Iconia was a class M planet located in the Beta Quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy, and was once the homeworld of the technologically advanced Iconian species.
History
Using the technology of the Devil's Heart, the Iconians were able to develop gateways which allowed them to instantly travel to distant worlds. However their advanced technological knowledge led other races to fear and envy the Iconians.
Approximately 200,000 years ago, Iconia was subjected to an orbital bombardment which devastated the surface of the planet and killed off the entire Iconian race. A small number of Iconians were able to escape to outposts on Ikkabar, DiWahn, and Dynassia. After the attack was over, Iconia was largely forgotten. The planet unknowingly fell within the boundraies of the Federation-Romulan Neutral Zone following the Earth-Romulan War of 2156-2160.
In 2365, Iconia was rediscovered by Captain Donald Varley of the USS Yamato. Because of the extreme risk to Federation security that intact Iconian technology would pose, Varley violated the Neutral Zone to travel to Iconia. Arriving at that world, the Yamato was scanned by an Iconian probe, infecting the ship's computers with an Iconian program. Varley and his crew died when the Iconian program caused the anti-matter containment systems to collapse, causing the Yamato to explode.
After Varley died, Captain Jean-Luc Picard decided to continue Varley's mission and visit Iconia for himself. Because the Iconian program had been transmitted to the USS Enterprise-D, that ship also began experiencing malfunctions until Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge discovered how to remove the Iconian program from the ship's computers. The Enterprise crew was able to keep the Iconian technology from falling into Romulan hands. (TNG episode: "Contagion", and novel: The Devil's Heart)
Geography
In spite of the bombardment, Iconia remained a Class M world, although there was little vegetation remaining on the planet and radiation continued persist in some areas, a testament to the severity of the attack over 200,000 years earlier. With few landmarks left on the surface, wind and weather smoothed the terrain. The few exceptions to the flat, bleak landscape were areas where volcanic activity or tectonic plates caused uphevals in the surface. (Decipher: Worlds)
Bodies of Water
- Lake K'tair
- Lake Sylvar
- Tre'lar Lake
- Toran Lake
- Har'et Lake
Mountains
- Gorgan Mountains
- Voran Mountains
- Down Mountains
Points of Interest
- Mount Vorani
- Haron Bombardment Zone
- Tor'grek Radiation Fields
- Valley of Sculls
- Varley's Ruins
- Ruin Mounds
Alternate Reality
In an alternate reality where Soong-type androids had become commonplace by the 2370s, Iconia became the new homeworld of android dissidents unhappy with their lives in the Federation. Originally regarded as property, Commander Data advocated for Soong-type androids to be made full citizens of the Federation. The Federation Council only agreed after the process of Uploading had become routine. Uploading involved transferring the consciousness of a humanoid into an android body, a technique perfected by Ira Graves.
Although given citizenship, androids were not allowed to reproduce. Data and several hundred Soong-type androids, unhappy with not receiving full rights, decided to migrate to Iconia. Another Soong-type android had learned of its existence while on an archaeological dig. Those who chose not to follow and remained in the Federation, wiped their memories of where the other androids had went.
Upon arriving at Iconia, the android dissidents renamed the planet Turing, and settled near some Iconian ruins. Over a period of ten years, an entire city was constructed over the site of the ruins and the android population grew in number and came to encompass artificial lifeforms of many different shapes and sizes. The androids experimented with their evolution and even learned how to operate the Iconian Gateways. Moreover, using the gateways and androids disguised as Klingons, Romulans, Breen and Cardassians, they infiltrated all four societies in an attempt to positively influence each power. In fact, one android disguised as a Cardassian had pushed to end Bajor's occupation.
The android inhabitants of Turing remained undisturbed until 2378 when a Romulan Wardrone happened upon their planet and was subsequently infected by the Iconian computer virus. The encounter would eventually bring both the Federation and the Romulan-Klingon Alliance to Turing to investigate in the form of the USS Enterprise-D and the IRW Haakona. (Myriad Universes novel: Brave New World)
Connections
- Iconia article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.