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It's been five months
since Marc's accident.
I haven't missed
a single hour of my duties.
I volunteered for extra time
in the nursery.
My language studies
are better than they've ever been.
Somebody else might've given in,
but I didn't.
- Given in to what?
- Death is a normal part of life.
Maybe some of us are better
at facing that than others.
Maybe some of us
aren't facing it at all.
- What do you mean?
- Recovery from a great loss
involves a great deal of pain.
If we try to avoid that pain,
we make it harder in the long run.
But I feel fine.
Today would have been
your husband's 38th birthday.
You keep excellent records, Deanna.
Last night I dreamt
Marc was with me, celebrating.
I was so glad that
this nonsense was finally over.
Then I woke up.
Alone.
And I knew that he was dead.
For the first time, I knew it.
I looked around for anything
that belonged to him.
Anything.
I forgot that after the funeral
I told them to take it all away.
What in the world was I thinking?
They didn't take everything away.
How did you know?
An ancient trail along the Kabul
river in the Himalayas.
Wonderful program.
It would do you
good to have some fresh holodeck air.
My horsemanship is a little rusty
for the Himalayas.
Thanks anyway.
Nonsense.
We programme
an appropriately docile steed
Captain, sensors indicate
a vast field of
- Of what, Lieutenant?
- It's gone.
But something did appear in our path.
Shields are not reporting
excessive interstellar matter.
- A sensor echo, Data?
- Uncertain.
I have no unusual readings.
I promise I'll come by
and see you tomorrow.
- Are you alright?
- What?
- What?
- You faded out there for a second.
No, no, I'm fine.
I'm just very tired, that's all.
Will I see you tomorrow?
Tomorrow.
Thank you.
An aggregate field of plane-polarized
objects has just appeared.
And disappeared.
Recommend we run a diagnostic
on the forward sensor.
We don't want a ghost tailing us
all the way to T'lli Beta.
I'm not convinced it is a ghost.
There may be something there.
- Ensign Allenby, full stop.
- Aye, sir.
Let's investigate both possibilities.
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.
Captain's log, star date 44356.
9.
Sensor diagnostics were completed
and indicate all systems are normal.
There remains no explanation for the
images which appeared in our path.
I have completed another full scan,
sir.
There is no further indication
of the anomaly.
Ensign, prepare
to resume course for T'lli Beta.
Mr.
Data, what velocity
would put us back on schedule?
Resuming course at warp six will
place us in the T'lli Beta system
in 6 days, 13 hours, 47 minutes.
What, no seconds?
I have discovered
a certain impatience
when I calculate a lengthy time
interval to the nearest second.
- However, if you wish
- No, no.
Minutes is fine.
- Stand ready at warp six, Ensign.
- Aye, sir.
Engage.
Geordi, what the hell happened?
Checking.
The field collapsed before we could
enter warp.
Recommend full stop.
Back to all stop, Ensign.
Decks report minor injuries only.
- Damage?
- None.
- Weapons and shields normal.
- Go to yellow alert.
Captain, we've started moving again.
Something is pulling us.
- Troi to Dr Crusher.
- Yes, Deanna?
Beverly, I'm feeling very dizzy.
Did you hit your head?
I'm not sure.
I'm not sure what happened.
Lie down and stay calm.
I'm getting calls from all over.
I'll come as fast as I can.
New heading confirmed: 025.
273.
Speed holding at one-tenth impulse.
Whatever's pulling us
isn't in a hurry.
Mr.
La Forge, if your engines are
functioning we'll try to break free.
Everything down here seems normal,
but I suggest we take it
a bit slower this time.
Ensign, bring us around
New course laid in.
- One quarter impulse, engage.
- Aye sir.
Nothing, Captain.
Speed and course are unaffected.
One-half impulse.
No change.
Full impulse.
Rotate heading
five degrees at a time.
Aye, sir.
La Forge?
There's nothing wrong down here.
The engines are fine.
Integrity-field stress
Recommend immediate shutdown.
Make it so, Ensign.
All engines down.
We're still being pulled.
Same heading, same speed.
I got here as quickly as I could.
Sickbay's filled with headaches.
How are you?
When I first called you,
I was feeling intense pain.
Now it's gone,
but I'm feeling a bit foggy.
I'd like to run an inner nuncial
series on you.
Can you walk?
All senior staff
to the observation lounge.
- Are you up to that?
- I think so.
What is it?
Nothing.
Nothing, I'm fine.
Could it be
some sort of tractor beam?
No other ship is indicated.
Mr.
Worf, what is your analysis?
Sensor readings are indeterminate.
They don't even give us
enough for a guess.
Yet our sensors
are operating properly.
Can there be an intelligence
at work here?
Counsellor,
do you sense a life form out there?
No, I don't think so.
No.
There's nothing.
Nothing! I sense nothing.
It's alright.
Perhaps there's nothing
out there to sense.
Many races
are not empathically detectable.
The Breen, the Ferengi
No.
You don't understand.
I don't sense anything.
Not out there, not in here.
All of you, you're all blank to me.
No indication of a concussion
or a blow to the head.
Just a pattern
of unresponsive neural cells
in the cerebellum
and cerebral cortex.
Unresponsive?
There's brain damage.
How serious, I can't tell yet.
But I feel perfectly fine otherwise.
- Can you treat it?
- I'm not sure.
I have to review the database
on Betazoid neurophysiology.
The Betazoid brain has
a remarkable ability to heal itself.
This condition
could reverse itself in time.
It might.
But you are half-human.
That changes the map a little.
I don't want to offer you
any false hopes.
It's just hope, Beverly.
Not false hope.
What would cause this?
It started when
we encountered the anomaly.
There may be a connection.
I don't know.
If you were anyone else,
you know what I'd do?
- I'd send you to Counsellor Troi.
- Then I have an advantage, don't l?
I see her quite often.
Deanna, it's no different than
one of us suddenly going blind.
No need to tell me.
I understand the psychology.
You may, but you've never
had to live with it.
- I may be perfectly fine tomorrow.
- And you may not.
I'll do my homework.
I'll see what
I can do to regenerate those cells.
In the meantime,
I want you to talk with someone.
There are several people on board
who are qualified therapists.
OK, fine.
If I need to.
Right now,
I just want to go back to work.
Deanna
If there are no medical objections?
- No medical objections.
- Thank you, Beverly.
Will.
Come in.
I don't have a psychology degree,
but if you want to talk
You know what the worst part
of this is?
I've seen it happen
to so many patients.
- What?
- The way other people change.
How they start to treat you
differently.
They walk on eggshells around you.
Sometimes they avoid you altogether.
Sometimes they become overbearing,
reach out a helping hand
to the blind woman!
- I'm sorry if l
- I will not be treated that way!
- I'm sorry.
- Oh, please!
Deanna, I've never seen you
quite so scared.
I'm fine.
If I get better, I get better.
If I don't, I'll adapt.
Life goes on.
I really have to finish this.
I have
some appointments this afternoon.
Probe launch successful.
Transmissions are being received.
Let's see what we've got.
Nothing unusual here.
The same
reading as the ship's sensors.
Expanding analysis parameters.
Including Bayesian functions,
.
.
broad EM and subspace
spectrum polling.
No change.
I am adding virtual particle
trajectories.
What is that?
Unknown.
I am attempting to analyze
motion pattern.
Results still inconclusive.
Last time I saw anything like that
I was skin-diving off the reefs
at Bracas V.
You said you woke up a new woman
this morning.
- That's how I feel.
- Tell me about her, this new woman.
She's not holding
anything back any more.
- She's not?
- I let it all out last night.
I cried for two hours.
I realized I had never accepted
the loss of my husband.
I worked hard, I kept busy,
I did everything to pretend
it never happened.
- And you feel different now?
- Completely.
Can I share something
important with you?
Of course.
I have temporarily lost
my empathic sense.
It's like having one hand
tied behind your back.
I am so sorry.
Do you want me to come back?
No, no, I'm fine.
It's just before we continue, it's
important that you know that, OK?
Alright.
Because I can't tell
how you're feeling this morning.
But it seems to me,
one night of crying
can't make up for months of denial.
No.
You're wrong.
I feel better today
than I have in ages.
You're absolutely wrong, Deanna.
The probe reveals that the objects
exist entirely in two dimensions,
on a single plane.
They have length and width,
but not height.
Virtually flat.
That is why the ship's sensors
did not detect them initially.
We were looking along their edge.
There was no surface.
I will illustrate.
Are they a life form?
The movement pattern is not
a naturally occurring phenomenon
in the Newtonian sense.
They appear to be alive.
Do you know why
they're pulling us along with them?
Somehow they can polarize
the graviton field.
- We're caught in the wake.
- How do we get out?
We could overload the warp drive and
jump directly to warp six.
The laws of a three-dimensional
universe allow it.
But in a two-dimensional universe
Fascinating.
So many questions.
How can a two-dimensional entity
have access to our universe?
And are they aware of us?
Number One, if we can
put off the T'lli Betans,
I would like to investigate this as
soon as we escape the graviton field.
It's a shame
we can't tell if they're sentient.
What do you mean by that?
- I'm doing the best that I can.
- No one suggested otherwise.
Mr.
Data, try to isolate
any signal patterns from the cluster.
Perhaps we can communicate.
Mr.
La Forge, we'll attempt
your warp jump.
That'll be all.
Counsellor
- How are you feeling?
- Beverly, I can't do my job.
I'm absolutely lost.
You have to do something.
I cross-referenced your scan results
with the baseline files.
Nothing helpful has turned up.
And
so far the lab work is inconclusive.
What does that mean?
It means there is nothing I can do
now.
I am still trying.
How do you people live like this?
We get by pretty well, actually.
And so will you, in time.
You have no idea!
No idea.
How can you know what it's
like to lose something you never had?
- I don't claim to.
- Yet you tell me to get used to it.
In my position,
what would you tell me?
In your position, I wouldn't have
been in here treating skinned elbows
while you were passed out
on your office floor.
I'd have been here sooner.
Perhaps in time
to prevent this from happening!
I have been working with Ensign
Brooks since her husband's death.
She's avoided the reality of
what happened, denied it to herself.
I realize I've been doing the same
thing about my condition.
- It's perfectly understandable.
- It's time I accept the truth
.
.
and resign as ship's counsellor.
- Resign?
- I can't fulfil my obligations.
What other option is there?
I've been fortunate to have use of
your Betazoid abilities.
Most starship captains have to be
content with a human counsellor.
Empathic awareness is not
a requirement of your position.
It is for me.
I'm sure
that you'll be able to adjust.
They say when one loses a sense,
the other senses become stronger
to compensate.
A blind man
develops better hearing.
With all due respect, Captain,
you don't know
what you're talking about.
That is a common belief
with no scientific basis,
no doubt created by normal people
who felt uncomfortable
around the disabled.
I am disabled, and I'm telling you
I cannot perform my duties.
A teacher of mine had been confined
to a wheelchair from birth
Captain, spare me
the inspirational anecdote.
And just accept my resignation.
Come in.
I really would rather be alone
right now.
Too bad.
Is this how you handle
all your personnel problems?
Sure.
You'd be surprised how far
a hug goes with Geordi.
Or Worf!
Will, I don't know what to do.
So you resign?
You walk away from
all the people who care about you?
I look around me and all I see
are surfaces without depth.
Colourless.
Hollow.
Nothing seems real.
- I'm real.
- No, you're not.
You're a projection,
with no more substance to me
than a character on the holodeck.
I don't believe that.
You have no idea
how frightening it is
to to just be here
without sensing you,
without sharing your feelings.
That's it, isn't it?
- We're on equal footing now.
- What?
You always had an advantage.
A bit of control of every situation.
That must have been
a very safe position to be in.
To be honest
I always thought
there was something too
aristocratic
about your Betazoid heritage.
As if your human side
wasn't quite good enough for you.
- That isn't true.
- Isn't it?
- La Forge to Riker.
- Go ahead, Geordi.
We are ready to attempt a controlled
overload jump to warp six.
Acknowledged.
I'm on my way to the bridge.
I'll check in on you later.
Really, you don't have to.
I will check in on you later.
Setting new course at optimal
shearing angle.
Bearing 217.
203.
Engaging impulse engines now.
- Mr.
La Forge, go to warp.
- Aye, sir.
- Status?
- Unchanged.
We have not shaken off
the graviton field.
Integrity-field pressure
has increased by 217 percent.
Warning.
Differential stress
will exceed upper limit
- in 15 seconds.
- Disengage all engines.
Engines disengaged, sir.
Report.
The energy for the nacelles
was absorbed by the graviton wake.
It set up a wave
that rebounded back to the ship.
We're lucky we're still in one piece.
This little nuisance
is losing its fascination.
During our attempt to break away,
I recorded a change in the movement
pattern within the cluster.
Think we got their attention?
Perhaps, but just for an instant.
The pattern immediately returned
to its previous dynamic.
Follow up on it, Mr.
Data.
Input that
into the universal translator.
Perhaps these movements themselves
are an attempt at communication.
More tea?
Didn't mean to startle you.
That's alright.
I'm getting used to it.
- May l?
- Sure.
Are you really getting used to it?
No.
Do you want to talk about it?
- No.
- Good.
I get so tired of people
coming in with their problems.
They want a shoulder to cry on.
Generally it turns out to be mine.
- You'd make a good counsellor.
- I think so, too.
So I'm going to talk
to Picard about it.
About what?
You becoming Counsellor?
Well, yes.
You're leaving.
That means there won't be
a counsellor on board.
I suppose I'll have
a very long line at that bar.
It would be nice
to have a nice office, too.
It's more than just letting them
cry on your shoulder.
It takes an enormous commitment.
- I can do that.
- Guinan
People come to talk to you
about things they want to reveal.
As Counsellor, you get them
to talk about things
they don't want to reveal.
- I could do that, too.
- What are you?
You don't really
want to be Ship's Counsellor.
- What would make you say that?
- I just know you're not serious.
Have I given you any indication
that I might not be serious?
- Not really, but
- Then how do you know?
Are your empathic abilities
coming back?
No.
I suppose it's just instinctive.
I get it.
You're trying to make me see that
I have other abilities to draw on.
Human intuition, instincts.
Guinan, those skills only develop
after years of experience.
- It's not that easy.
- No one said it was easy.
It's much harder than you think.
Human intuition and instinct
are not always right.
But they do make life interesting.
So I'm discovering.
- Problem, Data?
- Yes, Commander.
Sensors are detecting highly
accelerated interstellar gases.
- Suggesting?
- Uncertain, sir.
- The entity is within visual range.
- On screen.
Magnify.
It appears to be
a cosmic string fragment.
Only 107km long.
- A cosmic string?
- No wider than a proton,
but with gravitational fields
as powerful as a black hole.
The two-dimensional beings
seem to be caught in its pull.
Their course is taking them
directly toward it.
And us right along with it.
Captain's log, star date 44359.
5.
What began as an inconvenience
has turned into a serious threat.
At current speed the two-dimensional
beings and the ship
will be drawn into the cosmic-string
fragment in seven hours.
The entities appear to be
unaware of the string fragment.
Their course and speed are constant.
Sir, I recommend we fire
photon torpedoes into their field.
Must we destroy them
to save ourselves?
It is unclear what effect a photon
torpedo would have on them, sir.
Nevertheless.
We wouldn't necessarily
have to fire at them.
A few torpedo bursts in their path
could make them change course.
Make it so.
Torpedoes armed,
fire distribution set.
Detonation at 7km
ahead of the cluster.
Launch another probe.
Patch the
monitor through to the main viewer.
Probe is launched.
On screen.
- Proceed, Mr.
Worf.
- Launching torpedoes.
Detonation in five seconds.
Three two one.
There is no change in the graviton
field.
The torpedoes had no effect.
Fire another volley
directly into their field, Mr.
Worf.
Launching torpedoes.
Detonation in five seconds.
Three two one.
Matter-antimatter explosions
appear to be ineffective, sir.
Come in.
Janet! Oh, I'm sorry.
I meant to cancel your appointment.
Actually, I'm resigning
as Ship's Counsellor.
Why?
I think it was fairly clear
during your last appointment.
It was obviously non-productive.
I couldn't sense
what you were feeling.
Deanna, you were right about me.
I had to go back
and look at what I was doing,
see why I was trying to convince
myself, and you,
that I was a new woman.
You made me realize I was doing
exactly the same as I was before.
Trying to hide from the pain.
Maybe you couldn't sense
what I was feeling,
.
.
but you helped.
Come.
- You wanted to see me, Captain?
- Yes, Counsellor.
Sit down, please.
Our situation has become critical.
The cluster remains unresponsive.
We cannot alter its course
towards the string fragment.
- How much time do we have?
- Less than five hours.
- Which is why I have called you.
- Sir?
All that remains
is the possibility of communication.
There might be a way we can warn
them of their impending destruction.
Hasn't Data tried to communicate
through the universal translator?
He has tried every technical means
at our disposal to reach them.
I wish I knew how to help,
but under the circumstances
If they have a psychology,
we must discover it.
If there is an explanation for their
behaviour, we must know what it is.
Even in your current condition,
you are best qualified to assist.
Data is attempting to devise a
strategy.
I want you to join him.
We need you.
Supplemental log.
If our speed
and course remain unchanged,
in one hour the Enterprise
will be torn apart
by the gravitational forces
of the cosmic-string fragment.
Are your signals reaching them?
Possibly.
However, the beings may
perceive them as negligible noise
rather than an attempt
at communication.
Is there any evidence
they're sentient?
Negative.
Their movement suggests
a simple order of intelligence.
I'm sorry, Data.
I don't seem to be much help
without my empathic abilities.
I just don't know how
to draw on my human instinct.
As I do not have human instinct per
se, I cannot advise you, Counsellor.
Right now
I feel as two-dimensional
as our friends out there.
In the universe,
but barely aware of it.
Just trying to survive
.
.
on instinct.
Data, what if they're
simply acting instinctively?
There are inherent, inborn forces
in every species.
What they need, what they fear.
We have to discover
what drives this species.
I do not believe there is any way
we can know for certain.
We can speculate
on the available evidence.
All we have is the brief interruption
in their movement pattern
during our last attempt to escape.
Which may suggest some kind
of awareness of our presence.
Otherwise their course and speed
have been constant.
On a straight line
to the cosmic string.
You're sure the string's gravitation
is pulling them in?
The cluster is two-dimensional, so
I do not have enough direct evidence.
However, it is the most
reasonable hypothesis.
Why?
I doubt they would intentionally move
toward a destructive force.
Moths fly toward a flame.
Horses
sometimes run into a burning barn.
Data, don't you see? We've been
thinking in three dimensions.
We have to get two-dimensional.
Pardon me?
Subspace signals, photon torpedoes.
Nothing's had an impact.
It's reasonable to wonder
if a gravitational pull,
even as strong as a cosmic string,
would affect them.
Please continue.
What if they've chosen a course
to the cosmic string?
A case of pure stimulus-response,
driven by instinct,
just like the moth to a flame.
If Counsellor Troi's theory is
correct, a replica of the string
projected behind the cluster
could make them change course,
disrupting them long enough
for us to escape.
How do you simulate a cosmic string?
It has the gravitational force
of a hundred stars.
I do not suggest simulating
the string's gravitational field,
rather its vibration.
We're not talking about a violin,
Data!
Data's right.
The principle is still the same.
A string emanates
characteristic frequencies
as atomic particles decay
along its event horizon.
With our parabolic dish, we could
reflect them back toward the cluster.
The Enterprise itself
would echo the cosmic string.
- How much time do we have, Mr.
Worf?
- 23 minutes, sir.
Make it so.
- Frequency-scan detectors engaged.
- Receiving.
We're picking up frequencies
across the entire electromagnetic
and lower-subspace spectrum.
Trying to isolate.
- Can you focus the reflector field?
- Stand by.
I am differentiating
particle emission-signatures now.
Good.
Good, that's doing it.
Patterns are converging.
Same course, same speed.
No change, sir.
We're encountering
the gravitational pull of the string.
Impact is in four minutes.
Sir, turbulence prevents us
creating an accurate simulation.
Geordi, fire up the impulse engines.
Activate the stabilizers.
Stabilizers on.
Electromagnetic and subspace wave
fronts approaching synchronization.
Three minutes to impact.
- Status?
- The cluster is unaffected.
Same course, same speed.
Let's try turning up the volume.
Increase the intensity, Mr.
Data.
Increasing by 50 percent.
- They're slowing.
- Graviton-wake field is collapsing.
- Mr.
La Forge, get us out of here.
- With pleasure, sir.
The beings have resumed
their course into the string.
Three seconds to impact.
It's alright.
They're home.
We were wrong.
The cosmic string
was never dangerous to them.
It was the one place in the galaxy
they most wanted to be.
Deanna?
Yes.
I sensed it.
Such overwhelming intensity
of emotion.
When we encountered them, it must
have been more than I could process.
- A short circuit.
- Something like that!
- Oh, Beverly!
- Apology accepted.
Therapists are always
the worst patients.
Except for doctors, of course.
Come by and see me
in my office later, OK?
I was so awful to her.
Well, you were just being human.
I never fully appreciated
how difficult, and how rewarding,
it is to be human.
But I had a lot of help.
Thanks.
Now, is that counsellor position
still open aboard ship?
- It's been taken.
- Just thought I'd ask.
Better hours.
Excuse me.
And you.
Thank you for making me face
my other half.
- Frightening, isn't it?
- A little!
You were right, though.
There is something to be learned
when you're not always in control.
Welcome to the human race.
By the way, the next time
you call me aristocratic !