,
Long ago, the Founders explored the galaxy, but found themselves to be feared, hunted and
killed by the solids, their term for non-shapeshifters. Out of self-defense, the Founders
retreted to a planet in the Omarion Nebula. From this location, the Founders established
the Dominion, through which they control hundreds of planets throughout the Gamma quadrant,
imposing order through ruthless violence and fear. Although isolated, the Founders did not lose
their curiosity about the universe. They sent a hundred infant members of their species across
the galaxy, implanting in each a powerful desire to return home, so that the Founders could
learn about distant places.
Deep Space 9 security chief
Odo was one of these infants. The Founders had a strong family
link to each member of their
species. Another of these changeling infants ended up on DS9 in
2373. Odo began to rear
the infant, until it died of radiation that it had been exposed to while
in space
The Founders' ability to
assume the shape of an object is so complete that a Founder in the
guise of an individual of
another species is virtually undetectable, even with sophisticated
scanning equipment. Should,
however, a piece of a Founder's body be seperated from the
main body mass, the seperate
piece reverts to its normal gelatinous state. Starfleet phasers
set to a force of 3.5 were
sufficient to force a Foun to revert to gelatinous state. Founders also
revert to gelatinous state
upon death.
The Founders use a warrior
species called the Jem'Hadar to force compliance of the various
members of the Dominion.
The Founders maintain control of the powerful Jem'Hadar through
the use of genetic engineering,
altering Jem'Hadar physiology to be dependent on Ketracel-
White, a drug made
from isogenic enzymes that only the Founders can supply, through
their agents, the Vorta.
Some Vorta agents suspect that even this extreme measure is not
sufficient enough to control
the Jem'Hadar's powerfully violent tendecies. Most Jem'Hadar
spend their entire lives
without meeting a Founder. To most of them, the Founders are thought
of a myths, or even gods.
On stardate 50049.3, a Founder
was mortally injured when a Jem'Hadar ship crash-landed on
planet Torga IV. The
Jem'Hadar that came to rescue him, having failed in their mission,
commited suicide for letting
the Founder die.
In 2371, the Founders learned
of Enabran Tain's scheme to attack the Dominion.They took
advantage of the situation,
staging an ambush in the Omarion Nebula that virtually annihilated
the armed forces of the
Cardassian Obsidian Order, and the Romulan Tal Shiar. The
incident
substantially reduced the
ability of the Alpha quadrant forces to resist to the Dominion invasion.
