A
Star Trek: Voyager novel, set in the show's final season.
Voyager comes across a planet (Chi) where the natives use nanotech for near enough everything, and carry swarms of nanites within and upon their bodies. The crew naturally wind up involved in local politics.
This book contains examples of:
- The Alliance: Chi is ruled by the Goracar Alliance, consisting of two continents joined in opposition to another two continents, who themselves seemed to be close partners.
- Cyanide Pill: These being Chiar, it’s suicide nanites instead.
- Lethal Chef: Neelix is still this on occasion, according to Tuvok. When the possibility of trading his recipes to the Chiar comes up in discussion, Tuvok comments that some might consider trading those an act of war. Janeway defends Neelix’s cooking, saying he’s gotten a lot better. Tuvok responds, “he could hardly have gotten worse”.
- Nanomachines: Everything on Chi is dependent on these.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Apparently, Section XII of Starfleet’s First Contact protocols includes a subsection specifically concerning this type of alien.
- Organic Technology: Some of the Chiar nanites use DNA and RNA for memory storage.
- Terminally Dependent Society: Everything on Chi is dependent on nanites, to the extent that the Chiar think it pointless to try and use simple tools like hammers, because they no longer know how. Even their libraries are run entirely on nanotech; once the nanites break down, they don't even have instructions for using "primitive" tools, and seem convinced that without instructions they couldn't possibly work it out.
- Also, they're dependent on slavery. Master Ree expresses confusion as to how the Federation economy can function without a slave caste.
- Weapon of Mass Destruction: Rhomatic weaponry.
