The story of "the girl who made the stars" was a Human legend among the /Xam Abathwa tribe of ancient Africa, describing the origin of the Milky Way Galaxy in the night sky of Earth.
The tale describes a girl who, "a thousand centuries ago," dug her hands in wood ash and threw it into the sky to create the Milky Way. Hidden among the Milky Way was a secret message, believed to only be visible to "those whose hearts were open enough to receive it." (DIS: "Brother")
When Michael Burnham was a young child in the early 2230s, her father told her a version of this legend as a bedtime story. In this version of the story, the girl's people were hunter-gatherers beginning their transition into farming, who were afraid of the night, and dared not travel farther than they could in a single day. However, always farming in the same spot caused them trouble. The girl defied the village Elder and ventured, encountering an alien being which gave her the light of stars as a present. She became a great explorer who navigated by the constellations, a mighty warrior, and the Queen of her people. (ST: "The Girl Who Made the Stars")
Years later, Burnham was reminded of the story when she faced the prospect of meeting her foster brother Spock, thinking that when she'd first heard the story, she wasn't ready to understand it. In 2257, she further considered if she was ready while investigating the red bursts. (DIS: "Brother")
External links[]
- The girl who made the stars at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
- The Girl of the Early Race, Who Made Stars at The Internet Sacred Text Archive
- ISBN 3856305998 - The Girl Who Made Stars and Other Bushman Stories