Gideon (planet)

Gideon is an inhabited Class M planet in the Alpha Quadrant.

It is the homeworld for the Gideons, a warp-capable humanoid species.

This planet is governed by the planetary government known as the Gideon Council, headed by a Prime Minister.

The Federation Bureau of Planetary Treaties tried for many years to send ambassadors to persuade this planet and its people to join the Federation, with the planetary government finally acquiescing in 2268. Ambassadors described the planet as an ideal shore leave location. Gideon had a germ-free atmosphere, which aided in the peoples' ability to regenerate their bodies and increase their life spans. With the absence of major disease, the planet's birth rate far exceeded the death rate, and death only occurred when an individual's body could no longer regenerate itself. By the mid-23rd century, the population explosion on Gideon inevitably saturated the planet to a point of being a living mass of individuals. Wishing to keep this secret, the planetary government put screens around their planet in order to prevent scans of the surface.

When the USS Enterprise arrived to conduct negotiations for Federation membership, the Gideon Council allowed only one representative to visit the planet: Captain Kirk. The Gideon Council, aware that Kirk was a carrier for a disease known as Vegan choriomeningitis, chose him in a radical attempt to solve their overpopulation problem. Kirk was used as a means to introduce the disease, on a voluntary basis, to the planet's population. This was done in the name of population control, and to end their suffering caused by overpopulation.

By 2378, Gideon was a Federation member.

Note:

Prior to the events referred to as "The Mark of Gideon," the planet's population exceeded that of the entire United Federation of Planets at several hundred billion

The introduction of disease killed more than 99% of the existing population, leaving only a few hundred thousand.