Bynar

Four Bynars

Bynar script, believed to encode a form of binary code

The Bynars were a race of humanoids native to the planet Bynaus in the Beta Magellan system.

The Bynars were shorter in height than most humanoids and had lilac skin and enlarged skulls. Each Bynar had a patch of purple hair on both sides of their neck and asymmetrical ears. Their most definitive characteristic was that they were interconnected with a master computer on Bynaus. (TNG: "11001001")

When a Bynar was born, a surgeon removed the child's parietal lobe and replaced it with a synaptic processor. Doctor Phlox saw the procedure performed when he encountered the Bynars. He likened the Bynar system to, unknown at the time, a benign form of the Borg Collective. (ENT: "Regeneration")

Bynars always worked and lived in pairs. There was a great degree of physical symmetry between each Bynar couple. For instance, each Bynar's pair of ears matched those of their partner, but were on the opposite sides of the head. Their clothing was also consistent in such a way. Because the Bynars were so interconnected with the master computer, their language and thought patterns became as close to binary code as is possible. They could speak English, usually finishing each other's sentences. For example:

One Zero: "It is a great pleasure..."

Zero One: "...to work on such a large mobile computer."

When they spoke to each other, they used a high-frequency sound, unintelligible to Humans. Every Bynar was equipped with a buffer, which they carried at their waist, to manage this rate of information transfer and had a small metallic component on one side of their head. Each of these mechanisms had a red light which blinked on and off when the Bynars were communicating between one another. Each of the Bynars had the component on the opposite side of the head from their partner, yet another aspect of their symmetry when grouped.

In the 24th century, Starfleet employed Bynars to perform computer upgrades on their ships. A team of four Bynars was assigned to Starbase 74, under the supervision of Commander Orfil Quinteros. In 2364, those Bynars commandeered the USS Enterprise-D during a computer refit so that its computer could be used to restart their planetary computer, which had been damaged by a supernova in the Beta Magellan system. (TNG: "11001001")

Individuals

• Zero Zero
• Zero One
• One Zero
• One One

Appendices

Background information

Andrew Probert concept art

The Bynars were collaboratively designed by Michael Westmore and Andrew Probert. The coloration of their skin was influenced by Westmore. He later explained, "At that time we had painted everything [alien] every color we could think, but we hadn't used purple yet, and they became my lavender alien race for the week." (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 12, p. 26) Probert recollected, "I think I was asked to do the Bynars; I was certainly asked to do their equipment [....] I think Michael suggested that their bodies would actually develop toward each other, which would give them a real asymmetrical look to their heads, which was something we hadn't seen before. He liked the ears that I put on them, but he did something different with the hair." (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 12, p. 49)

Like the Talosians from Star Trek: The Original Series episodes "The Cage" as well as "The Menagerie, Part I" and "The Menagerie, Part II", females were cast to play the supposedly unisex aliens. It was petite, very young women who portrayed the Bynars. (Star Trek: Aliens & Artifacts, p. 108)

The makeup for the Bynars consisted of a large appliance for the head, which was similar to a bald cap or a bathing cap. As well as covering the head, the prosthetic came over the bridge of the wearer's nose, cheekbones and the back of their neck. All the head appliances were cast from the same mold. Each piece consequently had to be trimmed to fit whichever actress it was meant for. Because of this, the join line to the skin had to be hidden, which is why the purple hair on the sides of their necks was added. (Star Trek: Aliens & Artifacts, pp. 108 & 110)

The small, beeping mechanisms on the sides of the Bynars' heads were made by Michael Westmore's son, Michael Westmore, Jr.. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 12, p. 26) The devices were essentially simple flashing lights. They were wired to a battery pack mounted on the actresses' waists and were controlled by the performers themselves. (Star Trek: Aliens & Artifacts, p. 108)

The Bynar speech was created by recording the actresses' dialog, then playing them, in fast forward, through a synclavier. ^{(citation needed • edit)}

Apocrypha

Outside of the canon of Star Trek, a team of Bynars (110 and 111) was assigned to the USS da Vinci in the Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers series. When 111 was killed, the remaining solo Bynar, 110, became known as Soloman, a regular in that series.

In the novel Quarantine, two Bynar children were on a shuttlecraft of the USS Gandhi, commanded by Lt. Thomas Riker and piloted by Ensign Shelzane, when the shuttle was hijacked by Maquis posing as DMZ refugees.

External link

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