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"There comes a time when a house has been so damaged by termites, that you must not only kill the termites, but demolish the house, and build again."
– Hippocrates Noah, 2372 ("Our Man Bashir")

Dr. Hippocrates Noah was a holosuite character created for Julian Bashir's Secret Agent holographic program revolving around the espionage of Earth's counties during the Cold War of the 20th century. His henchmen included Falcon and Duchamps.

In 2372, Bashir was running the holo-program when the USS Orinoco was destroyed by a warp core breach during its return to Deep Space 9. The explosion of the runabout caused a massive power feedback in the station's power grid through the transporters, shutting down all but emergency power and forcing station personnel to store the transporter patterns of the runabout crew in the memory banks of the holosuite as an emergency measure. The result was that characters in the holographic program took on the physical characteristics of the crew of the runabout, including Benjamin Sisko, whose image replaced that of Noah.

In the context of the program, Noah was an "evil genius" who believed the decadence of the world had led to such a chaotic situation that a new beginning was necessary. He intended to kill all of Earth's population, save for those at his mountain retreat on the slope of Mount Everest (the highest point on the planet), where he had gathered the most brilliant scientists and artists from around the world. Strategically positioning powerful lasers at various locations, Noah planned to use them on the surface, producing massive fissures in the Earth's crust that would release millions of tons of molten lava. The end result would be a significant reduction in the surface area of the planet – "like letting air out of a balloon," as he described it – causing massive flooding. Noah's plan was foiled by Bashir with help from Jadzia Dax, who had taken the form of the character Honey Bare, and Elim Garak. Bashir's companion Anastasia Komananov (replaced by the image of Kira Nerys) wanted to kill Noah, but Bashir stopped her, fearing the holosuite would erase Sisko's image.

This was nearly Bashir's undoing, as Mr. Duchamps showed up during Bashir's argument with Komananov and took them by surprise. Noah was about to kill Bashir when the doctor, inspired by an earlier speech Garak made to him, claimed he had realized Noah's way was the right one. He activated the lasers, flooding the Earth and resulting in an unexpected "victory" for Noah. Noah was nonetheless ready to kill Bashir, but in the meantime, Rom and Michael Eddington had devised a method to retrieve the senior crew members' patterns through the USS Defiant's transporter, and they beamed Sisko and the others out of the holosuite. (DS9: "Our Man Bashir")

Memorable quotes[]

"I believe in an orderly world, a far cry from the chaos we find ourselves in today. We are building a new future here, a new beginning for mankind. A new chapter in Human history will open… right here, on my island."
"Island?"
"Forgive me. Sometimes I do get ahead of myself. Allow me to explain."

- Hippocrates Noah and Julian Bashir, shortly before a Bond-esque scene in which the villain explains his masterplan in great detail to his arch-enemy – while on Mount Everest


"It's working just as you planned! You've done it, doctor."
"Yes. But somehow, I didn't expect to win."

- Falcon and Hippocrates Noah, after Bashir destroys the world

Background information[]

Hippocrates Noah map

Noah's plan is set into action

Hippocrates Noah was played by Avery Brooks, who also appeared in his normal role as Captain Sisko.

The name "Hippocrates Noah" has several meanings. Hippocrates was a physician and philosopher in ancient Greece who is regarded as the father of modern medicine and is responsible for the Hippocratic Oath, while Noah was a biblical figure who survived a worldwide flood lasting forty days and forty nights. According to the Bible, God, like this Noah, believed the world had become so sinful as to necessitate a new beginning, so he flooded the planet, killing everyone except Noah and his family.

The name "Noah" was also originally considered as the first name for Sisko's son, Jake. [1]

The character's name also evokes Dr. Julius No, the villain and namesake of the first Bond film. This connection is especially strong in the first two acts of "Our Man Bashir", wherein the character is exclusively referred to as "Dr. Noah". It continues once Noah is seen for the first time, because of the wardrobe similarity between Noah and the theatrical version of No. Likewise, the "Noah's lair" set owes a debt to Ken Adam's design for Dr. No's base. A further Bond connection is that Dr. Noah was also the name of the main villain, played by Woody Allen, in the James Bond spoof Casino Royale.

Noah's plot to destroy the world had commonality with many Bond films, but perhaps most strongly Moonraker (in which the villain plans to poison the population of Earth and create a master race in outer space) and The Spy Who Loved Me (in which the villain – a reclusive shipping magnate – plans to cause a nuclear holocaust and start anew beneath the ocean). Like the plots of those and most other Bond films, Noah's plan is highly implausible.

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