Morphogenic virus

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The Female Changeling suffers from the degenerative effects of the disease

The morphogenic virus was a degenerative disease created by the rogue Federation agency Section 31 as a means to attack the Founders of the Dominion, and end the threat they posed to the Alpha Quadrant.

In 2372, while the Changelings were threatening Earth with apparent invasion, Benjamin Sisko and Odo provided assistance in trying to hunt down the shapeshifters. Odo submitted to a thorough bio-examination at Starfleet Medical in the hopes of helping Starfleet discover a means of detecting or stopping the Changelings. However, at the same time, Section 31 secretly infected Odo with the disease in the hopes that Odo would carry it back to the Great Link, where it would infect all of the remaining Founders. Odo did just that when he was forced to return to the Link late that year to face 'judgment' for killing another changeling.

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The morphogenic virus

The disease took time to incubate, and only progressed as the individual Changelings changed form; thus, more rapid form-changing would lead to a more rapid progression of the disease. The disease first began to manifest itself in the Female Changeling in early 2375. Odo first learned of the existence of the virus at this time due to his contact with a Weyoun clone, though he still was not aware that he was a carrier. To avoid showing weakness, the Founders attempted to hide the existence of the disease from the Cardassians. Meanwhile, they had teams of Vorta doctors working day and night to find a cure.

Ironically, it was a Federation doctor who was able to cure the Founders. Julian Bashir realized that Section 31 was responsible for the disease. He captured the Section 31 agent, Luther Sloan, and used a multitronic engrammatic interpreter to extract the cure. The Federation Council debated giving the cure to the Founders, but decided that it would give them the upper hand.

The cure to the morphogenic virus was instrumental in ending the Dominion War. After the Dominion retreat to Cardassia Prime, Odo linked with the Female Changeling, curing her of the disease. The Founder then ordered the Dominion forces to surrender. Odo returned to the Great Link and cured the rest of his kind.

Unfortunately, Odo was not aware of his carrying the virus when he linked with Laas in DS9: "Chimera". It may be assumed that Laas met with an unfortunate fate during his search to find the Hundred Changelings.

How Odo's alternate future self in "Children of Time" avoided death because of the virus is unknown; possibly, something about their 'trip' back through time or the planet the crew inhabited somehow purged the disease from Odo's body before it could show any symptoms, otherwise he would most likely have warned his younger self. Another possibility is that Odo was not carrying the virus (or at least not an active strain of it) at that time because he had been turned human by the Founders in DS9: "Broken Link", and that he was re-infected by the Female Changeling when he started linking with her. This would also explain why the Founders began to exhibit the symptoms of the disease earlier than Odo himself did.

References

• DS9:
  • "Homefront"
  • "Paradise Lost"
  • "Broken Link"
  • "Treachery, Faith and the Great River"
  • "Chimera"
  • "Penumbra"
  • "'Til Death Do Us Part"
  • "Strange Bedfellows"
  • "The Changing Face of Evil"
  • "When It Rains..."
  • "Tacking Into the Wind"
  • "Extreme Measures"
  • "The Dogs of War"
  • "What You Leave Behind"