Bashir,
Dr. Julian (Alexander Siddig). Starfleet medical officer, born 2341 (“Distant
Voices” [DS9]), assigned to station Deep Space 9 in 2369, shortly after the
Cardassian withdrawal from the Bajoran system. (“Emissary” [DS9]). Dr. Julian
Bashir’s middle name was Subatoi. (“The Wire” [DS9]). His parents were Richard
and Amsha Bashir. (“Doctor Bashir, I Presume?” [DS9]). Julian was born with
serious learning disabilities and did poorly at early school. When he was six
years old, Julian’s parents took him to planet Adigeon Prime, where he underwent
genetic resequencing. The procedure, illegal under Federation law, greatly
enhanced his intellectual and physical abilities. When Julian learned what his
parents had done, he began to feel unnatural, as if he were an artificial
replacement for a defective child. Bashir’s parents went to great lengths to
conceal this alteration, until their secret was uncovered in 2373 by Dr. Lewis
Zimmerman. (“Doctor Bashir, I Presume?” [DS9]). In 2352, young Julian and his
father, who was a diplomat, were stranded during a planetary ion storm on planet
Invernia II. Father and son were forced to watch one of the local inhabitants
succumb to a disease which could have been treated with a local herb. The
incident left a lasting impression on Julian, and was in part responsible for
his decision later to study medicine. (“Melora” [DS9]). As a child of five,
Julian performed his first surgery when he stitched the leg of Kukalaka, his
beloved teddy bear. Julian was so fond of Kukalaka that he kept him on a shelf
in his room, even after he’d grown up. (“The Quickening” [DS9]). In addition to
his medical training, Bashir took engineering extension courses at Starfleet
Medical. While studying to become a physician he fell in love with Delon Palis,
a ballet dancer whom he never forgot (“Armageddon Game” [DS9]). Bashir was a
brilliant physician, having graduated second in his class. He would have
graduated first had he not mistaken a preganglionic fiber for a postganglionic
nerve. Fancying himself to be an adventurer, he requested posting to Deep Space
9 because he wanted to experience the excitement of the frontier. (“Emissary”
[DS9]). Bashir was first in his class in pediatric medicine. (“To the Death”
[DS9]). As a young man on Deep Space 9, Bashir found himself attracted to the
beautiful Jadzia Dax. Unfortunately, Dax did not return the affection, although
the two had a good professional working relationship and eventually became close
friends. Bashir’s interest in Dax became a source of embarrassment on stardate
46853, when unknown aliens from the Gamma Quadrant, seeking to study humanoid
life, created a replica of Dax who was as attracted to Bashir as he was to her.
(“If Wishes Were Horses” [DS9]).
Bashir became romantically involved with Ensign
Melora Pazlar when he helped her to adapt to Deep Space 9’s gravity in 2370.
(“Melora” [DS9]). Bashir became romantically involved with Leeta for a few
months, until they performed the Bajoran Rite of Separation on Risa in 2373,
ending their relationship. (“Let He Who Is Without Sin…” [DS9]). Bashir enjoyed
playing racquetball and was the captain of the racquetball team at Starfleet
Medical Academy. He sometimes played racquetball on Deep Space 9 with Miles
O’Brien. (“Rivals” [DS9]). He befriended Elim Garak, and despite his initial
distrust, Bashir began to respect Garak’s insights. (“Cardassians” [DS9]).
Bashir’s fantasy life included indulging in a holosuite adventure in which he
played a colorful secret agent who worked for the British government in 1960’s
era Earth. (“Our Man Bashir” [DS9]). Bashir suspected he was experiencing a
predestination paradox when he traveled back in time to 2267 and met Lieutenant
Watley, a woman he thought might have been his great-grandmother, aboard the
original Starship Enterprise. (“Trials and Tribble-ations” [DS9]). Bashir worked
hard to relieve suffering on many worlds, often at great personal risk to
himself. He spent several weeks in 2372 trying unsuccessfully to find a cure for
the addiction to ketracel-white that kept the Jem’Hadar under Dominion control.
(“Hippocratic Oath” [DS9]). He also sought to discover a cure for the Teplan
blight that plagued the entire population of a planet in the Teplan system, and
was successful in identifying and developing an inoculation against a deadly
pathogen that had taken thousands of lives on Boranis III. (“The Quickening”
[DS9]). In 2371, Bashir’s research in biomolecular replication was recognized
when he was nominated for that year’s Carrington Award, becoming the youngest
nominee in the history of the prize. (“Prophet Motive” [DS9]). In 2373, while
attending a burn treatment conference on Meezan IV, Bashir was abducted by the
Dominion and replaced by a Founder. The changeling infiltrator hijacked the
runabout Yukon and attempted to destroy the Bajoran sun with a trilithium
explosive. Bashir, meanwhile, was held captive by the Jem’Hadar at Dominion
internment camp 371, on an asteroid in the Gamma Quadrant.
(“In Purgatory’s
Shadow” [DS9], “By Inferno’s Light” [DS9]). Bashir was first seen in “Emissary”
(DS9). Alexander Siddig was originally listed as “Siddig El Fadil” during the
first three seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He changed his screen credit
to Alexander Siddig at the beginning of the show’s fourth season. Addendum:
Starfleet chief medical officer assigned to station Deep Space 9. Julian Bashir
was a distant relative of 15th-century Earth poet Singh el Bashir. Julian’s
genetic enhancements included mental ability, hand-eye coordination, reflexes,
and vision. (“Statistical Probabilities” [DS9]). Bashir was kidnapped in 2374 by
operatives of Starfleet’s Section 31, a covert-operations unit of Starfleet
Intelligence. Bashir demonstrated his loyalty to Starfleet and the Federation
during extreme duress during tests imposed by Section 31 operatives. Bashir
subsequently declined an invitation to become a part of the intelligence unit.
(“Inquisition” [DS9]). Although Bashir was remarkably successful in keeping his
genetically enhanced nature from interfering with his integration into normal
society, it did serve as a barrier to his entering into a long-term romantic
relationship. In 2375, he briefly hoped that his former patient, Sarina Douglas,
who was herself genetically enhanced, might return the affection that he felt
for her. (“Chrysalis” [DS9]). Bashir discovered that Section 31 had been
responsible for developing and unleashing a deadly virus against the Founders of
the Dominion. (“When it Rains...” [DS9]). Angered that a Federation agency would
attempt to commit genocide, Bashir kidnapped Section 31 operative Luther Sloan,
and forcibly obtained technical information about the virus from Sloan’s brain.
Using these data, Bashir developed a cure for the disease. (“Extreme Measures”
[DS9]). Bashir’s cure saved the Founders’ race and was a major factor in the
ending of the devastating Dominion war. Late in 2375, Julian Bashir became
romantically involved with Ezri Dax. (“What You Leave Behind” [DS9]).