on their ships.
They had a near-humanoid Skeletal Structure, with a very high muscle mass.
They had red, iron based blood and a tough leather hide that was covered in scales.
Much Slower but vastly stronger than humans, they could even survive in a vacuum for a
time.
Predatory in nature, they had sharp fangs, reptilian eyes and talons for rending flesh
giving them a fearsome visage, one which most humans reacted…
unfavourably to.
They can and will bite in combat and have eaten other sentient species before.
Most species cannot understand their speech, a series of Hisses and guttural noises, so
they utilize universal translators.
Gorn males are around 215 kg and 2m tall.
The females are bigger.
(250kg and 2.5m) Despite this, it seems only the males serve in the military, suggesting
perhaps that females make up less of the population, or that a caste based system prevents them
from serving.
The Government of the Gorn is called the Hegemony and at its head the Imperator, though there
are also many references to political power residing with a King.
Perhaps these roles are one and the same, King of the Gorn and Imperator of the military?
In the same way a Monarch or President is the Commander-in-Chief.
It appears that they operate in a caste based system with distinct warrior, technology and
civilian roles.
This same source describes the castes as based on the conditions in which a Gorn is hatched,
with incubation variations causing genetic divergence among the species, some being born
bigger, good for combat, while some have more digits, favourable for more complicated tasks.
Ones born with a bluish-yellow scale colouration are considered special and blessed.
The space arm of the Gorn is simply the “Space Command” and operates ships with the prefix,
GCS such as the ship Gress’sril.
The technology of the Gorn rivalled that of the Federation during the 23rd century though
was likely outpaced by the neighbouring power by the 24th.
They utilised genetic engineering and biological developments to a greater extent than most
species, even for military application.
Their ships followed similar design principles to the Federation vessels, suspending two
or more warp nacelles from pylons attached to a central hull.
The bridge sat atop the primary hull and their vessels firepower could match that of a constitution
class with even more powerful shields.
They favoured disruptor technology and their ships were just as fast as a Starfleet vessel
with similar limitations.
They dress to discern rank and position over necessity as their scales are protective of
the elements.
Though it would be prudent for them to develop some sort of heated undergarment seeing as
they’re… you know…cold blooded.
They do wear harnesses and leather-like gear, likely non-replicated as due to their predatory
nature, animal skins would not exactly be in short supply.
Although they shape metals for armour, they have very little jewellery.
It has been said that the Gorn captain that fought Kirk on Cestus III was wearing a tactical
eyewear, a sort of heads up display, but I find it unlikely that the Metrons would negate
to strip this bit of technology when they removed everything else, so I’m putting
this down to another example of bioengineering.
They have also produced a concoction called Meridor, a blue drink that shows that they
do at least have a functioning agricultural arm and therefore there’s less chance that
they rely on plunder and piracy.
They appear quite primitive to most species’ preconceptions, but really aren’t.
Although they favoured overpowering a foe outright, they utilised subterfuge and trickery
to engineer species into situations where the Gorn’s natural advantages came into
play.
They have names like Slathis, Slar, S’slee, Zogozon, S’taass, Thraak, K’Staa.
These pronunciations are as close to their names as most species can manage as they have
entirely different vocal structures.
Slar was from the mirror universe however and was a slave master hired by the Tholians.
This suggests that they may utilise their threatening visage and physical superiority
for security or enforcement roles.
They bury the dead and consider grave sites to be protected, perhaps even sacred?
Some form of ancestor worship perhaps.
But they are said to believe in the Mistress of Fertility, S’Yahazah who watched over
the eggs and hatchlings while keeping an eye out for the Great Father, who was banished
to the depths of space for attempting to consume the young.
Ussisis…uses...ersssessisiss …bloody hell these words…
Ussegssirr was concept of destiny, a philosophy that would go hand in hand with their adherence
to a caste structured society.
Although official sources list them as xenophobic, a deeper look into their culture (or suspected
culture anyway), gives me the impression that they are sort of more…
incredibly territorial and simply assume hostile intent on any unknown interlopers.
Once the Federation and its motivation were known to the Gorn, they were never really
a problem again, adopting diplomacy where appropriate to preserve their way of life,
which is more than can be said of many other races.
Don’t get me wrong, they are predatory by nature and highly dangerous, but they show
a willingness to overcome their instincts and can see the larger picture, antagonising
every other race out there is going to be a bad move after all, they are a relatively
small territory.
However it’s likely that as their technology is surpassed by other races, they may find
themselves the target of others or dragged into conflicts that they would rather avoid,
especially if their assiduous defence triggers an incident.
Thanks for listening to this index, as mentioned, a lot of this is beta content but outside
of the Arena episode, we literally know nothing else prime timeline about them, which is a
shame as I really like some of the concepts presented here, like their homeworld and ship
designs.
What about you?
Do you mind the amount of info here from non-canon sources?
And of course as usual, the index moves to a new target culture next with either the
Fallout universe inhabitants who would save us from the ourselves, the Brotherhood of
Steel, or the survivors of the Battlestar universe, the Colonial Fleet.
So until then, I’ll see you in the next video, thankssss again for watching, and Goodbye!