Miles! Fancy a drink?
l can't. Keiko's waiting on me for dinner.
Book a holosuite for next Thursday. They're going to Bajor.
- Hi, Julian. - Hi. You going to Vic's?
- Yes. - Mind if l join you?
Uh...actually, we were looking forward to spending an evening alone.
Great. Have a great time.
l understand.
Cheeky virus. You've gone and mutated on me.
Well, you can run, but you can't hide.
Lights.
- Nog to Dr Bashir. - Go ahead.
You're needed in the lnfirmary, Sir.
lt's three in the morning. lsn't Dr Girani on duty?
Not anymore. Admiral Patrick threw her out.
Admiral who?
- He wants to see you immediately, Sir. - On my way.
What's going on?
- Admiral Patrick just arrived. - What happened to Dr Girani?
The admiral said she asked too many stupid questions.
- Dr Bashir reporting as ordered. - Finally.
- Patrick! - That's Admiral Patrick.
- Mind your manners. - What are you doing here?
- That's a stupid question. - Where did you get the uniforms?
That's a stupid question, too.
Please excuse the doctor. He just woke up.
- They're not Starfleet officers. - They're not?
- We're mutants. - Genetically engineered. Can't you tell?
- Does anybody know you're missing? - That's...
- Will you stop saying that! - Why are you so upset?
You wanted Sarina brought here. Well, here she is!
l was considering bringing her here for treatment. When l was ready.
But l still have to modify my surgical equipment.
We'll help. When we're through with Sarina, she'll be just like us.
You could get into so much trouble for impersonating officers.
- Jack, you didn't tell us that. - We didn't get caught.
- Didn't anybody question you? - Yes. But Patrick would say...
That's a stupid...
- You'd be surprised how well it works. - l'll say.
- What are they going to do to us? - lt's all right.
l'll find a way to straighten this out. Somehow.
Hello, Sarina. Remember me?
- Of course. She's not an idiot. - She's just a bit cataleptic.
- Can you really make her better? - l'm going to do everything l can.
l promise.
lf you want Starfleet not to press charges, give me a damn good reason.
They wanted to bring Sarina so l could help her. They meant well.
That's the excuse you used when they tried to pass secrets to the Dominion.
- They were trying to save lives... - Doctor!
l appreciate that you feel a connection to them.
But they have displayed a consistent disregard for society's rules.
They're not allowed to live in society.
We are not here to debate Federation policy.
We are here to discuss what to do about these people.
Of course. With your permission, l'd like to proceed with Sarina's treatment.
l take it the lnstitute has given their approval?
A copy of the medical protocols l submitted.
Dr Loews, Sarina's legal guardian, has given her consent.
This procedure's never been done before?
There's no guarantee that it'll work, but it could change everything for her.
She may not have the same behavioural disorders as the others.
She's trapped inside her own mind. This could free her.
There are a few technical issues but l'm confident that l can iron them out.
You've put in a lot of time on this, haven't you?
l owe it to her. l could have ended up the same as Sarina, but l was lucky.
My DNA re-sequencing didn't have side effects.
All right. l'll take care of Starfleet, you take care of Sarina.
- Thank you, Sir. - The others will go back to the lnstitute.
l was hoping you'd allow them to stay on.
- Why? - Sarina's spent 15 years with them.
lf she comes out of her isolation,
it will be helpful to have familiar faces around.
We'll arrange for quarters to be set up in a cargo bay.
l appreciate it.
Just make sure they stay there. l don't want them causing trouble again.
- l'll see that it doesn't happen again. - Good.
One thing more. Get them out of those uniforms.
- There. Don't you look pretty? - Why are we doing this?
- Keep going. - Here?
A little to the left.
- That's not where it was last time. - So what?
- He's right. - Fine.
- How's that? - Much better.
- Here he is! - What did the Captain say?
All systems go.
- l told you this was a good idea. - l remember.
- When do we operate? - We?
- You'll need some help. - You're a surgeon now?
- How hard can it be? - Thanks for the offer, but...
- You want to take all the credit. - lt's about what's best for Sarina.
Fine. l'm busy anyway. New project.
Good. What are you working on?
Wouldn't you like to know?
l'll leave you to it. Do me a favour and change out of those uniforms.
Sarina. l'd like to take you to the lnfirmary to run a few tests.
ls that all right?
- She's afraid it's going to hurt. - lt won't hurt. l promise.
You're in good hands. Very good hands.
Don't get your hopes up, Julian. lt's over between us.
l have a new man in my life. That gorgeous little Ferengi.
- Nog? - Jealous? That's so sweet.
Hurry back.
Sarina's cerebral cortex was enhanced
to accelerate the rate at which she can process information.
But her visual and auditory systems
can't channel the stimuli into the cortex fast enough.
They're out of sync so she can't focus on what's going on.
Can you get her processes up to speed?
l need to stimulate the growth of new synapses in her thalamus.
So l have to manipulate neural proteins at a subatomic level.
That's a problem.
This is the most advanced probe made. lt's not that accurate.
That's why l asked you down here.
l wish l could help, but at resolutions that small,
quantum fluctuations are uncontrollable.
- l can't make this any more accurate. - You haven't even tried it!
l'm sorry. lt can't be done. l'm sorry.
Sorry isn't good enough, Miles!
This is Sarina's only chance to live a normal life.
l can't break the laws of physics. Nobody can.
Your friend was right. You can't break the laws of physics.
But you can bend them!
We recalibrated the imaging diodes.
You could clip the wings of an angel dancing on the head of a pin.
lf you wanted to.
Anything?
Sarina? How am l supposed to know you understand me
if you don't give me some sign?
Anything. lt doesn't matter how small.
lt's been five days, and she's as unresponsive as she was before.
l know you're disappointed but you did everything you could.
lt wasn't enough.
l'm sorry. Obviously you want to punish yourself.
Do you want help? l'm good at punishing myself.
lf l were you, l'd be kicking myself for making promises l couldn't keep.
For getting people's hopes up.
For thinking that l could succeed where dozens of doctors had failed.
- Should l keep going? - No, that just about covers it. Thanks.
Glad l could help.
What is it?
l'm not sure.
Excuse me. Sarina?
- What are you looking at? - Everything.
You heard me.
l thought something and you heard it.
Sarina, you spoke.
Sarina, come and sit down. l need to run a few tests.
- What is it? - Listen.
- lt's nice. - You're right. l hadn't noticed before.
That's a little odd. Her norepinephrine levels are slightly elevated.
- What's causing it? - l'm not sure.
lt's probably due to limbic overcompensation.
The levels should drop when the new thalamic connections stabilise.
You're right...l think.
l was listening when you were telling the nurses about the procedure.
l kept thinking that l wanted to thank you
for what you were trying to do for me. And now l finally can.
Thank you.
- Did you move this? - Maybe l did. Maybe l didn't.
Leave him alone.
Patrick, it's where it's supposed to be.
Oh!
Hello, everyone.
Did you hear what she said? Did you hear that?
l don't think l've heard a more beautiful sound in my life!
- This was my idea! - We missed you!
- You look so different! - Did the surgery hurt?
There's so much l want to say to all of you.
- Why are you talking like that? - Quiet!
''There's so much l want to say to all of you.''
- Jack! - He's right. l can hear the way l sound.
lt's temporary. lt just takes practice.
Practice! Good idea. Listen to this, Sarina.
- Are you tone deaf? - You're the one who's tone deaf.
Much better.
Let's improvise. Lauren.
Molto allegro.
Within a few minutes, Sarina's voice just took off.
Such improvement usually takes weeks.
That is amazing. Julian...
She was exhausted. l needed to monitor her neural activity.
l can't get over the transformation.
Yesterday, she was silent. Today, she's singing and laughing.
- You should've seen her. - How could l?
l've been sitting here all night.
- ls it Thursday? - Why else would l sit here all night?
- l'm sorry. l forgot. - lt's all right.
Morn caught me up on how his 17 brothers and sisters are doing.
l'd better head off. l've got an early start.
Sorry about the mix-up, Miles.
lt's all right. l'm happy for her.
l'm happy for both of you.
Sarina, what are you doing here? How did you get in?
lt wasn't hard. Your access code only has six digits.
- ls something wrong? - l couldn't sleep.
My nurse could have given you something.
- l don't want to sleep. - Why not?
What if l wake up the way l was? What if l...
lt's not going to happen.
Your life's going to be different now.
Your future is full of possibilities.
You're going to be doing things that you haven't even dreamed of.
There's really no reason to be afraid.
Sarina?
- Good morning. - Morning.
You didn't account for the L-Two codon.
- What? - That's why the virus mutated.
You need to target the RNA transcriptor. Hungry?
The L-Two codon. Of course. Why didn't l think of that?
Sarina, you're amazing. l've been working on this for months.
You would've seen it sooner or later.
l don't know about that. Thank you.
l'm glad l could do something for you. You've done so much for me.
- lnfirmary to Dr Bashir. - Go ahead.
You're needed in surgery, Sir.
l'm on my way.
l'll be tied up for a few hours. What would you like to do?
l can ask Ezri to show you around the station.
l think l'll go see Jack and the others.
l'll have someone take you to the cargo bay.
When l'm out of surgery, l'll join you.
Wait. You need your breakfast.
Thank you.
The universe is going to stop expanding and collapse in on itself.
- We must do something. - How much time do we have?
Sixty trillion years, seventy at the most.
lsn't Nog handsome?
What are you doing? We are running out of time!
Sarina, thank God! Nobody else around here ever listens to me.
- What's wrong? - There's too much matter.
The universe is too heavy for its own good.
You need to lighten the load.
We have to find a way to decrease the mass.
- Of the entire universe? - That's the point.
- ls that possible? - That's what we're trying to figure out.
What if we manipulated subspace?
- Change the cosmological constant. - That would do the trick.
You can't change the cosmological constant.
You know something? We're trying to save existence,
and all you can do is criticise.
- l'm sorry. - Thank you. Now, where were we?
- Manipulating subspace. - Right.
Doctor!
- Glad you're here. - ls she all right?
Sarina, are you all right?
She's fine.
We have to talk to Starfleet. We need subspace field generators.
- Can we talk about it later? - There isn't going to be a later.
Sarina?
- Hi. - ls something wrong?
No. They're used to me being quiet. lt's easier this way.
Um...some of my friends want to get together later at Quark's.
l was wondering if you'd like to come along.
- Me? - Do you want to?
When should we be ready?
We're not invited, Jack. Just her.
- Figures. - That's not fair.
lt's all right. Come on, Sarina. Let's get you dressed.
Sorry to keep you waiting.
Come on out.
Am l good or am l good?
Look at all the people.
There they are.
- l don't remember her being so... - Beautiful.
Everyone, Sarina. Sarina, everyone.
- Odo. - Nerys.
- l'm Miles. - l remember you.
- You're Julian's best friend. - Well, we get on all right.
For the most part.
- Why are you pretending it's not true? - They're men.
Men have trouble expressing their feelings.
- You don't. - Odo never talks about his feelings.
He took your hand. He's showing you his feelings.
Thank you.
Julian, show everybody how much you love me and order the next round.
Hey, Briok.
l liked your friends. All of them.
lf l had to find someone to replace Atlas and hold up the world, it'd be Miles.
He'd do it with a smile, too.
And Kira. She never doubts herself.
Odo finds that fascinating because he doubts everything but her.
What about Ezri?
She'll realise she's more than the sum of her parts and really be something.
You saw all that after a few hours with them?
l'll have to put on my poker face.
You've already given yourself away.
ls that right? And how would you describe me?
Compassionate. Brilliant. Lonely.
- Well, two out of three isn't bad. - Which two?
That would be telling.
l'm glad you liked my friends. l know they liked you.
l felt comfortable around them.
No one was going to throw a tantrum or break into tears.
They only do that at staff meetings.
Jack's always talking about how we're better than ''normal'' people.
He says that's why they keep us locked up. But he's wrong.
ln the real world he'd get himself into too much trouble.
- So would Lauren and Patrick. - That's why they belong in the lnstitute.
Dr Loews wants me to get them back there.
- l'm not going with them, am l? - You don't belong there. Not anymore.
- Do they know? - Not yet.
They've always been like a family to me.
l know how much you care about them.
As difficult as they can be sometimes, l'm going to miss them.
We had our own little world. Just the four of us.
What's a genetically enhanced girl supposed to do when she wakes up?
Point to one of those little specks of light,
pack her bag, and go make a life for herself?
Why does she have to go anywhere at all?
Sarina isn't going back to the lnstitute. She's staying here.
Oh, really? Huh. How nice for you.
She'll have her own quarters.
- We'll never see her again. - You have no right to do this!
lt's the best thing for Sarina.
You can't take her away from us!
Stop thinking about yourself and think about her.
She doesn't belong with you.
Why? Because we're not normal? Because we're crazy?
Make us normal, too. Then we could all stay together.
Tell him. There's nothing you can do for us. We're too far gone.
Who wants to be normal anyway? We're better than they are.
You don't see them trying to save the universe from collapsing.
Let's get back to work.
- They took it rather hard. - l should go talk to them.
ln the morning. Give them a little time to get used to the idea.
l've got just the thing to cheer you up.
Dabo!
- She's unbelievable! - Tell him how you do it. Go on!
Binomial equations and probability factors.
- You track the dependent variables. - lt's not that interesting.
Dabo!
Well, hasn't this been fun!
Why not take a seat and top off the evening with a bottle of spring wine?
- Should we? - He doesn't want to lose more money.
Did l mention that the wine was on the house?
- Let's sit down. - But she's winning.
l've played enough.
This way.
Excuse me. Ezri, over here.
Dabo!
Sarina? This way.
Julian, would you mind if we left?
l thought you were having a good time.
l was. But there was so much commotion. Maybe l'm just tired.
Tomorrow night we'll have a nice quiet dinner in my quarters.
l have a week's leave coming up. We could go to Risa,
spend a little time alone.
- All right. - l'll let you get some rest then.
She's wonderful, Miles. l've never met anybody like her.
She's brilliant. Sweet. Everything's new to her.
Being with her is so refreshing. She delights in what she's experiencing.
l appreciate things l take for granted.
- Like hot coffee? - Like coffee.
Music. The way the stars shine.
- What is wrong with this thing? - Are you listening?
Yes.
Coffee. Music. Stars.
- Don't you have anything to say? - As a matter of fact, l do.
l haven't seen you like this for a long time and l'm happy for you.
But it's happening too fast.
We're genetically engineered. We do everything fast.
Julian, she's your patient.
l've asked Dr Girani to take over her care.
l don't think you understand what this means to me.
l've always had to hide the fact that my DNA was resequenced.
l heard people say the genetically engineered were misfits.
l fantasised about meeting someone like me, who could live normally.
But it never happened. Until Sarina.
Don't you see? She's the woman l've been waiting for all my life.
Good luck.
Computer, music. Something...romantic.
Computer, locate Sarina Douglas.
Sarina Douglas is in her quarters on the Habitat Ring,
corridor H6, section 27, Epsilon.
Sarina, it's me.
Computer, override door locks.
Authorisation Bashir Delta-5-7-Alpha.
l've been waiting for you.
Sarina?
ls something wrong?
Sarina.
The thalamic pathways are still functioning,
but there's no neural activity in them.
- Do you have any idea what's wrong? - None.
She's slipping away and there's nothing l can do but wait.
You can go in now.
Sarina?
Don't be afraid. Everything's going to be all right.
l'm not going to give up on you. Ever.
l don't know what's wrong. l need your help.
Why should we help you?
Look at her! Do you want her to spend the rest of her life like this?
l can't find a way to reach her.
Maybe there isn't one. All l'm asking is that you try.
The three of you know her better than anyone else. Please.
l don't want to lose her.
Leave her here with us for a while. We'll see what we can do.
Thank you.
- Are you sure? - l'm sure.
- We have to tell him. - Why? This way we can stay together.
Let's go.
- This way. - That way.
- l think we passed it. - Can l help you?
That's a stupid question.
Come in.
- We have to talk to you. - About Sarina?
Tell him.
She can still talk, it's just that she's afraid to.
- What's she afraid of? - We don't know.
We think it has something to do with you.
l'm going to go talk to her. Stay here.
Sarina. Talk to me.
Please. l know you can.
What's wrong?
ls it me? lf it is, don't be afraid.
l'll do whatever it takes to make it right.
l love you.
l want us to be together.
Tell me...do you love me?
l don't know.
l don't even understand what love is.
l don't understand anything.
What am l supposed to do or to feel?
Tell me. l want to make you happy. l owe you everything.
You don't owe me... You don't owe me anything.
l'm sorry.
l wish l could be the woman you want me to be.
Morning.
- ls she gone? - Her shuttle leaves in a few minutes.
- And the others? - They've left for the lnstitute.
l hear you've arranged a position for Sarina at the Corgal Research Centre.
She's going to work under one of the scientists there, live with his family.
You OK?
How could l have been so blind?
What was l thinking moving things along so fast?
She needed time. l didn't give it to her.
l came this close to driving her back inside herself.
l'm supposed to be a doctor, put my patients' needs above my own.
You didn't want to be lonely anymore. Nobody does.
l have to go to work.
Do you want to come over for dinner tonight? Keiko's making tempura.
No, thanks.
So here you are, on your way to one of those little specks of light.
That's what a genetically enhanced girl does when she wakes up.
Makes a life for herself.
l'm going to miss you.
l'm going to miss you.
- You won't forget me? - Forget you? Never.
Final boarding call.
Well, l'd better go.

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