In the

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

al ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'' universe, the Rules of Acquisition are a collection of sacred business proverbs of the ultra-

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

race known as the Ferengi. The first mention of rules in the ''Star Trek'' universe was in "

The Nagus "The Nagus" is the 11th episode of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures on Deep Space Nine, a space station located adjacent to a stable wormho ...

", an episode of the TV series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (Season 1, Episode 10). In a later ''Deep Space Nine'' episode, " The Maquis: Part 1", Sakonna (a

Vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...

) asks

Quark A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. All commonly o ...

(a Ferengi) to explain what a Rule of Acquisition is. He states, "Every Ferengi business transaction is governed by 285 Rules of Acquisition to ensure a fair and honest deal for all parties concerned... well most of them anyway."

Background

The first Rule was made by Gint, the first Grand Nagus of the

Ferengi Alliance The Ferengi () are a fictional extraterrestrial species in the American science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. They were devised in 1987 for the series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', played a prominent role in the following series ''Sta ...

, a role with political, economic, and even quasi-religious duties. The Rules were said to be

divinely inspired Divine inspiration is the concept of a supernatural force, typically a deity, causing a person or people to experience a Creativity, creative desire. It has been a commonly reported aspect of many religions, for thousands of years. Divine inspirati ...

and sacred (thus furthering the original marketing ploy.) Although it has been stated within ''Star Trek'' that there are 285 Rules, not all of them have been stated in

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

. Most of the Rules were written by

Ira Steven Behr Ira Steven Behr (born October 23, 1953) is an American screenwriter and television producer, best known for his work on '' Star Trek'', especially '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', on which he served as showrunner and executive producer. He was ...

, a writer for ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', in a book ''The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition'' (). The book's cover credits authorship as being "By Quark as told to Ira Steven Behr." Additional rules were published in ''Legends of the Ferengi'' () by Behr and

Robert Hewitt Wolfe Robert Hewitt Wolfe (born 1964 in Waterbury, Connecticut) is an American television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as a writer on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' and for developing and producing the series ''Gene Rodden ...

, another writer for ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' when Behr was the

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

of the series. The '' Star Trek: Voyager'' episode "

False Profits "False Profits" is the 47th episode of '' Star Trek: Voyager'', the fifth episode of the third season. This is a science fiction television episode of the Star Trek franchise, that aired on UPN on October 2, 1996. The episode functions as a seq ...

" mentions a book containing all of the Rules:

References

External links

* - rules as outlined in the series canon. * - rules including those found in related novels and other non-canon sources. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rules Of Acquisition Codes of conduct Ferengi Fictional books Fictional laws Star Trek terminology