Changelings are a species of shape shifting lifeforms from the Gamma Quadrant.
The only known population of Changelings are the Founders who reside on an unnamed planet in the Gamma Quadrant where they rule over the Dominion as gods. The Founders sent out a hundred young Changelings into the galaxy; at least three ended up in the Alpha Quadrant. The Founders live most of their lives in a collective state in combined liquid form known as the Great Link. (DS9 episode: "The Search")
They were noted for their capacity to alter their form to levels that were beyond that of similar shape changing species such as the Wraith, Vendorian and Chameloid races. (TLE novel: Night of the Wolves) In their most basic state Changelings resemble a golden translucent liquid and they must revert to this state every sixteen hours to regenerate. Changelings can take on almost any form; liquid, solid, gas and even plasma such as flames. Their abilities are limited mainly by their mass: they comfortably take on humanoid forms, but can also take the forms of things somewhat larger, and a great deal smaller. (DS9 episode: "The Search") When a Changeling takes a form - such as a rock - Federation scanners would read the Changeling as a rock. (DS9 episode The Adversary).
Any portion of a Changeling's body that becomes seperated from the main body reverts back to its natural state. The fact that a person was bleeding was often accepted as proof that a person was not a Changeling as if they were their blood would've reverted to its natural state. Prior to and during the Dominion War the Federation and its allies used blood screenings in an attempt to ferret out Changelings. However screenings proved to not be very effective. The Martok Changeling cut himself and allowed blood to pool on Deep Space Nine's wardroom table to make Captain Benjamin Sisko and Major Kira Nerys believe that he was actually General Martok. Joseph Sisko later offered the opinion that Founders on infiltration missions would maintain a supply of real blood within them to use in such instances. (DS9 episodes The Adversary, The Way of the Warrior, and Homefront).
Changelings have proven resistant to Borg assimilation, in 2376 a drone attempted to assimilate a founder on an unnamed planet in the gamma quadrant, the founder compressed herself and the nanoprobes and ejected a ball of nanoprobes with no ill effects to herself. (DS9 novel: Mission Gamma: Lesser Evil)
Known Founders
Connections
- Changeling article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.