Iotian

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Iotians were a humanoid race native to planet Sigma Iotia II, they were notable for their impressive ability to quickly learn and imitate.

Humans made first contact with Sigma Iotia II in the mid-22nd century when the planet was visited by the starship Horizon. (TOS episode: "A Piece of the Action")

The original episode specifies only that a ship named Horizon made contact with the Iotians, later sources such as the Star Trek Encyclopedia and The Worlds of the Federation then suggested it was this starship was the Daedalus-class USS Horizon, in 2268. More recently the ENT novel: Kobayashi Maru specified it was in fact the cargo ship ECS Horizon who made contact with the Iotians, in 2156.

The crew of the Horizon were impressed by how quickly the Iotians learned English, and noted their imitative nature. Nora Melchoir speculated that if they returned twenty years later, they might find the Iotians trying to build J class freighters. Melchoir's jest turned out to be not far from the truth; the Horizon left behind a 20th century book entitled Chicago Mobs of the Twenties, which had a profound impact on Iotian society. The Iotians, who were at the time just mastering steam technology, quickly adopted the book as something of a cultural bible and reshaped their society to reflect the gang culture it portrayed. A burst of technological growth inspired by the book saw the development of automobiles, radio and projectile weapons; the Iotians even adopted English as their official language. (ENT novel: Kobayashi Maru; ST reference: The Worlds of the Federation; TOS episode: "A Piece of the Action")

In 2267 the USS Enterprise visited Sigma Iotia II and discovered the society based on Earth's organized crime syndicates in the 1920s caused by the Horizon' contamination. Captain James T. Kirk attempted to undo some of the damage by negotiating with the gang bosses to create a new unified government, overseen by the Federation, which would take a cut of the gang's profits. (TOS episode: "A Piece of the Action")

By the time the next starship visited Iotia the Iotians had re-invented themselves once again, inspired by a Starfleet communicator that was left behind the Iotians built a Federation starbase and donned Starfleet uniforms. (ST reference: The Worlds of the Federation)

Following Kirk's visit, the Federation Council resolved to devote significant resources to guiding Iotian society, including large teams of cultural experts. (SCE eBook: Fables of the Prime Directive)

Iotia eventually became a Federation Protectorate. In 2271 the Iotians sent delegates to the Federation Council and circa 2366 Iotia had become a full Federation member world. (ST reference: The Worlds of the Federation; TOS novel: The Lost Years; SCE eBook: Fables of the Prime Directive)

By the mid-24th century, Iotians were serving in Starfleet. (NF short story: "All That Glisters..."; SCE eBook: The Demon, Book One)

[edit] Appendices

[edit] Background

The TOS novel: The Lost Years shows the Iotians having a seat on the Federation Council in 2271, while the later SCE eBook: Fables of the Prime Directive established them as attaining membership later, in 2366.

[edit] External link

• Iotian article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.