The dwellers of Stratos city were the upper social class on Ardana. They were usually well dressed in comfortable blue clothing which ranged from robes to large hats. Ardanan city-dwellers considered themselves to be an enlightened culture, devoting most of their time to the arts and philosophy.
This was possible because all hard labor on their planet was done by a subjugated caste, the Troglytes. According to the Troglytes, when Stratos was built, it was promised that both groups would live there, but in reality, city-dwellers exiled Troglytes to the surface, citing their inferior mental capacities as justification. A resistance movement, the Disrupters, was formed, and in 2269, it was discovered that while Troglytes were indeed inferior, this was only due to the effects of a gas released by unrefined zenite. Masks were distributed to negate the effects of the gas. However, it was unsure if the balance of power was changed as a result of this.
The city-dwellers ruled through a council, and as of 2269, Plasus held the position of high advisor to the council. They had a death penalty and used torture in questioning prisoners. (TOS: "The Cloud Minders")
Supposedly, their entire population was contained in the single cloud city of Stratos. Though it was said that they spend all their time pursuing art and culture, leaving work to the Troglytes, at least the profession of guard on Stratos seemed to be filled by city-dwellers.
If Star Trek: Enterprise had been okayed for a fifth season, Manny Coto wanted to show, on the series, how the elites came to rule Stratos. ("Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise, Part Three: Final Approach", ENT Season 4 Blu-ray special features)
External link[]
- Stratos City Dweller at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works