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File:Garak-002.jpg
Description:A Cardassian male.
File:Cardassian-scientists.jpg
Description:Cardassian females.
For the DS9 episode, see "Cardassians (episode)"

The Cardassian race is a Humanoid species from the Alpha Quadrant, which is highly intelligent, but equally ruthless. Their government, the Cardassian Union, was built on conquest and expansion, occupying planets like Bajor to exploit its resources.

Physiology

A humanoid race, the Cardassians are native to the planet Cardassia Prime. Evolved from their reptilian ancestors, they prefer a darker, hotter, and more humid environment than Humans.

Externally, Cardassians are easily recognizable by their two thick vertical neck ridges that recede back to the crown of the head and an inverted tear-shaped ridge in the center of the forehead. The ridge is thickest immediately above the eyes, protecting the eyes and making them look especially deep-set. Most Cardassian men have poker straight hair with jet-black to dark brown shades that are slicked back as inconspicuously as possible while the women have more varying hairstyles.

Society

Unlike humans, Cardassians don't avoid or try to slow the agaging process, instead welcoming old age and the power and wisdom it denotes. The education system implemented on Cardassia dictates that intellectual pursuits begin at the young age of 3 or 4. Every Cardassian is raised with an appreciation of fine arts and culture, though the government may not have always been so like-minded in its policies. Educational attainment is regarded as a major source of social status and the source of creativity in Cardassian society. The Cardassians are known for their photographic memories and the ability to resist a Vulcan mind meld.

Cardassian society has the most rigid and, to the Federation, incomprehensible, of all legal systems. All suspects are guilty before even appearing in court, their sentence already spelled out - almost always death. No prisoner ever escapes the death penalty, and only very tempting incentives can change the sentence to a lifetime in a labor camp. The criminal is given a Conservator, equivalent to a public defender, only the Conservator is not supposed to win, but to prepare the criminal for a moving confession of guilt on the floor of the court. The Chief Archon, or judge, of the court plays to a televised audience, her duty not to judge the prisoner's innocence or guilt, but rather to give an emphatic display of the futility of crime in Cardassia and reinforce the public's trust in the justice system.

Culture

See also:

  • Cardassian Civilian Bodies
  • Early Cardassian History
  • Cardassian Arts

Government

The civilian Detapa Council staged a sucessful coup against the Central Command in 2372, when the dissident movement reached its peak. The military no longer had full control of the government, and it worked as an agency of the Cardassian Union, as does the Obsidian Order, Cardassia's secret intelligence agency. The Obsidian Order is slightly different, as it functions autonomously and does not report to the Detapa Council. However, the Council was not in place for a month before Klingon forces attacked Cardassia Prime and nearly killed the entire Council. After Cardassia's entrance into the Dominion, the Council became defunct, and all power once again rested on the Legate who must answer to the Vorta and their Founders.

See also: Cardassian Government Bodies

Military

See also:

People

Places

See also: List of Cardassian planets

Animals

Food and Drink

See also: List of Foods and Beverages

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