Page "In the Flesh (Star Trek: Voyager)" Paragraph 4

According to writer Nick Sagan, the original concept for " In The Flesh " had the Voyager crew discovering a picture of Species 8472 in an ancient Earth culture, leading them to discover that some human legends of demons and devils grew out of early contact with Species 8472.

When the writers couldn't work this idea out, Sagan wrote the episode as a Cold War parable, using his father's work toward détente as inspiration.