| “ | I have no great desire to die, Doctor...but I am determined to carry out the will of the Prophets as long as I am able, and I cannot carry out their will if I- I'm unconscious in some stasis tube! Please...begin the vasokin treatments. | „ |
| ~ Bareil, refusing to be put into stasis. |
Bareil Antos was a Bajoran Vedek first introduced in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode In the Hands of the Prophets. Both he and his mirror universe counterpart were played by Philip Anglim
Born during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor he grew up in a refugee camp at Relliketh. At a young age he met a monk who Bariel later described as an old man who could squeeze the pagh out of someone by the way he gripped the ears of others. He didn't like the practice of Bajoran religious grabbing people by the ear to read their paghs, and as he grew up he decided he would end the practice if given the opportunity.
As a young man he became a gardener at the monastery where Kai Opaka lived. After some time working at the monastery he decided to dedicate his life to the Prophets and entered the clergy of the Bajoran faith, eventually rising to the rank of Vedek. After the Cardassian occupation of Bajor ended Bareil continued his climb through the ranks. He held moderate pro-Federation views, which put Bareil at odds with conservatives like Vedek Winn Adami.
When Opaka became trapped on a planet in the Gamma Quadrant and unable to leave due to the life sustaining microbes that were keeping her alive Bajoran religious leaders decided to elect a new Kai to take her place. Bareil emerged as one of the two strongest candidates for Kai. However, he decided to withdraw from running because he feared that Opaka would be exposed as a collaborator - she had once told the Cardassians of a resistance cell to save a larger number of Bajorans from summary execution. The cell was quickly eliminated, with Opaka's son being one of the casualties. Bareil wanted to protect Opaka's memory by taking the fall for this himself. With Bareil out of the race, Winn handily won election as Kai. He advised Kira to give the new Kai a chance, and that she would lead the Bajoran people in unexpected ways.
After Winn's election, Bareil and Winn put their differences aside and he became one of her top advisors. During this time he reached out to members of the Cardassian government, hoping that a peace agreement could be reached that would include not only formal relations between the two worlds, but would also provide reparations and and apology to the Bajorans for the occupation.
Prior to the final negotiations on Deep Space Nine, Bareil was critically injured and apparently died due to his injuries, however Doctor Julian Bashir was able to revive him. Bareil needed further treatment which included putting him in stasis for a time - that would have left him unable to advise Kai Winn on the final negotiations. Based on this he decided to undergo the more dangerous vasokin treatments. Dr. Bashir took increasingly drastic steps to keep the man alive as his medical condition deteriorated, including replacing his organs and even half of his brain with a positronic matrix. After the treaty was signed the other half of Bareil's brain began to fail. Even though he could have replaced the remaining half with a positronic matrix, he refused to do so because he believed that if the whole brain was replaced Bareil would only be a shell of himself, and the man who was Bareil Antos was gone.
Kai Winn later took credit for peace treaty to increase her popularity at home, and attempted to parlay that into a position of political power when the First Minister died. However her attempts to strong arm former resistance members did not work like she hoped, and withdrew from election after former resistance leader Shakaar Edon entered the race.
Bareil's mirror universe counterpart traveled to the primary universe in 2374 as part of a plot by the Intendant Kira of that universe to steal a Bajoran orb, but decided not to go through with the theft and instead stunned that Kira with a phaser.
Trivia[]
- Initially the writers intended to have Bareil elected as Kai but changed their mind, feeling that the antagonistic Winn as Kai would make for more interesting story possibilities. They felt that having a good guy like Bareil who basically agreed with everything Sisko and the Federation did would limit what could be done with the character.
- Producers killed off Bareil in the third season as they had come to believe his use as a character had run its course and could no longer find a use for the character.
