The Eternal Gallery and Archive, usually simply called the Archive, was an interstellar library and repository that operated from at least the 23rd to the 32nd centuries. It was located on a large space station that changed location approximately every fifty years.
The Archive boasted the largest known collection of historical and cultural artifacts in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Its permanent staff of one thousand, originating from a variety of backgrounds, considered themselves an order sworn to the preservation of galactic knowledge. (DIS: "Erigah", "Labyrinths")
History[]
Interior of the Archive
Jett Reno knew of the Archive from her time smuggling folios for a "shady antiquarian archivist" in the 23rd century.
In the mid-2370s, Doctor Marina Derex concealed the fifth and final piece of a map to Progenitor technology inside a crystal in Viewing Room 7 at the Archive. She also placed in storage her original handwritten manuscript of Labyrinths of the Mind, containing a mindscape that would test the worthiness of those seeking the map piece. Derex subsequently became an archivist and lived the remainder of her life at the station. (DIS: "Erigah", "Labyrinths")
In the 31st century, the Archive moved to an "oasis" of calm space within the Badlands. Contact with the outside was handled via a communications beacon.
In 3191, the USS Discovery was directed to the Archive by Derex's library card, which they had found on Halem'no. While Captain Michael Burnham attempted Derex's test, Archivist Hy'Rell presented cuttings from Kwejian's World Root to Cleveland Booker. Shortly afterward, Breen Primarch Ruhn also arrived at the Archive in his dreadnaught in pursuit of the map piece. Ruhn inserted soldiers into the Archive using shield-tunneling technology, but was unable to prevent the Discovery team from obtaining the map piece.
Ruhn's dreadnaught attacks the Archive
Ruhn proceeded to fire upon the Archive, inflicting significant damage and casualties. He threatened to destroy the station unless Burnham surrendered the map; Burnham replied that she would only comply if he swore a sacred tergun oath to spare the Archive. Ruhn agreed, but prepared to destroy the Archive anyway after he had the map. This blatant act of dishonor contributed to his crew ultimately siding with Moll and Lieutenant Arisar in a mutiny against him. (DIS: "Labyrinths")
Policies[]
The Archive was politically neutral and open to all, so long as they followed the rules. It refused to involve itself in conflicts between species, though direct threats to the Archive itself could result in a species losing access. Hy'Rell also noted, perhaps in jest, that they imprisoned violators in an oubliette. Access to specific items in the Archive was granted by means of a library card composed of a distinctive metallic alloy.
Part of the Archive's mandate was to ensure that lost cultures were not forgotten. Artifacts from such cultures were displayed in places of honor, though survivors of that culture were entitled to claim ownership of them if they so desired. (DIS: "Erigah", "Labyrinths")
Collections[]
- A Comprehensive Guide to Talaxian Hair Styles
- Euclidean Geometry
- Hupyrian Folk Tales
- Labyrinths of the Mind
- Several Breen artifacts
- Original Valaric manuscripts
- Two World Root cuttings
Personnel[]
- Named
- Unnamed
- Eternal Gallery and Archive personnel
Interior scenes at the Archive were filmed at the University of Toronto's Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library. [1]