One classic alien race from Star Trek: The Next Generation has just become more powerful than ever before. TNG expanded the Star Trek universe by introducing a wide range of new aliens, including the humanoid Betazoids (sometimes called Betazeds). Like the Vulcans, Betzoids possessed formidable psychic powers, and Counselor Deanna Troi showed just how powerful they really were. All Betazoids possessed low-level empathic abilities, but the majority were skilled telepaths.
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TNG never really noticed how powerful Deanna was, of course. She was routinely shown sensing the emotions of other starship crews, even when those vessels were actually an astronomical distance away. The Betzoids made their return in the first two episodes of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, which introduced a new Academy student named Tarima who apparently possesses unusually powerful abilities – and needs an inhibitor of sorts to keep her powers in check. But Starfleet Academy episode 2 also established a whole new power-up for the Betazoids.
The Betazoids Can Literally Protect Entire Star Systems
To understand this new power, you first have to get to grips with the distant future of the Star Trek timeline. The 31st and 32nd centuries were a tragic time, with a mysterious cosmic event called the Burn destroying most of the galaxy’s dilithium in an explosive manner – making warp travel difficult and expensive, but also dangerous because nobody knew whether the dilithium would be triggered to explode again, destroying any starship in warp at the time. This tragedy left galactic powers reeling, and the Federation itself crumbled, with even Earth leaving. The Betazoids retreated to their home system.
Fearful of pirates, the Betazoids then used their powers to erect an incredible psychic barrier around Betazoid space. Other star systems fell, but Betazoid space remained secure, with no ships able to pass through the wall. This is all the more remarkable given some alien races, such as the Ferengi, have traditionally been resistant to Betazoid powers; it suggests the wall had phenomenal power, overwhelming even the greatest psychic defenses. It’s held for literal decades.
We’d always known the Betazoids were powerful. Deanna Troi’s feats are actually a lot more impressive than they seem at first glance, because TNG frequently overlooked the vast distances over which she used her powers. But we’d never seen anything quite like this before; the Betazoids literally using their abilities to create an impenetrable barrier that seems to have protected an entire sector of space. It’s reasonable to assume it was done by somehow combining the powers of many Betazoids, in some form of synergy.
The Federation Is About To Benefit From the Psychic Defenses
Starfleet Academy episode 2 focused on the Federation’s desperate efforts to restore ties with the Betazoids, in the hopes many other races would follow their example and rejoin the Federation. This would involve dropping the psychic wall, which would render Betazoid vulnerable to pirate attacks again. The Betazoids were understandably reluctant to do this, making impossible demands. Finally, though, Starfleet came up with an offer that was enough – to change the Federation forever by relocating its headquarters to Betazed.
This is certainly a smart move in strategic terms. It reassures the Betazoids that their homeworld is essential to the Federation, and there will surely always be a fleet on standby to protect Federation Headquarters. But the Federation also benefits from this, because it means they can call upon an impenetrable psychic defense for Headquarters if all other strategies fail. It’s an unprecedented level of security that the Federation has never had before, only possible because of this incredible new psychic power.
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