Hannah Bates was a colonist on Moab IV, a member of the genetically-engineered and socially isolated Human Genome colony. As one of the leading scientists in her society, she was an expert on biosphere homeostasis and theoretical physics.

In 2368, when a stellar core fragment of a collapsed neutron star threatened to destroy the colony, its leader, Aaron Conor, accepted help from the Federation. Exposure to the technology on board the USS Enterprise-D showed Bates how much more advanced the Hum