A look at the Talosian species and their powers in Star Trek: The Original Series 

Star Trek universe has introduced the trekkies to several species and entities through their space adventures. One such species is Talosians. Belonging to the planet Talos IV, the Talosians are an advanced and telepathic species.

First introduced in the unaired pilot episode ‘The Cage’ in the Star Trek: The Original Series, the species initially comes across as arrogant and villainous, but we learn that their motives are driven from their lack of understanding of the human world. Their ability to create powerful illusions makes them one of the more compelling species in the Star Trek universe.

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Who are Talosians and what are their powers?

Talosians are a race of humanoids with bulbous heads who live underground on the planet Talos IV. They possess the ability to create brilliant illusions to morph the reality for anyone.

In Star Trek history, Talosians were once a warp-capable, technologically advanced species, but after a nuclear war, their planet was left in ruins with a dwindling population. The survivors of the Holocaust managed to use their mental powers to create illusions and live through it. They were forced to reside underground on their once illustrious planet.

Talosians would capture space travelers so they could force them to take part in their grand illusions. Due to their extraordinary powers, Starfleet had put a ban on visits to Talos IV.

As per The Making of Star Trek, Talosians were originally slated to be crab-like species with superior intelligence and digital capabilities. But when the creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry, realized that it would be difficult to build the envisioned creatures, the aliens were made to appear as humanoid.

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Talosians in The Original Series

In the first pilot developed for Star Trek: The Original Series, Captain Christopher Pike (played by Jeffrey Hunter) and his crew on board the USS Enterprise land on the planet Talos IV after they receive a distress call. On the planet, they find survivors of the SS Columbia, a vessel that had been reported missing for almost 18 years. Captain Pike gets mesmerized by one of the survivors, a woman called Vina (played by Susan Oliver).

Unsuspectingly, Captain Pike falls into the illusion trap set by the Talosians who had also sent the distress signal. The survivors were just illusions created by Talosians to lure the crew of the USS Enterprise. It is revealed that the Talosians wanted the humans to mate in order to create a race of slaves to save their dying civilization.

Captain Pike manages to overpower them and finds a way to escape. Meanwhile, Talosians had accessed the records on board USS Enterprise and learned that humans need freedom to flourish.

When Captain Pike asks Vina to leave with him, she says she can’t. It is revealed that she was the sole survivor of the SS Columbia crash on the planet and was severely injured. Though the Talosians healed her, they did not understand the human anatomy, leaving her permanently disfigured. Vina is living a life through her illusions, where she is young, healthy, and beautiful, unlike the reality.

Upon understanding the human mind better through Captain Pike, the Talosians let Vina have an illusion of the captain as a companion so she would be able to live her remaining days on the planet peacefully.

Later, in the episodes The Menagerie Part I and II, Talosians work with Mr. Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy) to bring now severely injured and immobile Captain Pike to Talos IV. The Talosians help create an illusion for him so he can live out his remaining days on the planet with Vina.

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Talosians in other Star Trek Ventures

In the Season 2, Episode 8, titled ‘If Memory Serves,’ in Star Trek: Discovery, Mr. Spock comes across an entity called Red Angel and starts showing symptoms of mental distortion. In the state, he was able to recall coordinates to Talos IV backwards. Michael Burnham (played by Sonequa Martin-Green) and Mr. Spock (played by Ethan Peck) travel to the planet, where the Talosians agree to care for Mr. Spock. They also later help them escape.

Talosians also find mentions in the Star Trek: Defiant issue 10. The comic is written by Christopher Cantwell and drawn by Mike Feehan and Pow Rodrix. We learn that Starfleet now allows cautious and limited contact with the Talosians.

Star Trek: The Original Series was created by Gene Roddenberry. The series aired on NBC from 1966 to 1969. After the show got cancelled due to low viewership, the series gained global popularity. The Star Trek universe today has several projects under its umbrella, including movies, spinoff shows, comics, and animated series.

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