Iconian (Star Trek)

The Iconians were an extraordinarily-advanced civilization from the Milky Way Galaxy which formed an interstellar empire encompassing numerous worlds. About 200,000 years ago, their homeworld of Iconia was bombarded by their enemies and left in ruins; with all life obliterated.

Even long after their disappearance, the Iconians left a lasting cultural influence in the development of other civilizations. Believed by some to be a myth, their existence has nevertheless been accepted as fact by 24th century historians. The Iconian language was discovered by Jean-Luc Picard and Data to have been the progenitor of at least three other languages. The location of Iconia was lost to history until Captain Donald Varley discovered it to be located in the Neutral Zone between Federation space and Romulan territory. Similarities in the cultures of at least three systems in this sector can be explained away as the result of Iconian influence.

Legend portrays the Iconians as warlike conquerors, referred to as Demons of Air and Darkness, which could travel to other worlds without spaceships. This was due to their advanced technology, which enabled them to open up gateways to distant locations from their homeworld. Their technology also included probes that could infect alien computers with devastatingly destructive malware.

Despite their great power, Captain Jean-Luc Picard wasn't convinced that the Iconians were hostile, and wondered about how much of the demonic image might have originated from the biased accounts of their enemies.

Appearances

 * Star Trek: The Next Generation, s02e11, "Contagion" (1989)
 * Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, s04e23, "To the Death" (1996)