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Mirror Universe (Star Trek)
In the Star Trek television series, the Mirror Universe is an alternate reality. The Next Generation episode "Parallex" showed Worf shifting through countless alternate realities, so there really is an infinite number of alternate realities. However, the Mirror Universe is an alternate reality close enough to our own that most individuals and places do have a counterpart there, but often in entirely different situations.
On the whole, the Mirror Universe is much darker and violent than the normal Star Trek universe. The violence sometimes verges on cartoon-like levels due to the bizarre changes to the characters.
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Background
The Original Series
The existence of alternate realities was first established in the original Star Trek Series episode "The Alternative Factor." In this episode the crew encountered a man named Lazarus who appeared to undergo extreme shifts in behavior. After a time it was discovered that there were two men, one from an alternative universe who was calm and rational, and another from our universe who was irrational. Both men had a ship that had the ability to send people into the other's universe. The Lazarus from the alternative reality said that there was a corridor of sorts between the universes where he and his counterpart could safely meet. If they met outside the corridor both universes would be annihilated. Lazarus arranged with Captain Kirk to trap both him and the other Lazarus in the corridor forever by having Kirk destroy the ship, and at the same time the ship in the other universe was destroyed as well. Both men were trapped forever in the corridor, one sane, and one not.
The Mirror Universe was first introduced in the original Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror." It was established that in the Mirror Universe the United Federation of Planets counterpart was the brutal Terran Empire, run by humans and their Vulcan allies. In the Mirror Universe, the term "Terran" is predominantly used for humans. The Mirror-Captain Kirk of the Imperial Starship Enterprise was a mass-murderer, who had been promoted to Captain by assassinating Captain Christopher Pike.
In the Terran Empire, officers were promoted for assasinating their superiors and order was kept by use of "Agonizer" pain-giving devices. Aesthetic differences included: the Mirror-crew's uniforms were flamboyant and somewhat robe-like, with ceremonial daggers for the officer; Mirror-Sulu was a Gestapo-like political officer with a disfiguring facial scar; Mirror-Spock had a goatee; the "Starfield-surmounted-by-olive-branches" emblem of the Federation was replaced in the Terran Empire symbol by a map of Earth's Western Hemisphere with a broadsword running through it.
In this original encounter, Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, Lt. Uhura, and Cmdr. Scott were on a mission to Halkan to see if the Halkans would agree to give the Federation dilithium crystals. The Halkans refused because they were worried about the crystals being used for aggressive reasons. The crew were transported into the Mirror Universe as the result of a transporter accident when they tried to beam up from the Halkan planet during an ion storm. Their counterparts in the Mirror Universe were beaming up at the same time from Halkan. The storm caused the crew to switch places with their Mirror-Universe counterparts.
The four crew members had to learn how to adapt to survive long enough in this universe until they could find a way home without being detected. Captain Kirk also tried to prevent the genocide of the Halkans - which violated the Mirror-Starfleet's orders. As a result, Kirk suffered several assassination attempts during his time in the Mirror Universe. Mirror-Starfleet ordered Mirror-Spock to give Kirk until planet dawn over their primary target to complete the mission.
The crew did find a way home, but had to move fast because the field density between the two universes was collapsing. At the last minute, Mirror-Spock found out about the four crew members. He decided to return the crew to our universe.
In a happy coincidence, the regular Spock easily determined the true nature of the Mirror-Kirk and the Mirror-versions of the other officers and promptly slapped them in the Enterprise brig while he worked on his side of the return exchange.
Before leaving the Mirror Universe, Kirk gave an impassioned speech in which he told Mirror-Spock that because the Empire would die in a few hundred years, that it was illogical, and Mirror-Spock was illogical for supporting the Empire. He asked Mirror-Spock to work for change, and Mirror-Spock replied that he would consider Kirk's proposal.
Deep Space Nine
The Mirror Universe was later revisited in the Deep Space Nine episode "Crossover", and turned into a story-arc that spanned into the final season, with roughly one Mirror Universe episode a season.
On Deep Space Nine, which takes place over 100 years after the original contact with the Mirror Universe, it was revealed that drastic changes had occurred in the Mirror Universe, ironically, because of our universe's Kirk's interference. Before he left the Mirror Universe, our James T. Kirk planted seeds of doubt in the Mirror-Spock's mind about the Terran Empire's brutal tactics. Kirk noted that Spock was a man of honor in both universes, and the Mirror-Spock listened to Kirk's urging for reform. Mirror-Spock's future role on Enterprise, and the fate of Mirror-Kirk is unclear, though some have suggested that Mirror-Kirk was assassinated. Mirror-Spock then went on to become Chief of State of the Terran Empire. Mirror-Spock introduced many popular reforms that largely ended the iron-fisted rule of the Terran Empire, especially a vast demilitarization program. However, these reforms were very ill timed.
Not long after Mirror-Spock's demilitarization drive, the Terran Empire encountered the Alliance. In the Mirror Universe, the Alliance is a unified government of the Klingons and the Cardassians, presumably ruled by the Klingon Emperor. The Alliance conquered the ill-prepared Terran Empire, and enslaved the Terrans and Vulcans. Terrans became pariahs and a slave race, often subjected to mass forced physical labor.
Cloaking Device technology does not exist in the Mirror Universe (although a ship was seen decloaking in an earlier episode, an episode in the seventh season established that the Mirror Universe does not have cloaking devices, and the earlier appearance was retconed out as a graphical error).
It is unknown what role the Romulans play in the Mirror Universe. However, there is evidence of their existence. When Sisko was finished impersonating Mirror-Sisko, he told Mirror-Jennifer Sisko he was leaving to see the Romulans. Also, in our own universe, the Earth-Romulan War was fought 100 years before Kirk visited the Mirror Universe, and if the Terran Empire also encountered the Romulans at this time, they may have eradicated them rather then letting them surrender as our own Earth did. This remains to be explained.
The Bajorans of the Mirror Universe were ruled by the Terran Empire, but later sided with the Alliance and became masters of Terran slave forces. Notable among them was Intendant Kira, the counterpart to our universe's Kira Nerys. Intendant Kira was ruthless, sadistic, and hedonistic; she was outwardly bisexual and sexually aggressive. She mainted power in her sector of the Alliance from Terok Nor, the counterpart of Deep Space Nine.
When Deep Space Nine officers Julian Bashir and Kira Nerys visited the Mirror Universe, they sparked a rebellion among the Terran slaves led by the Mirror-Sisko and Mirror-O'brian. Over the next five years, the Terran Rebellion would drag on and was not conclusively finished. However Regent Worf was eventually taken as a prisoner of war by the rebellion.
The Klingon Empire of the normal Star Trek universe hasn't actually had an Emperor in 300 years; they were replaced by the Chancellor and the High Council. But in the Mirror-Klingon Empire there are still ruling Emperors. The Mirror-Imperial Family is House Duras, who were deposed in disgrace in the normal Trek universe. However, during Deep Space Nine, a Regent currently ruled as the true power behind the throne: the brutal Regent Worf.
Other characters in the Mirror Universe: Garak was Intendant Kira's first officer; Mirror-Odo was the cruel foreman of the human slaves on Terok Nor, and was killed by the Dr. Bashier of our universe; Mirror-Sisko was something of a shady pirate, but later started the Terran Rebellion, although he was later killed; Tuvok never got lost in the Delta Quadrant and was a member of the Resistance; Quark and Rom were both Rebel-sympathizers and were killed by Intendant Kira; Mirror-Nog and Brunt were also later killed by Intendant Kira; Sisko's wife Jennifer never died at the hands of the Borg in the Mirror Universe, and she had to be convinced to join the Resistance, later she was later killed by the Mirror-Kira; Mirror-Julien Bashir was a hairy, unshaven and aggressive member of the Resistance, although he was quite loyal; Mirror-Jadzia Dax was the lover of Mirror-Sisko, although she later died (roughly the same time her counterpart in our universe died); Mirror-Ezri Dax was a double-agent working both sides, a bit of a tramp and bisexual; Mirror-Leeta was a member of the Resistance, also a bit trampy, and "interrogated" Ezri (they almost definitely had sex), Jake Sisko was probably never born in this reality; Mirror-O'brian was a somewhat depressed character, so Mirror-Sisko dubbed him "Smiley", and the name stuck to distinguish him from our O'brian, he never married or had children but eventually became a high ranking cell leader in the Terran Resistance, and after Mirror-Sisko's death, perhaps THE leader. Bareil Antos's Mirror Universe counterpart is also still alive, but he never became a Vedek (religious leader) like the one in our universe. Vic Fontaine also makes an appearance, working alongside the mirror- Ezri Dax. In this universe he is a real person and not a hologram like in the normal universe, he is killed shortly after his character appears.
Eventually, the Terran Resistance captured Mirror-Terok Nor and used it as a base of operations, and built a Mirror-Defiant using plans stolen from our universe.
Another View of the Mirror Universe
Diane Duane, in her book "Dark Mirror" offers another explanation of what happened after Captain Kirk and three others of his crew encountered the Mirror Universe.
In Dark Mirror, the Mirror-Spock left the Enterprise and rose through the ranks and spearheaded an effort to reform the Empire. However, the Mirror-Kirk framed him for treason, which resulted in the execution of Mirror-Spock. Soon afterwards Mirror-Sarek was assassinated by another Vulcan seeking his job. As a result, Mirror-Spock's reform efforts died with him. The Empire is still alive and still quite powerful in this book. The Klingons were a conquered race in this book who were forced into slavery by the Empire after their defeat. The Romulan Empire had been destroyed early on by the Empire.
Dark Mirror tells how Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D were forced to deal with their counterparts. Their counterparts were also brutal and savage. A tag line for the book said that the crew was going to deal with their worst enemies - themselves. For example, the Mirror-Captain Picard had murdered the Mirror-Jack Crusher so that he could have the Mirror-Beverely Crusher to himself. Mirror-Dr. Crusher used her skills to build bioweapons. Troi was the Gestapo-like security officer who freely used torture to obtain information. The missions of the crew of the Mirror-Enterprise-D's were filled with brutality and even genocidal activities.
When the Enterprise-D crew met with their alternates in this book, they discovered that the Empire was planning to cross into our universe and invade the Federation. The first step of the plan was to capture our universe's Enterprise, kill the crew, and use the vessel as an infiltrator. However the crew of the Enterprise was able to foil their plans, and find a means to prevent the Empire from invading the Federation.
Captain Picard found that the Empire was still going to collapse, that it had almost conquered all that it could. He further found that in a matter of only decades the Empire would collapse.
Obviously, the book Dark Mirror would not be part of the Star Trek Canon since later episodes of DS9 contradict what was written in the book. One possible theory for this version of the Mirror Universe is again the TNG episode "Parallex." In this episode, Data explained that for every choice made, the other choices available were made in alternate universes. As a result, at some point in the course of the history of the Mirror Universe a choice would have made that would have resulted in the branching off of two universes. One would be the Mirror Universe found in Dark Mirror, the other would be the one seen in several episodes of Deep Space Nine. Essentially, the Mirror Universes seen in "Dark Mirror" and Deep Space Nine are not each *the* Mirror Universe, but *a* Mirror Universe; again, as seen in "Parallex" the number of possible Mirror Universes is infinite, and in many of them the Terran Empire probably never fell.
Other Ramifications
In some ways, it was fortunate that when the original switch occurred in Mirror, Mirror that Kirk and his fellow crew members originally entered a universe so drastically different than their own. It enabled Kirk and his crew to realize from the start that something was wrong. The crew might have been beamed into a universe where any differences between that universe and ours might have been unnoticeable at first to either Kirk and his crew, and their counterparts. It's questionable if they would have ever known that they were in a different universe. However, if later they did find out that they were in a different universe return would probably not have been possible.
In the dealings with the Mirror Universe, there are Prime Directive considerations at work as well. It is debatable how the Prime Directive would apply to alternate universes - whether or not future contamination of the universe should be permitted.
While in the "Alternative Factor" the Lazarus of the alternate universe said that to meet his counterpart would cause the destruction of both his and our universe, in later episodes characters met their counterparts in the Mirror-Universe and the meetings did not cause any apparent damage to either universe. It is unclear why this happened, it could be the method of transport used.
Miscellaneous
The Mirror Universe concept has been much parodied, notably in an espisode in the second season of South Park in which a friendly, helpful Cartman with a goatee briefly crosses over into our world.
Some Star Trek fans speculate that the most recent series, Star Trek: Enterprise actually takes place in the Mirror Universe described above. While nothing in the first three seasons of the program directly support this view, comments by the show's writers that it might take place in an "alternate" or "altered" time line have led some fans to extrapolate that is might mean the series does not take place in the "real" Star Trek Universe.