Mirror Universe (Star Trek)
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The Mirror Universe (MU) is a fictional parallel universe in which the plots of several Star Trek television episodes take place, named for "Mirror, Mirror", the original series episode in which it first appeared. The characters in the Mirror Universe are generally the same as the characters in "normal" Star Trek continuity (for example, it has a James T. Kirk and a Mr. Spock), but their personalities are, on the whole, much more aggressive, mistrustful, and opportunistic. Whereas the Star Trek Universe usually depicts an optimistic future which values peace and understanding, episodes set in the Mirror Universe show it to be marred by continual warfare, and compassion is seen as a liability.
Though the Mirror Universe is much darker and more violent than the normal Star Trek universe, a few Mirror characters are more friendly or docile than their "normal universe" counterparts. For example, Mirror Quark puts himself at risk to help escaped slaves reach freedom, and while "normal" Brunt is selfish and power-hungry, Mirror Brunt is a kind and considerate Ferengi.
There are an infinite number of parallel universes in Star Trek canon (as witnessed in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Parallels"). However, the Mirror Universe seems to be a "special" parallel universe that is somehow particularly linked to the "normal" Trek universe, given the ease with which characters can travel to and from it, the fact that characters who accidentally change universes always seem to end up there (and characters from there end up in our universe), the fact that every regular character in the "normal" universe has a counterpart in the Mirror Universe despite the wildly divergent histories of the universes (rendering the probability that the same people would be born and exist in both universes infinitesimally small), and that was not seen among the thousands of "regular" parallel universes that merged in Parallels. The Mirror Universe has been visited in one episode of Star Trek, five episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise, as well as in several Star Trek novels and at least one game, Star Trek: Shattered Universe, which takes place entirely in the MU.
Characters from each universe refer to the other as "parallel" rather than as "mirror".
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[edit] Chronology
[edit] Enterprise
A two-part episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, entitled "In a Mirror, Darkly", introduces the early developments of the Mirror Universe.
On April 5, 2063, Zefram Cochrane conducted his warp flight, drawing the attention of a passing Vulcan ship, as per the events shown in the standard Star Trek universe in Star Trek: First Contact. When the Vulcans landed and made their peaceful introduction, however, Cochrane killed the leader with a concealed weapon, then led the townspeople in commandeering the Vulcan ship. "In a Mirror, Darkly" implies that the Vulcan vessel, in the Mirror Universe, either was, or was interpreted to be by humans, the vanguard of an invasion fleet. While some take this as an implication of when the history of the Mirror Universe diverges from the standard Star Trek Universe, the special opening credit sequence for the episode implies that humanity was always a more aggressive species in the Mirror Universe. Most non-human races have similar backgrounds in the Mirror Universe and human history differs before that time; in "In a Mirror, Darkly," Mirror-Phlox comments that classical literature features weaker characters in the Star Trek Universe, with the possible exception of the works of William Shakespeare. Some fans have speculated that in the Star Trek Universe the crew of the Enterprise-E was there during first contact, and may have changed the way Cochrane responded to the Vulcans when they landed. In the Mirror Universe they never came, causing Cochrane's actions to be his own, or it was the mirror Enterprise-E crew that visited him. This seems unlikely for several reasons, the biggest being that the Terran Empire was defeated before the events of Star Trek: First Contact so there would be no Mirror Enterprise-E. The title sequence for the Enterprise episodes could be interpreted as showing that either Earth was far more violent before the events of first contact or the history of mirror Earth has been revised, glorifying military exploits and conquerors.
Terran domination was made possible by technology taken from the Vulcans and presumably from other defeated races; thus, the Starfleet of the Mirror Universe was somewhat more advanced than its regular counterpart. By 2155, the Terran Empire had already enslaved the Vulcans, Andorians, Orions and Tellarites and launched successful attacks against the Klingons and the Xindi (as seen in the opening montage). However, the Mirror Universe crew of Enterprise, also known as the I.S.S. Enterprise, is actually more racially diverse than its real universe counterpart, with numerous Vulcans and Tellarites actually serving as crewmembers, and the Mirror version of T'Pol, in particular, holding a position of trusted authority; as in the "real" universe, a Denobulan, Phlox, serves as Enterprise's physician. The Mirror version of Soval is seen to be an enlisted science crewman aboard the ISS Avenger, another Starfleet vessel which is also seen to include Andorian and Orion crewmembers.
During the episode's stated date of January 2155, Archer steals the U.S.S. Defiant from the Tholians (who are more aggressive than their non-Mirror counterparts), but is later apparently killed by Hoshi Sato, who subsequently declares herself Empress of the Terran Empire (though whether she succeeds in this gambit is not revealed). During the episode, future events are implied, such as the fall of the Terran Empire after several centuries (as seen in the Deep Space Nine storyline described below).
The title sequence of the "In a Mirror, Darkly" episodes chronicles the history of human warfare and interstellar domination of the Terran Empire, as opposed to the regular opening sequence depicting peaceful exploration. One of the more notable scenes is a Terran Empire flag being planted on the moon; this may or may not be in 1969, likely not as the space suit being worn is the same as the Enterprise crew wears.
[edit] The Original Series
The existence of alternate realities was first established in the original Star Trek series episode "The Alternative Factor". In this episode, the crew encounter a man named Lazarus who appeared to undergo extreme shifts in behavior. After a time, it was discovered that there were two men, one from an alternative anti-matter universe who was calm and rational, and another from our universe who was irrational. Both men had a ship that had the ability to send people into the other's universe. The Lazarus from the alternative reality said that there was a corridor of sorts between the universes where he and his counterpart could safely meet. If they met outside the corridor, both universes would be annihilated due to the contact between matter and anti-matter. Lazarus arranged with Captain Kirk to trap both him and the other Lazarus in the corridor forever by having Kirk destroy the ship, and at the same time, the ship in the other universe was destroyed as well. Both men were trapped forever in the corridor, one sane, and one not.
The Mirror Universe was first introduced in the original Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror". It was established that in the Mirror Universe the United Federation of Planets counterpart was the brutal Terran Empire, run by humans and their Vulcan allies. In the Mirror Universe, the term "Terran" is predominantly used for humans. The Mirror-Captain Kirk of the Imperial Starship Enterprise was a mass-murderer, who had been promoted to Captain by assassinating Captain Christopher Pike.
In the Terran Empire, officers were promoted for assassinating their superiors and order was kept by use of the "Agonizer" pain-giving devices. In some serious cases, the "Agony Booth" could also be used. Aesthetic differences included: the Mirror-crew's uniforms were flamboyant and somewhat robe-like, with ceremonial daggers for the officers; Mirror-Sulu was a Gestapo-like political officer with a disfiguring facial scar; Mirror-Spock had a goatee (which has led to a number of pop culture references of people from "evil alternate universes" having goatees, whereas the regular character does not); the "United Nations" emblem of the Federation was replaced in the Terran Empire symbol, which was a vertical sword of conquest savagely thrust through the Earth.
In this original encounter, Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, Lieutenant Uhura, and Chief Engineer Scott were on a mission to Halka to see if the Halkans would agree to give the Federation the right to mine their dilithium crystals. The Halkans refused because they were worried about the crystals being used for aggressive reasons. The crew were transported into the Mirror Universe as the result of a transporter accident when they tried to beam up from the Halkan planet during an ion storm, which also was affecting the Enterprise as well. Their counterparts in the Mirror Universe were beaming up at the same time from Halka. The storm caused the crew to switch places with their Mirror-Universe counterparts.
The four crew members had to learn how to adapt to survive long enough in this universe until they could find a way home without being detected. Captain Kirk also tried to prevent the genocide of the Halkans - which violated the Mirror-Starfleet's orders. As a result, Kirk suffered several assassination attempts during his time in the Mirror Universe. Mirror-Starfleet ordered Mirror-Spock to give Kirk until planet dawn over their primary target to complete the mission.
The crew did find a way home, but had to move fast because the field density between the two universes was collapsing. At the last minute, Mirror-Spock found out about the four crew members. He decided to return the crew to our universe.
In a happy coincidence, the regular Spock easily determined the true nature of the Mirror-Kirk and the Mirror-versions of the other officers and promptly slapped them in the Enterprise brig while he worked on his side of the return exchange.
Before leaving the Mirror Universe, Kirk gave an impassioned speech in which he told Mirror-Spock that because the Empire would die in a few hundred years, that it was illogical, and Mirror-Spock was illogical for supporting the Empire. He asked Mirror-Spock to work for change, and Mirror-Spock replied that he would consider Kirk's proposal.
About a year after his first crossover, Kirk unknowingly experienced a second encounter with the mirror universe. In "The Tholian Web", the Enterprise encounters the crippled Constitution class U.S.S. Defiant, which is phasing in and out of existence with Kirk's reality as a result of a localized spatial anamoly. Kirk leads an away team and discovers the crew is dead as a result of the anamoly's effect on the brain. As the Defiant begins to shift out of reality, the away team is beamed out, but Kirk is somehow trapped in the interphase. The Tholians claim this particular area of space and attempt to ensnare the Enterprise in their energy web, but the Enterprise, under the command of Spock, is able to escape and retrieve Kirk from between dimensions. Kirk remarks that during his experience the Defiant was pulled away into another dimension.
What Kirk likely never knew was the Tholians of the Mirror Universe managed to open a dimensional rift hoping to steal technology from alternate realities. Their efforts also created a temporal rift, connecting from a universe 110 years in Kirk's past. The mirror Tholians sent out a distress call to lure a spacecraft and ensnared the Defiant in their trap, eventually pulling it completely into the mirror universe. So determined were the Tholians to unlock the technological secrets of the future ship that work crews began dismantling the ship before moving the bodies of the crew, several of whom were discovered in the same positions by the alt-Enterprise away team as Kirk had found them.
As a side note, the Tholian tactic of stealing future technology was paralleled in the regular Trek universe. In "Future Tense", 22nd century Tholians attempt to capture a 31st century Federation vessel but are thwarted by Archer's Enterprise.
[edit] Deep Space Nine
The Mirror Universe was later revisited in the Deep Space Nine episode "Crossover", and turned into a story-arc that spanned into the final season, with roughly one Mirror Universe episode a season.
On Deep Space Nine, which takes place over 100 years after the original contact with the Mirror Universe, it was revealed that drastic changes had occurred in the Mirror Universe, ironically, because of the interference of the regular universe's Kirk. Before he left the Mirror Universe, James T. Kirk planted seeds of doubt in the Mirror-Spock's mind about the Terran Empire's brutal tactics. Kirk noted that Spock was a man of honor in both universes, and the Mirror-Spock listened to Kirk's urging for reform. Mirror-Spock's future role on Enterprise, and the fate of Mirror-Kirk is unclear, though some have suggested that Mirror-Kirk was assassinated. Mirror-Spock then went on to become Chief of State of the Terran Empire. Mirror-Spock introduced many popular reforms that largely ended the iron-fisted rule of the Terran Empire, especially a vast demilitarization program. However, these reforms were very ill-timed.
Not long after Mirror-Spock's demilitarization drive, the Terran Empire encountered the Alliance. In the Mirror Universe, the Alliance is a unified government of the Klingons and the Cardassians, presumably ruled by the Klingon Emperor. The Alliance conquered the ill-prepared Terran Empire, and enslaved the Terrans and Vulcans. Terrans became pariahs and a slave race, often subjected to mass forced physical labor.
The Alliance does not have cloaking device technology, (although a ship was seen decloaking in an earlier episode, an episode in the seventh season established that the Mirror Universe does not have cloaking devices, and the earlier appearance was retconed out as a graphical error). However, cloak technology did exist in the 22nd century on at least one Terran ship (who in turn took it from the Suliban).
It is unknown what role the Romulans play in the Mirror Universe. However, there is evidence of their existence. When Sisko was finished impersonating Mirror-Sisko, he told Mirror-Jennifer Sisko he was leaving to see the Romulans, to get them to join the fight against the Alliance. This implies that the Romulans are an independent empire, much like they are in the real universe. It also means that, unlike other races such as the Vulcans and Andorians, the Romulans were able to resist the Terran Empire, and to survive the mirror equivalent of the Earth-Romulan War, assuming that one took place to begin with.
The Bajorans of the Mirror Universe were ruled by the Terran Empire, but later sided with the Alliance and became masters of Terran slave forces. Notable among them was Intendant Kira, the counterpart to the normal universe's Kira Nerys. Intendant Kira was a ruthless, sadistic hedonist; she was outwardly bisexual and sexually aggressive — characteristics apparently more common in Mirror Universe females than in normal universe ones. She maintained power in her sector of the Alliance from Terok Nor, the counterpart of Deep Space Nine.
When Deep Space Nine officers Julian Bashir and Kira Nerys visited the Mirror Universe, they sparked a rebellion among the Terran slaves led by the Mirror-Sisko and Mirror-O'Brien. Over the next five years, the Terran Rebellion would drag on and was not conclusively finished. However, Regent Worf was eventually taken as a prisoner of war by the rebellion.
The Klingon Empire of the normal Star Trek universe hasn't actually had an Emperor in 300 years; they were replaced by the Chancellor and the High Council. But in the Mirror-Klingon Empire there are still ruling Emperors. The Mirror-Imperial Family is House Duras, who were deposed in disgrace in the normal Trek universe. However, during Deep Space Nine, a Regent currently ruled as the true power behind the throne: the brutal Regent Worf.
Other characters in the Mirror Universe:
- Garak was Intendant Kira's first officer.
- Odo was the cruel foreman of the human slaves on Terok Nor, and was killed by the Dr. Bashir of the normal universe.
- Sisko was something of a shady pirate, but later started the Terran Rebellion, although he was later killed.
- Tuvok never got lost in the Delta Quadrant and was a member of the Resistance.
- Quark and Rom were both Rebel-sympathizers and were killed by Intendant Kira.
- Nog and Brunt were also later killed by Intendant Kira (it almost seemed to be a rule that one mirror-Ferengi had to be killed in each Mirror Universe episode).
- Sisko's wife Jennifer never died at the hands of the Borg in the Mirror Universe, and she had to be convinced to join the Resistance. She was later killed by the Mirror-Kira.
- Julian Bashir was an uncouth, unshaven and aggressive member of the Resistance, although he was quite loyal. It is unclear if this Bashir was genetically enhanced, but humanity's status as a conquered slave race make it unlikely that he was.
- Jadzia Dax was the lover of Mirror-Sisko, although she later died (roughly the same time her counterpart in the normal universe died).
- Ezri (who did not have the Dax symbiote) was a double-agent working both sides, somewhat promiscuous and bisexual.
- Leeta was a member of the Resistance, also somewhat promiscuous.
- Jake Sisko was never born in this reality.
- Miles O'Brien was a somewhat depressed character, so Mirror-Sisko dubbed him "Smiley" as a play on his first name 'Miles', and the name stuck to distinguish him from the normal O'Brien. Smiley never married or had children, but eventually became a high ranking cell leader in the Terran Resistance — and after Mirror-Sisko's death, perhaps the leader.
- Bareil Antos is also still alive, but never became a Vedek (religious leader). In the mirror universe, Bareil was a thief and petty criminal.
- Vic Fontaine also makes an appearance, working alongside Mirror-Ezri. Inexplicably, he is not a hologram in the Mirror Universe, and the moment is played as comical. He was killed by Bashir shortly after making his appearance.
Eventually, the Terran Resistance captured Mirror-Terok Nor and used it as a base of operations, and built a Mirror-Defiant using plans stolen from the normal universe.
[edit] Novels
Various novels have been set in the Deep Space Nine version of the mirror universe, including a trilogy by William Shatner, which reveals the Mirror-Kirk (or "Emperor Tiberius", as he calls himself) was still alive, and plotting to reconquer his Empire. Apparently, it had been he who originally created the Alliance to overthrow Spock, before it turned on him. His right-hand man is Regent Jean-Luc Picard, who works with the counterparts of other Enterprise-E bridge crew. He is opposed in his aims by Mirror-Spock, now the Intendant of the Vulcan Resistance. Mirror versions of Kathryn Janeway, other Voyager crewmembers and Tasha Yar also appeared.
Shatner provides a mind- and time-bending explanation for the point of departure between the Mirror Universe and our own: In the Mirror Universe, the events of "Star Trek: First Contact" caused the brand-new Human/Vulcan alliance to become paranoid about Borg invasion; this in turn led to an increasingly military theme in their alliance, and by the time of the 23rd Century depicted in "Mirror, Mirror," this military Human/Vulcan alliance had evolved into the totalitarian Terran Empire. (This has subsequently been contradicted by the Enterprise episodes which show there was no Human/Vulcan alliance, as noted above.)
The Star Trek: Stargazer novel Three, by Michael Jan Friedman also features the Mirror Universe. Since the Stargazer novels are set during Picard's first command, nearly 40 years before the DS9 crossover, it gives us a glimpse of the Mirror Universe during the war between the Empire and the Alliance. In it, the counterpart of a member of the USS Stargazer crew crosses over from the ISS Stargazer to kidnap the Stargazer's chief engineer Simeon for the Empire. The captain of the ISS Stargazer is the counterpart of the USS Stargazer's first officer, Gilaad Ben Zoma.
Dark Passions by Susan Wright is also set before the DS9 episodes, at about the time of The Next Generation. It focussed on the mirror-Seven of Nine, a Terran slave who had been fitted with cybernetics to be a spy for the Obsidian Order. The sequence ended with her escaping in a ship she named Voyager, along with the counterparts of many of the Voyager crew (this may contradict the Shatner novels).
Recently, plans for a new series of Mirror Universe novels have been announced. In 2007, two collections of Mirror stories will appear: the first will involve Mirror Enterprise, TOS and TNG, the second will feature Mirror DS9, Voyager and New Frontier (the first time the mirror New Frontier has ever been seen). The mirror Enterprise story will be a direct sequel to the events of the ENT episode "In a Mirror, Darkly". However, Dark Passions will not be part of the canon as established in these stories.
[edit] Another view of the Mirror Universe
Diane Duane, in her Star Trek: The Next Generation book Dark Mirror (ISBN 0-671-79377-2) offers another explanation of what happened after Captain Kirk and three others of his crew encountered the Mirror Universe.
In Dark Mirror, the Mirror-Spock left the Enterprise and rose through the ranks and spearheaded an effort to reform the Empire. However, the Mirror-Kirk framed him for treason, which resulted in the execution of Mirror-Spock. Soon afterwards Mirror-Sarek was assassinated by another Vulcan seeking his job. As a result, Mirror-Spock's reform efforts died with him. The Empire is still alive and still quite powerful in this book. The Klingons were a conquered race in this book who were forced into slavery by the Empire after their defeat. The Romulan Empire had been defeated early on by the Terran Empire and committed suicide en masse rather than submit to Terran rule. The Klingons are also mentioned as having been defeated. (Certain Mirror-Enterprise-D crewmembers refer to Worf and Mirror-Worf as "slave" and toward the end of the encounter, Picard speaks to Mirror-Worf in a manner which parallels the final discussion between Kirk and Mirror-Spock from their own encounter, explaining that soon the Empire will spread itself thin enough among the worlds it controls until that control is merely a myth, and Worf should inform his people so they can be ready when this day comes.)
Dark Mirror tells how Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D were forced to deal with their counterparts. Their counterparts were also brutal and savage. A tag line for the book said that the crew was going to deal with their worst enemies - themselves. For example, the Mirror-Captain Picard had murdered the Mirror-Jack Crusher so that he could have the Mirror-Beverly Crusher to himself. Mirror-Dr. Crusher used her skills to build bioweapons. Mirror-Troi was the Gestapo-like security officer who freely used torture to obtain information. The missions of the crew of the Mirror-Enterprise-D's were filled with brutality and even genocidal activities (they managed to destroy the Edo "god", for example).
When the Enterprise-D crew met with their alternates in this book, they discovered that the Empire was planning to cross into our universe and invade the Federation. The first step of the plan was to capture our universe's Enterprise, kill the crew, and use the vessel as an infiltrator. However, the crew of the Enterprise was able to foil their plans, and find a means to prevent the Empire from invading the Federation.
Captain Picard found that the Mirror Universe Empire had almost conquered all that it could, and that in a matter of only decades, it would collapse. He also finds that the seeds of the Mirror Universe's brutality lie far far in the past; Plato sings the praises of fear as part of a ruler's arsenal, and their version of The Merchant of Venice is described as "as blatantly and sensationally done as anything in The Revenger's Tragedy", in which Portia (perhaps to avenge an injury done to her by Antonio — who is probably not the good man he is in "our" version) sides with Shylock, and allows him to slice off a pound of his flesh. Picard finds that the grim stories and characters in the Shakespeare of his own universe are more or less the same in this universe, and some of Shakespeare's less grim stories seem more or less the same, but that much of Shakespeare's work is darker. (Similarly, during "In a Mirror, Darkly" Phlox comments that literary characters in the Defiant's logs are 'weaker,' with the exception of Shakespeare's work, being equally dark in both universes.)
Obviously, the book Dark Mirror would not be part of the Star Trek canon since later episodes of DS9 contradict what was written in the book. One possible theory for this version of the Mirror Universe is again the TNG episode "Parallels." In this episode, Data explained that for every choice made, the other choices available were made in alternate universes. As a result, at some point in the course of the history of the Mirror Universe, a choice would have been made that would have resulted in the branching off of two universes. One would be the Mirror Universe found in Dark Mirror, the other would be the one seen in several episodes of Deep Space Nine. Essentially, the Mirror Universes seen in "Dark Mirror" and Deep Space Nine are not each *the* Mirror Universe, but *a* Mirror Universe; again, as seen in "Parallels" the number of possible Mirror Universes is infinite, and in many of them the Terran Empire probably never fell.
[edit] "The Mirror Universe Saga" (DC Star Trek comic, 1984-85)
The Mirror Universe Saga (ISBN 0-930289-96-X) is a trade paperback that reprints eight issues of DC Comics's Star Trek comic book (issues #9 - #15, as well as issue #16 which completed the arc but did not actually involve the Mirror Universe) chronicling an encounter between the Mirror Universe and our own. It is set immediately after the events of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, which had just been released shortly before the series was first published. The series was credited to Mike W. Barr (head writer for DC's Trek comic at the time), Tom Sutton, and Ricard Villagran. When originally published, this story arc was called "New Frontiers", though it is best known by the title used in this section heading.
The I.S.S. Enterprise (which has undergone a refit similar to that of the "real" Enterprise) obtains the Genesis technology developed by Dr. Carol Marcus (killing her and destroying the Regula I spacelab once said information is obtained), then enters our universe (the Empire having learned how to artificially re-create the conditions originally used to breach the dimensional barrier in the "Mirror, Mirror" episode) to spearhead the Empire's intended conquest of the Federation. Meanwhile, in the "real" universe, Captain Styles of the Excelsior has arrived at Regula I, where Kirk and crew have found temporary safe haven, to take them back to Earth to stand trial for their mutinous actions (as depicted in Star Trek III). When they encounter a mystery attacking ship, Styles overconfidently believes the Excelsior can defeat the attacker, which is an "outdated" Constitution-class ship, but it turns out to be the I.S.S. Enterprise under the command of Mirror-Kirk. The Mirror-Enterprise crew easily overpowers the inexperienced Excelsior crew, taking over the advanced vessel, and Mirror-Kirk dispatches Mirror-Spock (who despite his words at the end of "Mirror, Mirror" had elected to return to Mirror-Kirk's side after all, after logically deducing that the efforts of any one single man would be a useless gesture against the Empire), Mirror-Sulu and Mirror-Chekov to Vulcan (aboard Kruge's Klingon bird-of-prey, captured by Kirk during Star Trek III and confiscated by Styles when taking custody of the Enterprise survivors) to find Spock, still recovering from the fal-tor-pan ritual on Vulcan. Kirk and his own crew manages to escape and take over the I.S.S. Enterprise, which is destroyed by remote control by the Mirror-Kirk; the real Kirk's crew survives by escaping in the ship's saucer section.
After retaking the Excelsior from Mirror-Kirk (and placing the Mirror-Enterprise crew in stasis), Kirk takes command of Excelsior and takes it to the Mirror Universe in a gambit of impersonating Mirror-Kirk yet again. His plan is to break the back of the Empire's planned invasion by taking command of the Imperial fleet aboard Excelsior, then turning on the fleet at the critical moment. One Empire officer, a Captain Blaine, is suspicious of Kirk's intentions; however, rather than suspecting Kirk is in fact his counterpart from the other (our) universe, he is familiar with Mirror-Kirk's history of advancing through the ranks by use of treachery and intrigue and thinks Kirk is out to take control of the Empire for himself.
Saavik researches Imperial history to help familiarize the crew with the Mirror Universe and its history, so as to better portray their own counterparts. Her research reveals the likely point of divergence between the two universes - the Romulan War. In our universe, Earth and Romulus fought their war in deep space. In the mirror universe, the war was fought in Earth's solar system, and Earth lost. The Romulans held Earth for ten years until a resistance overthrew them. This resistance did not disband once the Romulans were deposed, however; rather, its leaders proclaimed that Earth would no longer be conquered, but rather would be the conquerors themselves. Thus did the resistance movement form the seeds of what would eventually become the Terran Empire.
Meanwhile, Mirror-Spock reaches Vulcan, where he engages in a mind meld with the recovering Spock of our universe. However, once Mirror-Spock touches his mind, Spock is able to reflexively initiate a meld of his own. In the ensuring battle of minds, Spock draws strength to restore his mind, and at the same time, while Mirror-Spock realizes becomes reconciled and the two make common cause to stop the Empire. The two Spocks use the captured Klingon ship to cross into the Mirror universe,
Also seen during this storyline is the counterpart of Kirk's son, David Marcus - still very much alive in the Mirror Universe, and leading a resistance cell against the Empire.
The Empire accepts Kirk's proposal to align with the Romulans and Klingons to defeat the Federation, Klingons and Romulans. However, Kirk and Scott have a plan to disable the entire fleet of Empire ships, then, when sufficiently defeated, disable the Romulan and Klingon ships (correctly suspecting both parties would turn their guns on Excelsior once the battle had ended) and return home. The empire, however, already had its own Excelsior built; they had studied the Federation ship earlier in the arc, and used the data gleaned from this examination for help in making their own Excelsior operational. The Mirror-Excelsior is under the command of Captain Blaine, who had evidently convinced others within the Empire's Admirality of Kirk's duplicity. Fortunately, Scotty had deliberately screwed up the Excelsior's systems before Empire technicians studied them, giving their scanners false readings; as a result, the Mirror-Excelsior cannot draw enough power to operate and is easily defeated.
The Excelsior then returns to the Federation, having dropped off their mirror counterparts in shuttles. When Mirror-Kirk awakens, he tries to contact the nearest Imperial vessel for assistance - not realizing he and his crew have been branded as traitors after the real Kirk's actions left the Imperial fleet crippled. The I.S.S. Nogura picks up Mirror-Kirk's distress signal, and after verifying the identity of those aboard, destroys the shuttle, killing all aboard. Of the Mirror-Enterprise crew, only Mirror-Spock survives, and he elects to join David Marcus's resistance cell.
After returning to his own universe, Kirk gives a reporter an exclusive on how he and his crew saved the Federation from an invasion they would have never known about. Her reports in the mass media paint the Enterprise survivors as heroes, much to the consternation of Starfleet brass who still wanted Kirk court-martialed. In the end, facing a public-relations nightmare if they proceeded with a full trial, Starfleet reluctantly gives Kirk full command of the Excelsior, ostensibly for an extended shakedown cruise to help work out all the bugs in its system. With the exception of Spock (who is assigned to a command of his own, the science vessel Surak), Kirk's entire crew joins him on this new mission. This sets up the later Star Trek comics stories which were published in the interim leading up to the release of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in 1986.
This story, like all Trek comics stories and novels, is not considered canonical with the main Star Trek universe.
[edit] Shattered Universe
A recent Star Trek game -- "Star Trek: Shattered Universe" -- is set sometime after the original series episode "Mirror, Mirror". In the game, Captain Hikaru Sulu and the crew of the U.S.S. Excelsior swap places with the crew of the I.S.S. Excelsior thanks to a localized stellar ion storm. They are hunted by Mirror-Chekov, who commands the I.S.S. Enterprise, and assisted by the Mirror-Klingons and Mirror-Romulans. During their trek home, the Excelsior crew encounter Mirror Universe variations of the original series' missions, including the M-5 multitronic computer and giant space-amoeba.
While the game takes place at some point during the era of the Star Trek films, it is unclear exactly when. The Enterprise has not yet been decommissioned, but Sulu is in command of the Excelsior, placing the game somewhere in the timeframe of "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" and "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country". Spock has not yet completed his coup d'etat -- the Empire contacts Mirror-Chekov several times during his mission to capture Sulu -- but there is still much time for that to occur in the Mirror Universe timeline. However, Kirk is nowhere to be seen. The implication is that he and Spock are on Earth working on his rise to power. It is also possible that Kirk is the officer heard giving orders to Mirror-Chekov in several cutscenes. Despite the fact that the voice doesn't sound like William Shatner's (or some one impersonating him), it is still possible as this character's face is never seen - the player only hears his voice.
[edit] Elite Force
During the Star Trek game -- "Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force" -- the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager are stopped in a strange dimension, what is termed a ship's graveyard. Among the wreckage of ships is an unidentified Constitution class vessel from the mirror universe crewed entirely by humans. These members of the Terran Empire have presumably been trapped in the graveyard for many years and have formed an alliance with crews of Klingons, Malons and Hirogen, though it is unknown if any of these races are also from the mirror universe. This alliance practices piracy and scavenging on other ships within the graveyard, taking by force any needed supplies and weaponry. Their own ship appears to have been heavily damaged and the result of many emergency repairs. So much so that the individual ships of the Klingons, Malons, Hirogen and Terran Empire have been constructed together to form a base of operations (The scavenger base).
The members of the Voyager's Elite Force are sent to board this base of operations in order to recover isodesium, which was needed to survive against the power-draining effects of the graveyard.
[edit] Star Trek: Starfleet Command
In the Federation section of Star Trek: StarFleet Command, there is an optional series of missions that has the player investigate and track down several mirror Federation ships (including the player's mirror) that have entered into the regular Star Trek universe and are causing havoc.
[edit] Other ramifications
While in the "Alternative Factor", the Lazarus of the alternate universe said that to meet his counterpart would cause the destruction of both his and our universe, while in later episodes characters met their counterparts in the Mirror-Universe and the meetings did not cause any apparent damage to either universe. This apparent discrepancy is explained by the explicit statement made in the episode that the alternate Lazarus is from an anti-matter universe; it has long been established in "Star Trek" canon that physical contact between matter and its anti-matter counterpart is catastrophic.
Some Star Trek fans speculate that the most recent series, Star Trek: Enterprise actually takes place in the Mirror Universe described above, as an attempt to explain the perceived continuity problems of that series. However, nothing in the program directly support this view. Moreover, several episodes of the show have mentioned that Captain Jonathan Archer will be instrumental in founding the United Federation of Planets, thus placing this series firmly in "normal" continuity. The two-part "In a Mirror, Darkly" storyline definitively established that Enterprise proper does not take place within the Mirror Universe, and a scene in "In a Mirror, Darkly Part II" establishes the existence of "our" universes' Enterprise in the ship's historical logs on the Defiant. Finally, while commenting on whether Enterprise takes place in an alternate universe, Brannon Braga has declared that it was "of course not" the case [1].
[edit] Parodies, homages and similar stories
Although the mirror universe is never visited in Star Trek: Voyager, the episodes "Living Witness" and "Author, Author" pay homage to it with a portrayal of a sinister alternate Voyager.
The Mirror Universe concept has been much parodied, notably in the episode Spookyfish in the second season of South Park in which a friendly, helpful Cartman with a goatee (and mean-spirited versions of Stan and Kyle, also wearing goatees) briefly cross over into the regular "South Park" universe. (Goatees are common in the various parodies of the Mirror Universe. This is because the major difference between Spock and Mirror-Spock in "Mirror, Mirror" was Mirror-Spock's goatee.)
There have also been episodes of the 90s television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess that reveal a "mirror universe" where all of the main characters are polar opposites of the normal characters (Hercules is power-hungry and an arbitrarily evil villain with a goatee; Ares is a meek pacifist without the goatee of his normal counterpart). This same line of logic (or illogic) was used in an episode of Sealab 2021 and a This Modern World strip. In 1994, episode 611 of Mystery Science Theater 3000 featured a plot in which two of the show's robots, Tom Servo and Gypsy, become trapped in the Mirror Universe while their counterparts are trapped in the regular universe. In this Mirror Universe, the counterparts of Dr. Clayton Forrester and TV's Frank are the ones who are trapped on the Satellite of Love and forced to watch bad movies by the Earth-bound Mike Nelson (who sports a goatee and a Mirror-Kirk sleeveless tunic) and the robots.
Also of note is an episode of Red Dwarf, Angels and Demons, where the crew encounter both "perfect" and "evil" versions of themselves after Lister uses a device designed to triple an object. The last episode of Red Dwarf, Only the Good..., featured a Mirror Universe in which Rimmer was the captain, Kochanski was a ditzy secretary, and Cat was a brilliant scientist (a deleted scene would have featured an upper-class Lister).
The Mirror Universe concept has been used by Doctor Who in the serial Inferno. It is unclear to what extent the writers of Doctor Who were inspired by Star Trek, although a later appearance of the Inferno universe in a Past Doctor Adventures novel includes Sergeant Benton saying "You mean like that Star Trek episode where Spock had a beard?"
In the Justice League of America from DC Comics, there was a group of villains called the Crime Syndicate of America, who were evil versions of the Justice League heroes. Prior to the continuity change of Crisis on Infinite Earths they came from a parallel earth known as Earth-Three, whose only hero was that world's goatee-wearing version of Lex Luthor, known there as Alexander Luthor. The first of these Crime Syndicate stories appeared in 1964, predating the first Mirror Universe episode of Star Trek by three years. A new version of this group called the Crime Syndicate of Amerika has been introduced in the post-Crisis DC universe, now originating from an antimatter universe.
In Futurama, the robot Bender has a twin, Flexo (with a magnet goatee). It was later revealed that Bender himself was the evil one of the two. The episode I Dated a Robot featured a viewing station at the edge of universe from which visitors could look to the corresponding edge of a parallel universe, with the main characters waving at alternate versions of themselves who were all wearing cowboy outfits. Professor Farnsworth declared that this was the only parallel universe, but later on in the episode The Farnsworth Parabox another parallel universe was discovered, whose numerous differences from "our" universe were explained by the fact that every coinflip ever made had landed on the opposite side (later in the episode, the characters also made brief trips to a number of other parallel universes). A running gag in this episode is the assumption by most of the characters that their counterparts must be evil.
In an episode of Darkwing Duck, "Life, the Negaverse, and Everything", Darkwing follows his enemy NegaDuck to his home in the "Negaverse", in which every character is the opposite of their selves in Darkwing's universe. Similarly, an episode of Codename: Kids Next Door, "Opereation P.O.O.L", features a mirror universe, in which everyone is the exact opposite of their normal selves. Negative Numbuh 4, the Numbuh 4 of the mirror universe, wears a goatee to tell him apart from the real Numbuh 4.
The Stargate SG-1 third-season episode Point of View features an alternate universe in which the main villain, Apophis, has a goatee. And in the season nine episode Ripple Effect, several alternate SG-1s appear through the stargate, with varying differences. When the first alternate team hijacks the Prometheus the "real" Lt. Col. Mitchell remarks "you don't have beards, so you're not from the evil twin universe, right?"
Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes "The Wish" and "Doppelgängland" feature an alternate reality to the Buffyverse, most notably with a vampire version of Willow Rosenberg. There are no goatees in sight, and Buffy only dies once. "The Replacement" plays with this theme by featuring two Xanders, but in this case neither were evil.
The progressive rock band Spock's Beard is named for the Mirror-Spock's goatee.
The Star Trek band Warp 11 also has also done a mirror mirror show where they played alternate versions of themselves as well as changed their song lyrics.
[edit] Episodes
The following is a list of episodes that take place in the Mirror Universe or involve characters from the Mirror Universe, in chronological order.
| Series | # | Title | Overview |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENT | 418 | "In a Mirror, Darkly" | Mirror-Archer, Mirror-Forrest, and the rest of the crew discover that a ship from 100 years in the future in an alternate universe, the U.S.S. Defiant, has travelled to their universe through some kind of rip in space. All of the crew members except Captain Forrest evacuate the I.S.S. Enterprise as it is attacked by Tholians and board the Defiant. The Enterprise blows up, and its transferred crew uses the improved technology of the Defiant to chase away the Tholians. Archer replaces Forrest as captain. |
| ENT | 419 | "In a Mirror, Darkly Part II" | The Mirror Enterprise crew find the Defiant littered with the corpses of its former crew who murdered each other due to the effects of Interphase which causes humans to become psychotic. The Tholians use slaves to strip the ship. The overseer is a Gorn named Slar, who sabotages the Defiant and kills some of the survivors of the ISS Enterprise . Mirror Archer defeats the Gorn, and then his thoughts turn to using the powerful Defiant to take control of the Terran Empire. However, it is Mirror-Hoshi Sato who ultimately threatens to use the Defiant's weapons on the Emperor of the Terran Empire and replace him as Empress of the Empire. |
| TOS | 204 | "Mirror, Mirror" | Four crew members from the USS Enterprise switch places with their mirror universe counterparts and must get home while avoiding being discovered by the mirror universe crew of the Enterprise. |
| TOS | 309 | "The Tholian Web" | The USS Defiant (NCC-1764) is trapped in Interphase in Tholian Space and vanishes. Note: Until "In a Mirror, Darkly" there was no obvious connection between this episode and the Mirror Universe. No elements from the Mirror Universe are shown or mentioned anywhere in this episode. |
| DS9 | 223 | "Crossover" | Dr. Bashir and Major Kira are transported to the Mirror Universe 100 years after the events of "Mirror, Mirror". They find that the Terran Empire has been replaced by the Alliance of Klingons, Cardassians, and Bajorans and that humans are slaves. |
| DS9 | 319 | "Through the Looking Glass" | The Mirror-O'Brien kidnaps Sisko where Sisko must impersonate his late counterpart in order to save the mirror version of his late wife. |
| DS9 | 420 | "Shattered Mirror" | After the Mirror-Jennifer Sisko kidnaps Jake, Captain Sisko must travel to the Mirror Universe to retrieve his son. While there the Mirror-O'Brien wishes for Sisko to help him prepare their version of the Defiant for battle against the Alliance in what could mean freedom for the Terrans. |
| DS9 | 608 | "Resurrection" | The Mirror version of Vedek Bareil arrives on DS9 as he flees from the Alliance. His real reason for being in our universe is to steal the Bajoran Orb of Prophecy and Change for the Intendant, the mirror Kira. However, before he can complete this mission, he has a change of conscience, convinced by Kira, leaving the Orb behind and returning to the Mirror Universe with the Intendant. |
| DS9 | 712 | "The Emperor's New Cloak" | Grand Nagus Zek, financial leader of the Ferengi Alliance, is captured and taken to the Mirror Universe as a hostage. Quark and Rom must pay a ransom of a cloaking device to free Zek, but Regent Worf imprisons them all in his quest to crush the Terran rebels. |
[edit] See also
Star Fleet Battles
The game Star Fleet Battles features a series of scenarios in which the Mirror Universe Imperial Starfleet attacks the Federation. At first, the Imperial vessels show up and cause quite a stir. A destroyer is taken into custody, revealing all sorts of strange things such as an agony booth. Captain Decker is captured in one of the scenarios and eventually, the player must fight himself and an identical ship. Commodore Decker is the leader of the invaders and in an ironic twist, reactivates a squadron of "planet killers", c.f. "The Doomsday Machine" of TOS in order to destroy Earth.
[edit] External link
- Mirror Universe article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
- Hypothetical Timeline - Canon Fodder: Fixing the Star Trek DisContinuity
