In the catalog of alien beings encountered by the intrepid crews of Starfleet, none have been more powerful, dangerous, or as annoying as Q. A member of an omnipotent and omniscient race called the Q Continuum, Q can do whatever he wishes with a sneer and the snap of a finger.
Mostly, what he seems to want to do is annoy all the life forms he comes across, but he also appears to have taken a special interest in humanity. Testing them for some hitherto unknown ulterior purpose, Q has both helped humanity in its evolution and on occasion, also worked to destroy it.
Benefit Humanity: Saved A Moon’s Orbit
Q was a universal menace in that he not only tormented the humans on board the Enterprise, but he also made it a point to be a nuisance to countless species across the cosmos. When he was stripped of his powers and made mortal, the Calamarain tracked him to the Enterprise to exact revenge. Eventually, his powers were restored to him, and having garnered insight into what it means to be human, Q rewarded the crew of the Enterprise in the most human way possible. Using his godlike powers, he performed a humanitarian act by repairing a moon’s planetary orbit and saved the inhabitants from wanton destruction.
Destroy Humanity: Encounter at Farpoint
The crew of the Enterprise-D first encountered the entity know as Q on their way to Farpoint Station on their first mission. Here, Q put them on trial for “the crimes of humanity,” citing them as a “dangerous, savage, child race.” Q and his brethren in the Continuum reserved final judgment on the fate of humanity until they saw how the Enterprise crew dealt with the mystery of Farpoint. However, considering Q was willing and able to imprison the ship and freeze its crew, it’s easy to see how his final judgment may have been worrisome for the human race.
Benefit Humanity: The Borg Encounter
Q has the unenviable distinction of having introduced humanity to the Borg. In the episode “Q Who?” the omnipotent entity attempted to join the Enterprise crew but was rebuffed by Captain Picard. Refusing the aid and guidance of an all-powerful entity by citing humanity’s readiness to encounter anything didn’t sit well with Q, who quickly flung them into the path of a Borg ship.
Picard soon realized how unprepared humanity was for some deep-space encounters, and realized the lesson Q was trying to impress upon him. Moreover, Q’s actions gave humanity a much-needed heads-up on the Borg threat.
Destroy Humanity: Killed Amanda Roger’s Parents
As Guinan herself noted, “not all the Q are alike- some of them are almost respectable.” Included in the “respectable” contingent would be the parents of Amanda Rogers, two former members of the Q Continuum who decided to forgo their status as omnipotent beings and live as humans on Earth. Unfortunately, that act earned them the ire of the Continuum, who executed them for desertion. This heinous act not only robbed a young girl of her parents but also Earth of potential defenders and the Continuum itself of understanding the nature of humanity through first-hand knowledge.
Benefit Humanity: Ended Q Civil War
Like any intelligent species, the Q are susceptible to disagreements that can sometimes lead to war. Unfortunately, when omnipotent beings who are unbound by the laws of physics go to war, the entire universe can end up as collateral damage. This is exactly what happened when the Q Continuum engaged in a Civil War in the Voyager episode, “The Q and the Grey.”
With whole stars going supernova in the crossfire, the integrity of the galaxy was at stake unless the warring factions of Q could come to a compromise. Eventually, they did by Q and Lady Q conceiving a child, which saved the galaxy, Federation, and humanity from potential destruction.
Destroy Humanity: At The Source
If the crew of the Enterprise and by proxy, humanity, thought that they had passed Q’s test after Farpoint, they were sorely mistaken. As Captain Picard found out in the series finale, “All Good Things…,” humanity’s trial never ended, and the Continuum spent seven years looking for learning and growth in Captain Picard. When they didn’t find it, they engineered a scenario that would eliminate humanity at the cusp of its creation in the primordial ooze. Thankfully, a timely intervention by Captain Picard avoided that unenviable eventuality.
Benefit Humanity: The Helping Hand
When Q created the situation that would lead to humanity’s non-existence in “All Good Things…,” he did so begrudgingly and at the behest of the Continuum. To give Picard a fighting chance at solving the mystery of the temporal anomaly, Q allowed him to time jump between the beginning of his captaincy of the Enterprise, a future where he had retired to his vineyard in France, and the present day. Piecing together clues and information from these three time periods allowed Picard to dissipate the anomaly and save humanity. It seems Q had grown fond of Captain Picard and perhaps, humanity in general, as he later told the captain, “The part about the helping hand? That was my idea.”
Destroy Humanity: Shared His Power
There is a quality to humanity that interests the Q Continuum. This would explain their continual monitoring of humanity’s “progress” and in one specific instance, extending membership in the Continuum to Commander Riker. Citing a need to understand the human “hunger and need” to explore so they can “better understand it,” the Q gave Riker their power. Whatever the intent was in this act, it was obvious that it wasn’t in humanity’s best interests. Firstly, they intended to circumvent humanity’s ascension “beyond even the Q” by adapting their characteristics. Secondly, it was obvious that the Q’s powers were a corruptive element, as it began to warp Riker’s character almost immediately.
Benefit Humanity: Prepared Picard
By Q’s own admittance, Captain Jean-Luc Picard was the closest thing he’s had to a friend in the entire universe, and considering the good captain once saved Q’s life, Q felt he owed him a debt. Although the debt was considered paid through the Enterprise crew’s “Robin Hood” adventure, perhaps Q’s real gift to Picard was allowing him to exorcise some ghosts from his past. In “Tapestry” Q allowed a near-dead Picard to work through some of his past choices. By doing so, he allowed Picard to feel more confident and comfortable in his choices, which prepared him for the Continuum’s trial to come.
Destroy Humanity: Almost Let The Emissary Die
When Q decided to take Vash, Captain Picard’s on-again, off-again love interest, on a tour of the universe, he started with the Gamma Quadrant. Thanks to the Bajoran wormhole, Vash found herself on Deep Space Nine, trying to flee Q. Her arrival coincided with a series of odd energy fluctuations which eventually threatened to destroy the station. Rather than inform the crew that the culprit was an alien lifeform held in an artifact Vash was selling in an auction, he let them attempt to figure it out on their own. Thankfully, they did, but if they hadn’t, Q would have allowed Sisko to die, robbing the Federation and the Earth of a key player in the eventual war with the Dominion.
