Galen (Professor)

Professor Galen was the most renowned Federation archaeologist of the 24th century. Among Galen's best works were his studies of the Kurlan civilization. 
Galen was Jean-Luc Picard's archaeology instructor at Starfleet Academy; he saw great potential in Picard and was very close to him, but ultimately Picard refused Galen's offer of becoming an archaeologist, which heavily disappointed Galen. Until 2369, the two hadn't met for thirty years, but Picard kept track of the professor's work and Galen of Picard's. Just before Galen's death, Picard stated that he had been the father who had understood him, in stark contrast to his real father. Galen, himself, had children of his own, however, none chose to follow in his footsteps, which reinforced his close relationship with Picard. 
Galen spent the 2360s in micropaleontology and discovered a 4.5 billion year old code programmed in the DNA of dozens of species by ancient humanoids. Galen collected DNA samples from Earth, Loren III, Ruah IV, and seventeen other planets scattered across the quadrant. Lacking a spaceship of his own aside from a shuttlecraft, Galen was forced to travel via the shuttle and whatever transports he could find that Galen could get rides from.
In 2369, Galen was close to deciphering the code and paid a surprise visit to Picard on the , collaborating with Commander William T. Riker to surprise Picard with the gift of a Kurlan artifact he had recently discovered, the Kurlan naiskos. Although surprised to see his old teacher, Picard assured him that no one could be more welcome aboard the Enterprise-D, and was particularly touched at the gift given the rarity of the piece. However, when Galen asked Picard to come with him for the rest of his journey, Picard again disappointed Galen by refusing in favor of his responsibilities on the Enterprise, and Galen left the ship immediately, off to rendezvous with a Vulcan transport destined for Deep Space 4 with the ultimate destination in mind of Indri VIII to collect another piece of the puzzle.
Shortly thereafter, Galen died as a result of injuries suffered when his shuttle was attacked by the Yridians working for the Cardassians. Before he died, Galen admitted to Picard that he had been too harsh with him. Picard was later able to complete the late Galen's discovery. ()
When Picard was working undercover in the service of Arctus Baran, he used the alias to hide his identity. ()
== Appendices ==
=== Background information ===
Galen was played by actor Norman Lloyd.
According to the , the pronunciation for Galen was "GAY-lin", and his given name as Richard. His first name is also used in the .
=== Apocrypha ===
His mirror universe was mentioned in the novella "". He was a self-educated archaeologist and the mentor of Luc Picard. Many years prior to 2371, he was executed by the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance because of his "seditious" theory that Terrans shared a common ancestry with Klingons and Cardassians.
===External link===
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Category:Humans
Category:Starfleet Academy personnel
Category:Scientists
Category:Professors
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