

(written from a Production point of view Real World article

The Enterprise crew is affected when they are adrift in a remote area of space, and find themselves unable to dream.

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Summary

Teaser

The USS Enterprise-D is given orders to find a lost Starfleet vessel, the USS Brattain. They come upon the ship adrift in an unexplored binary star system. Beaming on board, an away team finds the entire crew murdered, except for a Betazoid, Andrus Hagan, the Brattain's scientific advisor who is catatonic.

Act One

In sickbay, Doctor Beverly Crusher informs Captain Picard that some of the Brattain's crew were found barricaded in their quarters, some who obviously fought hand-to-hand. They identify Hagan, but Counselor Troi cannot get through to him. As Crusher and Picard leave, however, she then hears him describe voices "out there."

Data, Geordi La Forge, and Commander Riker unsuccessfully try to figure out the engine malfunctions aboard the Brattain so the ship can get to the nearest starbase.

Crusher reports to Picard in his ready room that there is no indication of a psychological or physiological disease based on the autopsies of the crew, leaving the growing madness on board the Brattain, as detailed in the last log entry of Captain Chantal Zaheva unexplained. She had her first officer, Commander Brink, "eliminated" for suspicion of mutiny. All 34 of the crew killed each other, with no alien presence.

In the meantime, Counselor Troi has entered a rather intense dream. Spoken to by an unidentified voice, she asks the speaker "Where are you?". The voice repeats the phrases "eyes in the dark" and "one moon circles" as Troi is drawn toward two lights that are reminiscent of the binary star system in which the Enterprise is currently stationed.

Act Two

With little progress, Picard decides to tow the Brattain to Starbase 220. Unfortunately, now the Enterprise crew begins to experience her own problems, marked by an inexplicable increase in irritability and fatigue. On the Brattain, La Forge has to reassure a crewman who apparently heard some noises when no one was there, acknowledging that the thirty-four dead people found aboard would make anyone uneasy. And on the Enterprise, conflict is spreading all over the ship; when Keiko O'Brien enters the O'Briens' quarters, she and Miles quarrel, during which Miles displays a great deal of envy towards one of his wife's co-workers, Tom Corbin. Miles leaves their quarters and enters Ten Forward, where he is warned by Chief Gillespie about the current events. O'Brien brushes the warning off, dismissing it as "ghost stories".

In the meantime, Picard is in his ready room when the door chimes. He says "Come" several times, but no one enters, and yet the chimes repeat. He finally goes to the door and sees no one there. The door continues to chime and finally someone knocks. At the door are Troi and Crusher. They say that the occurrences of violence aboard the Enterprise are continuing to escalate. Captain Picard gives the order to tractor the Brattain and move away from the area, only to find that all propulsion systems fail to operate, rendering the ship unable to move, like the Brattain.

Act Three

The Enterprise has been adrift for ten days, and due to their isolated and distant location will not get assistance for at least two weeks. In the observation lounge, Data reports that it is actually trapped inside a space-time anomaly known as a Tyken's Rift, named after a Melthusian named Bela Tyken who had escaped a similar rift by detonating his cargo of anicium and yurium. However, they don't have the energy to reproduce the situation. Furthermore, a Tyken's Rift is not known to cause the unusual behavior that is becoming more and more widespread among the crew.

Picard and Riker talk in the turbolift while going to the bridge and Riker says that sometimes he feels like someone is in his quarters, waiting for him. With grave importance on keeping their faculties intact, Picard relieves Riker for a few hours, telling him to get a nap. Riker obeys but as soon as he leaves and the door shuts, Picard thinks the turbolift ceiling is coming down on him. The door opens and the crew see him screaming. It's only a hallucination, but it's enough to make him feel that he needs Data for their continued survival while they try to find a solution to leave the Tyken's rift. At that point, Data reports he and La Forge think that reusing the deflector dish modifications previously tried against the Borg might let them break off the rift. Picard gives Data free orders to act on his own initiative to carry out his duties whenever Picard falters, becoming acting captain when and where necessary.

Meanwhile, Dr. Crusher is taking brain tissue scans of the dead Brattain personnel in the morgue, with the intention of comparing them to a random cross-section of the crew. As she does so, she fights off the hallucination that the bodies are moving and even sitting up. Later, in Picard's ready room, Dr. Crusher hypothesizes that the rampant outbreaks of violence aboard both ships are due to lack of rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep, leading to fatigue, loss of concentration, extreme irritability, hostility, and ultimately, insanity. However, its not clear that this is not being caused by the Tyken's Rift but another force at work. Crusher notes that Troi can sleep, and Troi notes that she is the only person aboard the ship who continues to be able to dream, perhaps due to her being Betazoid, but that all of her dreams are nightmares. She believes the crew will eventually meet the same fate as the Brattain.

Act Four

Troi, fatigued due to her nightmares, continues to listen to Hagan without any more information. She remarks to Dr. Crusher about the contrary situation the Betazoids and Humans have, but still with a dire ending. She takes a break to go to the bridge. Data and La Forge in engineering signal to the bridge to execute their earlier plan of using a deflector burst to disrupt the Tyken's Rift. La Forge is losing his concentration, so Data helps him out. However, it is unsuccessful since the energy was still absorbed into the Rift.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew are behaving irrationally. Gillespie expresses a desire to fight the hallucinations. Worf feels so helpless after the deflector burst attempt that he tries to commit suicide in his quarters. He feels that he is no longer a warrior because he is afraid of whatever is causing their sleeplessness. Troi fortunately runs to his quarters and manages to convince him to put the knife down, telling him that whatever is tormenting them is just an illusion. He agrees to go to sickbay, and it is a sign of the bizarre atmosphere aboard the ship, to see the hulking Klingon warrior being led by the hand like a frightened child by the diminutive Betazoid.

Act Five

Data has assumed command of the Enterprise since Picard, like most of the crew, cannot function. Fortunately, Troi has a breakthrough with Hagan, and reports to Picard in his ready room that she thinks there are aliens trying to communicate telepathically because they are also trapped. Data says it's possible that the telepathic communication is interfering with REM sleep of the non-Betazoid crew. He also agrees that there might be another ship caught by the Tyken's Rift and, if so, they could free themselves by working together to create an explosion.

At the bridge science station, Data investigates elements to use for creating an explosion, though Troi realizes that the message "one moon circles" refers to a hydrogen atom. If the Enterprise releases hydrogen toward the other ship, and Troi sends the message to act, they could produce the necessary explosion.

Troi goes to sickbay to be put to sleep; Data says she only has two minutes to send the message. Data prepares the release, and assumes the role of acting captain of the Enterprise when he finds Picard slow to respond, ejecting the hydrogen into the space immediately in front of the ship through the Bussard collectors.

To get more power, Data orders all crew to go to designated emergency shelter areas so unoccupied parts of the ship can be taken off of life support. The crew in Ten Forward thinks the situation is an experiment and want to mutiny, led by Gillespie. Guinan, who is apparently nowhere nearly as affected as the rest of the humanoids aboard, realizes that something might happen and calls security. As soon as security enters, a fight breaks out. Guinan takes a weapon she acquired from Magus III from behind Ten Forward's bar and fires it into the ceiling. The shock value of the sight is enough to stop the fight.

Just after there is no longer sufficient power to maintain the hydrogen stream leaving the Bussard collectors, an explosion erupts in front of the ship, indicating that Troi was successful. Power and life support are restored to normal, allowing the Enterprise and the alien vessel to escape the rift, although the Brattain is apparently left behind. As his last duty as acting captain, Data orders Picard and the rest of the crew to their quarters to sleep. Data leads the Enterprise to Starbase 220.

Log entries

Memorable quotes

"Eyes in the dark... one moon circles."

- Counselor Troi's recurring nightmare, later determined to be a telepathic message from another vessel trapped in the rift



"First officer Brink and his men were behind it. They got to the engines, they don't work anymore. Had to eliminate Brink!"

- Chantal Zaheva, commanding officer of the Brattain during her captain's log



"All 34 of them appear to have killed each other."

"What could have caused such an event? Drugs? A virus? Poison?"

- Beverly Crusher and Jean-Luc Picard



"There is an inevitable conclusion to this pattern and if I can't find a way to stop it... we will all go insane."

- Crusher, on the crew's lack of REM sleep



"I will need to rely on you from now on. We may need to count on you for our very survival."

"I will do my best, sir."

- Picard and Data, as the situation aboard the Enterprise continues to deteriorate



"I am no longer a warrior! I am no longer strong! I feel..."

"What? What do you feel?"

"...I feel fear."

"To admit that you're afraid gives you strength."



- Worf and Troi



"What is that?"

"This is a little souvenir I picked up from Magus III. That was setting number one. Anyone wanna see setting number two?"

- Gillespie and Guinan, regarding her phaser rifle



"Sir... as my final duty as acting captain... I order you to bed."

- Data, to Picard



"Pleasant dreams, sir."

- Data, as Picard goes to his quarters to sleep

Background information

Production history

Story and script

Teleplay writer Jeri Taylor noted, "This was a real tough episode. It was convoluted, it was a little mysterious, technical, quasi-supernatural. It was all over the map and there were a lot of different episodes to try and make cohesive. I rewrote and rewrote it, and I never thought we were ever going to put that one to bed. It was strange. Troi's dream sequences are not something you get to see every week." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 217)

Production

Cast and characters

Continuity

The explosion of the "rift" is reused footage of the explosion of the Genesis Device from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan .

. While trying to escape the Tyken's Rift, Picard and Data both reference the use of the Enterprise 's deflector dish to defeat the Borg in TNG : " The Best of Both Worlds " as a possible solution.

's deflector dish to defeat the Borg in : " " as a possible solution. A room is finally seen behind a seldom used sickbay door that doesn't lead to a corridor or the medical lab. Right after the teaser, Picard and Crusher leave this room which seems to be the morgue and enter the main sickbay room.

Reception

Video and DVD releases

Starring

Also starring

Guest stars

And

Special guest star

Co-star

Uncredited co-stars

Stunt double

Stand-ins and photo doubles

References

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Okudagram references

Dedication plaque references

40 Eridani A Starfleet Construction Yards (40 Eridani A); Advanced Technologies Division; Brownfield, Dick; Chamberlin, Mandy; Chess, Joe; Exploratory Division; Fleet Administration; Fleet Operations; Fleet Yards Operations; James, Richard; Landau, Les; Legato, Robert; Mission Operations; Nesterowicz, John; Orbital Operations; Peets, Bill; Rush, Marvin; Simmons, Adele; Sordal, Bob; Starfleet Academy; Stellar Imaging Division; Tactical Command; Yacobian, Brad; Yoyodyne Division

Unused production references

deflector power coil



