A dark Star Trek fan theory has been confirmed by Q, the franchise’s omnipotent trickster figure. Across its 56-year history, Star Trek has depicted the United Federation of Planets, the political body behind Starfleet, as a progressive utopian society, one free of want. Over the years, some Star Trek fans have speculated that living in such a society leads to cultural stagnation and the consistent need for new experiences–and Q has seemingly confirmed this in the five-issue Star Trek: The Q Conflict, published in 2019 by IDW Publishing.

Starfleet is the peacekeeping and exploratory arm of the United Federation of Planets, a 150-member strong (as of the 24th century) political entity that functions as the de facto good guys of the Star Trek franchise. With its charter to “boldly go where no one has gone before,” Starfleet is charged to seek “out new lifeforms and new civilizations.” Yet what motivates these expansionist impulses has been the topic of debate among Star Trek fans–with some speculating the Federation is a culturally stagnant society and its constant need for exploration is driven by a need for new experiences. These fans have pointed out that the Federation seems to have no culture of its own; indeed, the franchise’s characters rarely interact with the culture of their day, opting instead for classical music and holodeck versions of 17th-century Earth novels. In Star Trek: The Q Conflict, Q, Star Trek’s resident trickster figure, seems to confirm this theory–or at least give it some credence.

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Star Trek: The Q Conflict, written by Scott and David Tipton, and illustrated by David Messina, Elisabetta D’Amico, Carola Borelli, Silivia Califano and Giorgio Spalletta, saw Q and a host of other god-like beings from across the franchise, including Trelane, the Metrons and the Organians, wage a war that threatened all reality. Q, sensing a better way to solve the conflict, convinced the parties involved to use proxy teams, composed of various crews from across Star Trek history. Once the conflict is settled, and reality restored, Q and Picard discuss what just happened. Q reveals his actions were motivated by boredom, saying that when one “can do everything, you’ll do anything to make things interesting.” Q goes on to say he will take “any chance to add some adventure to the meaninglessness of eternity.” Q then admonishes Picard, telling him it is a lesson even lesser-evolved beings would “do well to consider.”

Q seems to confirm the Federation is culturally stagnant

The United Federation of Planets has been depicted as a utopia, where everyone’s needs are taken care of and there is no such thing as want. Federation members have access to some truly fantastic technology, including replicators–devices that use Stark Trek's life-creating transporter technology to create literally any food or drink the user desires. Such a society seems to be ideal, and indeed it has been portrayed as such across many of the shows; however, some fans have speculated that post-scarcity utopias such as the Federation have culturally stagnated, and that Starfleet’s mission of “seeking out new life and new civilizations” is to actually provide stimulation to an otherwise bored society. Proponents of this theory point to a lack of 23/24th century “pop culture–that is, no one listens to music contemporary to that time, instead listening to classical music and recreating Shakespeare on the Holodeck, all works of art that were already centuries old at the time of the show’s production.

It is worth noting that newer entries into the franchise, including Picard and Lower Decks, have dealt with this topic as well, muddying the waters even further. Q’s admonishment to Picard is the closest anyone has come to confirming this dark Star Trek fan theory.