Seven of Nine
Template:Star Trek character Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One, or often referred to simply as "Seven", is a fictional character from the Star Trek universe, played by Jeri Ryan in the television series Star Trek: Voyager. She was introduced in the third/fourth season two-parter story, "Scorpion".
Overview
Template:Spoiler Born as Annika Hansen in Tendara Colony in 2348 (Stardate: 25479) to Magnus and Erin Hansen, a pair of exobiologists, Seven of Nine was assimilated by the Borg at the age of 6 on the USS Raven (found by Seven of Nine and Tuvok in the 4th season episode "The Raven"). The last record of the Hansens was at Deep Space 4 in the Omega sector, where they refused to file a flight plan. Searching for the Borg, the Hansens found a transwarp corridor that allowed them to travel to the Delta Quadrant, on the other side of our galaxy. They were eventually discovered by the Borg, who assimilated them. The Borg Collective was all Seven of Nine knew, and they provided her with a sense of order.
Years later, after serving briefly as a representative of the Borg during an ill-fated Borg-Voyager alliance, Seven was abruptly disconnected from the collective. Commander Chakotay and Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres did this, upon Capt. Kathryn Janeway's orders, in order to prevent Seven's betrayal and the ensuing assimilation of the USS Voyager. This occurred in the episode "Scorpion". In the aftermath, although given the opportunity to be addressed once again as Annika Hansen, Seven chose to retain her Borg designation, yet agreed to be referred to simply as Seven ("Day of Honor").
Following her disconnection, she found in Janeway a mentor who helped her come to terms with her humanity more and more with each episode. The Doctor also provided valuable guidance in enabling her to develop social skills and thus "blend in" with the Voyager crew. The Doctor subsequently became enamoured with Seven, but she did not reciprocate these feelings. Her character's storyline instead took an unexpected turn in the final episodes of the series: she pursued a relationship with Commander Chakotay after running simulations with a holographic Chakotay, and was set to marry the real one as the series ended. This 11th hour development which first manifested itself midway through the final season, upset many fans, namely those who wanted to see the romantic relationship from the first seasons between Janeway and Chakotay revived.
Despite her personality seeming to be Vulcan-like, there were differences, some subtle and others not. At times there were paradoxical displays of intermittent arrogance, warmth, passion, and vulnerability, and the customary abruptness of her background as a Borg drone.
Seven's mode of speech was also subtly distinctive, with her vocabulary and word usage being reflective of her cyborg heritage. Other than very briefly during the episode "Unimatrix Zero", where she temporarily psychologically reverted to full humanity, Seven's speech rarely contained contractions. (This characteristic also served to highlight the machine nature of Lt. Cdr. Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation - Data, an android, also used no contractions.)
In a manner carried over from the Borg, Seven also had a tendency to use highly mechanistic, strict binary (or absolutist) logic. She was largely incapable of perceiving "shades of grey"; something was strictly one way or entirely another. Things were never described in emotional or relativistic terms. The Borg broadly defined topics into two categories: relevant or irrelevant.
At the end of the Voyager series, Seven had surgery to modify one of her implants, to allow her to properly use emotions and, as it is strongly implied, become capable of experiencing sexual relationships based on love. An alternative speculation is that the surgery might have made it possible for her to derive physical pleasure from the act.[citation needed]
Attire
After her recovery from the Borg, Seven initially wore a tight silver cat suit with an elaborate underwire system that emphasized her figure. Apart from the occasional subtle innuendo, the Voyager crew did not seem surprised or disconcerted by it. The silver color also had some similarity to the metallic look of a Borg Drone. Later in the series, the silver cat suit was replaced with somewhat more discreet dark red, purple, and blue ones.
The character was criticized by veteran Star Trek writer and producer Ronald D. Moore, who felt she should have a more Borg-like appearance.[1]
Trivia
- Seven of Nine has appeared on seven TV Guide covers in the USA.
- The tight fitting costume she wore was a catsuit which contained a built in corset, with an elaborate system of hooks and eyes to attach it to the fabric. Jeri Ryan said that it took twenty minutes to get in and out of it. In an interview with Maxim Magazine, when asked what happened to the outfit, her reply was that she "had been hoping for a bonfire".
- Claudia Christian (Susan Ivanova from Babylon 5) and Hudson Leick (Callisto from Xena: Warrior Princess) also auditioned for the role of Seven.
- Seven appears in the PC and PS2 game Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force and is credited therein for the invention of the weapon called Infinity Modulator.
- In the Dilbert TV series, Dilbert has a Jeri Ryan as 7 of 9 alarm clock.[2]