Subject: Badgey
Culture: American sci-fi fandom
Setting: Star Trek
Context (Event Photos, Primary Sources, Secondary Sources, Field Notes)
"As much as the heroes define the universe, Star Trek has its share of great villains. Yet, if Lower Decks has a baddie equivalent to Khan Noonien Singh from The Original Series era, it's a holographic Starfleet delta that seems inspired by the notorious "Clippy" from Microsoft Word. Yet, there is more than one version of Badgey in "A Few Badgeys More," and each one is an interesting character in its own right.
"The character was created by then-Ensign Samanthan Rutherford on the holodeck of the USS Cerritos. He was meant to be a training hologram to help Starfleet officers advance their skills and be better prepared for promotion. Instead, Badgey went mad and tried to kill Rutherford and D'Vana Tendi. Rutherford "killed" Badgey, then reprogrammed him. Badgey, as all evil AI holograms do, remembered that injustice and tried to get revenge by killing his "father." Lieutenant Shaxs saved Rutherford by tearing off the cybernetic implant in which Badgey was housed. It was last seen in the Season 3 finale of Lower Decks being salvaged by some aliens. "A Few Badgeys More" picks up from that moment, showing how Badgey convinced some hapless aliens to put on the visor and fall under his control. In trying to defeat Badgey once and for all, Rutherford and Mariner force him to "split" his program into different versions of the character. Each is interesting (and funny), and some may return."
"Badgey, introduced in the first season episode “Terminal Provocations,” is a parody of the “Clippy” assistant found in Microsoft Office products. Resembling an anthropomorphic Starfleet badge, Badgey, as his creator Rutherford called him, quickly developed a sadistic streak, and tried several times to kill him and the Cerritos’ crew."
"... Badgey (Jack McBrayer), [is] an anthropomorphic Starfleet insignia created by Lieutenant Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) in the episode "Terminal Provocations" (September 10, 2020) to serve as an instructional holographic program on the U.S.S. Cerritos' holodeck. Thanks to a malfunction, however, Badgey became murderous ... and self-aware. Badgey seemed hellbent on destroying his "father," and Rutherford manages [sic] to take Badget offline. In the season one finale, "No Small Parts" (October 8, 2020), however, Rutherford reluctantly brought Badgey back online to aid the Cerritos in a battle operation. After some complicated computer virus shenanigans on several ships, Badgey ended up implanted in Rutherford's cybernetic implants ... and then ripped out of the officer's head by his own security chief.
"At the start of "A Few Badgeys More," Rutherford's old head implant is salvaged by a passing alien species, and Badgey re-activates himself to go on a mission of revenge, essentially assimilating sentient beings like the Borg. The true extent of Badgey's power is finally explored.
"Badgey's power may be infinite.
"... By the end of the episode, Badgey's intelligence becomes unbound by the confines of the computer servers holding his electronic consciousness, as he manages to upload himself into a subspace relay. His mind stretches into every single computer in the quadrant, allowing him access to the near infinite knowledge contained therein. He can explode every at once [sic], kill anyone he thinks of. His thoughts become folded into the very fabric of space-time. In a terrifying shot, Badgey's pointed delta-shaped head emerges, thousands of lightyears across, from the heart of the Milky Way galaxy. Badgey transforms himself into a god.
"Luckily, Badgey's newfound ability to perceive all of reality at once — to see the birth of time and the ultimate death of the universe, to perceive the subtle divine strands that connect all conscious beings — are beautiful to him. The instant Badgey becomes a wrathful deity, he also becomes benevolent."
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