the "Watchers" in Harlan Ellison's The City on the Edge of Forever. Possibly representing the Architects.
The Architects were an ancient civilization that once existed within the galaxy.
They were known to have been a race of mortals who created both the Guardian of Forever and the Devil's Heart. However, they died at some point and there was no one to guide the path of the Devil's Heart seed to its true destination. (TNG novel: The Devil's Heart)
- The novel Preserver suggests that the Preservers may have created the Guardian which may mean the Architects were another name for them but this is speculation.
- The TOS comic: "Harlan Ellison's The City on the Edge of Forever" introduces incorporeal entities called "Watchers" which may represent the original architects or their descendants or entities created by them to watch over time.
- In the TNG novel: Q Continuum series It is hinted at that the Guardian was built by a race that were the original corporeal ancestors of the Q.