Hello all!
Ric here with a cultural index on a long-lived species of Star Trek and a favourite of mine,
the El Aurians.
Much of what we know of the species comes from Guinan, the former barkeep of the Enterprise
D, who is always ready lend an ear or offer advice.
Alongside the canonical information, I will be drawing on apocrypha where it does not
conflict to flesh out an image of them and their history.
There are three main things you need to know about El Aurians, the first is that they are
very long-lived especially for a humanoid species.
The second is that they are dispersed all over the quadrants, and possibly the galaxy
due to the loss of their homeworld to the Borg.
And the final thing is that they are often referred to as a “race of listeners”,
a people who collate and collect tales and experiences.
But let’s start with their home planet, El Auria.
As with many aliens in Star Trek, the species shares its name with its system and planet,
or in this case, it’s primary Star.
Unimaginative, I know but perhaps they call it something different in their native tongue
and the Federation only knows it as El Auria.
It’s location is somewhat vague, but it is likely either in the deep Beta Quadrant,
or even the light Delta considering the Borg came across them around the mid-to-late 23rd
century.
We know that by the time of TNG, 2365, the Borg were beginning to make their way into
the Neutral Zone between Romulan and Federation space, which means that they were just expanding
into that territory.
El Auria was assimilated 100 years prior to this, when the Borg would have been still
encroaching.
So based on Borg encounters, it’s probably over here somewhere.
El Auria used to be an M-class planet and the focal hub of their society.
Cities on the planet included Lauresse, Sadorah as well as smaller settlements like Talaal
on the coast.
The civilization has been mentioned to be tens of thousands of years old and considering
their lifestyle, they must have been spacefaring for a very long time.
However, for such an ancient civilization to fall to the Borg, we can infer that their
level of technology was not advanced enough to save them from the cybernetic menace.
The loss of their homeworld between 2265 and 93, left refugees fleeing the now Borg territory
where they continued to be displaced even until 2293 and they continue to be without
a home of their own into the 25th century.
Biologically, the El Aurians appear to be very humanoid, and share much in common with
humans from their variety of skin tones, to eye colour and hair, build and so on.
In fact, an El Aurian easily passes foe a human, or betazoid, or Risian and for many,
this is used as a benefit as it allows them to better pass among others unnoticed.
The biggest difference between El Aurians and other species however, is their lifespan,
where and individual can easily reach over 500 years old and still be considered middle
aged.
The exact length has not been determined on screen, but in apocrypha there are still healthy
and active El Aurians at around 700, not to mention Guinan’s father.
They seem to grow out of childhood at a comparable rate to humans, but are still considered young
at around 100 years old.
Additionally, an El Aurian is able to hold back signs of aging from visibly showing and
can consciously allow themselves to appear older if they wished it.
The origin of this life-span is unknown but presumed evolutionary, although I like to
think that perhaps there is a natural effect at play, akin to the Ba’Ku home planet,
but juts within the individual.
Additionally, the El Aurians are very in tune with the fabric of the universe.
Yeah.
So as a species, they can feel when alterations to time have been made.
They refer to this as Af-Kelt and it manifests as a sense of unease or a pervasive wrongness
to things.
This increases when they come into proximity to an aberration or remembrance of another
time and can even manifest as nausea.
Their level of awareness of the universe ties in very well with the theme of being listeners,
as apparently they even have their ear to the fabric of reality itself, in a way.
Culturally, the El Aurians are a dispersed crowd, but from what we have seen, it seems
that this was always their way, even before the loss of El Auria.
As such a long lived species one of their driving factors in life was to explore other
cultures, societies and learn of them.
They mingled, talked and more importantly listened, collating tales and news of far
flung societies, peoples and events.
Due to their exceptional lifespans, it was not uncommon for an El Aurien to embed themselves
into another culture for decades, perhaps even centuries where they could passively
observe and learn, growing in experience and understanding.
This was all so they when they returned to their home, they could share these tales among
their family and fellows, enriching the species as a whole.
They seldom involved themselves in the affairs of others, content to accumulate stories,
but with the wealth of information that they inevitably accumulated over the centuries
of travel, they naturally became repositories of sage council and advice.
This lends them a certain wisdom that is often sought out and therefore they make excellent
counsellors, diplomats, confidants …and bartenders.
In addition to this, they may be mildly empathic and have the ability to read and coax emotion
out of others.
Although this could be from their years of experience at conversing, rather than any
active ability like a Betazoid.
I thought I’d bring it up as it’s noted enough to be a frequent observation when talking
to them; that it’s easy to trust and open up to an El Aurian.
This has led some of them to employ their aptitude for talk, information gathering and
years of experience towards more nefarious activities, such as con artists.
On top of this, their lifespan means that they can implement long-term plans and see
them to completion over decades if they are patient enough.
And El-Aurians are patient.
Technologically, the El-Aruians might actually be behind the curve when it comes to other
species.
The fact they were so sporadic for so long suggests that they did not have much in the
way of colony worlds.
In fact, outside of their home planet, they don’t appear to have many resources at all
as even the two refugee ships encountered in 2293 were under El-Aurian registration,
but the Whorfin-class vessel is a common civilian transport vessel that they simply acquired
and owned.
They weren’t El-Aurian construction.
We do see Tolian Soren use a disruptor of unique design, which was named an “El-Aurian”
disruptor, but I believe this was designed and constructed by the scientist himself.
So it literally is of El-Aurian design, I guess but probably atypical.
We don’t get to see much of the El-Aurian language aside from a couple of proper nouns
and names and their fashion design was sported by Guinan, however that is a sample size of
one, although flowing robes and large hats seem common judging by the passengers of the
SS Lakul.
Most of their gear, tech and lifestyle would be an amalgamation of the other cultures which
they now have surrounded themselves with.
So, as an observation, and a speculative one at that, I think that this is simply all down
to how their society operates.
With their long lives, they don’t really need to get anywhere very fast, so better
warp speeds might not have been a priority and at the end of the day, if they have to
barter passage aboard another vessel, then that allows them time to mingle among others
and learn of them.
Why bother developing your own ships and getting places in a hurry when you find enjoyment
and peace in the journey?
The fact that they spend a great deal of their lives outside of childhood wandering, means
that they had little use for colonies either, aside from their one home where they could
congregate to meet.
Overall, the El-Aurian people have had a great horror befall them with the loss of their
planet to the Borg which has left them spread apart.
While their cultural pursuit of stories and new experiences has prepared them for such
a lifestyle, they have been deprived of a point to return too, which in time could severely
diminish their numbers.
However as such a long lived species, they generally move through their lives at a slower
pace, often parenting multiple children over the centuries, so it remains to be seen if
the loss of El Auria would actually spell the end for them, but I think not.
They seem wise enough and incredibly capable of adapting to any situation, and persevering.
Thanks for watching this video on the El Aurians of Star Trek, I’m surprised at how little
extra we learn of them, even in the apocrypha, so there was a fair bit of assumption in this
index.
If there is another target species you’d like me to cover, drop a request below and
in the meantime I’ll post the votes for the next choice over on the community tab!
Thanks again for listening; I’ve been Ric and goodbye!