Trekipedia

Akorem Laan

Renowned 22nd-Century Bajoran poet. Akorem’s works included Kitara’s Song and Gaudaal’s Lament. Akorem Laan disappeared without a trace in 2172 when his solar-sail vessel encountered an ion storm. Two centuries later, he emerged from the Bajoran Wormhole. Akorem, who had not aged at all, believed that his experience in encountering the Prophets made him the Emissary of the Bajoran people. Benjamin Sisko willingly relinquished the title to Akorem, who immediately instituted a series of conservative religious reforms in Bajoran society. Unfortunately, certain traditional Bajoran values, such as the defunctory D’jarra caste system, while comforting to Akorem, were no longer appropriate in modern Bajoran society, and even infringed on individual rights.^[1]

Akorem returned to his own time after the Prophets made it clear that he was not the Emissary of Bajoran Prophecy. Akorem’s return to his own time caused a change in the timeline. Instead of disappearing in 2172, Akorem returned from his voyage to live out his life, even completing his epic poem, The Call of the Prophets. (History had previously recorded that the poem was unfinished at the time of his disappearance.) Such alterations in time would ordinarily be undetectable to individuals within the altered timeline, but for some reason, Kira Nerys retained a memory of the changes, even though Akorem evidently did not. She speculated that this was evidence of the Prophets’ handiwork.^[1]

Portrayed by Richard Libertini.