THE Scottish Borders are preparing for an invasion of Trekkies after a rock was revealed to be carrying a message in Klingon.
The mysterious inscription on the Glentress "stane" on the Spooky Wood bike route in a Tweeddale forest has mystified thousands of visitors since it appeared two years ago.
But now the man behind the strange message, artist Gordon Young, has finally let on that his inscription comes from the Final Frontier.
The stone's inscription, which was funded by the European Union and the Forestry Commission, reads: "Due to bad management by its current inhabitants, the Klingon Empire claims the right to take this planet for the benefit of the greater universe.
"This rock is an official legally binding claim marker. We'll be arriving soon, your future is assured."
Artist Young said the stone's message was a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the hugely successful sci-fi series Star Trek, which originated in the 1960s.
Starring William Shatner, it has spawned endless spin-off shows, and even seen a Klingon, Lieutenant Worf, rise through the ranks. It has also been the subject of 11 major movies, with another in the making.
Young said: "I had heard that Scotland was a stronghold of Trekkiedom and we wanted to reflect that."
With products and events associated with Star Trek generating about £1billion a year, it is no wonder the Borders are expecting an influx of Trekkie tourism.
Here we take a look at some of the bizarre facts surrounding the show and its dedicated fans.
The only UK Star Trek fan film, called Star Trek: Intrepid, was filmed and produced in Scotland three years ago. Set in the 24th century, it revolves around an attempt to colonise a far and unexplored area of the galaxy.
GMTV presenter Lorraine Kelly even made a cameo appearance.
The original Klingon dialogue was devised by actor James Doohan who played Scotty, the crew's Doohan who played Scotty, the crew's Scots engineer.
Writer Mark Okrand later took this dialogue and developed an entire Klingon vocabulary. His Klingon dictionary has sold more than 250,000 copies worldwide.
Doohan was actually Canadian but his accent was so convincing, many Trekkies still believe him to be Scottish.
When the actor died in 2005, there was a huge surge in interest in his character. Much Star Trek lore points to Linlithgow being Scotty's birthplace, where the town's council are reportedly planning a monument to the character. Aberdeen, Elgin and Edinburgh are also said to have laid claim to him.
Riverside, Iowa, has become a pilgrimage site for fans after it was named as the place where Captain James T Kirk will one day be born. The town now boasts a replica starship, a statue of Captain Kirk and a Star Trek museum.
Star Trek characters Spock and Kirk are at the heart of an internet craze known as "fanfic" or fantasy fiction.
Obsessive fans of the show indulge themselves by writing fictional love stories about the pair and posting them on the net.
In 1996, Barbara Adams served as a juror in the US, turning up wearing a Star Trek: The Next Generation-style Starfleet Command uniform, including a commbadge, phaser and tricorder.
She was dropped from the jury. However, it was not because she wore the outfit, as was widely reported, but because she had given an interview to the American Journal during the trial about her uniform.
Comedian Bill Bailey named his son Dax after a character in spin-off show Deep Space Nine.
Former vice-president Al Gore was known for watching reruns of Star Trek in his dorm at Harvard, while scientist Stephen Hawking is such a fan he starred as a holographic version of himself in The Next Generation.
After sharing the first on-screen interracial kiss with William Shantner, actress Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura, was urged not to leave the show by none other than Martin Luther King.
He said: "You have opened a door that must not be allowed to close. For the first time, the world sees us as we should be seen, as equals, as intelligent people."
As the latest Star Trek movie hit cinema screens last year, a firm in America had Trekkies in a tizz by creating an exact copy of Captain Kirk's chair from the original series.
Another must-have for Trekkies is Star Trek Pon Farr Perfume. The Pon Farr, as every Trekkie knows, is what happens to a Vulcan every seven years when they go into heat, experience a blood fever and may die if they do not mate. The perfume is said to be a refreshing fragrance.
If fans fancy having a Klingon wedding, there are any number of internet sites offering advice on Klingon etiquette, traditions and vows.
A Trekkie gathering in Las Vegas next month is expecting 16,000 fans to turn up to pay homage to everything Star Trek-related.
A remote Canadian town called Vulcan, in Alberta, has been transformed into a tourist hotspot af ter declaring itself the birthplace of Mr Spock.
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