Star Trek: Who Exactly Is Q?

The Q inhabit a plane of existence outside of the universe in which humanity resides. Although it exists in a way that is imperceptible to humans, Janeway and Tuvok are able to experience what Quinn calls a “manifestation” of the Q homeworld on “Death Wish,” using symbolism to convey the monotony of eternal life in the Continuum.

In Quinn’s manifestation, the Q Continuum appears as a house along a long and lonesome desert road where other Q sit around in resigned disinterest. While the road is an “endless circle” that could take them anywhere, Quinn tells Janeway, “I traveled the road many times, sat on the porch, played the games, been the dog, everything. I was even the scarecrow for a while.”

Lamenting the decline of Q civilization, former philosopher Quinn reveals that the Continuum once engaged in the pursuit of new discoveries and discourse. But with nothing new to experience or say and nothing but time to not experience or say it in, progress in the Continuum had come to a grinding halt. According to Quinn, many had not spoken in 10,000 years.

But despite their apparent longevity, it’s revealed on “Picard: Farewell” that Q can die — something that seems to counter Q’s earlier claim that one death would cause a disruption in the Continuum. Without revealing why or how, Q tells Picard, “In your parlance, I am dying,” before using the last of his powers to send Picard and his friends home and restore the timeline.

Nonetheless, as a being who exists outside of time, Q isn’t gone for good. In a fourth wall-breaking scene on “Picard: The Last Generation,” Q appears to Jack Crusher, teasing, “And here I was hoping the next generation wouldn’t think so linearly.”

Source: Star Trek, Picard