Clues (episode)

Template:Realworld

The crew of the Enterprise wakes up after apparently passing through a wormhole, finding mysteries surrounding their blackout. Data begins to act suspiciously, prompting the command staff to wonder if he has been compromised.

Summary

After completing a mission early, the crew of the USS Enterprise is granted extra personal time to pursue their interests. Captain Jean-Luc Picard decides to show Guinan his Dixon Hill Holodeck program, and attempts to explain to her why humans find mysteries fascinating. Just then, Data informs him of the discovery of a T-Tauri type star near the Ngame Nebula. The system has one planet, a frozen gas giant similar to Tethys III, and a small, unstable wormhole that flings the vessel 0.54 parsecs from the system as it approaches – and causes the entire crew, with the exception of Lieutenant Commander Data, to fall unconscious.

Act One

As the crew awakens, Data informs Picard that the crew was knocked out for only 30 seconds. He notes such phenomena are not uncommon in T-Tauri systems – thirty-nine had been observed since 2267. Picard orders Worf to launch a probe to study the worm hole while they continue on their regular course. However, while treating minor injuries, Dr. Beverly Crusher discovers that her Diomedian scarlet moss has shown a full day's growth. She presents this evidence to Picard, who cannot come up with an explanation.

Act Two

At the staff briefing Data tries to explain away this contradictions, quoting an obscure theory by Pell Underhill. After Data leaves, Geordi LaForge informs the rest of the staff that the computer's chronometer has been tampered with, and that only he and Data would be capable of doing it. Picard asks Data if he would consent to being examined by Geordi LaForge. Data agrees.

Act Three

More and more evidence seems to indicate not only that the period of unconsciousness was in fact much longer than 30 seconds, but that a full ship's day had passed. Geordi doesn't find anything wrong with Data, but Dr. Crusher discovers that Worf's wrist has been broken and then repaired, without his knowledge, meaning that the crew were awake and conscious during that day as well.It is then clear that Data is apparently concealing information and fabricating false data to keep the crew's organic members from discovering the truth. Picard implores Data to tell the truth, but Data refuses, even in the face of a court martial.

Act Four

Picard decides to set a course back to the T-Tauri system. As soon as they arrive, an energy pulse passes through the shields and posesses Counsellor Deanna Troi and informs Data that "the plan has failed." Data asks the entity for more time and argues that the destruction of the Enterprise at this time would serve no purpose. Just then, Geordi enters and tells Data that the Captain has asked him to come to the bridge. Data does so, and implores Picard to leave the T-Tauri system. Picard refuses and demands to know why Data will not tell him the truth, and the android finally informs him that he, Picard, had ordered Data not to.

Act Five

The crew finds that the system in reality contains a Class M planet inhabited by the Paxans, a violently xenophobic and highly advanced race. They terraformed their planet in order to conceal it from intruders. When an intruder comes within their space, the "wormhole" (actually an energy field) renders the ship's crew unconscious in biochemical stasis, and the ship is transported out of their space through a wormhole to just over half a parsec away from their space.

The body of Counselor Deanna Troi is possessed by a Paxan representative to communicate with the crew and warns that their prior attempt to "undo" the contact has failed. In order to prevent the Paxans from destroying the ship and killing all aboard, Captain Picard and the Enterprise crew again work to alter or erase all records concerning the true nature of the planet. Only Data is allowed to retain any knowledge of what happened to the ship and crew during the missing day.

Once the crew is brought back from stasis again, the conversation goes approximately the same as the first time. However, when the captain orders Data to launch the probe, he also orders him to dispatch a hazard advisory to Starfleet, hopefully preventing any other federation ships to come in contact with the Paxans.

Background Information

Worf's Mok'bara classes are first seen in this episode.
Alyssa Ogawa is given her first name in this episode. Her last name would not be mentioned until TNG: "Identity Crisis".
Data references the USS Trieste, a ship he stated he was familiar with in TNG: "11001001".
To differentiate the flashbacks, longer and more fluid camera takes are used than in the "present" scenes.
Joe Menosky's rewrite of the script won him a staff job on TNG. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion)

Video and DVD releases

Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 44, 6 April 1992.
UK re-release (three-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment): Volume 4.5, 16 July 2001.
As part of the TNG Season 4 DVD collection.

Links and references

Starring

Also starring

LeVar Burton as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf
Gates McFadden as Doctor Beverly Crusher
Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi
Brent Spiner as Lieutenant Commander Data

Guest Stars

Previous episode:
"Devil's Due"

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Season 4

Next episode:
"First Contact"

Clues (episode)

Contents