The Star Trek Conspiracy Iceberg Explained

Tal Shiar-Obsidian Order Plot

In 2371, transporter duplicate Thomas Riker posed as his identical other half, Commander Riker, in order to commandeer the Defiant. Now working with the Maquis, and without half the beard, Thomas and colleagues planned to take the ship to the Orias system. Intelligence reports suggested that a fleet of Cardassian vessels was secretly being constructed there — possibly in order to invade the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ).

There was a fleet being built at Orias — not by Central Command, but by the Obsidian Order instead. Cardassia's intelligence agency wasn't planning an attack on the DMZ either. In league with the Tal Shiar, it had something entirely different in mind — the annihilation of the Founders.

Enabran Tain came out of retirement for the occasion. He then went about ordering the assassination of his former associates. That included Garak. Deep Space 9's tailor only avoided death by blowing up his own shop, which got Odo on the case. One thing led to another, and soon they were all in the Gamma Quadrant. Garak was back in the Order, and quick to torture once more.

What no one knew, however, was that there was a changeling infiltrator amongst them, posing as Tal Shiar officer Colonel Lovok. Using Tain's plan against him, the changeling led the combined fleet straight into a Jem'Hadar ambush. All ships were destroyed. The Obsidian Order was no more.

The Truth About The Discovery

In 3189, the intelligence records available to Admiral Vance at Federation and Starfleet headquarters stated that "Discovery was destroyed in 2258". There was "no mention of a displacement-activated spore drive," nor was there anything "to verify a Red Angel or a Control".

On the one hand, that was job done — a galaxy of peoples forever saved from extinction at the hands of a malevolent AI. On the other, it was a 931-year cover-up of what really happened to the USS Discovery, its crew, and one of the most advanced pieces of propulsion technology ever invented. A conspiracy of silence.

Back in the 23rd century, Captain Pike, first officer Una, Spock, and Ash Tyler conspired to lie, or at least to misrepresent the truth, in their official testimony to Starfleet Command after the Battle near Xahea. They all did so to ensure the sacrifice made by Burnham and those who went with her wasn't for nothing. The noblest of intentions doesn't erase the perjury in "I saw the Discovery explode".

During his testimony, Spock went even further to suggest that officers with knowledge of the events that led to Discovery's destruction should be ordered never to speak of the ship, its spore drive, or crew again "under penalty of treason". That would have certain consequences a century and a bit later for the crew of the USS Voyager. Plus, we dread to think what the Doctor's reaction will be when he finds out about the spore drive and cover-up in the 32nd century.

The Sphere Builders & The Xindi

Of all of the factions of the Temporal Cold War, Suliban Cabal and benefactor aside, one had the most lasting impact on two species. Known simply as the 'Sphere Builders,' this transdimensional species used time travel to manipulate the Xindi into attacking Earth as a 'pre-emptive strike'.

The Sphere Builders had seen their future defeat by Federation forces at the Battle of Procyon V in the 26th century, and so conspired to prevent the Federation from existing in the first place. The Xindi's opening salvo killed seven million. The rest of humanity would have followed were it not for Captain Archer and crew of the NX-01. No humanity, no Federation, no rampart against the reconfigured space.

"History doesn't mention anything about a conflict between humans and Xindi," Daniels told Archer in the galley before sending him on a trip to Carpenter Street, Detroit. The "ripples" of the events caused by temporal incursions hadn't reached the 31st century. And yet, when the Temporal Cold War was over, and contrary to other events that 'reset' themselves, the Xindi conflict remained very much a part of history.

Doctrine Vs. Distant Origin Theory

As well as looking to the stars for signs of life, humanity had often wondered if an advanced civilisation might have preceded its own on Earth. Legends and conspiracy theories the likes of Agartha, hollow Earth, and 'Ancient Apocalypse' emerged.

More seriously, in the early 21st century, scientists proposed the 'Silurian hypothesis,' named for a fictional species from a popular television show. It asked the question, "If an industrial civilisation had existed on Earth many millions of years prior to our own era, what traces would it have left, and would they be detectable today [in the geological record]?" An answer to that came thousands of light years away.

There were never any remnants of the Voth on Earth, but the Saurian species did evolve on our own Blue Marble. Professor Gegen and his assistant Veer proved as much when they encountered Voyager in 2373. The Voth were thought to have evolved from a species of hadrosaurs that somehow survived the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction about 66 million years ago.

By around 20 million years ago, the Voth had already left Earth and settled in a region of the Delta Quadrant, believing themselves by 'Doctrine' to be the first intelligent beings to evolve there. That ancient dogma clashed with 'Distant Origin theory,' as proposed by Gegen and supporters in the Circle of Archaeology.

Even with living proof standing right there in front of them (in the form of Commander Chakotay), the Voth Ministry of Elders conspired to cover-up their species' terrestrial origins. Gegen was publicly discredited, forced to renege on his 'theory'. If not then, the truth will always out. Some day. Eyes open.

The Simulation Hypothesis

As its name suggests, the 'simulation hypothesis' is the theory that our reality — the universe itself — is actually an extremely sophisticated computer simulation of a highly advanced civilisation. We're either constructs, perhaps playable characters, within it, or 'brains in a vat' somewhere else.

Like many human philosophers had wondered long before the computer age, the 'simulation hypothesis' asks questions about the limits of human consciousness, that all perception might be some version of a dream. We could all just be part of the story being told by Benny Russell — the writings on a typewriter, or the scribblings of a pencil on a wall.

Starfleet officers have faced this existential dilemma in technological form via the holodeck (and via 'Ethan' aka Barash). When the self-aware hologram of Professor Moriarty was re-activated during a diagnostic check, he hatched a plot to take control of the Enterprise-D by trapping Captain Picard, Lieutenant Commander Data, and Lieutenant Barclay inside a holodeck program.

Once the three of them realised where they really were, they set out their own scheme to use Moriarty's idea against him, creating a simulation within the simulation. By the end, Moriarty thought he had been freed from the holodeck, but in fact, he and the Countess had been transferred to a block of active memory. They would never know the difference.

Our reality "might be just an elaborate simulation running inside a little device sitting on someone's table," concluded Picard. Far more disturbingly, the Founders once used a highly realistic form of computer simulation to 'experiment' on the crew of the Defiant. In the Delta Quadrant, the Kohl also used a similar kind of neural network whilst in stasis. Their dream simulation turned into a nightmare. Of course, we mustn't forget about Doctor Bashir, kidnapped by Section 31, trapped in a holodeck, and made to think it was real.

Computer, end program. Computer, end program.

IT’S A FAAAAAAKE!

Getting the Romulans to join the Dominion War on the side of the Federation and its allies required a criminal conspiracy, a cover-up, and the self-respect of one Starfleet officer. The scheme is well-known by now, an irony given the sensitivity of such information. It merits its place in the depths of this iceberg for being one of the most dastardly plots in the history of Starfleet.

It all began with Captain Sisko's self-promise after posting the umpteenth casualty list in the Wardroom, an optolythic data rod and a secret visit from Senator Vreenak upon his diplomatic meeting with Weyoun. Starfleet had pre-approved the holographic forgery of a high-level Dominion meeting on the invasion of Romulus. The rest, as Joseph Sisko might say, was good intentions on the road to hell, with Garak laying the lion's share of the paving.

Vreenak most famously uncovered the Captain's subterfuge and threatened to expose "the vile deception to the entire Alpha Quadrant". Garak had a back-up plan, however. He planted a bomb aboard Vreenak's shuttle, which exploded before the Senator could return home. With the optolythic data rod found damaged in the wreckage, it now looked like the Dominion had assassinated Vreenak to prevent their war plans from getting out. The Romulans had little choice but to declare war.

Princeton Commencement Address

In 2064, the year after the Vulcans landed, Zefram Cochrane gave the commencement address at Princeton University. During his speech, he digressed a little and began "to talk about what really happened during First Contact".

According to Cochrane, "cybernetic creatures from the future," whose "ultimate goal was to enslave the human race," had attempted to prevent his warp flight. Cochrane went on to add that those cybernetic beings were "defeated by a group of humans who were also from the future".

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," so Carl Sagan once said. The burden of proof doesn't fall on the sceptic. At the time, Cochrane's 'story' was dismissed. He himself later retracted his statements. Of course, Cochrane could never provide any evidence in his own time.

The inventor of warp drive would end his life on a conspiracy theory of sorts — "the greatest missing person case of the century," as Admiral Forrest put it to Captain Archer. There were many rumours, one of which stated that Cochrane had vanished in a one-man vessel whilst "testing some kind of experimental warp ship". Those rumours were put to rest in 2267, though the truth was stranger than any fiction.

Now, keep Cochrane's talk of "cybernetic creatures" in mind as we move down to the deep depths, the most obscure conspiracies of our final tier.