The Devil's Heart
Encyclopedia
The Devil’s Heart is the title of a non-canon
Star Trek: The Next Generation
novel by Carmen Carter, and the name of a legendary object of unsurpassed power and mystery which appears in that novel.
's possession of—and near-possession by—a legendary object of power.
) translation of the Vulcan word “Ko N’ya” provided by Lieutenant Commander Data
upon completing his research of the origin and history of the object.
The Devil's Heart, or the Heart, is an incredibly ancient artifact that has shaped the histories of a number of Alpha and Beta Quadrant cultures during its long existence. Appearing as a small stone, the object was an extremely advanced device.
It had many names during its travels through the galaxy. To the Iconians it was known as the Dream Gem. To the Vulcan
s it was known as Ko N'ya while the Romulan
s knew it as the Bloodstone. The stone was known as the Master of All Stories to the El-Aurian people. The Andorian
s knew it as Telev's Bane and the Belnarri knew it as Nota. The Klingon
s knew it as the Pagrashtak.
. They intended to send the stone on a journey to a different galaxy
, where the stone would grow into a second Guardian of Forever. However this race died out before they could see that the stone reached its destination, and the stone was unable to complete its journey.
Over time, the Heart ended up in the hands of a number of different races, and was known by a variety of names. The Heart crash landed on the surface of the Tkon home world, and what were the primitive Tkon people used the Heart's power to create a vast interstellar empire that ultimately collapsed. The Heart was later possessed by the Iconian people until their home world was destroyed 200,000 years ago. It also figured in early Vulcan history - Surak
's family had possession of the Heart until it was taken by a rival clan. When the leader of the rival clan left Vulcan, he took the Heart with him to Romulus where the Heart became part of Romulan
history. The Andorian
s acquired the stone when the ship carrying the Romulan Emperor crashed on Andor - an Andorian healer used the Heart's power to stop a plague which was devastating the Andorian people. It was later given to the Ferengi
- the Ferengi were unaware of the Heart's powers, and sealed it in a cargo bay until they reached Qo'noS and traded it with primitive Klingon
s. The ailing Klingon emperor Kessec gave the stone to his slave, who used the stone to found an artist's colony - and she entombed herself alive with the Heart. Afterwards, the stone remained sealed in the tomb, and the colony disbanded and was forgotten.
archaeologist T'Sara rediscovered the Heart. This resulted in a deadly race in which each species that had held the stone before attempted to reacquire the artifact.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard
discovered the Heart on a wrecked Ferengi
ship. The Heart began communicating with Picard a short time later by sending him visions of its journeys via Picard's dreams. Picard and the Enterprise
crew were able to see the Heart safely though a wormhole
to a distant galaxy, where the Heart would someday find a suitable planet and grow into a new Guardian of Forever
.
Canon (Star Trek)
The Star Trek canon is the set of all canonical material in the Star Trek universe. It is usually defined as comprising the television series Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, and the motion pictures in the franchise...
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
novel by Carmen Carter, and the name of a legendary object of unsurpassed power and mystery which appears in that novel.
Plot summary
The novel primarily explores the consequences of Captain Jean-Luc PicardJean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
's possession of—and near-possession by—a legendary object of power.
Object
“The Devil’s Heart” is the Federation Standard (Standard EnglishStandard English
Standard English refers to whatever form of the English language is accepted as a national norm in an Anglophone country...
) translation of the Vulcan word “Ko N’ya” provided by Lieutenant Commander Data
Data (Star Trek)
Lieutenant Commander Data is a character in the fictional Star Trek universe portrayed by actor Brent Spiner. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek...
upon completing his research of the origin and history of the object.
The Devil's Heart, or the Heart, is an incredibly ancient artifact that has shaped the histories of a number of Alpha and Beta Quadrant cultures during its long existence. Appearing as a small stone, the object was an extremely advanced device.
It had many names during its travels through the galaxy. To the Iconians it was known as the Dream Gem. To the Vulcan
Vulcan (Star Trek)
Vulcans, or sometimes Vulcanians, are an extraterrestrial humanoid species in the Star Trek universe who evolved on the planet Vulcan, and are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic with no interference from emotion. They were the first extraterrestrial species in the Star Trek...
s it was known as Ko N'ya while the Romulan
Romulan
The Romulans are a fictional alien race in the Star Trek universe. First appearing in the original Star Trek series in the 1966 episode "Balance of Terror", they have since made appearances in all the main later Star Trek series: The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager...
s knew it as the Bloodstone. The stone was known as the Master of All Stories to the El-Aurian people. The Andorian
Andorian
Andorians are a fictional race of humanoid extraterrestrials created by D. C. Fontana for the Star Trek universe. They are native to the icy M-class moon Andoria , which orbits a blue, ringed gas giant. Definitive traits include their blue skin, a pair of cranial antennae, and white hair...
s knew it as Telev's Bane and the Belnarri knew it as Nota. The Klingon
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
s knew it as the Pagrashtak.
Origins
The Heart was originally created by the same race that built the Guardian of ForeverGuardian of Forever
The Guardian of Forever is a time portal portrayed in the fictional universe of Star Trek.-Fictional origins:In the Star Trek universe, analysis of the ruins on the Guardian's home world suggests it may be billions of years old but no one knows who built the Guardian...
. They intended to send the stone on a journey to a different galaxy
Galaxy
A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...
, where the stone would grow into a second Guardian of Forever. However this race died out before they could see that the stone reached its destination, and the stone was unable to complete its journey.
Over time, the Heart ended up in the hands of a number of different races, and was known by a variety of names. The Heart crash landed on the surface of the Tkon home world, and what were the primitive Tkon people used the Heart's power to create a vast interstellar empire that ultimately collapsed. The Heart was later possessed by the Iconian people until their home world was destroyed 200,000 years ago. It also figured in early Vulcan history - Surak
Surak
Surak is a fictional character in the backstory of the Star Trek television series and franchises. He is portrayed as the most important philosopher in the history of the planet Vulcan...
's family had possession of the Heart until it was taken by a rival clan. When the leader of the rival clan left Vulcan, he took the Heart with him to Romulus where the Heart became part of Romulan
Romulan
The Romulans are a fictional alien race in the Star Trek universe. First appearing in the original Star Trek series in the 1966 episode "Balance of Terror", they have since made appearances in all the main later Star Trek series: The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager...
history. The Andorian
Andorian
Andorians are a fictional race of humanoid extraterrestrials created by D. C. Fontana for the Star Trek universe. They are native to the icy M-class moon Andoria , which orbits a blue, ringed gas giant. Definitive traits include their blue skin, a pair of cranial antennae, and white hair...
s acquired the stone when the ship carrying the Romulan Emperor crashed on Andor - an Andorian healer used the Heart's power to stop a plague which was devastating the Andorian people. It was later given to the 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,...
- the Ferengi were unaware of the Heart's powers, and sealed it in a cargo bay until they reached Qo'noS and traded it with primitive Klingon
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
s. The ailing Klingon emperor Kessec gave the stone to his slave, who used the stone to found an artist's colony - and she entombed herself alive with the Heart. Afterwards, the stone remained sealed in the tomb, and the colony disbanded and was forgotten.
Reappearance
In 2368, the VulcanVulcan (Star Trek)
Vulcans, or sometimes Vulcanians, are an extraterrestrial humanoid species in the Star Trek universe who evolved on the planet Vulcan, and are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic with no interference from emotion. They were the first extraterrestrial species in the Star Trek...
archaeologist T'Sara rediscovered the Heart. This resulted in a deadly race in which each species that had held the stone before attempted to reacquire the artifact.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
discovered the Heart on a wrecked 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,...
ship. The Heart began communicating with Picard a short time later by sending him visions of its journeys via Picard's dreams. Picard and the Enterprise
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)
The USS Enterprise is a 24th century starship in the Star Trek fictional universe and the principal setting of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series...
crew were able to see the Heart safely though a wormhole
Wormhole
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
to a distant galaxy, where the Heart would someday find a suitable planet and grow into a new Guardian of Forever
Guardian of Forever
The Guardian of Forever is a time portal portrayed in the fictional universe of Star Trek.-Fictional origins:In the Star Trek universe, analysis of the ruins on the Guardian's home world suggests it may be billions of years old but no one knows who built the Guardian...
.