Not reading the thread, as I am not up-to-date on episodes, and want to avoid spoilers, but I want to jot down an idea in relation to the Betazoids of this time period.
In the Next Gen/ DS9 era (around 2269-ish), Betazoids are telepathic. Half-Betazoids like Deanna Troi are empathic.
So, per Episode 2, "Beta Test" happening in the 3190s, Betazoids are not telepathic, they are empathic.
Either they screwed up, or there's something there. For sake of argument, assume the latter.
Commandant Ake says she's some 400 years old, and non-telepathic Betazoids don't strike her as strange.
So, between 2270 and Ake's birth around 2790, Betazoids generally lost telepathy. But also note that Ake et all thought Betazoids were HUGE to the Federation at the time of The Burn (in 3069). But they aren't that big a deal in Next Gen's 2269.
Thus, in the 500 years between Next Gen/DS9, and Ake's birth, the Betazoids become a big deal, and their telepathy degrades. They also seem to lose their characteristic black irises...
So, over that half-millennium, they rise to prominence and... interbreed a lot?
This would explain Tarima Sadal, the daughter of the Prime Minister, wearing an inhibitor. It isn't that she's an empath that "feels too much". She's actually a telepath, but now in a culture that doesn't have anyone left to guide her to learn to control her powers!
So, per Episode 2, "Beta Test" happening in the 3190s, Betazoids are not telepathic, they are empathic.
Either they screwed up, or there's something there. For sake of argument, assume the latter.
Commandant Ake says she's some 400 years old, and non-telepathic Betazoids don't strike her as strange.
So, between 2270 and Ake's birth around 2790, Betazoids generally lost telepathy. But also note that Ake et all thought Betazoids were HUGE to the Federation at the time of The Burn (in 3069). But they aren't that big a deal in Next Gen's 2269.
Thus, in the 500 years between Next Gen/DS9, and Ake's birth, the Betazoids become a big deal, and their telepathy degrades. They also seem to lose their characteristic black irises...
So, over that half-millennium, they rise to prominence and... interbreed a lot?
This would explain Tarima Sadal, the daughter of the Prime Minister, wearing an inhibitor. It isn't that she's an empath that "feels too much". She's actually a telepath, but now in a culture that doesn't have anyone left to guide her to learn to control her powers!
