Orb

The Orb of Prophecy and Change.

"Most of us here today, even the ranjens, have experienced the power of the Prophets through the Orbs. The Orbs represent a tangible, tactile, physical proof that there is something beyond Bajor with a power greater than ours, a power to shape reality, to destroy, and to create." - Vedek Solis Tendren (DS9 novel: Cathedral)

The Bajoran Orbs, known to Bajorans as the Tears of the Prophets and as the Orbs of the Prophets, were mysterious artifacts which originated from the Prophets. The Bajorans stored them in arks which contained their energies, as they induced unusual effects on those exposed to them.

Overview

They were noted for their hourglass shape and had a vibrant green colored form which glowed from within and had been known to defy gravity. Scientific analysis revealed that the Orbs were apparently in some form of energy vortex which drew in spatial, temporal and even mental forces. (DS9 novel: The 34th Rule) It was known that the Orbs seemingly defied any attempt at completely analyzing them. They were characterized by self-sustaining Leyton sequence confinement fields that only partially exist in normal space with an estimated amount of 5%. The remaining 95% may remain embedded within the verteron membrane. (DS9 reference: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual) However, the true nature of these artifacts unknowable and this enigmatic nature meant that they were a vivid symbol of the religious beliefs of the Bajoran race. These strange objects were accepted as manifestations of the Prophets which were sent to teach and guide the Bajorans in their lives. It was believed that they came from the Celestial Temple and their existence simply strengthened the belief the Bajorans had in the Prophets. The Tears of the Prophets as they were also known was an appellation that was derived from the belief that the Orbs were constituent parts which were small but significant aspect of the Prophets. It was further believed that they had fallen from the Prophets to the people when direct contact between the two had somehow been lost. Thus, it was held, that the Tears were the last physical link that connected Bajor to the Celestial Temple. (DS9 novel: The 34th Rule)

When exposed to the orbs, many individuals have experiences ranging from intense thoughts to fully developed realities, though the Orbs have demonstrated the capability to be selective to whom they will reveal themselves. These effects are not restricted by species: Humans have had orb experiences, as have Ferengi and at least two Cardassians, Hadlo and Astraea, had religious experiences directly tied to their people's faith--the Oralian Way. One orb can even be said to be directly responsible for the revival of the Oralian Way through Astraea. The reason for the orbs' species-specific effects upon receptive Cardassians was unknown. (DS9 novel: Dawn of the Eagles) It was believed that if the Orbs retained an energetic link with the wormhole then the energy pulses that it generated that caused visions in humanoids could possibly be from the Prophets themselves. (DS9 reference: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual)

They were known to have been public objects of worship and spiritual contemplation which led to them being enshrined in ornately jeweled cases which were cared for by Bajoran monks. (DS9 novel: The 34th Rule)

History

Prime reality

The Tears of the Prophets leaving the Celestial Temple.

At some unknown point in the past, the Prophets sent out numerous Orbs from the wormhole with at least one such Tear entering into the Gamma Quadrant to the planet Ares where the native Aresians began to worship the Prophets as the Wargods. (DS9 - The Secret of the Lost Orb comic: "The Search") There were known to have been only nine Orbs of the Prophets, which were discovered in or about the Bajoran star system during the past hundred centuries and were at one time all kept on the planet Bajor. At some point, the Third Orb of the Prophets was lost to the Bajoran people for nearly a century and it was believed that the loss of a Tear would have led to the world falling into pieces with the peoples faith vanishing though this was later proven wrong as the Bajorans persevered in that time. Hundreds of years before 2376, the religious text When the Prophets Cried wrote of the discovery of the seven Orbs then known. (DS9 novels: The 34th Rule, Twilight (novel)) Bajoran beliefs also centered around the constellation called the Five Brothers with one of them called B'ath b'Etel making the greatest of crimes which was keeping a Tear of the Prophets to himself until it was returned to the Celestial Temple by the five brother called B'ath h'Ram. (TOS novel: Captain's Peril)

During the decades long Cardassian Occupation of Bajor, all but one of the nine orbs were taken by the Cardassians for study. (DS9 novel: The 34th Rule) A female Cardassian scientist in the Ministry of Science was studying a captured Orb and faced an orb experience. This made her highly religious as she adopted the name Astraea and became the Guide for the Oralian Way. (DS9 novels: Night of the Wolves, Dawn of the Eagles) The Obsidian Order were aware of the existence of the Orbs and sought to attain their immeasurable power. In the twenty first year of the Years of Deliverance, they became aware of the existence of a new Orb in the ancient city of Bar'trila. However, before they could take it, the Bajoran Resistance struck the location. Rather then allow the Orb to fall into the hands of the Bajorans, the Obsidian Order sent fighters to target a nearby dam and sank the city leaving the city to be lost by everyone. (TOS novel: Captain's Peril) After leaving the Bajor system, the Cardassians attempted to use the Redemptionists movement to help them capture the last Orb in Bajoran space but were stopped by the Starfleet crew of Deep Space 9. (DS9 video game: Crossroads of Time)

In 2371, the alien race in charge of the Hive sought to absorb Bajor in order to replenish their ships resources. During the crisis, the Emissary of the Prophets called for one of the Bajoran Orbs which was opened to the Hive member called Tork. Through it, he learnt that his species sacred writings had been distorted by its rulers which led to him rebelling against the Hivemasters which saved the Bajoran homeworld from destruction thus fulfilling the Third Prophecy of Andaki. (DS9 novel: Objective: Bajor) In the same year, Grand Nagus Zek of the Ferengi Alliance was sold the Ninth Orb through a black market contact he had on Cardassia III. Whilst the Bajoran government were in negotiations with the Detapa Council for the return of the Orbs, the Ninth Orb had managed to slip away during the unrest in the Cardassian Union. He attempted to use the Orb to contact the Prophets but his mind was altered by the inhabitants of the wormhole making him a charitable being. It was only the intervention of Quark who managed to plead with the Prophets that led to the Grand Nagus being returned to normal where thought about selling the Orb back to Bajor. (DS9 episode: "Prophet Motive") A year later, he remained in possession of the Ninth Orb and attempted to sell it on the open market to various factions. This led to tense relations between the Republic of Bajor and the Ferengi Alliance along with conflict emerging between the two until the Orb was finally returned to the Bajoran people. (DS9 novel: The 34th Rule)

At an unknown point, a militant religious order on Bajor was guarding the Lost Orb that was within their care. A Human, Lane Crockett, was hired by Kai Winn Adami to locate it but after acquiring it, he fled into the Gamma Quadrant with the intention of selling it back to the Bajorans. This lost Orb came into the possession of the Aresians who saw the Orb in a different manner as they were a civilization that worshiped war and sought to attain all of the Orbs on Bajor. When the Aresians sent a battle fleet to the Alpha Quadrant, Major Kira Nerys managed to negotiate a truce by offering them a gift of the Orb. (DS9 - The Secret of the Lost Orb comics: "The Search", "Gods of War")

In 2374, Gul Skrain Dukat was possessed by a Pah-wraith who used his body as a host in order to reach the Orb of Contemplation on Deep Space 9. Once there, it left his body and infested the Orb allowing the Pah-wraith's to enter the wormhole and battle the Prophets. This led to all the Orbs going dark and the wormhole inactive whilst the battle was fought. This ended three months later when Captain Benjamin Sisko discovered a tenth Orb called the Orb of the Emissary which ended the Pah-wraith battle and restored the Orbs to their former state. (DS9 episodes: "Tears of the Prophets", "Image in the Sand", "Shadows and Symbols") By September of 2376, all nine orbs had been returned to Bajor.

By 2376, the Orbs of Souls, Destiny, Truth and Unity were returned to the Bajoran government leading to all nine Tears of the Prophets being returned to Bajor. (DS9 novel: Cathedral) In the same year, a secret meeting was formed by numerous Bajoran Vedeks who considered using the Orb of Wisdom in order to know what to do about the Ohalu Prophecies. (DS9 novel: Avatar, Book One) By September of that year, all the Orbs were stored in the Bajoran capital of Ashalla. (DS9 novel: Unity) The Bajoran Vedek Yorka believed a portable Genesis Device to have been the "Orb of Life" in 2377. (TNG novel: The Genesis Wave, Book 3) A year later, when James Tiberius Kirk and Starfleet Captain Jean-Luc Picard traveled to Bajor, they were involved in an investigation of a murder at the Bar'trila and during the course of events, Kirk discovered the lost in the ancient caverns beneath the submerged city. But instead of uncovering this new Orb, he gave it to B'ath b'etal rayl fish who hid it beneath the waters in order to allow the Bajorans to find it on their own. (TOS novel: Captain's Peril)

Alternate realities

In the alternate future caused by the red wormhole and the War of the Prophets, the Bajoran Ascendancy became aware of a Starfleet plot to go back in time and detonate deep time charges on Bajor thus removing the threat posed by Kai Weyoun. However, the Vorta was aware of this plan and had used the Orb of Time to send a team of Ascendancy warriors into the past in order to remove the threat posed by the temporal warheads. (DS9 novel: The War of the Prophets)

In the Mirror Universe, Kai Dava Nikende foresaw the destruction of the Nine Orbs. He then desecrated each Orb and created shards (also known as (Orb Fragments). These shards, with the exception of the Shard of Souls, were hidden with in the enclave later operated by Opaka Sulan. The Shard of Souls was somehow given to Dava Nikende. The destruction of the Orbs was carried out by the Terran Empire during their (failed) attempt to wipe out the Bajoran Religion. (DS9 novel: The Soul Key)

It is possible that Dava Nikenda gave the shard to his primary counterpart during his Orb experience.

List of Orbs

DS9 Relaunch

• Orb of Contemplation
• Orb of Destiny
• Orb of the Emissary
• Orb of Memory
• Orb of Prophecy and Change
• Orb of Souls
• Orb of Time
• Orb of Truth
• Orb of Unity
• Orb of Wisdom

STO mentions a new Orb known as the Orb of Possibilities.

Decipher RPG

• Orb of Contemplation
• Orb of the Emissary
• Orb of Peace
• Orb of Prophecy
• Orb of Realms
• Orb of Thought
• Orb of Mystery
• Orb of Time
• Orb of Wisdom

This list is from the Decipher RPG module: Aliens.

See Also

• Red Orbs of Jalbador

Connections

• Orb article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.