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The Begotten

episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (S5 E12)

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 24, 2026
Entity authorityQ7716357
Source-derived summary

"The Begotten" is the 110th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 12th episode of the fifth season.

Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures on the Starfleet-managed space station Deep Space Nine near the planet Bajor; later seasons depict a conflict with a hostile alien empire known as the Dominion, ruled by the shapeshifting Changelings. In this episode, Deep Space Nine's security chief Odo, a former Changeling who has been stripped of his powers because he killed another Changeling, attempts to raise an infant Changeling while contending with the scientist who mistreated him when he was an infant shapeshifter himself; meanwhile Major Kira Nerys gives birth to Keiko and Miles O'Brien's baby.

This episode is the second appearance of Dr. Mora Pol, the scientist who studied Odo, introduced in the second season's "The Alternate". Actor James Sloyan reprises the role.

Plot

Deep Space Nine's bartender Quark has come into possession of an infant Changeling and sells it to Odo. Odo begins trying to teach his "child" to shapeshift; he is displeased when Dr. Mora, the Bajoran scientist who "raised" Odo, arrives to help.

Dr.

Editorial summary

“The Begotten” enters the record as episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (S5 E12). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Begotten, episode and Star can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current 192-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The authority record carries competing date values—1997-01-27, 1998-03-06—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Begotten, episode and Star.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“The Begotten” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Begotten, episode and Star provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7716357. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “The Begotten”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow The Begotten primary sources, The Begotten archive and Begotten research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Begotten”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from The Begotten” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.