Star Trek Theory: Did The Romulans Destroy Romulus?

Star Trek: Picard's storyline has revolved around one pivotal central event in the past: Starfleet's evacutaion of Romulus, and the synthetic uprising that led to mass murder on Mars. Each episode of Picard has pulled back the curtain a little further on how the Romulan evacuation fell apart, and just how horrific the Synthetics uprising on Mars really was. However, as Picard has ended its three-episode introduction arc, there's been more and more mounting evidence that this horrible tragedy that befell the Romulan race might not be all that it initially seems. In fact there's a fair amount of growing evidence that raises the question: Did the Romulans destroy their own planet?

Warning: Star Trek: Picard SPOILERS Follow!

The first three-chapter arc of Star Trek: Picard sets up a major new conflict in the Star Trek universe, between two new factions we haven't seen before: a tribe of "perfected" synthetics, and an ancient clandestine faction of the Romulan Empire (Zhat Vash). The end goal for Zhat Vash is no less than the eradication of the entire synthetics race - especially this new "Perfected" form that uses organic bodies with positronic brains. The question is, just how far would Zhat Vash go to accomplish its goals?

The key thing to remember is that the Romulan Empire was the sort of regime whose loyalty to its people is questionable, to begin with. The Romulan Empire leaders could've easily abandoned political dissidents and/or minority races like the Remans. When you're examining a culture that's willing to go to those kinds of extremes, then the window of possibility is wide open when it comes to the question of what that society's most fanatical group (Zhat Vash) is willing to do.

In Star Trek Nemesis, Commander Data was making strides toward bridging the gap between synthetic life and true humanity; for Zhat Vash, that advancement would've been the sign of end times for their fanatical anti-technology belief system. With growing dissent within the Romulan Empire (and the push for a free state), plus the advancement of A.I., Zhat Vash could've both purified the Empire and dealt a fatal blow to the synthetics by causing the calamity on Romulus, and then causing the synthetic uprising to sabotage the evacuation effort. The event leading up to Star Trek: Picard, and the aftermath effects we've seen in the show, certainly make this theory more logical than most.

However, if it proves true, Zhat Vash may have ironically caused a bigger advancement in Synthetics technology by trying to destroy them.

Star Trek: Picard is now streaming on CBS All Access. New episodes are released every Thursday.

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