Original subtitles

Captain's Log, Stardate 45470.1.

The Enterprise has been diverted to the Moab Sector

to track a stellar core fragment of a disintegrated neutron star.

Our science teams have been asked

to monitor the planetary disruptions it may cause.

We've got a problem.

Our core fragment is going to pass by Moab IV in six days.

Isn't that exactly what we anticipated?

We didn't anticipate there would be someone living there.

An artificial environment

has been constructed on the southern continent, sir.

You've definitely established that there's someone inside it?

Yes, Captain, sensors are reading human life-forms.

Human?

Are they responding to our hails, Mr. Worf?

Negative, sir.

Any starships reported missing in this sector, Mr. Data?

No, sir.

How the hell did they find themselves on a deserted planet?

I'm pretty sure they know we're here.

Mr. La Forge?

Our sensors are picking up deep EM readings.

Looks like wave patterns from an obsolete subspace relay.

Which would suggest they also have the ability

to communicate with us.

Mr. Worf, open the lower band frequencies

most commonly used in the last century.

Channel open.

This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard

of the Federation Starship Enterprise.

It is urgent that you respond.

Sir, the defensive shield around the structure

is increasing strength.

Not exactly a welcome mat.

We mean you no harm.

We must warn you

that your planet is about to experience

massive seismic disruptions

due to an approaching stellar core fragment.

No structure will be able to withstand them.

They are responding.

On screen.

Enterprise, I am Aaron Conor.

Mr. Conor, we were unaware

that there were human colonies in this system.

I don't want to be rude, Captain

but we don't wish to interact with outsiders.

I'm only responding because of your warning.

The fragment will have serious effects on your planet

within six days.

Yes, I know.

We have been tracking it.

But our biosphere is constructed

to withstand quakes of 8.7 on the Richter scale.

Mr. Data?

The fragment has a density

of 100 billion kilograms per cubic centimeter.

As a result, when it passes Moab IV

it will cause tectonic shifts

well beyond 8.7 on the Richter scale.

I'm afraid we're going to have to evacuate your people.

Evacuate?

That is not possible.

There must be an alternative.

Well, we will gladly explore

the possibility of it with you, Mr. Conor.

Would you like to come aboard to discuss it?

Our environment is sealed.

No one can get in or out.

We are capable of matter/energy transport.

Matter/energy?

We can take you directly through the structure.

Really?

That's quite remarkable.

May we arrange for your transport?

No. I must remain here

but under the circumstances

I will permit a small delegation from your ship

inside the biosphere, if only to see

this matter/energy transportation you speak of.

Very good.

Commander Riker and an away team will be with you shortly.

Picard out.

This is a mistake, Aaron.

Good Lord, Martin, what would you have me do?

Anything that would keep them out of here.

We have nothing to hide.

We have a great deal to lose.

What is that?

It's them.

Look at this, Martin.

Incredible.

Space, the final frontier.

These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise.

Its continuing mission...

to explore strange new worlds

to seek out new life and new civilizations

to boldly go where no one has gone before.

It's lovely.

I can understand

why you're reluctant to leave, Mr. Conor.

Not just reluctant, Miss Troi.

It is imperative that we remain.

It would be suicide to evacuate.

It would destroy everything

we have worked for two centuries to accomplish.

You see, this is an engineered society.

Engineered?

Genetically engineered.

Our ancestors came from Earth to create a perfect society.

They believed that through controlled procreation

they could create people without flaws

and those people would build a paradise.

All of you have been selectively bred?

Your DNA patterns chosen?

Eight generations of us.

We have immeasurably extended the potential of humanity.

Physically, psychologically, we have evolved beyond...

Beyond...

Beyond us.

Frankly, yes.

No one in this society would be blind, for example.

No offense intended.

I can see you just fine, sir.

Yes, well, my point was just...

Thank you, Martin.

Perhaps you've also made it clear there are

still a few imperfections we're working on.

For the most part, we have achieved

a fully integrated existence

not just among ourselves, but with our environment.

We don't just live here.

We're a part of our environment.

It is part of us.

Every plant life, every microscopic life-form

is a part of the master design.

We cannot separate ourselves from it

without irreparably altering who and what we are.

Your presence here has already begun to affect

the entire balance of our society.

If we don't survive, the balance of our society

won't mean a great deal, will it?

I apologize, but he is performing his function

as he is designed to do.

And what function might that be?

He is the interpreter

of our founders' intentions for the society.

A judge.

Yes. More or less.

Obviously, he has no diplomatic talents.

And obviously, you do.

I have been bred to fill this specific role.

We grow up knowing exactly what our society needs from us

what we are expected to do.

That must take some of the fun out of it.

Not at all.

My entire psychological makeup

tells me that I was born to lead.

I am exactly what I would choose to be.

Think of it another way.

Are there still people in your society

who have not yet discovered who they really are

or what they were meant to do with their lives?

They may be in the wrong job.

They may be writing bad poetry

or worse yet, they may be great poets

working as laborers, never to be discovered.

That does not happen here.

It is, for us, an ideal existence

and we will not give it up easily.

We will do whatever we can to help you preserve it.

Hannah, I'd like you to meet our guests.

Oh, yes, of course, from the starship.

I've been looking forward to speaking with you.

Hannah Bates is one of our scientists.

If there's any way to shore up our defenses

Hannah will find it.

She has a remarkable talent in theoretical physics.

I've worked up a few schematics

based on gravimetric potentials and deflector energy allocation.

Geordi, Troi and I

will return to the Enterprise.

When you've reached a conclusion, you can contact us.

Commander, if Mr. Conor doesn't mind

I'd like to stay and see more of his colony.

No, no. That would be fine.

I'd like you to see it.

Riker to Enterprise.

One to beam up.

Acknowledged, Commander.

Energize.

Are you sure my being here

is not going to be... disruptive?

Disruptive?

You mean what Martin was saying?

Well, I certainly wouldn't wish

to throw off your entire balance.

Too late... the damage is done.

Seriously.

I sometimes think that strict interpreters like Martin

have forgotten we're still human.

We'll adjust, accommodate.

There must be other unexpected events

you have to deal with...

an untimely death, an accident.

Our geneticists are able

to screen out any congenital health risks

before conception.

Our population is diverse enough to maintain a genetic balance

in the event of accidental death

but very little that is unexpected occurs here.

Am I making this sound incredibly dull?

Not at all.

I'll tell you the truth

but I'll deny it if you tell Martin.

I found today exhilarating

meeting you, meeting new people with new ideas.

I feel the same about being here.

I'm something of a student of human nature

and I find this all fascinating.

A student of human nature?

I'm the Ship's Counselor.

Ahh.

I'm afraid you wouldn't find much work here, Counselor.

I'd book my next vacation at your hotel if you had one.

Well, in that case, I shall have to have them build one.

The biosphere's superstructure

will never withstand the tectonic shocks.

The environment would be compromised.

That's how I see it.

Your ship...

what kind of energy output is it capable of generating?

We have a matter/anti-matter warp reaction system...

the most powerful in Starfleet.

Normally kicks plasma up into the terawatt range.

Well, either we're going to have to move, or that fragment is...

We can move a small moon or an asteroid

but a stellar core fragment?

That's much too massive for our tractor beam.

What's that?

A wild idea.

Purely theoretical.

A multiphase tractor beam?

When we first spotted

the fragment approaching, I came up with the idea

but we can't generate the kind of energy we would need.

You can.

We'd need Hannah on the ship.

No.

With my theories and their equipment

we might be able to alter the fragment's path.

It's our only chance to avoid evacuation.

No one had ever come here

and no one had ever left until today.

This is a date to note in our history books.

This is in direct violation

of the intentions of our founders, Aaron.

I don't think they intended us to die, Martin.

Her absence will create an additional imbalance.

Temporarily.

Circumstances require us to be flexible.

We have no idea how molecular transport will affect her DNA.

It won't affect her DNA at all.

There's been over a century of evidence to prove that.

You can go, Hannah.

May I return later?

I look forward to it.

Enterprise, three to beam up.

Energize.

Captain's Log, supplemental.

Commander La Forge and Hannah Bates have spent three days

trying to find a way to adjust the path of the core fragment.

If they do not succeed in the next 48 hours

we will need to begin evacuation.

I believe some will choose to risk death

rather than leave, Captain.

You've spent a good deal of time on the surface.

How do you suggest we change their minds?

I'm not sure we can.

It would mean abandoning their fundamental way of life.

They've managed to turn

a dubious scientific endeavor into dogma.

You don't approve of genetic engineering.

It was a bad idea whose time has long passed.

They seem to have made it succeed.

Huh.

They've given away their humanity

with this... genetic manipulation.

Many of the qualities that they breed out...

the... the uncertainty... self-discovery, the unknown...

these are many of the qualities that make life worth living.

Well, at least to me.

I wouldn't want to live my life

knowing that my future was written

that my boundaries had been already set.

Would you?

I've asked myself that question a lot during the past few days.

I don't know.

I doubt it.

Nevertheless, it's what they believe in

and it won't be an easy matter to talk them into leaving.

This leader of theirs, Conor, he seems to be a reasonable man.

I find him very reasonable.

Open to suggestions, thoughtful, quite disarming.

The perfect administrator.

I'm sure.

Will he leave when he sees there's no other choice?

I don't know.

I hope so.

You admire him.

Yes.

Then... help him to see the reality

of what may happen to his colony.

If he makes the right decision...

if he's as good a leader as he's designed to be...

then perhaps the others will follow.

If we increase the warp power transfer by 80%...

It's just going to blow the emitters again.

We won't be able to reinforce the conduit

to hold that power level.

It just doesn't work.

I haven't had any sleep in so long

my eyelids feel like I have lead weights attached to them.

Ahh.

Geordi?

Hmm?

Were you always blind?

I'm sorry.

I probably shocked the hell out of you, didn't I?

No.

I'll put it back on.

Don't.

I'm sorry.

I didn't mean to embarrass you.

I've never been embarrassed by this, Hannah.

Never.

I was... born blind.

I've always been this way.

May I see it, your VISOR?

Yeah, sure.

So...

guess if I had been conceived on your world

I wouldn't even be here now, would I?

No.

No. I'd have been terminated as a fertilized cell.

It was the wish of our founders

that no one have to suffer a life with disabilities.

Who gave them the right to decide

whether or not I should be here?

Whether or not I might have something to contribute?

I... I don't know what to say.

Here you go.

How does it work?

Well, the VISOR scans the electromagnetic spectrum

from one hertz to 100,000 terahertz

converts it all to usable frequencies

and then transmits that information

directly to my brain.

What about the data conversion rate?

How do you avoid a sensory overload?

A bank of preprocessors compresses the data stream

into pulses, you see.

That way my visual cortex never...

Wait a minute.

Wait just a minute.

We should be able to send a high-energy pulse

through the tractor system.

If it's short enough

it shouldn't overload the emitters.

The technology is right here.

If we could adapt those pulse compression routines

and then apply them to the warp power conduits...

We'd have to avoid tractor force rebounding

but that shouldn't be hard.

Sure, with a few modifications...

Oh-oh... Oh, that's perfect.

What?

If the answer to all of this

is in a VISOR created for a blind man

who never would have existed in your society.

No offense intended.

Please, Matthew, continue.

It's hard to believe.

So much loveliness here

just a few meters away from such desolation.

It's hard to believe we're about to lose it.

This may sound incredibly simplistic

but can't you re-engineer all this on another planet?

A nursery rhyme my mother used to read to me

has been running round and round my mind

since all this began.

A nursery rhyme?

"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall."

"All the king's horses and all the king's men

couldn't put Humpty together again."

Why do we tell our children such ghastly stories?

Perhaps to prepare them for times like these.

We are every bit as fragile as an egg

and as impossible to reconstruct.

We are integrated and refined to such a degree

that any fundamental change would lead to chaos.

I'm so sorry, Aaron.

I wish I could do something to help.

You have helped.

You've been wonderful these past few days.

You've been my Counselor.

No...

A Counselor has to maintain a discreet distance.

I'd rather think of us as friends.

Friends?

That just won't do either...

will it?

Aaron...

I must confess, part of me knows

that if I transport through these walls

you'll be on the other side.

This is wrong.

Terribly wrong.

In order to move the core fragment to a safe trajectory

we needed our tractor beam

to be able to handle high-powered pulses.

We needed a much more efficient emitter to do that.

About four times more efficient.

But we couldn't get anywhere near that

without overloading the emitter arrays.

So we added a little VISOR technology to the process

and were able to boost the effective force

and, at the same time

lower the power conduit stress levels.

What's the increase in efficiency?

Up to almost 300%.

That's not enough.

That's true. We won't be able

to move the fragment as far as we'd like to...

But if we also fortify the biosphere's

structural integrity at the same time...

With some of the shield improvements

that I've discovered here, it could work.

Of course, we'll have to lend

them some of our engineering support crews.

Advise Mr. Conor.

Number One, brief the appropriate officers.

Prepare them for transport as soon as Mr. Conor approves.

Yes, sir.

You're up early.

I'm still on Enterprise time.

Aaron...

I'm going back to the ship.

I'm not going to see you again.

Why?

Because it's the right thing to do.

I'm not convinced of that.

You know it as well as I do.

You're angry.

Yes, I'm angry.

I'm angry with myself for allowing this to happen.

Deanna...

I could fall in love with you so easily

but we both know the end of that story, don't we?

How would Martin feel

about introducing half-Betazoid DNA

into the genetic balance?

If we have to evacuate, anything's possible.

Listen to yourself.

A few days ago, you wouldn't even talk to us.

This is my fault.

I'm so sorry.

I need you here.

This doesn't have to happen again.

I have to go.

Good news, Aaron.

We should be able to change the course

of the core fragment

but we'll also need to fortify the structure

and we're going to need help to do it.

We'll need to bring down

engineering crews from the Enterprise

to work with your people for the next 48 hours.

Engineering crews?

They have to install five new shield generators

and power supplies.

50 officers are waiting for your approval

to transport down.

We don't have much time, Aaron.

Is there any other choice?

None.

Enterprise, you may begin transport when ready.

Captain's Log, supplemental.

The Enterprise has moved

to a parallel course with the core fragment.

We must adjust its trajectory by a minimum of 1.2 degrees

to ensure the colony's safety.

Bring us within range of the fragment, Ensign.

Aye, sir.

You may proceed

Mr. La Forge.

Yes, sir.

Good luck.

You, too.

Engage tractor beam.

Okay, let's give it a try.

Shutting down non-critical systems.

Emitter circuits 170% over standard.

Increasing impulse power to tractor emitters.

EPS power levels rising.

Transferring warp power to tractor beam generator.

Graviton generator's operating normally.

Surge pulse now synchronized.

Emitters radiating at 320% over standard.

Bridge, we need more power.

Reduce life-support to minimum requirements, Mr. Data.

Aye, sir.

390% over standard.

Come on, come on.

No change in the fragment's course.

We've got to increase the pulse frequency.

The emitter circuits won't hold for long.

We don't need them for long.

400% over standard.

Okay. Now we're getting there.

Fragment's moved.4 degrees

off its previous heading... .65.

It's working.

We have lost one of the emitter circuits, sir.

Life-support failure decks nine, 12 and 13.

Engage evacuation procedures for those decks.

Geordi, we're going to need power back soon.

Acknowledged.

Fragment's new heading adjustment

is at 1.01 degrees.

Is it enough?

Not yet. Hold on.

We've lost the second lateral emitter circuit.

Losing life-support systems on decks five through nine.

Evacuation procedures initiated.

Mr. La Forge?

Hold on, Captain.

Shipwide life-support failure in 15 seconds, sir.

Almost there, Geordi.

Course shift is at 1.16 degrees.

Termination of all life-support in... five seconds.

1.18!

Now, Mr. La Forge.

Yes, sir. Shutting down all tractor emissions.

Transferring power back to life-support.

One point...

two!

We've got it!

Life-support normal on all decks.

Mr. Data?

The fragment's course has been altered

by 1.21 degrees, sir.

Hail the colony.

Yes, Captain?

Success, Mr. Conor.

With the upgrades to your biosphere

the core fragment should no longer be a danger.

I cannot adequately express my appreciation to your crew.

Is Hannah able to hear me?

Yes, yes. Go ahead, Aaron.

This is an historic achievement, Hannah.

You've done a wonderful thing for our people.

Thank you.

We look forward to honoring you appropriately when you return.

Thank you again, Captain.

Conor out.

Captain's Log, supplemental.

The stellar core fragment

has passed safely out of the Moab system.

The colony was shaken by powerful temblors

but, fortunately there were no injuries

and only minor damage was reported.

Energize.

That should do it.

All members of the Enterprise crew

are accounted for, Mr. Conor.

They've been invaluable, Commander.

Thank you again.

If there's nothing else, we can be on our way.

Would you tell Deanna Troi for me that I'm sorry

I didn't get the opportunity to say good-bye personally?

I'm sure she'll feel the same way.

A breach in the biosphere.

Get Hannah Bates.

Apparently, the refortification wasn't adequate.

There's definite structural damage.

It appears that the tectonic shifts created a breach.

Can it be repaired?

I don't know.

I'll have to run a diagnostic in the lab.

Unless we seal it and fast, we may have to evacuate.

How long do we have?

Based on the level of toxicity I'm reading

it may only be a matter of hours.

Do you mind if I give her a hand, Commander?

By all means.

Isn't it amazing after all we went through?

Yeah.

Amazing.

It looks bad.

It's cracked well beneath the surface.

Why are you doing this?

What do you mean?

There's no breach.

What are you talking about?

Look at it.

It's right here.

I measured the toxic leak.

You saw me.

Hannah, my VISOR's positronic scan

would have detected the leak

and its molecular pattern enhancer

would have picked up even the smallest crack.

The damn thing doesn't miss much, does it?

Fine.

I'll tell them the truth.

Will that make you happy?

Why are you doing this?

I was born to be one of the best scientific minds

of my generation, and in the past five days

I have encountered technology that I have barely imagined

and I've got to ask myself, if we're so brilliant

how come we didn't invent any of these things?

Well, maybe necessity really is the mother of invention.

You never really look for something until you need it.

But all my needs have been anticipated and planned for

before I was even born.

All of us in this colony have been living in the Dark Ages.

It's like we're victims of a 200-year-old joke.

Until you came

all we could see was to the wall of our biosphere.

Suddenly, our eyes have been opened

to the infinite possibilities.

Asylum?

She wants to leave the colony.

She may not be the only one.

The science teams that went down to the surface

fielded a lot of questions from the colonists

who were more than curious about what's outside their world.

Well, why shouldn't we grant them asylum?

We can't do that.

We have to do that.

Do you understand what it would do to the colony?

I understand that these are human beings, Counselor

with free will.

If she wants to leave, she has every right to.

And what happens to the colony if she does?

And others join her?

The society is genetically integrated.

Suddenly there would be gaps, missing pieces.

It would destroy them.

There must be something we can do to help.

We may have done too much to help them already, Doctor.

Well, we saved them from destruction.

Did we?

Counselor, I think it's time you took me to meet Mr. Conor.

Transporter Room Three.

Computer, halt.

Captain, I have to tell you something

and it isn't easy for me

because I've used very poor judgment.

Actually, I've acted quite unprofessionally.

Counselor

what is it you say?

Take a deep breath.

Conor and I have had a relationship.

I see.

It should never have happened.

I knew there was concern about outside influences, and...

I should have been more careful.

What is your status with him now?

I did not intend to see him again.

Would you prefer not to return to the surface?

No, I think I should come with you

but... I wanted you to know before we went down.

I appreciate that.

Computer, resume.

I wanted so much to help him...

to be there for him, but...

the more I was...

Deanna.

We all went into this with the best of intentions.

I should have walked away

as soon as I saw what was happening.

But you didn't...

and that's human.

We make mistakes.

Genetic manipulation or not

nobody's perfect.

You would ignore the welfare of the colony

for your own selfish interests?

The welfare of this colony would be best served

by rejoining the human race.

She has been contaminated by the people on that ship.

Aaron.

Mr. Conor, I believe that you and I should talk.

This is your doing.

We never should have answered your hails.

If we'd followed that advice, Martin

we'd all be dead by now.

So much for the welfare of this colony.

You are not taking her with you.

I'm leaving.

And I'll tell you something else.

There are at least

a dozen others who are ready to go with me.

Hannah, let's allow Aaron and Captain Picard

to discuss this.

Why don't we go for a walk?

There's nothing else for them to talk about.

Martin.

I think it would be helpful if I...

I want to talk to Captain Picard alone.

But...

Thank you, Martin.

The irony is he's the one who saw this coming

from the moment you arrived.

Because I didn't want to hear him

I chose not to listen.

You made decisions you felt would save your colony.

No. No.

I wish it were that simple.

I'm afraid I can't forgive myself so easily.

You see, Captain...

I know what Hannah Bates is feeling.

I've been feeling it as well.

I found your people intriguing, stimulating

as she has.

I've been every bit as curious about you

as the next man

but I am not the next man.

I am the leader of these people

and every genetic fiber in my being

demands that I protect them

and instead, I have betrayed them.

I have allowed this to happen.

We've both allowed this to happen.

Then let us both find a way

to stop it from going any further.

I wish I could see a way.

Picard, I was born to govern this colony

not to dismantle it.

If you force them to stay

you will be suppressing their human rights.

If even a handful leave

the damage to this society will be devastating.

What about the rights of those who would stay behind?

They are the ones who will inherit the social chaos

that will follow for generations.

Your arrival created this problem.

Your departure solves it.

That is simplistic.

Refuse them passage.

I cannot ignore the requests of people...

humans...

who ask for transport away from here.

Nor can you ignore the fact that thousands will suffer

if you agree to take them.

And as suffering grows, more will demand to leave.

We are witnessing the end of this existence.

I implore you, Captain.

Do not let this happen.

You would have me make the decision for you

but I can't do that.

I am willing to talk to these people with you

and I will urge them not to make an impulsive choice

but if, finally, they choose to leave

the Enterprise will not turn them away.

Captain Picard has decided to grant transport

to any individuals who wish to leave Genome Colony.

I am asking you to stay.

Aaron, don't you see

we can't be happy here any longer?

We were innocent.

It will never be that way again.

The experiences of the past week

will become part of our heritage.

We will adjust.

In a few generations...

We're not willing to stay here a few generations.

All right.

Then give me six months.

Just wait six months before you leave.

What will that accomplish?

It's true that our presence here

has had an unintended influence on your society

but it's done

and there is no way to undo it.

But feelings are running very high.

Perhaps it's not such a bad idea

that you should take adequate time

to weigh carefully the consequences

of what you're about to do.

We are prepared to return in six months.

In other words, we are being asked

to stay here for six months while they pressure us

to change our minds.

In five days, you've seen only the most superficial evidence

of what life is like outside this biosphere.

Would you ever choose

to live aboard a ship in a bottle, Captain?

You are in command of a starship.

You live to explore the unknown.

We ask for that same privilege.

Hannah...

this is your home.

We are all, in a sense, your family.

Don't we deserve an opportunity

to open a dialogue on this issue at the very least?

I am only asking for six months.

It won't make any difference.

You'll only be putting the people of this colony

through unnecessary pain and anguish.

You are the ones causing pain and anguish

in this colony... you!

Don't you see, Aaron? It's over.

It's time for you to lead our people into a new era.

You could come with us.

When you're ready to come home...

you will be welcome.

What will you do now?

Attempt to assess the damage...

spend the rest of my life on the near impossible task

of rebuilding this society without the proper pieces.

Aaron, you acted

in the best interests of your people.

There was no way to avoid what happened.

I replay each step in my mind

Iooking for the wrong turn, a mistake in judgment.

I can find only one.

And, as hard as I try, I cannot regret even that one.

In fact, I'm quite certain that given the opportunity

I would choose to make the same mistake again.

I can only wonder why, with all the hundreds

of genetically compatible women, I would fall in love with you.

Don't say that.

Perhaps it's your imperfections which make you so unique.

But I am in love with you, Deanna Troi...

and I will always be.

Come.

The colonists are all on board, sir.

How many finally?

Twenty-three.

If ever we needed reminding

of the importance of the Prime Directive, it is now.

The Prime Directive doesn't apply.

They're human.

Doesn't it?

Our very presence may have damaged

even destroyed their way of life.

Now, whether or not we agree with that way of life

whether they're human or not, is irrelevant, Number One.

We are responsible.

We had to respond to the threat of the core fragment, didn't we?

Of course we did.

But, in the end

we may have proved just as dangerous to that colony

as any core fragment could ever have been.