El-Aurian

A humanoid species of "listeners" originating from the El-Aurian system, El-Aurians appear to have an awareness that supersedes the normal flow of time and space.This,how ever, may be Guinan unique ability that she developed while she was trapped in the Nexus, which was said to give people a different perspective of space and time.

The El-Aurians are a widely-traveled people who have spread themselves across many parts of the galaxy. It is known that at least one El-Aurian visited Earth in 1893, before humanity had any official knowledge of alien species. In 1983 the Borg launched a major attack on this species, assimilating all but a handful. The survivors scattered throughout the galaxy, finding homes amongst many races.

In 2293, the Federation transported a group of El-Aurian refugees to Earth following their escape from the Borg. The two ships transporting the refugees, the SS Lakul and the SS Robert Fox, were caught in and destroyed by the Nexus near the Sol system. The USS Enterprise-B was able to save some of the refugees, including Guinan and Dr. Tolian Soran.

El-Aurians pride themselves on being a race of listeners, and appear to have a form of limited empathic ability. Some have used this to help others, acting as advisors or confidants. A few have turned their talent to more dubious pursuits, becoming con men and tricksters, such as Martus Mazur, while Dr. Soran used his abilities to help bring his genocidal plan to re-enter the Nexus to fruition.

Much of their seeming reticence comes from the El-Aurian racial character. They appear to be natural lore-keepers, and use their phenomenal lifespans and memories to collect the stories and life experiences of various sentient beings. They preserve this knowledge for their own kind, and only occasionally share it with non-El-Aurians. They are a highly personable and empathic race, and as such are very willing to help other sentients work out their problems. It is possible as an offshoot of their prodigious memories and mental facilities that El-Aurians are extraordinarily sensitive to the space-time continuum itself. In 2366, Guinan was able to perceive an alternate timeline which occurred because of a disruption in the starship Enterprise-C's history.

Externally, the El-Aurians are physically identical to humans, in structure and even the range of racial phenotypes. The only significant physical difference between humans and El-Aurians is in the aging process, as the extremely long-lived El-Aurian lifespan covers several centuries.