Doctor Agnes P. Jurati was a female Human cyberneticist who worked at the Daystrom Institute during the late 24th century. (PIC: "Remembrance")
After an encounter with the defeated Borg Queen of an alternate timeline, a trip into the past, and her own assimilation, Jurati returned four hundred years later, and reunited with her friends, now as the Queen of a small Borg Cooperative. (PIC: "Farewell")
Daystrom Institute career[]
Jurati was recruited out of Starfleet by Bruce Maddox to aid in his android research, and characterized their work as "coming close" to being able to create an advanced android similar to Data. However, after the banning of synthetic lifeforms following the Attack on Mars, as well as the disappearance of Maddox, much of her research was stalled and ground to a halt.
She was approached by retired Admiral Jean-Luc Picard at the Institute's Division of Advanced Synthetic Research in 2399, and they discussed the possibilities of creating a new, flesh-and-blood android comparable with previous Soong-types via fractal neuronic cloning. (PIC: "Remembrance")
After Picard related his experiences with Dahj Asha to Jurati, she researched Dahj, who had recently been offered a fellowship at the Daystrom institute. Jurati told Picard that Dahj's identity, including records of education on Regulus, appeared to have been fabricated only three years prior. (PIC: "Maps and Legends")
Joining Picard[]
Shortly after her second meeting with Picard, Jurati received a visit from Commodore Oh, the head of Starfleet Security. Oh questioned Jurati about the latter's communications with the retired Admiral, and told her that Picard was likely to go looking for Bruce Maddox and Dahj's twin sister Soji. Via mind meld, Oh showed Jurati the Admonition, leading her to believe it was a record of a long-dead civilization that was destroyed after they built sentient synths. With this, Oh convinced Jurati that the creation of sentient synths would once again bring about the end of all organic life in the Galaxy, and Jurati needed to "atone" for her role in developing these synths. Oh ordered Jurati to join Picard on his mission, and to kill Maddox and Soji. Oh also placed a psychic block to prevent Jurati from revealing exactly what she saw. Finally, Oh gave Jurati a viridium tracker. (PIC: "Nepenthe", "Broken Pieces")
Jurati subsequently appeared at Château Picard in the midst of an attack by Romulan assassins. Jurati shot one of the assassins, then insisted on joining Picard on La Sirena for his mission. She found the first part of the journey "boring", and kept herself entertained with academic journals and flirting with Cristobal Rios, the captain of La Sirena. (PIC: "The End is the Beginning", "Absolute Candor")
At Freecloud, Jurati manned the transporter while the others rescued Maddox from Bjayzl. However, after Maddox was in La Sirena's sickbay, she turned off the hematic microrepair unit keeping him alive. When the ship's EMH, Emil, tried to intervene, Jurati deactivated him. (PIC: "Stardust City Rag")
Jurati was able to convince the others that Maddox died of the injuries Bjayzl and her cronies had inflicted, but she grew increasingly distressed. Needing a distraction and some company en route to The Artifact, Jurati had an intimate encounter with Captain Cristóbal Rios. (PIC: "The Impossible Box")
After La Sirena departed the Artifact, Rios discovered that they were being followed by Narek in a Romulan Snakehead. Jurati began to realize that Commodore Oh must have been working with the Romulans and the scout ship was following them because of her. Rios told her he suspected Raffi was the one being tracked, and Jurati could not bring herself to tell him about her situation before he was called away. Left alone in sickbay, Jurati injected herself with noranium hydride hoping it would neutralize the viridium tracker in her bloodstream, though this also sent her into a coma. (PIC: "Nepenthe")
Emil saved Jurati's life, and he and Raffi informed Picard about their suspicion that Jurati had killed Maddox. Upon waking up, Jurati was confronted by Picard, who declared she should turn herself in for the murder of Maddox once they reached Deep Space 12. Jurati agreed and when prompted, told Picard about Oh forcing the Admonition on her and giving her the tracker and a directive to kill Maddox and Soji to prevent a repetition of the apocalypse Oh had seen in her vision. However, Jurati's resolve to go through with that mission had already been weakening, and once she met Soji in person, she decided that she would no longer carry out Oh's orders. Afterwards, Jurati gathered with the others to pool their knowledge of the situation and uncover the mystery surrounding Oh, the Zhat Vash, and the Attack on Mars. (PIC: "Broken Pieces")
Jurati traveled to Coppelius with the rest of the crew on La Sirena, though she thought they were still headed for DS12. When she arrived on the bridge with her bag packed, ready to turn herself in, she was delighted to find they were about to meet Soji's people instead. After the ship was drained of power by one of the orchids making up the planet's orbital defense and crash-landed on the surface, Jurati took care of Picard, who had fallen unconscious. Scanning him, she found the abnormality in his brain that meant he only had a short time left to live, prompting Picard to admit as much to the others.
Jurati joined the rest of the crew as they traveled first to the crashed Artifact, which Seven of Nine had piloted to Coppelius, and then to Coppelius Station. There, she met Dr. Altan Soong, son of Noonien Soong, and the synths he had created together with Bruce Maddox. They warned the synths they were about to be attacked by Oh's Romulan fleet. Jurati shared the Admonition with Sutra, the leader of the synths, who realized it was a message only a synthetic mind could decipher. While Rios and Raffi Musiker headed back to La Sirena to repair the ship, Jurati stayed behind with Picard, saying she wanted to help Soong finish some of Maddox's work.
When Soong and Sutra told their people that they were going to contact the extra-galactic Alliance of synthetic life who had created the Admonition, which in effect would mean the end of all organic life in the galaxy, Jurati convinced them she was on their side. While Sutra ordered for Picard to be put under house arrest, she allowed Jurati to continue working, ostensibly to help Soong transfer his mind into an artificial body, a golem, thus allowing him to be spared from the impending genocide. (PIC: "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1")
Instead of helping Soong, however, Jurati found a way to occupy him and broke out Picard. Together, they headed back to La Sirena, looking for the others, but they found the ship deserted. Picard and Jurati discussed their next steps and decided they needed to stall the Romulan fleet until Starfleet coul catch up with them. Picard also wanted to set an example to the synths by protecting them, so they would reconsider their plan to exterminate all organic life in the galaxy. Picard managed to fly La Sirena into orbit, just as the Romulan fleet arrived, and Agnes used the fundamental field replicator to execute a version of the Picard Maneuver, projecting dozens of images of La Sirena into space as decoys. After Starfleet arrived and Picard managed to convince Soji to power down the beacon, proving she was not the threat the Romulans believed her to be, the standoff was resolved and the Romulan Fleet left, escorted by Starfleet.
Picard collapsed, and Soji beamed him and Jurati down to the surface, where Picard died of his neurological disease. Just before he passed away, however, Jurati, working with Soong and Soji, was able to transfer Picard's consciousness into the golem originally built for Soong himself. When Picard, Rios, and the crew they assembled along the way left Coppelius some time later aboard La Sirena, Jurati was with them, sharing a kiss with Rios on the bridge. (PIC: "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2")
Joining the Stargazer crew[]
By the year 2401, two years after the Coppelius incident, Jurati had been acquitted of the murder of Dr. Maddox due to "alien-induced temporary insanity". Her romantic relationship with Rios had also ended, but the two remained friendly, despite some awkwardness.
While on Raritan IV with Soji, Jurati was summoned by Rios, now captain of the USS Stargazer, for assistance in deciphering an unknown signal coming from a spatial anomaly. After she decoded the signal, it was revealed that it was an urgent message requesting Picard's presence and an appeal to join the Federation. When Picard arrived, a Borg vessel emerged from the anomaly and a Borg Queen beamed onto the bridge of the Stargazer and began to assimilate the ship. In order to prevent the ship from falling into the hands of the Borg, Picard initiated a self-destruct sequence, which moments later destroyed the vessel and seemingly everyone onboard. (PIC: "The Star Gazer")
Miraculously, after the explosion, Jurati woke up in a laboratory on Earth being greeted by a talking virtual pet cat. Unbeknownst to her, Q had created an alternate timeline and replaced the alternate version of Jurati with the Jurati from the prime timeline as part of his ongoing trial of Humanity.
With the assistance of that timeline's Borg Queen, Jurati joined Picard and the others as the time traveled into the past aboard the CSS La Sirena.
After arriving in the early 21st century, Jurati was assimilated by the Borg Queen, as she attempted to use Jurati to gain a 400 year advantage on the galaxy. (PIC: "Fly Me to the Moon", "Two of One", "Monsters")
Jurati and the Borg Queen would eventually agree to share Jurati's body and create a new Borg Collective that would not forcefully assimilate people and would embrace the distinctiveness and individuality of its members. Now together as one, she left Earth aboard the CSS La Sirena and traveled to the Delta Quadrant. (PIC: "Hide and Seek")
Queen of the Borg[]
In 2401, the Borg contacted the Federation, claiming to want to join it. Unbeknownst at the time, the evolved Jurati/Borg Queen, who was clearly different than was previously encountered beamed aboard the USS Stargazer and began assimilating the ship and its fleet. In response, Jean-Luc Picard activated the Stargazer's auto-destruct, stopping the assimilation and destroying the vessel. (PIC: "The Star Gazer")
In an alternate timeline where Picard self-destructed the USS Stargazer, Agnes, as the Borg Queen, was killed in the explosion. (PIC: "The Star Gazer") This timeline was averted when Q returned Picard's crew to moments before the explosion and Picard cancelled the self-destruct upon realizing that the Borg Queen was actually Agnes. (PIC: "Farewell")
Upon returning from 2024 moments before the explosion, Picard canceled the auto-destruct and allowed the Borg Queen to proceed after realizing that it was the same Queen from an alternate timeline who had merged with Dr. Jurati.
The Borg Queen revealed that a powerful energy wave was approaching and she needed the shields of the fleet combined with that of her own ship to block it. This Borg Queen had come to Picard both because he was someone in charge with whom she shared a mutual trust and because they needed the help of a friend. The Borg Queen's efforts were successful, saving countless lives, although she didn't know who was behind the creation of the massive transwarp conduit aside from it being a threat that required close observation. Picard agreed to grant the Borg provisional membership in the Federation so that they could remain there, "the Guardian at the Gates." (PIC: "Farewell")
Personal life[]
Dr. Jurati was a leading academic in her field. When she was bored during the early days of her journey on La Sirena, she read through two years of back-issues of the Journal of Theoretical Cybernetics, "including the Festschrift for Professor Kwok", proving she was a voracious reader. She also remarked that her father had read many paper books when she was a child, and she had used to annoy him about it. (PIC: "Absolute Candor")
Like Picard, Jurati was fond of Earl Grey tea. She enjoyed Kasseelian opera, sushi, and red velvet cake. However, the concept of baking cookies from scratch was somewhat foreign to her. (PIC: "Maps and Legends", "The End is the Beginning", "Stardust City Rag", "Broken Pieces")
Before joining Picard on his quest, Jurati told Commodore Oh that she had never been off-world, implying she left Starfleet Academy to join Maddox at the Daystrom Institute before she ever got substantial space flight training. When she did spend some time in space, she found it to be boring, later saying "it's cold and empty and wants to kill you." (PIC: "Nepenthe", "Absolute Candor", "The Impossible Box")
After she saved his life in the Romulan attack on the Château, Jurati told Picard she was a "terrible liar". Towards the end of their adventure, however, after she manipulated Soong and managed to free Picard from his house arrest, she had changed her mind: "I honestly thought I was the worst secret agent ever, but I'm starting to believe I may have a gift." (PIC: "The End is the Beginning", "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2") Something else Jurati considered a gift (somewhat jokingly) was her ability to sense when she was about to make a mistake. She called it a "superpower", though she agreed with Rios it was not a particularly useful one. (PIC: "The Impossible Box")
Jurati could be very talkative and often made witty comments. By 2401, this had turned into a habit to babble when she was nervous, which could get her into trouble. However, she was also quick-witted enough to talk herself out of trouble again. (PIC: "Absolute Candor", "Penance")
Relationships[]
Jurati developed friendships with the people she met on her mission with Picard. Although she had been manipulated into joining them under false pretenses, especially Raffi Musiker and Cristóbal Rios continued to be kind to her after they discovered the truth. By 2401, Jurati had a close relationship and easy rapport with Soji, whom she had told not to let her drunkenly call her ex. She happily greeted Seven of Nine from the bridge of the Stargazer, and she gave Elnor a delighted hug when they reunited in the dystopian alternate reality. Jurati also developed a strong friendship with Picard, often affectionately calling him "Mister". (PIC: "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1", "The Star Gazer", "Penance", "Assimilation")
Over the course of their time together on La Sirena, Jurati developed a romantic relationship with Cristóbal Rios. The two shared a lot of light-hearted banter, but also grew closer when Jurati was starting to feel the weight of her secret mission. After she killed Maddox, Jurati happened upon Rios practicing soccer late at night. After some conversation, the two started kissing and were about to go off to sleep together, but Jurati pulled back because she felt like she was about to make a mistake. When Rios continued to be kind and understanding, however, she opened up to him about feeling hollow and lonely, and they decided to sleep together after all, since it might at least help her for the night. (PIC: "Absolute Candor", "Stardust City Rag", "The Impossible Box")
When Sutra tried to mindmeld with Jurati on Coppelius to learn more about the Admonition, Rios tried to stop her, since he worried about the trauma the vision had caused Jurati. Later, when he told Jurati he was headed back to the ship with Raffi, he continued to be deeply concerned about her, and the two shared a tender moment. A while later, when they were getting ready to leave Coppelius, Jurati and Rios kissed on the bridge of La Sirena, while the rest of the crew was still occupied elsewhere. (PIC: "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1", "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2")
The relationship with Rios ended after less than a year, just like all of Jurati's past intimate relationships had. Nevertheless, and despite their occasional bickering, the two remained friendly and Rios was deeply concerned for Jurati when she was behaving strangely after letting herself be assimilated by the Borg Queen. (PIC: "The Star Gazer", "Penance", "Two of One")
It is unclear whether Jurati's comment that "my longest lasting intimate relationship [...] is less than a year" (PIC: "The Star Gazer") was meant to include her relationship with Maddox, or was intended as dramatic overstatement. If the former, the two were clearly friends, colleagues, and mentor/mentee for quite a while before escalating their relationship to romance. However, it is not certain that this is the implication the writers were aiming for with this line.
Key dates[]
- Prior to 2385:
- Joins Starfleet
- Is recruited into Daystrom by Bruce Maddox
- 2399:
- Is sent by Oh to join Picard, and ordered to kill Maddox and Soji Asha
- Joins Picard's quest
- Kills Bruce Maddox
- Helps Picard protect Coppelius
- Between 2399 and 2401:
- Is cleared for the murder of Maddox
- Goes on a diplomatic goodwill tour with Soji
- 2401:
- Is transported by Q to an alternate 2401 where the Confederation of Earth exists.
- Time travels to the 21st century
- 2024:
- Assimilated by the Borg Queen
- Convinces the Borg Queen to create a new, better Collective and merges with her
- 2401
- Arrives on the USS Stargazer seeking the Federation's help against an unknown threat
Memorable quotes[]
"How can I help you?"
"You can tell me if it is possible to make a sentient android out of flesh and blood."
(Jurati laughs)
"No, really. How can I... Is that why you've come here?"
"It is."
"Even before the ban, that was... Well... W-Well a flesh and blood android was in our sights, but a sentient one? Not for a thousand years."
"That makes it even more curious that recently, I had tea with one."
- - Agnes Jurati and Picard (PIC: "Remembrance")
"So... space turns out to be super boring. Go figure."
"What were you expecting?"
"I don't know. It's so... empty. I mean, of course, right? It's right there in the name. 'Space'. It's not like it's called 'vast quantities of stuff.' Although, come to think of it, there are over three billion stars in our galaxy alone and ours is one of two trillion. There are a septillion known planets, so maybe it should be called 'vast quantities of stuff'. Like, why focus on the negative?"
- Agnes Jurati and Cristóbal Rios (PIC: "Absolute Candor")
Appendices[]
Appearances[]
- PIC:
- "Remembrance" (Season 1)
- "Maps and Legends"
- "The End is the Beginning"
- "Absolute Candor"
- "Stardust City Rag"
- "The Impossible Box"
- "Nepenthe"
- "Broken Pieces"
- "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"
- "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2"
- "The Star Gazer" (Season 2)
- "Penance"
- "Assimilation"
- "Watcher"
- "Fly Me to the Moon"
- "Two of One"
- "Monsters"
- "Mercy"
- "Hide and Seek"
- "Farewell"
Background information[]
Jurati was played by Alison Pill.
She was the only character besides Jean-Luc Picard to appear in every episode of the first and second seasons of the series.
Early in the character's development, Dr. Jurati was named "Dr. Sarton," after a roboticist in the Isaac Asimov novel The Caves of Steel. [1]
External link[]
- Agnes Jurati at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works