For the primary universe counterpart, see Human.

Terran was the term consistently used to refer to Humans from the mirror universe. (DS9 episode: "Crossover")

History[]

Prehistory[]

Archaeological evidence tracing Terran history to prehistoric times indicated that early Cro-Magnon man systematically hunted down and killed their Neanderthal competitors to extinction. (Decipher RPG module: Through a Glass, Darkly)

Ancient history[]

Bronze Age[]

The first great nation forged was by King Menes of Egypt who institutionalized a theocratic cult he controlled which worshiped a warped image of the god Anubis. The populace participated in his depravities which ensured his popularity thus extending his reign. This saw Egyptian priest-kings in charge with slave laborers at the bottom of the ladder with this status-quo ending upon the arrival of the the bronze age Greeks. Under the rule of Agamemnon, these logically minded philosophers and analytical weapon-smiths brought intelligent warfare against the mystically minded Egyptians who were defeated through the use of their tactics. The defeat of the Egyptians saw the destruction of the pyramids and their culture.

With no external foe to challenge them, the Greeks themselves became complacent until the arrival of the Persians that sought to challenge them for the control of the Mediterranean. However, the two civilizations themselves ultimately fell to Alexander the Great who held a lust for conquest and a unquenchable thirst for literature. He proved to be both a ruthless warrior yet an educated and canny one who managed to form the Macedonian empire. Despite the success of his reign, his empire and his vision fell with his death with his rule ultimately being absorbed into the Roman empire. (Decipher RPG module: Through a Glass, Darkly)

Rise of the Empire[]

"We Survive." -- motto of the Empire^[1]

It was the reign of the Roman Empire that shattered the previous cycles of conquest and decadence. The leaders of Rome forged an empire that was strong which actively enlisted the aid of the warriors and rulers of the barbarian tribes of Gaul as well as Germany that were recruited to their side. Such chieftains became part of the Roman empire where they joined into the courtly intrigues of the capital along with the backstabbing nature of its rulers. Thus, unlike its predecessors, the Romans sought to turn potential enemies into their allies. Those that did not join the empire saw them being crushed in quick and decisive wars where outsiders were paid to serve as shock troopers in these conflicts. Such tactics were used to strike down the rise of faiths such as Judaism and Christianity. In time, the Roman Empire brought about the formation of the Germanic Empire which continued its dominating nature that saw about the end of nationalism within Europe. Thus, the Empire had taken root with this new status quo being fully accepted as being eternal by each new generation regardless of the fall of any ruler. (Decipher RPG module: Through a Glass, Darkly)

Pre-warp history[]

Colonization of the Americas[]

The new era saw the nascent Empire accidentally discover the Americas while attempting to find new sea routes to conquer the East. This new frontier served as a home for malcontents and rebels that hated Imperial rule with their view that the Empire became weakened when a ruler established himself to such an extent where he could not be ousted from power. These revolutionaries instead advocated the view that all should have a part in the government and thus force rulers to curry favors from their people. This in turn allowed the formation of power blocs that could shift the governments in coups whilst not leading to large scale destruction. A new system of Senators were formed who sought the twin goals of gaining followers and getting support from allied groups without taking resources from the war ravaged populace. The new system of Senatorial backstabbing continued for many generations after its establishment by their predecessors. (Decipher RPG module: Through a Glass, Darkly)

20th century[]

During the 20th century, certain Emperors emerged with each sponsoring their own personal projects such as the genocidal campaigns of Pol Pot and Adolf Hitler.

The development of the 20th century was greatly influenced by time travelers. In the 1930s, James T. Kirk, captain of the ISS Enterprise, accidentally time traveled to this era and saved Edith Keeler from her destined death in an automobile accident. Intending to rule the world with Keeler, Kirk informed her of the century's future history and the two conceived a son, James T. Keeler. However, Kirk's crew thwarted his plans by rescuing him from from his temporal marooing. Although Kirk was gone, Edith used the knowledge she had learned from him to seek out the great men of her time and bend them to her will.

During the reign of Emperor Oswald, a time displaced Spock managed to convince the Emperor that the Empire had to moderate its savagery in order to survive for another thousand years. Although Oswald's reformist writings, known as the doctrine of Oswaldism, were subsequently banned by the Empire, they would eventually result in the existence of an underground dissident organization known as the Oswaldites in the 23rd century.

James T. Keeler, Edith Keeler's son, eventually became the advisor to Emperor Jimmy Carter and the two desired to spread the ambitions of the Empire into space conquest. It was the treachery of Khan Noonien Singh that ended the Keeler power bloc.

Later on, another temporal incursion occurred which saw the arrival of the 30th century timeship Aeon, which was piloted by Captain Braxton. Braxton encountered Henry Starling, a software engineer and computer scientist, who then killed Braxton after turning his own 30th century brain-scanning technology against him. Starling used the information he ripped out of Braxton's cortex to stay one step ahead of competitors, eventually founding the Chronowerx Corporation.

Starling demonstrated that in the growing technological world that rulership did not lie in the hands of a great politician or a warrior but those that controlled technology instead. Through the future technology Starling stole from Braxton, the computer scientist held a firm grip over the technology used by all citizens of the Empire and even threatened to bring the entire system down. None dared challenge Starling at this point, with even the secretly genetically enhanced supersoldiers and bionically augmented senators unable to fight the man that controlled the computers that were responsible for government, weaponry and vital resources.

Unfortunately, when Starling met his demise, his computer programs did indeed shut down, causing the Terran Empire to fall into a new Dark Age that would last for two generations. (Decipher RPG module: Through a Glass, Darkly)

Dark Ages and New Conquests[]

The demise of the technical apparatus of the 20th and 21st century Terran Empire returned the planet to a state of barbaric feudality, at least for a time. Earth's territories broke apart into feuding states ruled by barbaric conquerors. Petty tyrants ruled over the remnants of the dormant cities until finally the few remaining scientists and computer criminals managed to restore some of the power and computer systems of a few major settlements. From these ashes came the rapid consolidation of primitive territories under the newly technologically-enthroned leaders. (Decipher RPG module: Through a Glass, Darkly)

Certain records indicate that one of the key changes in Terran history came during the chaotic events of the Eugenics Wars. During that time, genetically engineered beings such as Khan Noonien Singh and others had risen to power. However, they were not overthrown or forced off Terra, as in the Prime Universe, but instead they managed to command several empires that were spread across multiple continents on Terra. These dynasties eventually turned on one another where they engaged in territorial warfare which saw the deployment of slow moving ion driven space craft that were adapted from DY-100 sleeper ships. Such craft allowed a means of deploying nuclear weapons which could not be shot down by anti-missile systems or particle beams. Numerous improvements were made to the ion-based propulsion systems from the research teams of the competing factions which ultimately somehow led to the destruction of the dictators' dynasties with the death of a great many Terrans in the attacks. Though the planet was devastated, the technology for relativistic space travel remained, though the survivors were more concerned with restoring their civilization from the downfall of the Engineered.

However, they never forgot the memory of the Empires that were forged in the past and of the time when individuals of power ruled over the common people. Thus, the slowly developing governments once more developed into empires which merged into a single Empire. The environment of Terra by this point had greatly suffered with conditions being strictly regulated to ensure that there was enough food, housing, and employment for the people. In time, the planet began to recover ecologically once more but the Terran people became a cold and untrusting race who looked to the stars for a new home and to ensure that they never faced extinction again. (TNG novel: Dark Mirror)

Dark Mirror indicates that the Terran race never went through the Third World War, though the continuity of the novel does differ to other established work on the Terran Empire in the Mirror Universe.

By the mid-21st century, two leaders emerged as the predominant world powers: Colonel Phillip Green, a cunning and charismatic man with a penchant for genocide, and Lee Kuan, a barbaric tribalist who fused his empire's reborn technologies with the hardened lifestyle of nomadic tribesmen. The two sparred warily, engaging their respective territories, for the better part of a decade, before enlightened self-interest finally resulted in a détente. Unwilling to risk their conquests on an uncertain battle, both commanders decided that a final cataclysmic clash would be too risky and so the two met in secret to carve up the remainder of the world and rebirth the Terran Empire. (Decipher RPG module: Through a Glass, Darkly)

First Contact, First Conquest[]

As Green and Kuan set about taming the remainder of Terra, they discovered a hidden base off the coast of Hawaii, where a maverick inventor named Zefram Cochrane was gambling his future on the development of the new warp drive. With his revolutionary engine, Cochrane planned to colonize the Solar system, and then return to master Earth. However, Green and Kuan discovered him before he could finish his experiments, which resulted in him offering up his research in return for his life. Cochrane's ship, the Phoenix, broke the light speed barrier with the backing of the Terran Empire on April 5, 2063. (Decipher RPG module: Through a Glass, Darkly)

On that day, the Vulcan survey ship T'Plana-Hath was passing through the Sol System when it discovered a Terran warp signature. Following procedure, its captain Solkar had the T'Plana-Hath proceed to Terra to investigate the warp signature, and landed at the settlement in Bozeman, Montana, where the Phoenix had been launched. Solkar was the first to exit the T'Plana-Hath and meet Cochrane.

After Solkar gave the traditional Vulcan salute, Cochrane briefly attempted the gesture in an attempt to amuse himself, then pulled out a shotgun and killed the Vulcan. He then rallied nearby people to board the vessel, appropriate any item of value and kill the rest of the crew. This action resulted in the early expansion of the Terran Empire, allowing Terrans to drastically increase their technological capability and begin a campaign of interstellar warfare and conquest. (ENT episode: "In a Mirror, Darkly")

What followed was the development of intra-system star travel, with Mars being one of the key targets of expansion. The red planet was terraformed in the span of forty years, where entire mountain ranges were flattened and excavations of new seabeds were made. Millions of Terrans were relocated to Mars - many by force - in order to create a self-sufficient colony where minerals could be shipped back to Terra. Once fully developed, the Empire of Terra looked to further expand in order to ensure the survival of their race. Development of long distance starships that operated on the limits of relativistic travel were being researched that saw completion by the late 21st century and came to fruition by the beginning of the 22nd century. By this point, the first of several large sleeper and colony ships had been completed and launched. This saw the earlier creation of long range sleeper and colony ships being overtaken by the seeming development of the warp engine by the hands of Zefram Cochrane. The technology allowed the Terrans to thus colonize Alpha Centauri and other nearby star systems. (TNG novel: Dark Mirror)

The new Empire's unified attempt to build an invasion of the planet Vulcan ultimately failed, as the Vulcans arrived en masse with a proposal. Believing that Terra would be too difficult to conquer easily and could not, in turn, fight the technologically superior Vulcans without both sides sustaining atrocious losses, the Vulcans offered themselves up as vassals rather than full partners. This decision was possibly influenced by the Vulcans' military setbacks suffered during their most recent war with the Romulan Star Empire. The two races subsequently joined together to exploit nearby pre-warp cultures and the natives of Alpha Centauri. (Decipher RPG module: Through a Glass, Darkly)

Early interstellar history (2074–2155)[]

Early conquests (2074–2151)[]

The Empire conquered Alpha Centauri in 2074. Over the next several decades, Terrans and Vulcans joined together to strip the planet of anything vaguely valuable, which included the majority of the population, who were enslaved en masse.

After Alpha Centauri proved a veritable jewel of conquest, the Empire turned its attention to the nearby other planets loomed nearby, intending to conquer them as well. The Empire's improved war machine raged on and tackled the crafty Tellarites, whose engineering savvy cost many lives. In 2137, the Empire encountered the Andorians. The resulting war, fueled by Andorian certainty that they were destined to rule the Galaxy, was a costly exercise for the Terran Emperor, as the powerful Andorian ships repelled wave after wave of Imperial assault. Ultimately, the Andorians were simply out-numbered and short on the resources necessary for extended warfare, and they found themselves in a humiliating war of attrition. Worn down to nothing, the proud blue warriors admitted defeat, their morale crushed and their cities starving.

In the tradition of the ancient Roman Empire, the Terran Empire offered the defeated states "client status", a privilege of continued existence in exchange for placing their special skills at the feet of the Empire. Tellarite engineering ingenuity, backed by the threat of extinction of their homeworld if anything should fail, caused the Empire's technology to rocket ahead, while the Andorians displaced their fury by becoming shock troops in the Empire's ground wars and occupations. (Decipher RPG module: Through a Glass, Darkly)

Early contact with the Klingon Empire (2151–2155)[]

In the 22nd century, the Terran Empire encountered the Klingon Empire. In 2151, a Klingon warrior trying to return with evidence of alien interference in the war of the great Houses wound up crashlanding on Earth. The Terran security and intelligence bureaus tortured him for information and, under the influence of various sedatives applied by the Denobulan Dr. Phlox, the warrior gave up information about the Klingon Empire and its location. This contact prompted Starfleet to finish its designs for more powerful warships, something that had been on the back burner due to budgetary infighting over the importance of suppressing local colonial revolts on nearby worlds like Alpha Centauri.

Faced with the prospect of a larger empire with superior technology, Jonathan Archer proposed a plan to the Emperor to fund the completion of his warp five engine, which Archer had stolen from his father, whom he had killed for the designs.

The Terran Emperor agreed and funded the completion of the warp five engine and the Empire's first warp-5 vessel, the ISS Enterprise (NX-01), was sent on a mission to learn about and suppress the Klingons. Within only a few months of the expedition, the Enterprise encountered a damaged Klingon vessel. Commander Archer offered to rescue the crew if they would serve as slaves, but they refused. Nevertheless, Archer managed to salvage the vessel, enslave its occupants, and drop them off on a nearby Class H desert planet. By the time Starfleet's slower ships could arrive there months later, Archer's prisoners were thoroughly broken and T'Pol, a Vulcan science officer, had cracked the Klingon technologies of deflector shields and photon torpedoes. (Decipher RPG module: Through a Glass, Darkly)

Rise and Reign of Sato I (2155)[]

During the 2150s, Starfleet was engaged in an ongoing battle against a Rebellion, in which it became possible that the Empire could collapse. In a battle against rebels at Tau Ceti, the Empire lost twelve ships, although imperial propaganda would instead claim that the battle was a major victory.

In January 2155, the crew of the Enterprise, under Archer's command, managed to commandeer the USS Defiant, a Federation ship that had crossed over into their universe through an interphasic rift created by the Tholians. However, Archer was betrayed by Lieutenant Hoshi Sato, who had seduced his personal guard, Travis Mayweather, into poisoning him. Hoshi subsequently took command of the Defiant and attacked Starfleet, successfully forcing the Empire's military to recognize her as the Empress. (ENT episode: "In a Mirror, Darkly")

Sato established her imperial residence in the historic Kyoto Imperial Palace and attempted to crush the rebel forces by arranging to be married to General Thy'lek Shran of the Andorian Imperial Guard, thus creating an alliance and cutting off a key source of rebel support. However, Sato was betrayed by Shran and exiled to Deneva. However, Sato's transport was intercepted by Vulcan rebels, who subsequently held her prisoner, and then put her on trial for the crimes of the Empire against its subject worlds. Sato was able to strike a deal with one of the rebels, and her former Enterprise crewmate, T'Pol. Although T'Pol had joined in the rebellion against the empire, she switched sides after uncovering a plot to murder her by fellow rebel T'Pau, whom T'Pol would eventually kill. By helping her escape the rebels and helping reclaim the Empire from Shran's Andorian forces, the Vulcans were raised to a status equal to that of Terrans and T'Pol was appointed as the first Supreme Regent of Vulcan. (ENT - Mirror Universe novel: Age of the Empress)

Fall of the Empire[]

The Terran Empire would last almost three centuries. In the year 2267, Spock encountered the prime universe James T. Kirk, and became determined to change the empire. Spock eventually became the empire's ruler, and instituted reforms that made the empire much more peaceful.

Unfortunately, these reforms led to the Terran Empire's downfall; they resulted in the empire's military strength being unable to prevent the equally vicious aspirations of the Klingons and the Cardassians and the Bajorans from conquering the Empire. When the Terran Empire's short-lived successor state the Terran Republic fell, the Terrans were forced into slavery by the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance.

In the year 2371, the Terrans, as well as the Vulcans, were still slaves of the Alliance. However, after an encounter with several prime universe humans, Benjamin Sisko, a Terran pirate working for the Alliance, decided that he had had enough of slavery and revolted. He led a number of Terrans and other species in a revolution against the Alliance. Though Sisko was killed the same year, the rebellion still lived on.

A year later, the rebels captured the spacestation Terok Nor above the planet Bajor. The Alliance's ruler, Regent Worf, led a fleet to retake the station, but the rebels managed to drive the Alliance fleet off. Two years later, the rebels captured Worf himself. When last seen, the rebels appear to be well on their way to achieving victory over the Alliance and winning back their freedom. (DS9 episodes: "Through the Looking Glass", "The Emperor's New Cloak")

Culture[]

Within their Empire, Terran officers were noted to hold a distinct advantage over alien members. A side effect of this approach was alien members within the Terran Empire to surgically alter their appearance before entering the Imperial Starfleet. This was because species reassignment was seen as the quickest path to advancement. During the alien rebellion of the mid-22nd century occurred, Imperial Intelligence began a hunt for these impostors as many of them were believed to be traitors and rebel operatives. (ENT short story: "Age of the Empress")

The species was noted for being paranoid. (ENT short story: "Age of the Empress")

This combined with being generally not capable of telepathy led to what Terrans believed as a preemptive strike where they purged the quadrant of telepathic species as such an ability was an great advantage against their kind. (VOY short story: "The Mirror-Scaled Serpent")

Some Terran schoolteachers were noted to proudly comment of their prehistoric elimination of their competition as demonstrating the valued traits of their species. Cro-Magnon's use of clever nature and capacity for teamwork highlighted their ability at defeating a much more physically superior foe. Thus, Neanderthal's defeat by Terran's ancestors showed a greater hunger for survival and the need for dominance over their more peaceful yet stupid competitors. In fact, the term Neanderthal became an abusive term for Terrans to indicate their scorn for intellectuals, pacifists and other socially backward thinking individuals. (Decipher RPG module: Through a Glass, Darkly)

Terran forms of execution were noted for being excruciatingly painful and was capable of being stretched across several days. (ENT short story: "Age of the Empress")

Terran literature included the Iliad by Homer, the writings of William Shakespeare such as The Merchant of Venice, Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Samuel Clemens, the Br'er Rabbit stories by Joel Chandler Harris and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. (ENT episode: "In a Mirror, Darkly"; TNG novel: Dark Mirror, TNG - Mirror Universe novel: The Worst of Both Worlds; TOS - Mirror Universe short story: "The Greater Good")

By the 23rd century, The Picture of Dorian Gray was banned by the Terran Empire. (TOS - Mirror Universe short story: "The Greater Good") After the Terran Republic was conquered by the Alliance in 2295, many "decadent" forms of Terran art, including Les Misérables, were likewise banned. (TNG - Mirror Universe novel: The Worst of Both Worlds)

Physiology[]

According to Empress Philippa Georgiou, Terrans were sensitive to bright lights unlike humans. (DSC episode: "Vaulting Ambition")

Appendices[]

References[]

External link[]

• Terran (mirror) article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.