Crystalline Entity
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| Crystalline Entity | |
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| Species | Crystalline lifeform |
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In the fictional Star Trek universe the Crystalline Entity is an enormous spacefaring life-form. The entity first appeared in the Star Trek:TNG episode "Datalore".
[edit] Appearance and Function
The Crystalline Entity appeared to be a massive crystal lattice, looking somewhat like a frost-covered Christmas tree. It was several times the size of the Galaxy Class USS Enterprise-D. The Crystalline Entity is capable of emitting an energy beam from its structure that can wipe a planet clean of all organic life in under half an hour. The Entity appears to also have a natural Warp drive capable of reaching speeds matching the Enterprise-D.
It appears to exist only to roam and feed, which it does by converting the organic matter of anything in its path into electromagnetic energy, whether inhabited planets or wayward starships that cannot outrun it and cannot properly shield themselves. Unfortunately for sentient creatures, it does not distinguish between them and other forms of life, and will mercilessly reduce the living matter of an entire planet to energy within the space of hours, right down to the bacteria in the soil and air.
[edit] History
The early history of the Crystalline Entity is unknown, but it would seem that the life-form is unique in the galaxy. The entity is first encountered by the Federation when Data's brother Lore discovers a way to communicate with it and summons it to destroy the Omicron Theta colony. Later, while Lore is aboard the Enterprise, he summons the entity once again, this time with the intent to destroy the ship. The attempt is unsuccessful and the entity moves on. It is known that after that encounter it consumes eleven more worlds before arriving at Melona IV, where the Enterprise again happens to encounter it in the episode "Silicon Avatar".
While the Enterprise is assisting Federation colonists on the surface of Melona IV the Crystalline Entity appears and begins to scour the cultivated surface of the planet, wiping clear any organic matter. Commander Riker and Lieutenant Commander Data lead the colonists to safety inside a natural cave formation, seeming to indicate that the beam is not capable of penetrating certain ores. Later on in the episode, however, it is revealed that the entity's scouring beam was indeed capable of penetrating the cave formations -in fact, some of those killed in other attacks on other planets were in deeper caves and under mineral formations many times more plentiful than the cave that the Away Team was hiding in.
After the Enterprise crew effects a rescue, the colonists emerge and find the planet's surface stripped and desecrated.
After studying it, the Enterprise crew debates whether the entity was eating to survive, and whether to regard it as malevolent:
| “ | Doctor, the sperm whale on Earth devours millions of cuttlefish as it roams the oceans. It is not evil...it is feeding. The same may be true of the Entity. | ” |
Late in "Silicon Avatar," the Enterprise catches up with the Entity, using graviton pulses to open a brief channel of rudimentary contact. On the brink of establishing the Entity as intelligent life and perhaps even communicating, the crew is surprised to see it vibrate, shake, and explode. A scientist visiting the Enterprise, Kila Marr, had hijacked the communications channel, using it to create a massive resonance vibration which destroyed the Entity. This was in revenge for the death of her son, who perished on Omicron Theta.
[edit] External links
- Crystalline Entity article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
