Section 31 (Star Trek): Difference between revisions
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The film ''[[Star Trek Into Darkness]]'' features an alternative universe version of Section 31, which is managed by Admiral Alexander Marcus. In this timeline, Section 31 is a secret branch of Starfleet created to protect the Federation from external threats by developing weapons. Marcus' involvement in the organization includes awakening the cryogenically frozen [[Khan Noonien Singh]], whose genetically altered intellect enabled Marcus to develop new weaponry, including the USS ''Vengeance'', a state-of-the-art warship. Marcus' plans and role in Section 31 were halted by Khan and the crew of the USS ''Enterprise''. |
The film ''[[Star Trek Into Darkness]]'' features an alternative universe version of Section 31, which is managed by Admiral Alexander Marcus. In this timeline, Section 31 is a secret branch of Starfleet created to protect the Federation from external threats by developing weapons. Marcus' involvement in the organization includes awakening the cryogenically frozen [[Khan Noonien Singh]], whose genetically altered intellect enabled Marcus to develop new weaponry, including the USS ''Vengeance'', a state-of-the-art warship. Marcus' plans and role in Section 31 were halted by Khan and the crew of the USS ''Enterprise''. |
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In the fan film [[Star Trek: Renegades]], [[Tuvok]] is head of Section 31 with the rank of admiral, implying that the agency is now under the purview of [[Starfleet]] |
In the fan film [[Star Trek: Renegades]], [[Tuvok]] is head of Section 31 with the rank of admiral, implying that the agency is now under the purview of [[Starfleet]]. |
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==Controversial topics== |
==Controversial topics== |
Revision as of 20:09, 10 November 2016
Section 31 | |
---|---|
Universe | Star Trek universe |
In-universe information | |
Type | Intelligence agency |
Founded | Established in Starfleet charter |
Location | unknown |
Key people | Agent Harris (2150s) Agent Luther Sloan (2370s) |
Purpose | Defend the United Federation of Planets by any means necessary |
Technologies | Classified, United Federation of Planets' technologies |
Affiliations | United Earth (superseded) United Federation of Planets |
In the science fiction franchise Star Trek, Section 31 is an autonomous intelligence and defense organization. It is presented as a special security operation, manned by Federation citizens, that is not subject to the normal constraints of Starfleet ethical protocols.[1] The organization appears, or is mentioned, across nine episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Enterprise as well as the 2013 movie Star Trek Into Darkness.
Overview
In the Star Trek storylines, Section 31 exists outside Starfleet Intelligence's influence and deals with threats to Earth's and, later, the Federation's security. Its operating authority stems from a provision of the original Federation charter—Article 14, Section 31, from which its name is derived—that makes allowances for "bending the rules" during times of extraordinary threats.
Unlike other secret police organizations in the Star Trek universe, such as the Romulan Tal Shiar and the Cardassian Obsidian Order, Section 31 is not an actual branch of government. Accountable to no one, Section 31 focuses on external threats, and pursues those it identifies by whatever means it sees fit.
Little of Section 31's history has been revealed on-screen. Most references to the organization appear in episodes of Deep Space Nine, although Section 31 also appears in Star Trek: Enterprise. Several works of Star Trek spin-off fiction expand on Section 31's operations; Pocket Books published a four-part series profiling connections between Section 31's operations and the missions of James T. Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard, and the crews of Deep Space Nine and the USS Voyager. These novels explicitly link Section 31 to Admiral Lance Cartwright's actions in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Admiral Matthew Dougherty's actions in Star Trek: Insurrection. Section 31 is also heavily featured in the Star Trek: Enterprise novel The Good That Men Do, in which Trip Tucker joins the organization after his supposed "death". The framing story of the novel, set in the 25th century, establishes that Section 31 may have ceased to exist, although it does not provide details. It has also been linked to the events in the Star Trek:The Next Generation episode The Pegasus
The film Star Trek Into Darkness features an alternative universe version of Section 31, which is managed by Admiral Alexander Marcus. In this timeline, Section 31 is a secret branch of Starfleet created to protect the Federation from external threats by developing weapons. Marcus' involvement in the organization includes awakening the cryogenically frozen Khan Noonien Singh, whose genetically altered intellect enabled Marcus to develop new weaponry, including the USS Vengeance, a state-of-the-art warship. Marcus' plans and role in Section 31 were halted by Khan and the crew of the USS Enterprise.
In the fan film Star Trek: Renegades, Tuvok is head of Section 31 with the rank of admiral, implying that the agency is now under the purview of Starfleet.
Controversial topics
The implications of Section 31 have been described[by whom?] as "troubling" and its goals and methods "deeply questionable". Its methods include brainwashing, torture, assassinations and, as revealed by the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, genocide, the crime that is most opposed by the Federation. The genocide involves the creation, by Section 31, of a virus designed to kill a single species, the Founders, with the aim of destroying the Dominion's ability to harm the Federation.[1] Section 31 deliberately infected Odo with the virus, knowing he would spread it to other shapeshifters.
Throughout the series, several Deep Space 9 officers, including Julian Bashir, infiltrate Section 31. One of their aims was to obtain a cure for the virus which was threatening Odo's life; however, under orders from Benjamin Sisko, they ultimately collude in hiding the crime. This is part of a pattern of overall loss of moral credibility by Starfleet, in comparison to that which it had in The Original Series and The Next Generation. Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Insurrection both "position the Starfleet authorities in a very dubious light".[1]
Agents
Section 31 agents include the following characters:
- Luther Sloan: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
- Harris: Star Trek: Enterprise
- Malcolm Reed: Star Trek: Enterprise
- Admiral Alexander Marcus, Thomas Harewood, John Harrison: Star Trek Into Darkness
- Novels only:
- Charles Tucker III (Star Trek: Enterprise; The Good That Men Do, Kobayashi Maru, The Romulan War: Beneath the Raptor's Wing, The Romulan War: To Brave the Storm and Rise of the Federation: A Choice of Futures)
- Tinh Hoc Phuong (The Good That Men Do)
- Peter Lawrence (The Case of the Colonist's Corpse)
- Admiral Lance Cartwright (Star Trek VI; Section 31: Cloak)
- Admiral Matthew Dougherty (Star Trek: Insurrection; Section 31: Abyss)
- Commander Cortin Zweller (Star Trek: The Next Generation; Section 31: Rogue)
- Ambassador Aubin Tabor (Star Trek: The Next Generation; Section 31: Rogue)
- Ensign Roberta Luke ("Scientific Method"; Section 31: Shadow)
- Cole (Section 31: Abyss)
- L'Haan (A Time to Kill, A Time to Heal, Typhon Pact - Zero Sum Game, Typhon Pact - Plagues of Night, Typhon Pact - Raise the Dawn, The Fall - A Ceremony of Losses)
- Dietz (A Time to Kill, A Time to Heal)
- Vasily Zeitsev (A Time to Kill, A Time to Heal)
- Sarina Douglas (Typhon Pact - Zero Sum Game, Typhon Pact - Raise the Dawn, The Fall - A Ceremony of Losses)
- Video games only:
- Franklin Drake: (Star Trek Online)
Appearances
- Star Trek: Enterprise
- These episodes were produced after the Deep Space Nine episodes listed below, but their depicted events occur earlier in the narrative.
- "Affliction"
- "Divergence"
- "Demons"
- "Terra Prime"
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
- "Inquisition"
- "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges"
- "When It Rains..."
- "Tacking into the Wind"
- "Extreme Measures"
- Star Trek movies
- Star Trek Into Darkness (mentioned)
- Star Trek novels
- The Good That Men Do (Enterprise) by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels (March 2007)
- Kobayashi Maru (Enterprise) by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels (August 2008)
- The Romulan War: Beneath the Raptor's Wing (Enterprise) by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels (October 2009)
- The Romulan War: To Brave the Storm (Enterprise) by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels (October 2011)
- Rise of the Federation: A Choice of Futures (Enterprise) by Christopher L. Bennett (June 2013)
- The Case of the Colonist's Corpse (The Original Series) by Bob Ingersoll and Tony Isabella (January 2004)
- Section 31: Cloak (The Original Series) by S.D. Perry (July 2001)
- Section 31: Rogue (The Next Generation) by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels (June 2001)
- Section 31: Shadow (Voyager) by Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch (June 2001)
- Section 31: Abyss (Deep Space Nine) by David Weddle and Jeffrey Lang (July 2001)
- Typhon Pact - Plagues of Night (The Next Generation/Deep Space Nine) by David R. George (June 2012)
- Typhon Pact - Raise the Dawn (The Next Generation/Deep Space Nine) by David R. George (May 2012)
- The Fall - A Ceremony of Losses (Deep Space Nine) by David Mack (October 2013)
- Section 31: Disavowed (Deep Space Nine) by David Mack (November 2014)
- Section 31: Control (Deep Space Nine) by David Mack (May 2017)
- Star Trek comics
- Star Trek: Year Four Enterprise Experiment (2008) issue 5 published by IDW.
- Star Trek - Mission's End (2009) five issue comic miniseries published by IDW
- Star Trek issues 21-23, 25-28 (2013) of the ongoing series by IDW set in the alternate reality
- Star Trek video games
References
- ^ a b c Michele Barrett and Duncan Barrett (2001). Star Trek: The Human Frontier. Routledge. pp. 65–66. ISBN 0-415-92982-2.
Further reading
- Jeffrey T. Richelson (July 2003). "The IPCRESS File: The Great Game in Film and Fiction, 1953–2002". International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence. 16 (3): 462–498. doi:10.1080/713830443.