"Prophet Motive" is an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...

and is the sixteenth episode of the third season. This episode served as the basis for Quark actor Armin Shimerman

Armin Shimerman

Armin Shimerman is an American actor. Shimerman is best known for playing the Ferengi bartender Quark in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Principal Snyder in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kramer's caddy Stan on Seinfeld, voicing Dr. Nefarious in the Ratchet & Clank series, and Andrew...

's novel The 34th Rule.

Plot

Grand Nagus Zek arrives on the station and shows Quark

Quark (Star Trek)

Quark is a fictional character in the American television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The character, which was played by Armin Shimerman, was depicted as a member of an extraterrestrial race known as the Ferengi, who are stereotypically ultra-capitalist and only motivated by...

 and Rom

Rom (Star Trek)

Rom is a recurring character on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He is played by Max Grodénchik.Rom is a Ferengi, the son of Keldar and Ishka. He is Quark's younger brother, and the father of Nog.-Overview:...

 a copy of his new project: he has rewritten the Rules of Acquisition

Rules of Acquisition

The Rules of Acquisition, in the fictional Star Trek universe, are a set of guidelines intended to ensure the profitability of businesses owned by the ultra-capitalist alien race known as Ferengi.-Background:...

. In the new and improved book, Zek encourages Ferengi

Ferengi

The Ferengi are a fictitious extraterrestrial race from the Star Trek universe. They first appeared in "The Last Outpost", the fifth episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987, during which they made first contact with the United Federation of Planets in 2364 on the planet Delphi Ardu,...

 everywhere to turn from greed and profit and concentrate on kindness and giving. In short, he wants to eliminate all of the selfishness that Ferengi hold dear.

Zek goes on to add that he has brought the Bajoran

Bajoran

In the Star Trek science-fiction franchise, the Bajorans are a humanoid extraterrestrial species native to the planet Bajor. They were first introduced in the 1991 episode "Ensign Ro" of Star Trek: The Next Generation and subsequently also featured in episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and...

s a gift: one of the orbs. The orbs are the most sacred objects of the Bajorans, and Quark cannot imagine where the Nagus could have gotten one. When Quark is exposed to the orb, he has a vision in which Zek states that the New Rules of Acquisition are a "gift" as well. When he sees that Zek visited the Wormhole before arriving at the station, he believes that the wormhole aliens

Prophet (Star Trek)

In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Prophets, also known as Wormhole Aliens, are non-corporeal beings who inhabit the artificially constructed Bajoran wormhole which connects a distant point in the Gamma Quadrant to the Alpha Quadrant, near the planet of Bajor and the space station Deep Space...

 changed Zek and gave him the ideas for the New Rules.

Quark takes Zek back to the Wormhole to ask the aliens what they did to the Nagus. The aliens reply that they were so disturbed by the sheer selfishness of the Nagus that they de-evolved him. When Quark promises never to expose the wormhole aliens to another Ferengi, they agree to restore Zek to his normal, greedy self.

The other plot involves Bashir

Julian Bashir

Lieutenant Julian Subatoi Bashir, M.D., played by Alexander Siddig, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Bashir is the chief medical officer of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS Defiant.-Overview:...

being nominated for a medical award which he ends up not winning.

Arc significance

• This is the first appearance of the Prophets since the series premiere. It is also the first time they refer to their Emissary as "the Sisko".

External links