In the

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

al ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' universe, the Rules of Acquisition are a collection of sacred business proverbs of the ultra-

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

race known as the

Ferengi The Ferengi () are a fictional extraterrestrial species in the American science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. They were devised in 1987 for the series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', played a prominent role in the following series '' Star ...

. The first mention of rules in the ''Star Trek'' universe was in "

The Nagus "The Nagus" is the 11th episode of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures on ''Deep Space Nine'', a space station located adjacent to a stable ...

", 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 quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nucleus, atomic nuclei ...

(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."

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 Divine inspiration is the concept of a supernatural force, typically a deity, causing a person or people to experience a creative desire. It has been a commonly reported aspect of many religions, for thousands of years. Divine inspiration is ofte ...

and sacred (thus furthering the original marketing ploy). Although it has been stated within ''Star Trek'' that there are 285 Rules, not all of them have been stated in

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

. Most of the Rules were written by

Ira Steven Behr Ira Steven Behr (born October 23, 1953) is an American screenwriter and television producer, best known for his work on ''Star Trek'', especially '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', on which he served as showrunner and executive producer. He was th ...

, a writer for ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', in a book ''The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition'' (). 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'' () by Behr and

Robert Hewitt Wolfe Robert Hewitt Wolfe (born 1964) is an American television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as a writer on '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' and for developing and producing the series ''Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda''. Earl ...

, another writer for ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' when Behr was the

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

of the series. The '' Star Trek: Voyager'' episode " False Profits" mentions a book containing all of the Rules:

References

External links

* - rules as outlined in the series canon. * - rules including those found in related novels and other non-canon sources. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rules Of Acquisition Codes of conduct Ferengi Fictional books Fictional laws Religion in science fiction Star Trek terminology