One Of TNG's Strangest Species Is Getting A Second Life In Modern Star Trek

"Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" is set in the 32nd century, about 920 years after the events of the original "Star Trek," and a lot has happened in those intervening centuries. Most notably, it takes place after a galaxy-wide cataclysm called the Burn, which caused just about every starship in the galaxy to explode simultaneously. Starfleet was wiped out, and the Federation crumbled. "Starfleet Academy" picks up at a time when the Federation is being rebuilt. Diplomatic relations are slowly being re-formed, and students are being welcomed back to Starfleet Academy for the first time in hundreds of years. It's a series about reconstruction.

Part of the push at this newly reopened Starfleet Academy is to include as many species from throughout the galaxy as they can. The core cast of young students includes a Klingon named Kraag (Karim Diané), a living hologram named Sam (Kerrice Brooks), a Dar-Sha named Genesis (Bella Shepard), and a Khionian named Darem (George Hawkins). There's also a human named Caleb (Sandro Rosta), but we've seen humans before. Even the faculty at Starfleet Academy are from all over the galaxy. The dean, Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter), is half-human-half-Lanthanite, and the head of the school's combat department, Lurk Thok (Gina Yashere) if half-Klingon-half-Jem'Hadar. 

The hallways of Starfleet are also peppered with various species, only some of which will be recognized by Trekkies. I spotted a Ferengi, for sure, and some will be startled to see a Brikar have a cameo, a species only previously seen on the short-lived, now-canceled "Star Trek: Prodigy." 

Also, and this is a surprise, an Exocomp can be seen floating among the student body. Exocomps are small non-humanoid robots first introduced on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and they were last seen on "Star Trek: Lower Decks."

As any Trekkie can tell you, an Exocomp was a floating robotic tool introduced on the "Next Generation" episode "The Quality of Life" (November 16, 1992). /Film has previously written at length about Exocomps, but to remind readers: Exocomps were invented to float into dangerous areas, and programmed to learn from their surroundings. They could analyze a problem, then replicate the appropriate tools to make repairs as needed. In "Quality of Life," Data (Brent Spiner) found that Exocomps were actually exceeding their programming, and might have been making decisions based on self-preservation. This, to Data, was a sign that they were alive, and the robots' inventor (Ellen Bry) had to ethically confront that she may have created a new life form. 

Exocopmps returned for "Star Trek: Lower Decks," in the form of Ensign Peanut Hamper (Kether Donohue), the first Exocomp to graduate from Starfleet Academy. "Lower Decks" takes place only a few decades after the events of "Next Generation," so it seems that Exocomps evolved rather quickly. Peanut Hamper speaks casually and colloquially as she floats through the air around the heads of her fellow officers. She even has anxieties and neuroses. Exocomps aren't just sentient, but complex and nervous on "Star Trek: Lower Decks." Peanut Hamper chose her unusual name after scanning through a linguistic database and finding two words that, regardless of their meaning, sounded musical to her aural sensors. She eventually became a low-level villain on her series. 

It seems that Peanut Hamper was only the first of a long legacy of Exocomps. "Starfleet Academy," as mentioned, is set in the very distant future, and Exocomps seems to have survived. Indeed, they still seem to be going to Starfleet Academy, which is admirable. They live again.