Symbiont (Hephaestan)

The symbiont was a type of electronic device, a technology by which the chimpanzee-like Hephaestans became intelligent.

Background
Hephaestans were not born intelligent. A small chip was surgically implanted at the base of the skull shortly after birth, which acted as a symbiont, augmenting the ape species’ reasoning capacity.

History
The symbionts were introduced by an unidentified alien species which visited Hephaestus at the beginning of their recorded history. They left them with mechanisms for manufacturing additional symbionts as well as computerized procedural records. These were kept in an underground manufacturing center.

Klingons uncovered this secret of the Hephaestan’s intelligence. Commander Kagg tried to circumvent the Organian Peace Treaty in the year 2274 by destroying the manufacturing center and physically removing implants from citizens, so as to redefine the planet as one without a sentient population. The treaty would then no longer apply, allowing the Klingon Empire to freely annex the planet. But James T. Kirk uncovered the plot and was able to upload the symbiont manufacturing data before it was destroyed. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) technicians rebuilt the symbiont facility. 

Related technologies

 * Subcutaneous communicator
 * Subcutaneous homing beacon
 * Subcutaneous transponder
 * Implanted universal translators