Changeling

From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.

For the Earth legend regarding a Changeling child see: Changeling (folklore); for the TOS episode see: "The Changeling".

The Changelings are liquid-based, shapeshifting lifeforms native to the Gamma Quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy. Their homeworld was, apparently, a rogue planet within the Omarion Nebula (which has since been rendered uninhabitable by the Obsidian Order and the Tal'Shiar in the Battle of the Omarion Nebula). (DS9: "The Search, Part I", "The Die is Cast")

Contents 1 Physiology 2 History 3 People 4 Mirror universe 5 Background Information

[edit] Physiology

A Changeling's natural state is its liquid form, which it must revert to every sixteen hours (Odo's example) in order to rejuvenate. (DS9: "The Forsaken", "The Storyteller", "The Alternate", "In Purgatory's Shadow")

In "A Man Alone" it was first stated that Odo had to rejuvenate every 18 hours, afterwards it was consistently stated as being every 16 hours.

Since Changelings do not eat, "Robert Wolfe used to theorize that the Changelings pulled their energy directly from subspace (or some [other] quasi-scientific realm)." [1] His theory also stated that "Changelings use some sort of subspace "pocket" to store additional mass during a morph." [2]

Changelings can take virtually any form (typically limited by their mass), ranging from humanoid aliens to fog to reflective surfaces. They, or at least the Founders, also have the ability to closely mimic humanoid personalities to the point where even close friends and colleagues often cannot distinguish them from the originals.(DS9: "By Inferno's Light", "Apocalypse Rising", "Paradise Lost")

Changelings can survive in the vacuum of space, and are highly resistant to disruptor fire. (DS9: "Chimera", "Apocalypse Rising")

Changelings – or at least Odo – have no sense of smell. (DS9: "If Wishes Were Horses", "Improbable Cause")

Changelings have the ability to sense, in most cases, the presence of other Changelings. (DS9: "The Search, Part I", "Homefront", "Chimera")

The Founders of the Dominion are Changelings, and make up the majority of the Dominion's leadership. Changelings prefer to think of themselves as a drop (the individual) in the larger ocean (what they call the Great Link). A Changeling, therefore, typically has little sense of individual identity. Being a liquid-based lifeform, in order to link with other Changelings they simply revert to this state and the liquid blends together, creating a link between them. (DS9: "The Search, Part II")

[edit] History

According to the Founders, at one time they were peaceful and explored the galaxy. But they were persecuted by some of the solids, and they came to believe that the only way to protect themselves was to conquer those around them. Solids (mono-form humanoids) called the Founders "Changelings" as an insult, but the Founders took the name for themselves as an act of defiance. (DS9: "The Search, Part II") The story came from one of the Founders herself.

Long ago, the Founders sent out one hundred infant Changelings in order to gather information and explore, to return later and share what they have learned. The Founders did not expect any to return until the late-27th century. Odo and Laas were among the 100. (DS9: "The Search, Part II", "Chimera")

The Great Link was soon infected by a morphogenic virus that threatened the Changelings with extinction. The Federation's secret police, Section 31, intended to wipe out the Founders, leaving the Dominion powerless and wavering. This was cured by Odo. (DS9: "Extreme Measures", "What You Leave Behind")

[edit] People

• Female Changeling
• Laas
• Odo
  • Mirror Universe Odo
• the Changeling that took Julian Bashir's form
• the Changeling that took Krajensky's form
• the Changeling that took Lovok's form
• the Changeling that took Martok's form
• List of unnamed changelings

[edit] Mirror universe

In the mirror universe, the Bajoran wormhole remained undiscovered as late as 2375, therefore Changelings and other species native to the Gamma Quadrant remained unknown to the peoples of the Alpha Quadrant. The only exception was Odo, who was killed on Terok Nor during a workers' revolt in 2370. (DS9: "Crossover")

Most likely, Odo was, like his counterpart, one of the hundred and was found in the Denorios belt.

[edit] Background Information

• The Changelings were first referred to in DS9: "Vortex". They were referred to again in DS9: "Shadowplay", before being introduced in DS9: "The Search, Part I".
• DS9: "Chimera" suggests Changelings have a lifespan of at least two hundred years, although if Odo was indeed two hundred years old when he traveled back with the USS Defiant in an alternate timeline in DS9: "Children of Time", that would indicate Changelings could live for at least four hundred years. It has also been suggested that Changelings might be immortal with the Female Changeling remarking "you are a changeling, you are timeless" – a logical assumption, given that Changelings don't appear to have any cells that might decay over time.
• Though Odo and Laas have been described as male and the Female Changeling as female, it is unclear what anatomical differences, if any, exist between male and female Changelings. Also, although we saw an infant changeling in DS9: "The Begotten", it was never made clear exactly how Changelings reproduce. The most popular theory is that they reproduce asexually, and simply maintain a male or female form to make it easier for other species to relate to them. Indeed, at one point, Odo assumed the form of the Female Changeling, which would support this hypothesis.
• The Changelings frequently assume a form similar to that of Odo; however, Odo's unique appearance is the product of his difficulty with assuming convincing humanoid forms, not mandated by his racial makeup. Since other Changelings have no difficulty in convincingly assuming humanoid forms, they must therefore assume an "Odoid" form out of choice. This may be because before meeting Odo and the races of the Alpha Quadrant, they had no need to reveal themselves individually to outsiders, and thus had no need for a unique humanoid form to differentiate themselves from other species. Odo would have provided them with a useful template. Ronald D. Moore commented: "Odo modeled his look after Dr. Mora and the Founders then modeled their look after Odo. They did this initially as a compliment and way of reaching out to their long-lost Changeling, and later they kept doing it as a dig and reminder to him of his own limitations." [3]

Exactly why Odo is still unable to perfect Human faces even after linking with the Female Changeling is unknown; in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Millennium series, he speculated that the Founders may have installed some kind of inhibitor on his ability to mimic faces to encourage him to return to them.