Seven of Nine
Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One, or Seven of Nine (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.
Life story
Template:Spoiler 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 8 on the USS Raven (found by Seven of Nine and Tuvok in the 4th season episode "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 our galaxy. They were eventually discovered by the Borg, who assimilated them. The Borg Collective was all Seven of Nine knew, and they provided her with a sense of order.
Years later, after serving briefly as a representative of the Borg during an ill-fated Borg-Voyager alliance; Seven was abrubtly disconnected from the collective upon Capt. Kathryn Janeway's orders, by Commander Chakotay and Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres in order to prevent Seven's betrayal and the ensuing assimilation of the USS Voyager. This occurred in the episode "Scorpion". In the aftermath, although given the opportunity to be addressed once again as Annika Hansen, Seven chose to retain her Borg designation, yet agreed to be referred to simply as Seven ("Day of Honor").
Following her disconnection, she found in Janeway a mentor who helped her come to terms with her humanity more and more with each episode. The Doctor also provided valuable guidance in enabling her to develop social skills and thus "blend in" with the Voyager crew. The Doctor subsequently became enamoured with Seven, but she did not reciprocate these feelings. Her character's storyline instead took an unexpected turn in the final episodes of the series: she pursued a relationship 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 final season, upset many fans, namely those who wanted to see the romantic relationship from the first seasons between Janeway and Chakotay revived.
Despite her personality seeming to be Vulcan-like, there were differences, some subtle and others not. At times there were paradoxical displays of intermittent arrogance, warmth, passion, 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. Other than very briefly during the episode Unimatrix Zero, where she temporarily psychologically reverts to full humanity, Seven's speech never contained contractions. (This characteristic also served to highlight the machine nature of Lt Cdr Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation - Data also used no 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 strictly one way, or entirely another. Things were never described in emotional, nor relativistic terms. The Borg blatantly 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, as it is strongly implied, become capable of experiencing sexual relationships based on love. An alternative speculation is that the surgery might have made it possible for her to derive physical pleasure from the act).
Attire
After her recovery from the Borg, Seven initially wore a tight silver catsuit with a corset that drew attention to her figure. Throughout the series, she would be the subject of many subtle innuendos because of it. The silver color also had some similarity to the metallic look of a borg drone. Later in the series, the silver catsuit was replaced with far more discreet dark red, purple, and blue ones.
Criticism
While Seven proved popular with many of the series' fans, there was some criticism that storylines began to focus too much on her character at the exclusion of others. Some also considered her tight-fitting costume as a cheap 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 series, and that she was merely used to provide a sense of "deus ex machina".
Controversy
A few fans speculated that Seven of Nine would formally "come out" in the series as being a homosexual, and a letter-writing campaign by the Voyager Visibility Project prompted an internal suggestion to establish Seven of Nine as the first openly homosexual crewmember on a Star Trek television series. In the end, however, Seven of Nine was firmly 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. Jeri Ryan has stated that the corset was so tight that at times she "nearly fainted from lack of oxygen".
- 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 all right?"
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 -One (Seven of Nine's "offspring") is dying in Sickbay, visibly distressing her]
Seven: "You are hurting me."
One: "You will adapt."
[An Alien Guest (drunken) 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]
The Doctor: Congratulations!
Seven: What for?
Tuvok: You probably don't want to know...