Hugh Culber

Commander Hugh Culber was a Human male Starfleet officer who lived during both the mid-23rd and late 32nd centuries. He served as a physician and counselor aboard the . ()
==Early life==
At the age of sixteen, Culber was injured in a fall while hiking on the cliffs of Cabo Rojo, on Earth. Culber was rescued by a Doctor Kashkooli, who stitched and closed a puncture wound on his shoulder, which gave him a "very sexy scar" as described by Paul Stamets. The experience inspired Culber to go to medical school. ()
Sometime after Culber completed his medical training, his tío Cesar died. Culber was angry, and determined that nothing would make him feel better at the funeral. His family posed Cesar at a poker table as part of el muerto parado, after which Culber and his cousins accidently snapped off Cesar's thumb and index finger, leaving Culber to use his training to reattach them. The experience left he and his cousins laughing the whole funeral long. ()
==Starfleet career==
=== 23rd century ===
====Federation-Klingon war====
During the in 2256, Culber served with his husband, Lieutenant Paul Stamets, aboard the .
In 2256, Culber treated Stamets after he was injured in an unsuccessful test of the Discoverys spore drive. ()
In December 2256, Specialist Michael Burnham introduced Culber to "Ripper", a , after coming to believe that Ripper was experiencing pain during the starship's spore jumps. Culber agreed to run some tests. Scans of Ripper's frontal lobe showed significant cumulative deterioration every time Discovery went to black alert. The next time Discovery went to black alert, Ripper collapsed into a state of extreme cryptobiosis, reducing water content levels to one percent. Culber could barely detect Ripper's vital signs, and neurological tests indicated Ripper was possibly sentient. Acting Captain Saru ordered Culber to re-hydrate Ripper for more spore jumps. Culber refused the order, stating that he would "not be party to murder." Saru then ordered Lieutenant Stamets to carry out the order. Unbeknownst to Commander Saru, Lieutenant Stamets injected himself with Ripper's DNA and operated the spore drive in place of Ripper. Stamets rationalized to Culber that he knew he would leave him if he allowed anything else to happen to Ripper. ()
Following the Battle at Pahvo, when Stamets entered a state of catatonia, Culber believed his moments of lucidity were merely insane ramblings. ()
After experienced nightmares of having undergone surgery following Klingon imprisonment, he asked Culber to perform an examination on him. Culber discovered that Tyler's skeletal structure and organs had been surgically altered and that the Tyler personality had been overlaid over that of someone else. This led the doctor to try to ground Tyler, but it triggered a reaction and he broke Culber's neck, killing him. () It was later discovered that Culber had been correct and that Ash Tyler's personality had overlaid that of Voq, a Klingon. ()
For his service during the , Culber was posthumously awarded the Starfleet Medal of Honor. Paul Stamets accepted the award on Culber's behalf. ()
Unbeknownst to anyone, when Stamets had cradled Culber after his death in one of his moments of lucidity, he had unknowingly drawn Culber's essence into the mycelial network where the jahSepp regarded Culber as a "monster" as he inadvertently killed many of them while defending himself as the network began attacking Culber as a foreign body. ()
==== Resurrection ====
In 2257, during a mission into the mycelial network to rescue Sylvia Tilly, Culber was found by Stamets, Burnham, Tilly and the jahSepp incarnation of who had sought out Tilly's help to deal with the "monster" in the network. After Culber's DNA was added to the jahSepp cocoon in the outside universe, May and the jahSepp were able to rebuild Culber's body through the cocoon, resurrecting him.
After his resurrection, Culber was subjected to extensive scans. () Doctor Tracy Pollard ran every scan or test she could think of on Culber, to the point that Culber thought there wasn't a scan or test that she had not performed. While the scans showed his new body was healthy, Culber's body was completely new, with even the old scar on his shoulder gone. Pollard advised Culber that it would take time for him to get used to his new body and that, while she would continue to monitor his condition, he could resume a normal life. ()
Culber was reinstated in his post by Captain Christopher Pike, and helped in an operation on Essof IV to capture the Red Angel. ()
Culber decided to transfer to the , but he eventually changed his mind, when he realized that his place was with Stamets on the Discovery. He was among multiple crewmembers who volunteered to stay on board when Burnham took the ship forward into the 32nd century, to elude Control, with no chance of coming back. Along with the rest of the volunteering crew, Culber was presumed dead by Starfleet, based on the testimonies of the Enterprise senior officers. ()
=== 32nd century ===
After Discovery arrived in the year 3189, Culber helped the crew adjust to their new lives in a time in which everyone they had known had died centuries earlier. In particular he helped Keyla Detmer deal with her guilt at being the one who piloted Discovery through the wormhole to the future. ()
Following Discoverys finding of Federation Headquarters, Culber was interrogated and debriefed by a security hologram about his "death". He was then part of the away team that boarded the to retrieve a seed sample from Urna to help a group of Kili refuges with a prion infection. Culber then helped the doctors treat the refugees. ()
He also treated for a unique condition which arose from her travelling across universes as well as through time. ()
During an investigation into the Burn, Culber was beamed down to wreckage of the in the Verubin Nebula with Burnham and Saru. During this time, a holoprogram disguised him as a Bajoran in an outfit that hid his medical supplies and away mission gear. When Osyraa attacked the USS Discovery, he elected to stay behind with Saru and Su'Kal on Theta Zeta. Culber, along with Saru, Adira, and Gray were able to convince Su'Kal to turn off the holo-program. He promised Gray that he, Adira and Stamets would help him be seen again by all. Culber and the others were then beamed aboard Discovery. Culber and Adira were then reunited with Stamets upon their return to Federation Headquarters. Culber, like the rest of crew, updated their uniforms and accepted Burnham as Discoverys new captain. ()
Five months later, Culber was present for the re-opening ceremony of Starfleet Academy, and had the chance to voice appreciation to Federation President Laira Rillak. Following the recovery of the Deep Space Repair Beta Six escape vessel's second trip, Culber found Commander Nalas deceased. During this time, Culber also served as Discovery 's counselor in addition to medical officer. ()
Culber kept his promise to Gray and Adira, utilizing the Soong Method combined with a zhian'tara performed by Xi to resurrect Gray in the body of a golem. ()
In 3191, Culber volunteered to host the consciousness of Jinaal Bix through zhian'tara so that Discovery could find Jinaal's piece of the clue to the Progenitors' technology. This event had a profound impact on Culber, triggering a spiritual awakening when he couldn't find any scientific way to explain his experiences. ()
After Moll and L'ak were captured by the , Culber attempted to treat L'ak's injuries, but he was hampered by his lack of knowledge of Breen physiology. Culber eventually found a solution amidst tense negotiations with Primarch Ruhn, but L'ak injected himself with an overdose of tricordrazine as part of an escape plan. Unfortunately, L'ak misjudged the dose and even with the help of a Breen medic, Culber was unable to save his life. ()
During the dangerous mission to stabilize the portal to the Progenitors' technology, Culber volunteered to go with Cleveland Booker, feeling a drive that he was unable to explain. Culber unexpectedly gained access to one of Jinaal's memories which provided him and Booker with vital information, but he couldn't explain how it had happened as Culber had never before had access to any of Jinaal's memories after zhian'tara. However, Culber found that he didn't need an explanation for once and simply embraced it. ()
== Appendices ==
=== Appearances ===
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=== Background information ===
Culber is portrayed by Wilson Cruz. He stated about the character, "It was important for me, when we were developing Doctor Culber, that he had this big heart, but he was also someone who was formidable, who could stand up to authority, who, you know, had no problem voicing his opinions and insisting on going the right way. So, I think we achieved that." ()
=== External links ===
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ca:Hugh Culber
de:Hugh Culber
es:Hugh Culber
fr:Hugh Culber
pt:Hugh Culber
ru:Хью Калбер
sr:Хју Кулбер
Category:Humans
Category:Starfleet sciences personnel
Category:Medical practitioners
Category:USS Discovery personnel