Ever sinceStar Trekhit the small screen withThe Original Series,the universe has been steadily growing. Every new TV show and movie contributes to the immense amount of history, lore, andand influential technology. One of the things the franchise has been praised for over the years, is its diverse and very different array of characters, each putting their own distinct mark on the universe. FromKlingons and their complex relationship with their culture, all the wayto Trill symbionts, each one adds detail to the fictional universe. Of all these characters, who is the smartest in the franchise?
The easiest answer is ‘Q is the smartest,’ being a near-omnipotent godlike being. He technically would be classed as the smartest as he literally knows everything (with the one exception ofwhy he is dying inPicardseason 2). However, to explore this question on a more complex level, it seems important to classify intellect as mortal, human individuals. This discounts characters like Q, the Borg collective, or any cybernetic hubs of infinite knowledge. Even much-loved android characters like Data (and his twin brother Lore) are out. This narrows it down to a competition between organic beings within the franchise. When examining characters with this categorization, there are three who stand out among the crowd.
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Reginald Barclay (The Next Generation; Voyager)
This one might seem like a cop-out, as Barclay is only the most intelligent organic being for a short period of time. Nonetheless, he still meets the criteria for fair judgment listed above. Barclay is one of those charactersakin toThe Next Generation’s Wesley CrusherorVoyager’s Neelix. He had his moments in the sun that made audiences really like his character, but he often rubs fans up the wrong way.
Barclay’s story arc is a wobbly one. His character suffers with addiction and social awkwardness, all encased in an unhealthy lack of self-esteem. He was in many ways a breath of fresh air for the franchise, which is normally filled with humans who are at the peak of humanity, confident and smart. While they may have their vices, they were always presented as capable and advanced people. Barclay was not this, but he got a lot of character development through the help of therapy and the ongoing support of his fellow crew members.
This all changes, however, in theTNGepisode “The Nth Degree.” In this episode, Barclay’s brain is invaded by an alien being who ‘reprograms’ him to become the most capable and evolved human being in the galaxy. It works, too. His ability to act, play chess, outsmart everyone in the room, even seduce, were unmatched. For this episode, he truly was the most intelligent human in the entire galaxy, not just in smarts but in all fields. It’s just a shame that it didn’t last long.
Seven of Nine (Voyager; Picard)
Continuing with the theme of altered intelligence, post-Borg collective Seven managed to retain a large amount of information gathered by the massively sprawling Borg hive mind, even after being returned to her human state. To put this into perspective, she not only had access to human based information, but she had in her head the knowledge of hundreds if not thousands of assimilated civilizations. Her vast intellect is shown multiple times thought the franchise, but It’s easy to forget how much information she contains. This is pointed out with a conversation she has with Harry Kim, who says to her:
‘You have the knowledge of 10,000 species in your head […] that probably makes you the most intelligent human being alive.’
To this Seven, in typical fashion, simply replies with‘Probably.’
While she was incredibly smart, she fulfilled the stereotype (something Star Trek does unfortunately often) of many fictional characters with high IQ: being incredibly socially inept (as seen with her ongoing feud with B’elanna). Of course, in her case, it’s understandable, as she spent so long disconnected from her own humanity.
Julian Bashir (Deep Space 9)
Up next is a character who has no issues with social interaction, but one whose intellect is once again a result of interfering with things a human should probably not interfere with. When Bashir was a child, he struggled far more than anyone else his age, struggling to grasp even simple concepts. How did he go from this to one of the smartest beings in the franchise?
The answer is through illegal gene manipulation forced upon him by his morally ambiguous parents. The result is a massively increased IQ, but also far superior hand-eye-coordination and stamina. He was the closest thingStar Trekdepicted to a superhuman. Fans reckon that his intellect even matched that of Seven. The difference was that Bashir had a far greater understanding of social contrasts and overall how to conduct himself around people.
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