Changes: The Traveler

Revision as of 06:13, 11 December 2016

Traveler in Main Engineering, remastered — The Traveler in 2364

The Traveler, 2370 — The Traveler in 2370

"There is no specific 'place' I wish to go."
"Then what is the purpose of your journey?"
"Curiosity."

– The Traveler being questioned by Jean-Luc Picard, 2364 ("Where No One Has Gone Before")

A being who described himself as a Traveler, but whose real name he claimed was unpronounceable by Humans, was a humanoid from a mysterious species, encountered by Starfleet in the 2360s. Variously reported to be from Tau Alpha C and Tau Ceti, he himself claimed to be on a journey to experience "[our] reality". He also claimed that while by his understanding he was not from another time, he might be according to Starfleet's understanding of time. (TNG: "Where No One Has Gone Before", "Journey's End")

The Traveler had certain abilities, like the ability to act like "a lens with focused thought", which allowed him to alter space, time, and warp fields with the power of his mind. He could phase out of time and dimension and move between planets and starships. These abilities were based on his ability to focus the energy of thoughts and in his advanced understanding of the nature of reality. According to The Traveler, thought was the basis of all reality. In addition, Deanna Troi noted that his presence could not be detected with the empathic abilities of Betazoids. He could also shapeshift to appear as humanoids from other species with different clothing. (TNG: "Where No One Has Gone Before", "Journey's End")

Around 2364, The Traveler had been trading his understanding of propulsion for passage on Starfleet vessels. This was the first time his species visited this culture. He claimed to be motivated by curiosity, his stated goal being experiencing "your reality." During these travels, he became an assistant to Starfleet propulsion expert Kosinski, who claimed to have discovered a revolutionary new method of warp drive. Although some of his theories did have merit, Kosinski's formulas turned out to be bogus, as Wesley Crusher discovered that it was actually Kosinski's assistant, The Traveler, who was the driving force behind the propulsion method. Things went awry, however, and the USS Enterprise-D was catapulted millions of light years to the M-33 Galaxy. Later, while attempting to return back to the Milky Way Galaxy, the Enterprise instead traveled to the end of the universe, a billion light years away. The Traveler collapsed in exhaustion and was taken to sickbay, where he revealed the secret of his abilities. He eventually returned to engineering, where he helped return the ship and crew home to the Milky Way Galaxy.

The Traveler noticed something special about the young Wesley Crusher, comparing him to a young Mozart. Inspired in part by this, Captain Picard promoted Wesley to an acting ensign in the traditions of Starfleet. The Traveler played a significant role in the destiny of Wesley Crusher. (TNG: "Where No One Has Gone Before")

In 2365, when the Enterprise encountered a duplicate version of Captain Picard, apparently transported six hours back in time, the contemporary Captain Picard briefly suspected The Traveler as a cause of this anomaly - noting that The Traveler was capable of movement through time using the power of his mind. Commander Riker, perhaps recalling The Traveler's largely benign nature, did not share this suspicion. (TNG: "Time Squared")

The Traveler was next encountered by the Enterprise crew in 2367, after a "warp bubble" experiment by Wesley Crusher went awry, trapping his mother Beverly Crusher in her own universe. The Traveler appeared and directed the crew on her rescue. He did not solve the problem himself; instead, he urged Wesley to concentrate his own thoughts in order to facilitate the rescue. They succeed in rescuing the elder Crusher, while the younger Crusher continued his maturation. (TNG: "Remember Me")

In 2370, The Traveler appeared incognito as Lakanta, a villager on Dorvan V, to Wesley Crusher. Lakanta, who seemed to have intimate knowledge of Wesley, directed him to seek the answers to his troubled destiny. Wesley was, at the time, quite uncertain about his future in Starfleet. The Traveler guided Wes to the "habak" where Wesley had a vision of his deceased father telling him that his destiny lay somewhere other than with Starfleet. The cadet heeded the advice and resigned from Starfleet, after which in the middle of a riot he managed to dissociate himself from time; it is then that The Traveler revealed his true identity and promised to mentor the young man on his new journey. (TNG: "Journey's End")

Appendices

Background information

The Traveler was played by actor Eric Menyuk.

Menyuk was a finalist for the role of Data, and was given the recurring role of The Traveler as a consolation prize. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion 2nd ed., p. 36; Star Trek Encyclopedia 3rd ed., p. 520)

An early draft of "Journey's End" included the revelation that Boothby was in fact The Traveler. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion 2nd ed., p. 290)

According to the Q Continuum series, The Traveler even has a significant reputation among the Q Continuum; when the female Q learned that Wesley had been chosen by The Traveler, she was almost impressed by this fact.

A pair of his special effects make-up hands from "Where No One Has Gone Before" was sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. [1]

External link

The Traveler at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Traveler

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 [[File:The Traveler, 2370.jpg|thumb|The Traveler in 2370]]
 [[File:Lakanta.jpg|thumb|The Traveler as "[[Lakanta]]"]]
-{{aquote|There is no specific 'place' I wish to go."<br />"Then what is the purpose of your journey?"<br />"Curiosity.|Jean-Luc Picard''' questioning the '''Traveler''' of his ultimate destination|2364|Where No One Has Gone Before}}
+{{aquote|There is no specific 'place' I wish to go."<br />"Then what is the purpose of your journey?"<br />"Curiosity.|The Traveler''' being  questioned by '''Jean-Luc Picard|2364|Where No One Has Gone Before}}
 A being who described himself as a '''Traveler''', but whose real name he claimed was unpronounceable by [[Human|Humans]], was a [[humanoid]] from a [[The Traveler's species|mysterious species]], encountered by Starfleet in the [[2360s]]. Variously reported to be from [[Tau Alpha C]] and [[Tau Ceti]], he himself claimed to be on a journey to experience "[our] reality". He also claimed that while by his understanding he was not from another time, he might be according to [[Starfleet]]'s understanding of time. ({{TNG|Where No One Has Gone Before|Journey's End}})
-The Traveler had certain abilities, like the ability to act like a [[lens]] with focused [[thought]], which allowed him to alter [[space]], [[time]], and [[warp field|warp fields]] with the power of his mind. He could phase out of time and [[dimension]] and move between [[planet|planets]] and [[starship|starships]]. These abilities were based on his ability to focus the energy of thoughts and in his advanced understanding of the nature of reality. According to The Traveler, thought was the basis of all reality. In addition, [[Deanna Troi]] noted that his presence could not be detected with the empathic abilities of [[Betazoid|Betazoids]]. He could also [[Shapeshifter|shapeshift]] to appear as humanoids from other species with different clothing. ({{TNG|Where No One Has Gone Before|Journey's End}})
+The Traveler had certain abilities, like the ability to act like "a lens with focused thought", which allowed him to alter [[space]], [[time]], and [[warp field|warp fields]] with the power of his mind. He could phase out of time and [[dimension]] and move between [[planet|planets]] and [[starship|starships]]. These abilities were based on his ability to focus the energy of thoughts and in his advanced understanding of the nature of reality. According to The Traveler, thought was the basis of all reality. In addition, [[Deanna Troi]] noted that his presence could not be detected with the empathic abilities of [[Betazoid|Betazoids]]. He could also [[Shapeshifter|shapeshift]] to appear as humanoids from other species with different clothing. ({{TNG|Where No One Has Gone Before|Journey's End}})
 Around [[2364]], The Traveler had been trading his understanding of propulsion for passage on Starfleet vessels. This was the first time his species visited this culture. He claimed to be motivated by curiosity, his stated goal being experiencing "your reality." During these travels, he became an assistant to [[Starfleet]] propulsion expert [[Kosinski]], who claimed to have discovered a revolutionary new method of [[warp drive]]. Although some of his theories did have merit, Kosinski's formulas turned out to be bogus, as [[Wesley Crusher]] discovered that it was actually Kosinski's assistant, The Traveler, who was the driving force behind the propulsion method. Things went awry, however, and the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}} was catapulted millions of [[light year|light years]] to the [[M-33 Galaxy]]. Later, while attempting to return back to the [[Milky Way Galaxy]], the ''Enterprise'' instead traveled to the [[end of the universe]], a billion light years away. The Traveler collapsed in [[exhaustion]] and was taken to [[sickbay]], where he revealed the secret of his abilities. He eventually returned to [[engineering]], where he helped return the ship and crew home to the Milky Way Galaxy.