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| + | __NOTOC__[[File:Horta.jpg|thumb|Horta]] |
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| + | [[File:Schoolroom table.jpg|thumb|A Horta (above, center)]] |
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:''Not to be confused with the [[Vorta]], one of the members of the [[Dominion]].'' |
:''Not to be confused with the [[Vorta]], one of the members of the [[Dominion]].'' |
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| − | Horta physiology |
+ | Horta [[physiology]] was very different from the [[carbon]]-based norm more commonly found in [[Milky Way Galaxy|the galaxy]]. Horta were difficult to detect with [[tricorder]]s, and were invulnerable to [[type 1 phaser]]s, though they could be injured with an adjusted [[type 2 phaser]]. They fed on [[rock]], and thus they were nourished just by tunneling. Horta tunneled through rock like most [[humanoid]]s walked through [[air]], moving with the aid of an extremely corrosive [[acid]]. They left perfectly round tunnels in their wake. This acid was so corrosive that it only left fragments of bone and teeth if used on a [[Human]]. Although Hortas did not evolve in an [[oxygen]] environment, they seemed able to exist in it for extended periods of [[time]]. |
| − | The Horta species |
+ | The Horta [[species]] possessed (as compared to carbon-based [[lifeform]]s) an unusually long [[life span]]. Every fifty thousand [[year]]s, all of the Horta [[death|died]] out except for one, the so-called [[mother Horta]], who then watched the [[egg]]s until they hatched, and mothered and protected them. Horta eggs were spherical in shape, and they seemed to mostly consist of [[silicon]], aside from a few trace elements. They were stored in the [[Vault of Tomorrow]] in the [[Chamber of the Ages]]. |
| − | :''This type of life cycle has an incredible risk of [[extinction]], unless there is some as-of-yet unknown means of new mothers being created and distributed through space. |
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| − | It was in the midst of one of these temporary phases of extinction that the [[Federation]] colonized Janus VI in the [[2210s]]. |
+ | It was in the midst of one of these temporary phases of extinction that the [[Federation]] colonized Janus VI in the [[2210s]]. The mother Horta tolerated the Federation presence up until the [[miner]]s established a new, lower level in [[2267]], where they first encountered Horta eggs. Thinking them nothing more than balls of useless silicon, the miners' automated equipment destroyed thousands of them. The mother Horta defended her children by carrying out actions of [[sabotage]] and [[murder]] against the [[Janus VI colony]]. |
| − | [[ |
+ | [[File:Horta eggs.jpg|thumb|Horta eggs]] |
| − | It was only when [[Commander]] [[Spock]] of the |
+ | It was only when [[Commander]] [[Spock]] of the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701}} [[Vulcan mind meld|mind-melded]] with the mother Horta that he was able to determine that the Horta was actually an intelligent lifeform. In fact, before the discovery of the Horta, silicon-based life had been thought a fantasy by Federation [[scientist]]s. |
| − | The mother Horta reached an accord with the miners, who were distressed at the destruction they had caused. |
+ | The mother Horta reached an accord with the miners, who were distressed at the destruction they had caused. The miners would leave the Horta alone on the lower levels once they began hatching, while the Horta would use their abilities to locate and construct access to choice mineral deposits for the miners. Just as the ''Enterprise'' departed the planet, the first baby Horta hatched and began tunneling rapidly. ({{TOS|The Devil in the Dark}}) |
| − | Information about the Horta was displayed by |
+ | Information about the Horta was displayed by a [[computer]], as an [[okudagram]] graphic, in [[Keiko O'Brien]]'s [[school]]room on [[Deep Space 9]]. ({{DS9|A Man Alone|The Nagus}}) |
| + | == Appendices == |
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| − | ==Memorable |
+ | === Memorable quotes === |
| − | + | "''NO KILL I''" |
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| + | :- '''Horta Mother''' |
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| + | :- '''Dr. McCoy''' |
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| + | The [[German]] word "Hort" (male gender, der Hort) means hoard (as in hoard of treasure or supplies) derived from Latin "hortus", ''garden''. Recently, the word's meaning is extended to include "all-day nursery" – a place where you "hoard" [[children]] (hence cognate to Kinder''garten''), fitting after-the-fact the role the Horta had. |
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| + | The Horta was played by [[Janos Prohaska]]. Aside from playing the creature, Prohaska also designed and created the "suit" for the creature as Producer [[Robert Justman]] clarified, |
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| − | * According to the text commentary for {{film|4}} by [[Michael Okuda]]: "''Two days before the filming of the [[Federation Council]] chamber scene, it was requested that it include a Horta [[ambassador]]. However, due to the short notice for the request, it was impossible to create a Horta in time for filming, and the Horta failed to appear in the film.''" |
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| + | <blockquote>"We made a "spec" ''[note: industry idiom for an unsolicited pitch without any guarantees]'' deal with Janos. If he came up with a really great creature for a script [[Gene Coon]] was writing, we'd rent it and hire him to play the part. Janos was back within a week's time with his custom-designed creature. It was a large pancake-shaped glob of gook with a thickened raised center and fringe around its circumference. It sure didn't look like much. As Janos took the glob out of sight to put it on, Gene Coon raised an objection "Bob, why are wasting time with this?" Suddenly, the blob skittered around the corner, making straight for us. Then it stopped, curiously, backed away, and rotated in place. The blob gathered itself up, quivered, made a whimsical up-and-down movement, grunted, and skittered away again &nadsh; leaving behind a large, round white "egg". Coon was dumbfounded. He watched the creature giving birth. And when the creature suddenly turned and scurried back to nuzzle its "child", Gene was sold. "Great!" he exclaimed, "It's perfect! Just what we need." Then he excitedly hastened back to his office to finish writing the script. |
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| + | "Gene Coon's {{e|The Devil in the Dark}} became one of ''Star Trek''{{'}}s most famous episodes. And Janos Prohaska played his own creation, one of ''Star Trek''{{'}}s most famous creatures, the highly imaginative and custom-designed mother Horta." (''[[Inside Star Trek: The Real Story]]'', pp. 214-215)</blockquote> |
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| − | * In the audio commentary for "[[How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth]]", [[David Wise]] mentions that [[Kukulkan's zoo]] was to have a Horta. |
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| ⚫ | What neither Justman nor Coon had realized at the time however, was that Prohaska had actually already created the creature previously for the original ABC series ''The Outer Limits'', first appearing in the final episode, and that he had only slightly modified the rubber costume with veins and the "fringe" for its ''Star Trek'' appearance. ({{STTM|3|9|73}}) Titled "The Probe" (with [[Peter Mark Richman]]), the ''Outer Limits'' episode's storyline was about survivors of a plane crash in the Pacific waking up to find themselves (and their life raft) on the floor of an alien spacecraft sent to collect terrestrial [[lifeform|lifeforms]]. In this episode, broadcast in {{m|January|1965}}, the future Mrs. Horta was performing yeoman service as a giant cold germ threatening the hapless Earth people. (''[[The World of Star Trek]]'', 3rd ed., p. 74) |
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| + | A Horta was to have been featured in the [[Star Trek: The Animated Series|animated ''Star Trek'']] episode {{e|How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth}}, included in [[Kukulkan's zoo]]. ("How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth" [[audio commentary]], [[Star Trek: The Animated Series (DVD)|TAS DVD]]) |
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| − | * The German word '''Hort''' (male gender, der Hort) means "all-day nursery", quite fitting to the role the Horta has. |
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| + | A Horta was referenced in the first-draft script for "[[In Thy Image]]" – the story that gradually developed into {{film|1}} – in which Kirk reminded Dr. McCoy, now a veterinarian, of the Horta having been "patched up" by McCoy using silicone cement. (''[[Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series]]'', p. 125) |
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| + | Two days before filming of the [[Federation]] Council scenes in {{film|4}}, it was requested that one of the aliens present in the setting be a Horta [[ambassador]]. As notice of the request was given so soon before the scenes were shot, however, the creation of a Horta in time for filming was an impossibility. Thus, the Horta failed to make an appearance in the film. ([[text commentary]], ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Special Edition)]]'' [[DVD]]) |
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| − | The non-canon Internet fan series, Star Trek: Hidden Frontier, had a Horta character, Lieutenant Pergium, who played a critical role in at least one episode of the series. |
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| ⚫ | Some new [[CGI]] visual effects were created for the Horta, in the [[Star Trek: The Original Series#Remastered|remastered]] edition of "The Devil in the Dark", for the 40th anniversary of the original series. Notably, the Horta emerging/tunneling through a particular rock face, when Captain Kirk encountered the Horta mother on his own, was a combination of new and original footage. |
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| + | |||
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| + | Although there is no current [[canon]] reason to believe the Horta ever left Janus VI, in several non-[[canon]] [[novels]] and [[comics|comic books]] by [[Diane Duane]], there is a Horta crew member on the ''Enterprise'', Ensign Naraht, one of the several thousand children of the Horta who appears in ''[[The Devil in the Dark (episode)|The Devil in the Dark]]''. In particular, Naraht plays a critical role in ''[[The Romulan Way]]''. According to that novel, Horta who enlist in [[Starfleet]] must be regularly spray-coated with teflon, since [[oxygen]]-based atmospheres are highly caustic to [[Silicon-based lifeform]]s. |
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| ⚫ | The novel ''[[Articles of the Federation]]'', by [[Keith R.A. DeCandido]], has the Horta as members of the Federation as of 2380 and are represented by one Councilor Sanaht. Further appearances include the [[Greg Cox]] and [[John Gregory Betancourt]]'s [[DS9]] novel, ''[[Devil in the Sky]]''. Hortas were also mentioned in ''[[The Lost Years]]''. |
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| + | In the MMORPG ''[[Star Trek Online]]'', in the mission "Mine Enemy", a Horta kills [[Tal Shiar]] [[officer|officers]] and burns the words "NO KILL I, NO KILL I" into a cave floor with acid. If the player observes this, he or she will get the accolade: NO KILL I. The mission reward is a Horta hatchling pet that follows the player when activated from the inventory. Horta are also seen being employed for mining operations; as a player's fleet Dilithium mine has Horta miners working in environments hostile to humanoid lifeforms. There you can also purchase Horta duty officers for your ship. |
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| + | Also, during the numerous anniversary events, a Horta is one of many creatures that players could be temporarily turned into by the visiting [[Q (Junior)|Q]] should they annoy him. Or just by asking if he really is that powerful. |
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| + | === External link === |
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| + | * {{NCwiki}} |
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[[de:Horta]] |
[[de:Horta]] |
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[[fr:Horta]] |
[[fr:Horta]] |
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| + | [[it:Horta]] |
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| + | [[ja:ホルタ]] |
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Revision as of 07:39, 18 February 2015
Horta
A Horta-created tunnel
A Horta (above, center)
The Horta was a silicon-based lifeform from Janus VI. It was composed of a material similar to fibrous asbestos.
Horta physiology was very different from the carbon-based norm more commonly found in the galaxy. Horta were difficult to detect with tricorders, and were invulnerable to type 1 phasers, though they could be injured with an adjusted type 2 phaser. They fed on rock, and thus they were nourished just by tunneling. Horta tunneled through rock like most humanoids walked through air, moving with the aid of an extremely corrosive acid. They left perfectly round tunnels in their wake. This acid was so corrosive that it only left fragments of bone and teeth if used on a Human. Although Hortas did not evolve in an oxygen environment, they seemed able to exist in it for extended periods of time.
The Horta species possessed (as compared to carbon-based lifeforms) an unusually long life span. Every fifty thousand years, all of the Horta died out except for one, the so-called mother Horta, who then watched the eggs until they hatched, and mothered and protected them. Horta eggs were spherical in shape, and they seemed to mostly consist of silicon, aside from a few trace elements. They were stored in the Vault of Tomorrow in the Chamber of the Ages.
It was in the midst of one of these temporary phases of extinction that the Federation colonized Janus VI in the 2210s. The mother Horta tolerated the Federation presence up until the miners established a new, lower level in 2267, where they first encountered Horta eggs. Thinking them nothing more than balls of useless silicon, the miners' automated equipment destroyed thousands of them. The mother Horta defended her children by carrying out actions of sabotage and murder against the Janus VI colony.
Horta eggs
It was only when Commander Spock of the USS Enterprise mind-melded with the mother Horta that he was able to determine that the Horta was actually an intelligent lifeform. In fact, before the discovery of the Horta, silicon-based life had been thought a fantasy by Federation scientists.
The mother Horta reached an accord with the miners, who were distressed at the destruction they had caused. The miners would leave the Horta alone on the lower levels once they began hatching, while the Horta would use their abilities to locate and construct access to choice mineral deposits for the miners. Just as the Enterprise departed the planet, the first baby Horta hatched and began tunneling rapidly. (TOS: "The Devil in the Dark")
Information about the Horta was displayed by a computer, as an okudagram graphic, in Keiko O'Brien's schoolroom on Deep Space 9. (DS9: "A Man Alone", "The Nagus")
Appendices
Memorable quotes
"NO KILL I"
- - Horta Mother
"I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer!"
- - Dr. McCoy
Background
The German word "Hort" (male gender, der Hort) means hoard (as in hoard of treasure or supplies) derived from Latin "hortus", garden. Recently, the word's meaning is extended to include "all-day nursery" – a place where you "hoard" children (hence cognate to Kindergarten), fitting after-the-fact the role the Horta had.
The Horta was played by Janos Prohaska. Aside from playing the creature, Prohaska also designed and created the "suit" for the creature as Producer Robert Justman clarified,
"We made a "spec" [note: industry idiom for an unsolicited pitch without any guarantees] deal with Janos. If he came up with a really great creature for a script Gene Coon was writing, we'd rent it and hire him to play the part. Janos was back within a week's time with his custom-designed creature. It was a large pancake-shaped glob of gook with a thickened raised center and fringe around its circumference. It sure didn't look like much. As Janos took the glob out of sight to put it on, Gene Coon raised an objection "Bob, why are wasting time with this?" Suddenly, the blob skittered around the corner, making straight for us. Then it stopped, curiously, backed away, and rotated in place. The blob gathered itself up, quivered, made a whimsical up-and-down movement, grunted, and skittered away again &nadsh; leaving behind a large, round white "egg". Coon was dumbfounded. He watched the creature giving birth. And when the creature suddenly turned and scurried back to nuzzle its "child", Gene was sold. "Great!" he exclaimed, "It's perfect! Just what we need." Then he excitedly hastened back to his office to finish writing the script. "Gene Coon's "The Devil in the Dark" became one of Star Trek's most famous episodes. And Janos Prohaska played his own creation, one of Star Trek's most famous creatures, the highly imaginative and custom-designed mother Horta." (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, pp. 214-215)
What neither Justman nor Coon had realized at the time however, was that Prohaska had actually already created the creature previously for the original ABC series The Outer Limits, first appearing in the final episode, and that he had only slightly modified the rubber costume with veins and the "fringe" for its Star Trek appearance. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 3, Issue 9, p. 73) Titled "The Probe" (with Peter Mark Richman), the Outer Limits episode's storyline was about survivors of a plane crash in the Pacific waking up to find themselves (and their life raft) on the floor of an alien spacecraft sent to collect terrestrial lifeforms. In this episode, broadcast in January 1965, the future Mrs. Horta was performing yeoman service as a giant cold germ threatening the hapless Earth people. (The World of Star Trek, 3rd ed., p. 74)
A Horta was to have been featured in the animated Star Trek episode "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth", included in Kukulkan's zoo. ("How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth" audio commentary, TAS DVD)
A Horta was referenced in the first-draft script for "In Thy Image" – the story that gradually developed into Star Trek: The Motion Picture – in which Kirk reminded Dr. McCoy, now a veterinarian, of the Horta having been "patched up" by McCoy using silicone cement. (Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series, p. 125)
Two days before filming of the Federation Council scenes in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, it was requested that one of the aliens present in the setting be a Horta ambassador. As notice of the request was given so soon before the scenes were shot, however, the creation of a Horta in time for filming was an impossibility. Thus, the Horta failed to make an appearance in the film. (text commentary, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Special Edition) DVD)
Some new CGI visual effects were created for the Horta, in the remastered edition of "The Devil in the Dark", for the 40th anniversary of the original series. Notably, the Horta emerging/tunneling through a particular rock face, when Captain Kirk encountered the Horta mother on his own, was a combination of new and original footage.
Apocrypha
Although there is no current canon reason to believe the Horta ever left Janus VI, in several non-canon novels and comic books by Diane Duane, there is a Horta crew member on the Enterprise, Ensign Naraht, one of the several thousand children of the Horta who appears in The Devil in the Dark. In particular, Naraht plays a critical role in The Romulan Way. According to that novel, Horta who enlist in Starfleet must be regularly spray-coated with teflon, since oxygen-based atmospheres are highly caustic to Silicon-based lifeforms.
The novel Articles of the Federation, by Keith R.A. DeCandido, has the Horta as members of the Federation as of 2380 and are represented by one Councilor Sanaht. Further appearances include the Greg Cox and John Gregory Betancourt's DS9 novel, Devil in the Sky. Hortas were also mentioned in The Lost Years.
In the TNG novel Dyson Sphere, it is revealed that Starfleet has starships crewed entirely by Horta. These ships are of standard design, with nearly all amenities removed, and are filled with solid stone, which the Horta can reshape as they see fit.
The series of non-canon Star Trek: Titan novels also has a male Horta character, Chwolkk, who serves as an engineer on the USS Titan.
In the MMORPG Star Trek Online, in the mission "Mine Enemy", a Horta kills Tal Shiar officers and burns the words "NO KILL I, NO KILL I" into a cave floor with acid. If the player observes this, he or she will get the accolade: NO KILL I. The mission reward is a Horta hatchling pet that follows the player when activated from the inventory. Horta are also seen being employed for mining operations; as a player's fleet Dilithium mine has Horta miners working in environments hostile to humanoid lifeforms. There you can also purchase Horta duty officers for your ship. Also, during the numerous anniversary events, a Horta is one of many creatures that players could be temporarily turned into by the visiting Q should they annoy him. Or just by asking if he really is that powerful.
External link
- Template:NCwiki