Rules of Acquisition
{{Short description|Business proverbs in the Star Trek Universe}}
{{For|the episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Rules of Acquisition (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2013}}
In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Rules of Acquisition are a collection of sacred business proverbs of the ultra-capitalist race known as the Ferengi.
The first mention of rules in the Star Trek universe was in "The Nagus", an episode of the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Season 1, Episode 10). In a later Deep Space Nine episode, "The Maquis: Part 1", Sakonna (a Vulcan) asks Quark (a Ferengi) to explain what a Rule of Acquisition is. He states, "Every Ferengi business transaction is governed by 285 Rules of Acquisition to ensure a fair and honest deal for all parties concerned... well most of them anyway."{{Cite episode | series = Star Trek: Deep Space Nine |title= The Maquis: Part 1 | episode-link= The Maquis (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
| season= 2| number= 20 | type = Television production | time = 23:00}}
Background
The first Rule was made by Gint, the first Grand Nagus of the Ferengi Alliance, a role with political, economic, and even quasi-religious duties. The Rules were said to be divinely inspired and sacred (thus furthering the original marketing ploy).{{Cite book
| title= Religions of Star Trek
| first= Ross Shepard
| last= Kraemer
| first2=Ross| last2= Kraemer | first3= William| last3= Cassidy |first4= Susan L.| last4= Schwartz
| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=Ag3SFdyIgSsC
| pages=3, 180
| year= 2003
| publisher= Westview Press
| isbn= 9780813341156 }}
Although it has been stated within Star Trek that there are 285 Rules,{{Cite episode
| series = Star Trek: Deep Space Nine |title= Rules of Acquisition
| episode-link= Rules of Acquisition (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
| type = Television production
| season= 2| number= 7
| time = 3:00
}} not all of them have been stated in canon. Most of the Rules were written by Ira Steven Behr, a writer for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in a book The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition ({{ISBN|0-671-52936-6}}). The book's cover credits authorship as being "By Quark as told to Ira Steven Behr." Additional rules were published in Legends of the Ferengi ({{ISBN|0-671-00728-9}}) by Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe, another writer for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine when Behr was the executive producer of the series.{{Cite book
| title= Adventures in Time and Space
| first= Mary P.
| last= Taylor
|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=CNPFsqC7EFgC
|page=483
|year= 2002
|publisher=Simon and Schuster
| isbn= 9780743455930 }}
The Star Trek: Voyager episode "False Profits" mentions a book containing all of the Rules:
{{quote|Unabridged and fully annotated with all 47 commentaries, all 900 major and minor judgments, all 10,000 considered opinions. There's a rule for every conceivable situation." There is also a note about The Unwritten Rule: "When no appropriate rule applies... make one up."{{Cite episode
| series = Star Trek: Voyager |title= False Profits
| type = Television production
| season= 3| number= 5
}}}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{cite web |url= http://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Rules_of_Acquisition|title= Rules of Acquisition|author= |website= memory-alpha.fandom.com}} - rules as outlined in the series canon.
- {{cite web |url= http://memory-beta.fandom.com/wiki/Ferengi_Rules_of_Acquisition|title= Ferengi Rules of Acquisition|author= |website= memory-beta.fandom.com}} - rules including those found in related novels and other non-canon sources.
{{Star Trek}}
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