NGC 6281, also referred to as the NGC 6281 entity, is a star cluster located approximately 1500 light-years from Earth. The cluster is also the largest cosmozoan ever discovered, spanning several light-years. The cluster's solar systems are populated almost exclusively with carbon planets. An unusual combination of other elements present in the planets' diamond mantles allowed them to act as crude semiconductors, turning the entire cluster into a natural computer. The sheer amount of computing ability provided by the cluster gives the entity the ability to create quantum splistream vortices accurate enough to deposit a single person on a planet 2000 light-years away without any sort of spacesuit or ship. It can also remove any inorganic impurities from a person, including both Borg nanoprobes and metals built up naturally in the body.

The entity can also interact with visitors by creating constructs via particle synthesis. The constructs have been observed to range in size from a typical humanoid to larger than a Sovereign class starship. However, the cluster is incapable of communicating directly with humanoids, even in a disjointed form such as the Prophets, but some telepaths can form a basic understanding with the cluster, and with practice, can communicate with it. (TNG novel: Greater Than the Sum)