The Rules of Acquisition: Revised for the Modern Ferengi

The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition: Revised for the Modern Ferengi was a series of 285 aphorisms, guidelines, and principles that were created by Grand Nagus Zek in 2371 as a replacement for the Rules of Acquisition.

When Quark and Rom first learned about Zek's plan to write a new set of Rules of Acquisition, they were excited, to begin with, at the prospect of being the first Ferengi to learn from Zek's wisdom. However, when the book was finished and presented to them, they were horrified to discover that the new Rules of Acquisition promoted kindness and charity over money and profit.

In attempting to look for a code in the revised rules, Rom read to his brother, Quark, the first word of each rule, reading: "If... never... keep... profit... a... good... smile... honesty." It was determined, quite obviously, to mean nothing. Later attempts to decipher it included holding the book up to the light, smelling it, and tasting it.

It was later discovered that Zek had used the Bajoran Orb of Wisdom to talk to the Prophets, wishing to know the future. The Prophets found Zek to be excessively greedy and "de-evolved" him into a state which they equated to be an earlier, less selfish Ferengi – it was under this influence which Zek had decided to rewrite the Rules. After Quark became aware of this, he persuaded the Prophets to return Zek to normal, due to him informing them that "de-evolving" him would encourage contact with other Ferengi (which they wanted to avoid). To avoid scandal, the rules were never released to the public. 

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