Benjamin Sisko
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| Benjamin Sisko | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Species: | Human |
| Gender: | Male |
| Home planet: | Earth (New Orleans) |
| Affiliation: | Starfleet |
| Posting: | Starbase 137 USS Lexington USS Okinawa executive officer USS Saratoga executive officer Deep Space Nine commanding officer Emissary of the Prophets USS Defiant commanding officer Starfleet Command (temporarily) |
| Rank: | Commander Captain |
| Portrayed by: | Avery Brooks |
Captain Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Sisko is the first African-American lead character in a Star Trek series.
Sisko is the commanding officer of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS Defiant. Because of his discovery of the Bajoran wormhole, and his direct contact with the lifeforms residing therein, the Bajorans name Sisko the "Emissary of the Prophets," an important icon in their religion. He is uncomfortable with that title during much of his time on Deep Space Nine (DS9), struggling with his duty as the Emissary and his duty as a Starfleet officer.
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[edit] Character history
[edit] Early life and career
Born in 2332 in New Orleans, Benjamin is the son of Joseph Sisko, a Cajun/Creole chef and owner of the restaurant "Sisko's." His birth mother was a human woman named Sarah. However, Sarah was actually possessed by one of the Bajoran Prophets (the lifeforms that exist inside the Bajoran wormhole), who manipulated her into marrying Joseph and conceiving Benjamin. Sarah and Joseph were happily married until Sarah disappeared two days after Ben's first birthday, when the lifeform left her body. She died in an accident several years later.
Joseph eventually meets and marries another woman who goes on to raise Benjamin as her own son. Benjamin remains unaware of these events until well into his adulthood and long after he otherwise makes contact with the Bajoran Prophets.[1] Ben has a sister named Judith and at least two brothers.
Sisko entered Starfleet Academy in 2350. During his sophomore year, he was in a field-study assignment on Starbase 137. He met a woman named Jennifer in Babylon, New York on Gilgo Beach, shortly after graduating from the Academy. The two eventually wed and had a son, Jake.[2]
As a Starfleet officer coming up through the ranks, Curzon Dax, a Federation ambassador and joined Trill, mentored Benjamin when the two were stationed aboard the USS Livingston early in Sisko's career. The symbiotic nature of the joined Trill becomes a significant aspect to Sisko's later relationships with his DS9 science officer Jadzia Dax, who inherited the Dax symbiont from Curzon, and DS9 counselor Ezri Dax, who inherits Dax upon Jadzia's untimely death.
Sisko served aboard the USS Okinawa under Captain Leyton, who saw command potential in the young officer. Leyton promoted Sisko to lieutenant commander and made him his executive officer. It was during this assignment that Sisko and Leyton fought in the war between the Federation and the Tzenkethi.[3]
Sisko eventually transferred to the USS Saratoga as its first officer. In early 2367, the Saratoga was one of the Starfleet vessels involved in the Battle of Wolf 359 against the Borg. Locutus, a Borg drone created from the assimilation of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, uses Picard's knowledge to annihilate the Starfleet force; Jennifer Sisko is among the 11,000 casualties.[4]
Afterward, Sisko took a position at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards on Mars, overseeing the development of new ships, including the USS Defiant, which was created specifically to contend with the Borg threat.[5]
[edit] Deep Space Nine
In 2369, Sisko is assigned to the Bajoran sector to command space station Deep Space Nine and to help Bajor's recovery from the recently-concluded Cardassian occupation, shepherding them toward possible membership in the United Federation of Planets. Sisko and his son Jake reluctantly take up residence on the station. Recognizing that the then decrepit station is not an "ideal environment" in which to raise a son, Sisko contemplates resigning his commission. Adding to Sisko's discomfort is the presence of Jean-Luc Picard, who briefs him on his mission. Sisko continues to harbor resentment toward Picard for his role, however unwilling, in the death of his wife.
Upon Sisko's first visit to Bajor, the Bajoran Kai, Opaka Sulan, labels him "the Emissary of the Prophets" and gives him one of the "Tears of the Prophets", a mysterious glowing orb that supposedly comes from Bajor's Prophets. By studying the orb and nearby stellar phenomenon, Jadzia Dax finds a location of unusual activity in the nearby Denorios Belt. Traveling there, Dax and Sisko discover the first known stable wormhole, which leads to the Gamma Quadrant, and the mysterious aliens living within it. The devoutly spiritual Bajorans believe them to be their "Celestial Temple" and Prophets, respectively. These aliens live outside linear time. Sisko's first contact with the aliens is awkward and difficult for both parties, but the encounter helps Sisko recognize that he has never allowed himself to move beyond the bitterness and grief of losing his wife. After leaving the wormhole, Sisko embraces the opportunity to move forward and command DS9.
After DS9 is moved to the mouth of the wormhole in order to firmly claim it for Bajor, it becomes a new hub of scientific, commercial and political activity.
The wormhole's discovery cements in Opaka's and other Bajorans' minds the notion that Sisko is the Emissary of the Prophets - a title and set of responsibilities with which Sisko is initially ill at ease. However, Sisko warms up to and eventually embraces his fated role in the Bajoran faith.
When Sisko leads the Defiant into the wormhole to intercept a Dominion fleet, the Prophets intervene. Sisko at this point has not fulfilled his destiny and to ensure that he survives, the Prophets erase the Dominion forces from existence.
Sisko plays a critical role in the intrigue of the Alpha Quadrant. During the Klingon invasion of Cardassia, he is crucial to exposing the Founder impersonating Klingon general Martok. Sisko's exploits continue during the Dominion's invasion of the Alpha Quadrant, eventually working alongside Vice Admiral William Ross to help plan massive actions against the Dominion and their Cardassian and Breen allies. Sisko's contributions to the war effort are sometimes more surreptitious, such as his clandestine work with Elim Garak to bring the Romulans into, and thus turn the tide of, the war.
Sisko fulfills the Prophets' destiny for him in the series' finale, "What You Leave Behind," by confronting the Kosst Amojan-possessed Gul Dukat. They fight, and Dukat seems to be the winner, but in a last effort, Sisko throws himself and Dukat into the fiery abyss of the Bajoran Fire Caves, and Sisko is pulled into the Prophets' plane of existence to live with and learn from them. Ben imparts a farewell to his new - and pregnant - wife, Kasidy Yates, informing her that he does not know when he will be able to return to her.
[edit] Personal life
Sisko loves baseball, a sport that has largely disappeared by the 24th century but is kept alive by a small group of aficionados. He keeps a baseball in his office (given to him by a strange alien halfway through the first season) and often clutches it and tosses it around when deep in thought. When the Dominion captures the station, he leaves the baseball in his office as a message that he intends to return (this can also be seen in the second-season three-parter, consisting of 'Homecoming', 'The Circle' and 'The Siege'). After Jadzia Dax's death, he takes the baseball with him to Earth, causing Kira to worry that he will not return.
Like his father, a chef, Sisko also enjoys cooking.
[edit] Alter egos
Benjamin Sisko can also be identified as two other characters in the Star Trek universe:
[edit] Benny Russell
In the episode "Far Beyond the Stars", alien interference results in Sisko briefly living the life of "Benny Russell", an African-American science fiction short story writer in 1950s America. Every day, Russell faces the prejudices of his world - his publisher does not even allow his photograph to be printed. Russell writes a story called "Deep Space Nine" that takes place in a universe without prejudice and bigotry. However, his publisher refuses to release the story because he makes the commander of the space station a black man. This injustice eventually drives Benny insane; and soon after, Sisko finds himself back in the 24th century, questioning the nature of reality.
Later, in "Shadows and Symbols", Sisko experiences more flashbacks to his "life" as Benny, now in a mental institution, obsessively writing the episode, synchronously, on the wall. Although it seems to be left ambiguous as to whether Benny is real or the Prophets' creation, at the end of this episode the wormhole alien he was hunting says, "The Kosst Amojan tried to stop you with a false vision" implying that the Kosst Amojan (a very powerful Pah-wraith) was implanting the Russell fantasy into Sisko's mind to throw him off his mission.
In a June 2006 interview, former producer Ira Steven Behr said that he contemplated making the entire Deep Space Nine series a writing of the character Benny Russell.[6]
[edit] Gabriel Bell
Due to a time travel incident depicted in "Past Tense", Sisko unintentionally takes the place of Gabriel Bell, an important figure in early 21st century America. The real Bell dies as a result of Sisko's presence, so Sisko takes his place in order to preserve the timeline. "Bell" instigates the Bell Riots, which helped change the course of human history. Although Sisko is successful in fulfilling Bell's destiny and preserving the timeline, historical images of Bell show Sisko's image.
[edit] Trivia
Initially, Sisko has hair. The show's producers asked Avery Brooks to retain his hair in order to distinguish Sisko from Brooks' previous role of "Hawk" from Spenser: For Hire and its spinoff, A Man Called Hawk. In the fourth season of DS9, the decision was made to allow Sisko to shave his head and grow a beard. This coincided with Brooks' appearance as Hawk in several Spenser reunion telefilms.
[edit] References
- ^ Episode "Shadows and Symbols"; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Episode 2 of Season 7
- ^ Episode "Emissary"; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Episode 1 of Season 1
- ^ Episodes "Homefront" & "Paradise Lost"; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Episodes 10 & 11 of Season 4
- ^ Episode "Emissary"; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Episode 1 of Season 1
- ^ Episodes The Search parts I & II; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Episodes 1 & 2 of Season 3
- ^ Behr Compares 4400 to DS9 (2006-06-08). Retrieved on February 16, 2007.
Okuda, Mike and Denise Okuda, with Debbie Mirek (1999). The Star Trek Encyclopedia. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-53609-5.
[edit] External links
- Benjamin Sisko article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
- Emissary of the Prophets article at Memory Alpha
- StarTrek.com: Benjamin Sisko
| Regular characters on Star Trek | |||
| The Original Series | Kirk | Spock | McCoy | Scott | Uhura | Sulu | Chekov | Chapel | Rand | ||
| Animated Series | Arex | M'Ress | ||
| The Next Generation | Picard | Riker | Data | La Forge | Worf | B. Crusher | Troi | W. Crusher | Yar | O'Brien | Guinan | Pulaski | ||
| Deep Space Nine | B. Sisko | Kira | J. Dax | Odo | Bashir | O'Brien | Worf | J. Sisko | Quark | Rom | Nog | E. Dax | Garak | Martok | Damar | Dukat | Weyoun | Winn | ||
| Voyager | Janeway | Chakotay | Tuvok | Paris | Torres | Kim | Doctor | Neelix | Seven | Kes | ||
| Enterprise | Archer | T'Pol | Tucker | Reed | Phlox | Sato | Mayweather | ||
