When the Enterprise
discovers a severely injured humanoid in the wreckage of
an escape pod, Geordi volunteers to have his nervous
system hooked up to the stranger's, in order to
stabilize him. During the process, a wave of visible
energy is transmitted from the humanoid to Geordi.
Dr. Crusher holds little hope for the recovery of the
patient she has dubbed "John Doe," but he soon begins to
exhibit amazing recuperative powers. While his damaged
tissue is repairing itself at a remarkable rate,
"John's" undamaged cells are mutating in a manner
incomprehensible to the doctor.
Evidence surrounding
the pod's wreckage indicates that it was involved in a
battle, but when "John" awakens, he is unable to
remember anything from his past. When Picard tells him
that they have nearly determined the coordinates of his
origin and that he will soon be returned to his planet,
"John" experiences a sense of fear and tells Picard that
he thinks he was trying to escape his planet, but cannot
remember why.
Meanwhile, "John's"
presence seems to bring a sense of serenity to the crew
members he is in contact with, particularly Geordi.
"John" then exhibits remarkable powers when he heals
O'Brien's dislocated shoulder with a touch of his hand,
which emits the same wave of visible energy that entered
Geordi.
"John," however, is
soon plagued by intermittent bouts of severe pain which
frighten him into trying to steal a shuttlecraft. When
Worf tries to stop him, "John" suddenly convulses in
pain and then pulses into a large flare, knocking Worf
off a catwalk to the deck below. Dr. Crusher's
examination of Worf shows a broken neck and no vital
signs, but when "John" touches him, a glow of light
again emanates from his hand and Worf is completely
healed.
When Dr. Crusher
reports that "John's" rate of cell mutation is
increasing, he fears that he will be dangerous to the
crew and asks Picard to let him leave. However, their
conversation is interrupted by the approach of an
unidentified vessel which begins scanning the U.S.S.
Enterprise. The commander of the ship, Sunad of Zalkon,
demands the return of "John," declaring that he is an
escaped prisoner sentenced to death for acts of
agitation.
Having no memory of
the past, "John" can neither confirm nor deny the
accusation, but offers to surrender in order to prevent
endangering the U.S.S. Enterprise. When Picard refuses
to turn "John" over, the entire crew of the U.S.S.
Enterprise is suddenly struck with paralysis.
Realization of his past slowly dawns on "John" and he
calmly departs for the Bridge where, by touching a
console, his energy spreads to cover the entire starship
and heals the crew.
With a wave of his
hand, "John" brings Sunad onto the Bridge and explains
to Picard that his species is on the verge of an
evolutionary change and that the rulers, fearing a loss
of power, began to destroy the first members to go
through the metamorphosis. Sunad is then returned to his
ship and "John," having evolved into a form of energy,
prepares to return to his people to spread the word of
the coming rebirth. |
| Gates McFadden Trivia:
Brent Spiner is the godfather of
Gates's son.
Graduated from Brandeis
University in Waltham, Massachusetts (Class of 1970).
Her son, James Cleveland
McFadden-Talbot, was born on June 10th, 1991.
She was a Muppeteer and
movement coordinator for Jim Henson prior to her role on
"Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987).
She choreographed the ballroom
scene in the Jim Henson film Labyrinth (1986).
|
