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The Cardassians () are a fictional extraterrestrial species in the American
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
franchise '' Star Trek''. They were devised in 1991 for the series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' before being used in the subsequent series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', '' Star Trek: Voyager''. The writers of ''The Next Generation'' introduced the Cardassians for the fourth season episode " The Wounded". The species was devised as new antagonists for the crew of the USS ''Enterprise''-D, ones with whom the protagonists could interact; the other major antagonists of ''The Next Generation'', the
Borg The Borg are an alien group that appear as recurring antagonists in the ''Star Trek'' fictional universe. The Borg are cybernetic organisms (cyborgs) linked in a hive mind called "the Collective". The Borg co-opt the technology and knowledge ...
, lacked personality or individuality, hindering interpersonal drama. In the series, set in the 24th century, the Cardassians are presented as living under a military government controlling an interstellar empire, the Cardassian Union. They are depicted occupying other planets, most notably
Bajor The Bajorans (variously pronounced , , ) are a fictional species in the science-fiction '' Star Trek'' franchise. They are a humanoid extraterrestrial species native to the planet Bajor, who have a long-standing enmity with the Cardassians, o ...
. When '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' was launched in 1993, its writers set its events in the vicinity of Bajor in the aftermath of the Cardassian occupation. The Cardassians remained major antagonists throughout the series, with several
recurring characters A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who frequently appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main foc ...
appearing throughout the series, including
Elim Garak Elim Garak is a fictional character from the television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', in which he is portrayed by Andrew J. Robinson. In the series, Garak is an exiled spy from the Cardassian Union and a former member of the feared ...
( Andrew Robinson) and
Gul Dukat Dukat is a fictional character from the television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. A member of the fictional Cardassian species, he is introduced as the former overseer of the series' namesake space station but goes on to become the lea ...
(
Marc Alaimo Marc Alaimo (born Michael Joseph Alaimo; May 5, 1942) is an American actor, known for his villainous roles. He is best known for his role as recurring villain Gul Dukat in the TV series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. Career Alaimo is a classica ...
).


Design

The design of the Cardassians was undertaken by ''The Next Generation''s costume designer Bob Blackman and makeup designer
Michael Westmore Michael George Westmore I (born March 22, 1938) is an American make-up artist best known for his work in various ''Star Trek'' productions, winning nine Emmy Awards, and is a member of the Westmore family. He won the Academy Award for Make-up in ...
. They sought to give the species a "snakelike" appearance. Cardassians have grayish-white skin, ridges on either side of the neck, and a spoon-shaped structure on the forehead. Westmore was inspired by an
abstract painting Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19t ...
he had seen in a
Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east–west thoroughfares in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Ventura Boulevard is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley as it was originally a part o ...
store of a wide-shouldered woman with what looked like a spoon on her forehead. Rick Sternbach designed the Cardassian spaceship in "The Wounded". He initially proposed a pod-shaped vessel, before replacing it with a design resembling a
scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always en ...
, then one based on the
ankh Progressive ankylosis protein homolog (ANK ilosis H omolog) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''ANKH'' gene. This gene encodes a multipass transmembrane protein that is expressed in joints and other tissues and controls pyrophosphat ...
symbol. Sternbach later noted that "The ''Galor'' class started with an Egyptian ankh, given how he Cardassianswere like the Pharaohs to the Bajoran slaves, but you don't really see the basic shape unless you look straight down on the vessel. The little disruptor pyramids were a bit more obvious, as were the 'temple' type structures on the ship's backbone, and the sandy yellow shades." Ed Miarecki and Tom Hudson built the model used in "The Wounded" from Sternbach's design. In the episode, Cardassian weapons fired a pink discharge, changed to amber in later episodes. Production designer
Herman Zimmerman Herman F. Zimmerman (born 19 April 1935) is an art director and production designer. He is probably best known for his work on ''Star Trek''. Career Zimmerman initially aspired to be an actor and enrolled at Northwestern University to study ac ...
worked on the Cardassian architecture depicted on the shows. His concept had some
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
influence, and was based on geometric patterns. Some motifs were ellipses, angles rather than straight lines, and groups of three.


Depiction in the shows


''Star Trek: The Next Generation''


"The Wounded": 1991

The Cardassians were invented by the writers of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' for the show's fourth season episode " The Wounded", written by Stuart Charno, Sara Charno, and Cy Chermak, with teleplay by
Jeri Taylor Jeri Taylor (born June 30, 1938) is a television scriptwriter and producer, who wrote many episodes of the '' Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager'' series. Early life She is an alumna of Indiana University, where she was a me ...
. It was first screened in January 1991. The script related that the Cardassian Union and the
United Federation of Planets In the fictional universe of ''Star Trek'' the United Federation of Planets (UFP) is the interstellar government with which, as part of its space force Starfleet, most of the characters and starships of the franchise are affiliated. Commonly refe ...
—of which Earth was a part—were involved in skirmishes for many years but had signed a peace treaty. It begins with the revelation that the USS ''Phoenix'', a renegade Federation starship under the command of Captain Benjamin Maxwell (
Bob Gunton Robert Patrick Gunton Jr. (born November 15, 1945) is an American character actor of stage and screen. He is known for playing strict authoritarian characters, including Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison drama '' The Shawshank Redemption'' ...
), has begun attacking Cardassian targets, as Maxwell is convinced the Cardassians are rearming for war against the Federation. The USS ''Enterprise''-D, captained by Jean-Luc Picard (
Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors ...
), is sent to stop the ''Phoenix'', with the Cardassian Gul Macet (
Marc Alaimo Marc Alaimo (born Michael Joseph Alaimo; May 5, 1942) is an American actor, known for his villainous roles. He is best known for his role as recurring villain Gul Dukat in the TV series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. Career Alaimo is a classica ...
) coming aboard the ''Enterprise'' to assist. Alaimo's appearance as Gul Macet in "The Wounded" made him the second actor, after Mark Lenard, to play three separate alien species in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. In earlier episodes he portrayed an Antican (" Lonely Among Us") and a Romulan (" The Neutral Zone"). He later portrayed a human in ''The Next Generation'' episode "
Time's Arrow Time's Arrow may refer to: * "Time's Arrow" (short story), a 1950 short story by Arthur C. Clarke * ''Time's Arrow'' (novel), a 1991 novel by Martin Amis * "Time's Arrow" (''Star Trek: The Next Generation''), a 1992 two-part episode of ''Star Trek: ...
" before gaining a recurring role as the Cardassian Gul Dukat in ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. For this episode, several Cardassians were depicted wearing helmets, something never again done in the franchise; Blackman and Westmore's designs also gave Gul Macet facial hair, the only time a Cardassian was shown this way.


Later episodes: 1991–1994

In the fifth season episode " Ensign Ro", written by
Rick Berman Richard Keith Berman (born December 25, 1945) is an American television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as the executive producer of several of the '' Star Trek'' television series: '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ...
and
Michael Piller Michael Piller (May 30, 1948 – November 1, 2005) was an American television scriptwriter and producer, who was best known for his contributions to the ''Star Trek'' franchise. Early life and career Piller was born to a Jewish family in Po ...
and first screened in October 1991, the
Bajoran The Bajorans (variously pronounced , , ) are a fictional species in the science-fiction '' Star Trek'' franchise. They are a humanoid extraterrestrial species native to the planet Bajor, who have a long-standing enmity with the Cardassians, o ...
species was introduced. It explained that the Cardassians had annexed the Bajoran homeworld, Bajor, 40 years earlier, with many Bajorans fleeing their planet as refugees and often fighting back with militant tactics. "Ensign Ro" was the first episode where Cardassian warships were introduced as "Galor class" vessels. Although it was not intended at the time, the situation between the Cardassians and Bajorans laid the groundwork for the plot of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. The Cardassians were central to the two-part sixth season episode "
Chain of Command A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. It can be viewed as part of a power structure, in which it is usually seen as the most vulnerable and also the most powerful part. Milit ...
", written by Frank Abatemarco and screened in December 1992. In them, the Federation has gained intelligence that the Cardassians are developing a genetically engineered virus on an uninhabited planet. Picard is sent to infiltrate and destroy the weapon but is apprehended and tortured by the Cardassian Gul Madred (
David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to: Sports * Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor * David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier * David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer Oth ...
). "Chain of Command Part I" included the first mentions that the Cardassians' homeworld was called "Cardassia", and the "Cardassian Union" as the name of their interstellar state (previously mentioned only as the "Cardassian Empire"). "Chain of Command PartI" also introduced the news that the Cardassians had withdrawn from Bajor, setting the stage for the events of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', which began airing a month later. The show's designers introduced the Cardassians' hand weapon in this episode, with Sternbach describing it as like a "copper-colored banana". Part Two of "Chain of Command" provided a brief history of the Cardassians and their military government. The Cardassians also appeared in the sixth season episode " The Chase", written by Joe Menosky and Ronald D. Moore and screened in April 1993, where it is revealed that humans and Cardassians—as well as the
Klingon The Klingons ( ; Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the original ''Star Trek'' (''TOS'') series, Klingons were swarthy humanoids c ...
s and
Romulan The Romulans () are an extraterrestrial race in the American science fiction franchise '' Star Trek''. They first appeared in the series '' Star Trek'' (1966–1969). They have appeared in most subsequent ''Star Trek'' releases, including '' The ...
s—are all descended from an ancient species who seeded many planets with life. In the seventh season episode "
Journey's End ''Journey's End'' is a 1928 dramatic play by English playwright R. C. Sherriff, set in the trenches near Saint-Quentin, Aisne, towards the end of the First World War. The story plays out in the officers' dugout of a British Army infantry c ...
", written by Ronald D. Moore, it is explained that the treaty between the Federation and the Cardassians left various Federation planets in Cardassian territory, and that many of these Federation colonists refused to leave. Their presence and struggle for independence from Cardassian rule was a recurring theme in both ''Deep Space Nine'' and ''Voyager''. "Journey's End" was the first time Cardassian communicators were shown, affixed to the actors' wrists. The conflict between the Cardassians and the rebel colonists, known as the Maquis, was again used as the basis for the series' penultimate episode, "
Preemptive Strike A preemptive war is a war that is commenced in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived imminent offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an impending (allegedly unavoidable) war ''shortly before'' that attack materializes. It ...
", written by Naren Shankar and René Echevarria and directed by Stewart.


''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''

Launching the new series, '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', was the pilot episode "
Emissary Emissary may refer to: * Ambassador * Apostle (disambiguation) * Diplomat * ''Emissaries'' (album), a 2006 album by black metal group Melechesh * Emissary (hydraulics), channel by which an outlet is formed to carry off any stagnant body of wate ...
", written by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. For this episode, the writers focused in on the aftermath of the Cardassian departure from Bajor. The premise of the series revolves around the Federation taking control of Deep Space Nine, a Cardassian-built space station orbiting Bajor, at the request of the Bajoran provisional government. In "Emissary", the station's new
Starfleet Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduc ...
commander,
Benjamin Sisko Benjamin Lafayette Sisko is a fictional character in the '' Star Trek'' franchise portrayed by Avery Brooks. He first appeared in the television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (''DS9'') and became prominent on the TV show in the United ...
(
Avery Brooks Avery Franklin Brooks (born October 2, 1948) is an American actor, director, singer, narrator and educator. He is best known for his television roles as Captain Benjamin Sisko on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', as Hawk on '' Spenser: For Hire'' ...
) is visited by the Cardassian who formerly served as prefect of Bajor, Gul Dukat (Alaimo). Alaimo had played a different Cardassian character in ''The Next Generation''; he was brought in to replace the actor formerly cast as Dukat, whose performance had dissatisfied the creative team. Ira Behr recalled that "It was either Mike Piller or Rick Berman who finally said, 'Let's get Marc Alaimo,' who had done a bunch of ''TNG'' episodes for them in the past. Marc came in and, of course, he ''was'' Gul Dukat." ''Deep Space Nine'' would go on to introduce several more Cardassians as recurring characters, including the exiled spy-turned-tailor
Elim Garak Elim Garak is a fictional character from the television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', in which he is portrayed by Andrew J. Robinson. In the series, Garak is an exiled spy from the Cardassian Union and a former member of the feared ...
, whose mysterious past and moral ambiguity made him one of the franchise's most popular recurring characters. Late in the first season, the show's creative team included another Cardassian-themed episode, " Duet". Written by Lisa Rich and Jeanne Carrigan-Fauci as a bottle episode, it featured the arrest of a Cardassian believed to be guilty of war crimes against Bajor, Aamin Marritza (
Harris Yulin Harris Yulin (born November 5, 1937) is an American actor who has appeared in over a hundred film and television series roles, such as '' Scarface'' (1983), ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), '' Clear and Present Danger'' (1994), '' Looking for Richard' ...
), and the relationship he developed with the station's Bajoran second-in-command,
Kira Nerys Kira Nerys is a fictional character in the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). She was played by actress Nana Visitor. The character is from the fictional planet Bajor, a world which has rec ...
(
Nana Visitor Nana Tucker ( ; born July 26, 1957), known professionally as Nana Visitor, is an American actress, best known for playing Kira Nerys in the television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' and Jean Ritter in the television series ''Wildfire''. ...
). The lengthy speech given to Marritza was an early example of what the writers came to call "Cardassian monologues". Behr said, "Cardassians love to speak. Garak loves to speak, Enabran Tain loves to speak. Dukat loves to speak—very slowly—and certainly Marritza loves to speak." Over the course of ''Deep Space Nine'', the Cardassians' internal politics and their relationships with the Federation and Bajor go through many upheavals. In early seasons, the Cardassians maintain a shaky alliance with the Federation, which comes to their defense against attacks from the Maquis and the Klingons. An ill-advised attack by the Obsidian Order, the Cardassian intelligence agency, against the alien empire known as the
Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 192 ...
cripples the power of the Cardassian military dictatorship and allows a civilian government to take control. Later in the series, Dukat negotiates Cardassia's membership in the Dominion in exchange for his own appointment as ruler of Cardassia, leading to a war against the Federation. When Dominion rule becomes too oppressive for the Cardassians, Dukat's successor Damar leads a resistance movement against the Dominion with the support of the Federation and Bajorans, restoring Cardassia's independence.


Cardassian history

Within the ''Star Trek'' fictional universe, the Cardassians were once a "peaceful people with a rich spiritual life".George A. Gonzalez, ''Star Trek and the Politics of Globalism'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) However, during this period they also suffered from
disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
and
famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...
.
Nationalistic Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: T ...
fervour grew and a military dictatorship was established, under which the citizens became prosperous. The Obsidian Order, an
intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives. Means of informa ...
Terry J. Erdmann with Paula M. Block, ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion'' (New York:
Pocket Books Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books. History Pocket Books produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing ...
, 2000)
and
internal security Internal security is the act of keeping peace within the borders of a sovereign state or other self-governing territories, generally by upholding the national law and defending against internal security threats. Responsibility for internal secu ...
police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
force, kept the population under surveillance.Michael Okuda, Denise Okuda, Debbie Mirek, ''The Star Trek Encyclopedia'' (New York:
Pocket Books Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books. History Pocket Books produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing ...
, 1999)
The Cardassians became
imperialistic Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic ...
, waging war with other races and occupying their territory to exploit resources. The Cardassian
empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
is known as the Cardassian Union.Alex Burston-Chorowicz, 'Engage!: Captain Picard, Federationism and U.S. Foreign Policy in the Emerging Post-Cold War World' in Peter W. Lee (ed.), ''Exploring Picard's Galaxy'' (McFarland and Company, 2018)


Occupation of Bajor

In 2328, the Cardassians invaded
Bajor The Bajorans (variously pronounced , , ) are a fictional species in the science-fiction '' Star Trek'' franchise. They are a humanoid extraterrestrial species native to the planet Bajor, who have a long-standing enmity with the Cardassians, o ...
, occupying it for fifty years, during which time they forced many Bajorans into
slave labor Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, using them in their various
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...
operations. This forced many Bajorans to flee and live in refugee camps away from Cardassian domination, while other Bajorans became involved in the
resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...
, engaged in guerrilla warfare organising
terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
attacks against Cardassian targets. The
Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...
would not intervene in the situation, due to Prime Directive considerations. In 2369, the Bajoran resistance forced the Cardassians off Bajor, after which the Bajoran
Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...
invited the
United Federation of Planets In the fictional universe of ''Star Trek'' the United Federation of Planets (UFP) is the interstellar government with which, as part of its space force Starfleet, most of the characters and starships of the franchise are affiliated. Commonly refe ...
to set up base on the former Cardassian mining station of Terok Nor, renaming it Deep Space Nine.


Dominion War

During the Dominion War, the Cardassian Union joined the
Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 192 ...
in opposition to the Federation alliance, taking a main role below the Dominion's rulers, the
Founders Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...
. They were supplanted by the
Breen Confederacy The Breen are a fictional extraterrestrial species featured in the '' Star Trek'' science fiction franchise. They were first mentioned in " The Loss", a fourth-season episode of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' which first aired in 1990. Refer ...
and, after some of their territory was promised to the Breen, the Cardassians rebelled against the Dominion, and were instrumental in defeating the Dominion and ending the war. Ironically, it was a
Bajoran The Bajorans (variously pronounced , , ) are a fictional species in the science-fiction '' Star Trek'' franchise. They are a humanoid extraterrestrial species native to the planet Bajor, who have a long-standing enmity with the Cardassians, o ...
, Colonel
Kira Nerys Kira Nerys is a fictional character in the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). She was played by actress Nana Visitor. The character is from the fictional planet Bajor, a world which has rec ...
of the Bajoran Militia, who trained the Cardassians in guerrilla warfare to defeat their own occupiers.


Reception

In 2017, ''
Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a bi-annual magazine. History ''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ...
'' ranked Cardassians the 4th best aliens of the ''Star Trek'' franchise, behind the Borg but ahead of the Bajorans. Some of the top-rated television episodes featuring Cardassians in ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' include "Improbable Cause", which features an intriguing story centered on Garak, and also "Duet".


In cosmology

In
cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...
, the concept "Cardassian expansion" is a term used for a modification to the
Friedmann equations The Friedmann equations are a set of equations in physical cosmology that govern the expansion of space in homogeneous and isotropic models of the universe within the context of general relativity. They were first derived by Alexander Friedmann ...
. It is named after the fictional ''Star Trek'' race by the original authors,
Katherine Freese Katherine Freese (born 8 February 1957) is a theoretical astrophysicist. She is currently a professor of physics at the University of Texas at Austin, where she holds the Jeff and Gail Kodosky Endowed Chair in Physics. She is known for her work ...
and Matthew Lewis. In their 2002 paper (which has been cited more than 330 times ), a footnote on the "Cardassian term" states: "2 The name Cardassian refers to a humanoid race in ''Star Trek'' whose goal is to take over the universe, i.e., accelerated expansion. This race looks foreign to us and yet is made entirely of matter."


See also

* ''
The Star Trek Encyclopedia ''The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future'' is a 1994 encyclopedia of in-universe information from the '' Star Trek'' television series and films. It was written by Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda, who were production staff o ...
''


References


Footnotes


Bibliography

* *


External links

{{Authority control Star Trek species Fictional reptilians Fictional elements introduced in 1991 de:Völker und Gruppierungen im Star-Trek-Universum#Cardassianer