Seven of Nine
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- Seven of nine is also the number of British "Redcoats" of the Boston Massacre successfully defended by John Adams.
Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One, or more simply Seven of Nine (or often referred to as simply "Seven"), is a fictional character from the Star Trek universe, played by Jeri Ryan in the television series Star Trek: Voyager.
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Life story
Born as Annika Hansen in Tendara Colony in 2348 (Stardate: 25479) to Magnus and Erin Hansen, a pair of exobiologists, Seven of Nine was assimilated by the Borg at the age of six on the USS Raven (found by Seven of Nine and Tuvok in "The Raven"). The last record of the Hansens was at Deep Space 4 in the Omega sector, where they refused to file a flight plan. Searching for the Borg, the Hansens found a transwarp corridor that allowed them to travel to the Delta Quadrant, on the other side of the galaxy. They were eventually discovered by the Borg, who assimilated them. The Borg Collective was all Seven of Nine knew, and provided her with a sense of order. After serving as a representative of the Borg during a brief Borg-Voyager alliance, Seven was disconnected from the Collective by Captain Kathryn Janeway, Commander Chakotay and Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres in order to prevent Seven's betrayal and an ensuing assimilation of the USS Voyager. This occurred in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Scorpion". Although given the opportunity to be addressed once again as Annika Hansen, Seven chose to retain her Borg designation, although she did agree to be referred to as, simply, Seven ("Day of Honor").
Following her disconnection, she found in Captain Janeway a mentor who helped her become more human with each episode. The Doctor also provided valuable guidance in enabling her to develop her social skills and thus "blend in" with the crew of Voyager. The Doctor subsequently fell in love with Seven, but she did not reciprocate these feelings. Her character's storyline instead took an unexpected twist in the final episodes of the series: she fell in love with Commander Chakotay after running simulations with a holographic Chakotay, and was set to marry the real one as the series ended. This 11th hour development which first manifested itself midway through the seventh season, upset many fans, namely those who wanted to see the romantic relationship from the first seasons between Janeway and Chakotay revived, and those who saw lesbian subtext between Janeway and Seven.
Despite her personality seeming to be Vulcan-like, there were differences, some subtle and others not. She generally displayed a high degree of adamancy and passion, although these characteristics were not always immediately apparent. At times as well there were paradoxical displays of intermittent arrogance and vulnerability, and the customary abruptness of her background as a Borg drone.
Seven's mode of speech was also subtly distinctive, with her vocabulary and word usage being reflective of her cyborg heritage. (As indicated in the quotes list below) Other than very briefly during the episode Unimatrix Zero, where she temporarily psychologically reverts to full humanity, Seven's speech also never contained contractions.
In a manner carried over from the Borg, Seven also had a tendency to use highly mechanistic, strict binary (or absolutist) logic. She was largely incapable of perceiving "shades of grey;" something was entirely one way, or entirely another. Things were not described in emotionally relativistic terms; they were merely acceptable or unacceptable. The Borg also strictly defined topics into two broad categories: relevant or irrelevant.
At the end of the Voyager series, Seven had surgery to one of her implants to allow her to properly use emotions (and, it is strongly implied, become capable of experiencing sexual relationships, although this contradicts an early appearance in which she invites Harry Kim to "copulate" with her, though it could be suggested that the recently "deborgified" Seven understood the word in a purely physical sense without any of the romantic connotations Kim hoped for. An alternative speculation is that the surgery might have made it possible for her to derive physical pleasure from the act).
Criticism
While Seven proved popular with many of the show's fans, there was some criticism that the show began to focus too much on her character to the exclusion of others. Some also considered her tight-fitting costume to be too blatant an attempt to appeal to the young male demographic. Other common criticisms are that instead of a distinct personality, she was simply given a Vulcan-like personality which never really developed until later in the show's life, and that she was commonly used to provide technological deus ex machina.
Some considered it ironic, however, that although she perhaps was originally introduced primarily due to sexual attractiveness, Jeri Ryan was also a sufficiently talented actress that Seven ended up becoming a legitimate character.
Controversy
Many fans speculated that Seven of Nine would formally "come out" in the series as being a homosexual, and the letter-writing campaign by the Voyager Visibility Project appears to have been successful enough to have promoted an internal suggestion to establish Seven of Nine as the first openly homosexual crewmember on a Star Trek television series, but in the end Seven of Nine was established as heterosexual.
Trivia
- Seven of Nine has appeared on seven TV Guide covers in the USA.
- The tight fitting costume she wore during her first season contained a built in corset.
- Claudia Christian (Susan Ivanova from Babylon 5) and Hudson Leick (Callisto from Xena: Warrior Princess) both auditioned to play Seven.
Quotes
[ship is under attack, rocks, characters fall]
Chakotay: "Seven, are you alright?"
Seven: "I am undamaged."
[Seven enters messhall, to Neelix]
Seven: "My physiology has re-asserted the need to process solid nutrients. The Doctor has prepared a list of dietary requirements: You will provide them for me."
[Seven to Neelix, Borg children and Naomi Wildman]
Seven: "I have allotted one hour for recreational activity. There is no time for irrelevant conversation."
"Fun will now commence." [1]
[Seven solves a riddle to the surprise of Tom Paris and the crew]
Tom: "How did you do that?"
Seven: "Cheating is often more efficient."
[Lt. Torres charges at Seven after she was caught watching her and Tom Paris in the messhall]
Torres: "What do you think you are doing??"
Seven: "I have been observing you as part of my research on human mating behaviour."
[Seven activates The Doctor, appears]
Doctor: "Please state the nature of the medical emergency."
Seven: "I have a date."
[A Borg drone is dying in Sickbay, visibly distressing Seven]
Seven: "You are hurting me."
One: "You will adapt."
[An Alien Guest takes a liking to Seven]
Seven: "Remove your hand or I will remove your arm!"
[At a wedding, when she catches a bouquet of flowers thrown by Lt. Torres]
Seven: What for?
Tuvok: You probably don't want to know...
External links
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