Summary

• The Bynars are a unique Star Trek species introduced in TNG season
• They are genderless and communicate as a pair, with their own high-pitched, fast language.
• The Bynars have a close relationship with technology and are employed by Starfleet for ship upgrades. They rely on their cybernetic implants for processing information quickly.
• Unlike the Borg, the Bynars care about their own survival and maintain personal autonomy. They are not part of a collective and have emotions and individuality, unlike the Borg drones.

In its almost 60-year history, Star Trek has introduced many different kinds of alien species, including some, like the Bynars, who have only appeared a handful of times. Introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1, episode 15, "11001001," the Bynars are a fascinating species that the franchise has barely referenced since their initial appearance. While TNG would go on to become one of the best science fiction television series of all time, the first season struggled a bit to find its footing. Because of this, several concepts and alien species were introduced and then never heard about again, including the small purple aliens called the Bynars.

The Bynars were briefly mentioned in dialogue on Star Trek: Enterprise, but have not been seen in live-action since their first appearance. Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 brought back the Bynars as one of the victims of the mysterious enemy that has been attacking non-Federation ships throughout the season. Lower Decks season 4, episode 7, "A Few Badgeys More," showed the inside of a Bynar ship for the first time and offered a brief glimpse into their way of life. Two Bynars appeared again in Lower Decks season 4, episode 9, "The Inner Fight," stranded by the mysterious enemy on Sherbal V, the same planet the Lower Deckers found themselves stuck on.

Who Are The Bynars In Star Trek: TNG & Lower Decks?

The Bynars are one of the more unique Star Trek aliens introduced in TNG season 1. For one, they are neither male nor female but are instead genderless. They live as part of a matched pair, always working together and communicating as a pair, often completing one another's sentences when in alien languages. Their own language is high-pitched, incredibly fast, and unintelligible to humans, and is considered to be as close to binary as possible. As a species, the Bynars have an interesting relationship with technology, and they could not survive without it. Because of their proficiency with computers, Starfleet employed the Bynars to perform upgrades on their starships in the 24th century.

Each Bynar pair is connected to the master computer on their home planet of Bynaus, and they can process information incredibly quickly. In "11001001," Bynaus experiences an electromagnetic pulse that forces the Bynars to transfer their information to the computer on the USS Enterprise until the pulse es. Because of their binary thinking, the Bynars commandeered the Enterprise to do this, unwilling to take the chance that Starfleet would refuse them. On Star Trek: Enterprise, Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) revealed that the Bynars have their parietal lobes replaced with synaptic processors as newborns, giving them a cybernetic component like those found in the Borg.

What Makes The Bynars Different From The Borg

While the Bynars do exist in pairs, they are not part of one collective whole like the malevolent Borg. Although not much has been shown of Bynar culture, there has been no indication that they answer to a Queen or any sort of all-powerful ruler. With the exception of Hugh (Jonathan Del Arco) and his unique group of Borg drones, the Borg are incapable of independent thought. They have no instinct for individual survival but exist only to assimilate other lifeforms into their collective. The Bynars, on the other hand, clearly care just as much as any humanoid species about their own survival, not only as pairs but also as a species.

In TNG, the Bynars risk their lives by stealing the Enterprise to save their people, and in Star Trek: Lower Decks, they are clearly confused and distressed by the mysterious enemy before it apparently destroys their ship. The Bynars may be more logical and stoic than humans, but they still experience more emotions than the Borg. They do have a close relationship with technology, but they maintain personal autonomy and control. Their cybernetic implants do not take over their minds and turn them into drones, but rather give them access to more knowledge and the ability to store more information. The Bynars still remain a mysterious Star Trek species, but their relationship with technology is much different from that of the Borg.