Star Trek: 10 Secrets Of The Q Continuum

10. The Limitations Of Their Powers

While the Q may claim to be truly omnipotent (or, all-powerful) and omniscient (or, all-knowing), their powers actually do have some limitations.

For starters, a Q may not go against the wishes of the Continuum. Q, Quinn, Q Junior, and Amanda Rogers' parents have all been punished by the Continuum for going against their wishes. These punishments ranged from exile, to being turned into a lower life form, or even execution on rare occasions.

Qs are also not truly all-knowing, as they have been surprised on many occasions. Q was shocked to meet Guinan on the Enterprise-D in Q Who, suggesting that he was unaware of her presence until that moment. As we'll discuss later, the Q were also caught off-guard by Quinn's rebellion and the revelation that they could die by natural causes.

As far as we can tell, a Q at full power, with the support of the Continuum, can basically do or create anything. They possess full control over space, matter, time, and energy. Yet, despite this, their intelligence and ability to foresee the future definitely have limits.