Star Trek has explored almost every science fiction idea one could imagine. With a dozen TV series and a film franchise, countless writers, actors, directors, and producers have pitched concepts into the franchise’s endless expanse. Star Trek: Discovery gave the franchise five seasons of new ideas and fresh takes on familiar tropes. One of the most engaging concepts that barely got the attention it deserved was Discovery season five’s Eternal Gallery and Archive, better known as the Archive.
History is a fascinating topic in the Star Trek universe. Their timeline includes a ton of events, people, places, and concepts from reality, but they shift sharply after Earth makes first contact with aliens. Some Star Trek stories add fun details to humanity’s past. Beyond that, the franchise has endless species and planets with similarly complex fictional backgrounds. Someone should be keeping track of this theoretically infinite source of stories and subjects.
What is the Eternal Gallery and Archive?
The Archive is the ultimate repository of historical records, antiques, and artifacts in the known universe. In its seemingly endless halls, the Archive holds any and all information. The Archive rests on a massive space station, which deliberately relocates every fifty years or so. The enormous catalog of items contained in the Archive remains largely unknown, with the series depicting only a few key examples. Objects and records find their way to the shelf through many distinct journeys. Noted Starfleet officer and former smuggler Jett Reno mentions running obscure paperwork in or around the Archive in her dealings with a mysterious antiquarian archivist. The Archive remains politically neutral in all matters. They stand apart from all interspecies conflicts and take no sides, regardless of context. Any living being could freely access the Eternal Gallery. Some special items remained walled off, available only to those with a special metal library card. If a species or group repeatedly targeted or threatened the Archive or its employees, they could lose access. Some notable items in the Archive include:
- A Comprehensive Guide to Talaxian Hair Styles: Talaxians are known for the large ginger plume of hair atop their heads. This guide likely comprised the handful of depicted looks and the many unknown possibilities.
- Euclidean Geometry: Euclid was a Greek mathematician who compiled several known axioms to build new postulates by studying accepted truths. Much of his work became questionable in light of Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, but this textbook could contain any number of futuristic advancements in the field.
- Two cuttings from the World Root: The planet Kweijan featured a root system that became critical to its indigenous people’s culture. The Archive held these clippings in a place of honor after Kweijan was destroyed. The archivists gave the cuttings to Cleveland Booker, one of the last members of his species, on the promise that he would later tell them what became of them. He planted them on Sanctuary Four, growing a new World Root.
- Hupyrian Folk Tales: The Hupyrians are humanoid gentle giants with distinctive facial wrinkles. This text likely delved deeper into their culture by recording their local myths.
Who worked at the Archive?
The Eternal Gallery and Archive holds a permanent staff of 1,000 beings. This includes archivists, pilots, collectors, scientists, experts in every field, and the usual crew one would need to operate a large space station. Those who work at the Archive hold lifetime positions. They live in the mobile library, expanding their collection and attending to the guests. Every employee considers their work to be a solemn vow. They behave like an order of scribes, dedicated to the pure and noble goal of gathering knowledge and making it available to all. Though the show explains that the Archive maintains exactly 1,000 employees, it only shows fans two of them. Hy’Rell is the perfect example. She’s an Efrosian archivist. Her species appeared exclusively as background characters, including the Federation President, in the fourth and sixth Star Trek films. Hy’Rell is charming, funny, and excellent at her job. She jokes around with her guests, excitedly gushing about the endless options available in the Archive. She’d be a great character to have around in future works.
The other known Archive employee is Doctor Marina Derex. Derex was a Betazoid neuroscientist who, along with a team of other professionals, discovered the hidden portal that led her to the Progenitors. After meeting the ancient aliens who seeded the universe with DNA and led to the birth of most humanoid species, she learned of their advanced technology. Derex argued that the universe wasn’t ready to wield that power. The Progenitors agreed but asked Derex to spend the rest of her time helping to make them ready. Derex wrote a manuscript, hid clues to its location on a faraway planet, and buried a test inside her book. Everything led back to the Archive, where Michael Burnham eventually solved the clues, met the Progenitor, and came to the same conclusion. Derex worked as an archivist for the remainder of her life, living aboard the space station while she waited for someone to discover her work.
The Eternal Gallery and Archive is one of those science fiction ideas that could spawn its own franchise. Life aboard the Archive, the endless texts within its walls, the process of gathering new material, the work of giving things back to their rightful owners, and every other aspect of the Archive deserve an explanation. Though Discovery sweeps through the Archive in a hurry, it would be lovely to see a future Star Trek work explore it in greater detail.