CAUSE AND EFFECT


- Damage report. - Casualties all over the ship.
Starboard nacelle sustained an impact.
We are venting drive plasma.
Initiating emergency core-shutdown.
Inertial dampers failing. Losing attitude control.
This is the bridge. All hands to escape pods.
Core shutdown is unsuccessful.
We are losing antimatter containment.
We've got to eject the core.
Ejection systems off line. Core breach is imminent.
All hands, abandon ship!
Repeat. All hands, abandon...
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 45652. 1.
The Enterprise has entered an area known as the Typhon Expanse.
We're the first Starfleet vessel to chart this region.
I wonder if he's stacking the deck.
I assure you, the cards are sufficiently randomized.
I hope so.
Eight. Ace. Queen.
The dealer receives a four.
No bet.
Ten. Seven. No help there.
Pair of ladies for the Doctor.
Dealer receives a nine.
Doctor? You show the highest hand. You control the next bet.
Thank you, Data.
I bet ten.
Worf?
Jack. Four. Deuce. Six.
20.
Your 20, and 50 more.
50?
I'm in.
I will also see the bet.
Seven. A possible straight for Cmdr Riker.
Jack. Still no help for the Klingon. Eight.
Nine for the dealer.
20.
Too rich for my blood.
Your 200, 100 more.
Fold.
200.
Your two, and 300 more.
He does not have a straight.
Well, we'll soon find out, won't we?
Let's see your cards.
Take it.
- How did you know I was bluffing? - I just had a feeling.
I guess it's better to be lucky than good.
It's the way your left eyebrow raises when you're bluffing.
Just kidding, Commander.
- Ogawa to Dr Crusher. - Go ahead.
Cmdr La Forge needs you in sickbay.
On my way.
At first I thought the catwalk was spinning.
It turns out it was me.
Luckily, Fletcher grabbed me.
It's a long way down to the bottom of the warp core.
You have the symptoms of an inner-ear infection.
That would explain the dizziness and headaches.
But there's no physical evidence.
My guess is you've been working too hard.
I have been putting in extra hours on this Typhon Expanse project.
20cc of vertazine should clear up the dizziness.
But finding time to relax is up to you.
What? What is it?
Have you had these symptoms before?
No.
- You're sure? - I'm positive. Why?
It's funny. I feel like we've discussed this before.
I remember giving you a hypospray for dizziness.
I've never had these symptoms. You're thinking of another patient.
No, I'm sure it was you.
Well, try to get some rest.
Stay away from high places for a few days.
Thanks, Doc.
- Goodnight. - Goodnight.
As you can see, the Typhon Expanse is huge.
If we want to chart it, we'll have to launch a probe soon.
What about the luminosity studies?
- That may pose a problem. - How so?
The spectrometers are still down.
They were supposed to be on line.
They were until Stellar Dynamics decided to install new modules.
I recommend a graviton polarimeter.
- It performs a similar function. - Make it so, Mr. Data.
Captain, I have something I'd like to report.
Yes, Doctor?
I heard voices in my room last night.
I was alone, so I thought I was imagining things.
But ten other people reported hearing voices at the same time.
What were they saying?
I couldn't make them out.
Data, did the sensors pick up anything unusual?
No anomalous readings were reported.
When we're through, recheck the sensor logs.
- Aye, sir. - Counsellor?
I sensed nothing unusual last night.
Maybe it's the comm system.
- Bridge to Capt Picard. - Go ahead.
We have unusual readings, 20,000 kilometres off the starboard bow.
On our way.
Report.
Sensors didn't detect the phenomenon until now, sir.
It is a localized distortion of the space-time continuum.
On screen.
Back us off, Ensign. Nice and slow.
Aye, sir.
Manoeuvring thrusters are not responding.
Distortion field is fluctuating.
All main systems down. Power levels dropping rapidly.
Red alert.
There is an energy build-up.
We have to get out of here.
Captain, something is emerging.
Shields up. Evasive manoeuvres.
- Shields inoperative. - The helm's not responding.
The vessel is on a collision course. Impact in 36 seconds.
Hail them.
No response.
Suggestions?
Decompress main shuttle bay to kick us out of the way.
I suggest we use the tractor beam to alter their trajectory.
Mr. Worf, make it so.
Engaging tractor beam.
- Damage report. - Casualties all over the ship.
Starboard nacelle sustained an impact.
- Venting drive plasma. - Initiating core shutdown.
Inertial dampers failing. Losing attitude control.
This is the bridge. All hands to escape pods.
Core shutdown was unsuccessful.
We are losing antimatter containment.
We've got to eject the core.
Ejection systems off line. Core breach is imminent.
All hands, abandon ship!
Repeat, all hands, abandon...
Captain's log, star date 45652. 1.
The Enterprise has entered an area known as the Typhon Expanse.
We are the first Starfleet vessel to chart this region.
I wonder if he's stacking the deck.
I assure you, the cards are sufficiently randomized.
I hope so.
Eight. Ace. Queen.
The dealer receives a four.
No bet.
Ten. Seven. No help there.
Pair of ladies for the Doctor. Dealer receives a nine.
Doctor? You show the highest hand. You control the next bet.
Is there something wrong, Doctor?
No. I'll bet ten.
Jack. Four. Deuce. Six.
20.
Your 20. I'll raise you 50.
You're going to call my bluff.
I think I'll quit while I'm ahead.
How did you know I'd call your bluff?
- I just had a feeling. - Me, too.
- Ogawa to Dr Crusher. - Go ahead.
- Cmdr La Forge needs you in sickbay. - On my way.
At first I thought the catwalk was spinning. Turns out it was me.
Luckily, Fletcher grabbed me.
It's a long way down to the bottom of the warp core.
You have the symptoms of an inner-ear infection.
That would explain the headaches and dizziness.
But there's no physical...
What?
- What is it? - Have you had these symptoms before?
- Come to think of it, yes. - Do you recall when?
No, I don't...
We've had this discussion before. I've given you this examination.
Let's check the medical logs.
You've been treated for headaches from your visor
but I read no mention of dizziness.
Must be déjá vu.
Both of us? About the same thing?
- Crusher to Picard. - Yes, Doctor?
Do you have a minute?
My Aunt Adele cured a lot of sleepless nights with steamed milk.
Thank you.
Nutmeg.
Whenever I get insomnia, I try to perfect the recipe.
It was the eeriest feeling.
When the glass broke,
it triggered the sensation even more that I'd done it all before.
You know, earlier, I was reading this book...
..and I had the distinct feeling
that I'd read certain paragraphs before.
But I assumed that I'd read the book years ago and I'd forgotten.
I've had this feeling for hours. And then the voices...
Well, it could be nothing more than the result of a sleepless night.
But let's be sure.
Have Data and Geordi run a diagnostic
on the time and place you heard the voices.
We'll discuss the results tomorrow at 0700 hours.
Thank you.
For everything.
No, thank Aunt Adele.
The internal scans were negative.
There was no evidence of auditory anomalies.
As far as the sensors are concerned, nothing unusual happened.
Ten other people reported hearing voices at the same time I did.
- Bridge to Capt Picard. - Go ahead.
We have unusual readings, 20,000 kilometres off the starboard bow.
On our way.
Report.
Sensors didn't detect the phenomenon until now.
It is a localized distortion of the space-time continuum.
On screen.
Back us off, Ensign. Nice and slow.
Aye, sir.
Manoeuvring thrusters are not responding.
Distortion field is fluctuating.
All main systems down. Power levels are dropping.
Red alert.
There is an energy build-up.
We have to get out of here.
Captain, something is emerging.
Shields up. Evasive manoeuvres.
- Shields inoperative. - The helm's not responding.
The vessel is on a collision course. Impact in 36 seconds.
- Hail them. - No response.
Suggestions?
Decompress main shuttle bay to blow us out of the way.
I suggest we use the tractor beam to alter their trajectory.
- Make it so, Mr. Worf. - Engaging tractor beam.
- Damage report. - Casualties all over the ship.
Starboard nacelle sustained an impact.
We are venting drive plasma.
Initiating emergency core-shutdown.
Inertial dampers failing. Losing attitude control.
This is the bridge. All hands to escape pods.
Core shutdown unsuccessful. We are losing antimatter containment.
We've got to eject the core.
Ejector systems off line. Core breach imminent.
All hands, abandon ship!
Repeat, all hands, abandon...
Captain's log, star date 45652. 1.
The Enterprise has entered an area known as the Typhon Expanse.
We are the first Starfleet vessel to chart this region.
I wonder if he's stacking the deck.
I assure you, the cards are sufficiently randomized.
I hope... so.
Something wrong, Mr. Worf?
I am experiencing nlb'poH, the feeling I have done this before.
- Last Tuesday. - That's not what I mean.
I've been having the same feeling. Keep dealing, Data.
Eight. Ace.
A queen. You're going to give me a queen.
You're going to get a four.
Deal, Data.
- But no one has bet. - Forget the bet. Just deal.
Ten.
Seven. Queen.
Nine. Jack.
- Four. - Deuce. Six.
This is highly improbable.
- How did we know? - Wait.
Crusher to sickbay.
- Sickbay here. - Is Cmdr La Forge there?
No, Doctor, he's not.
Wait a minute. He just came in.
- You wanted to see me, Doctor? - Yes.
Captain, have you been getting the feeling
that you've experienced things before?
A sense of repetition?
Yes, recently. While I was reading. Why do you ask?
There have been similar incidents all over the ship.
Feelings of déjá vu.
I had a premonition Geordi would come into sickbay.
Seconds later he did. With the symptoms of an ear infection.
I was going to run tests
but I had a feeling they'd be negative.
So I ran an optical diagnostic
which traced the problem to Geordi's visor.
His dizziness is caused
by a phase shift in his visual receptors,
making him see images that aren't there.
They're like blurry after-images.
I ran a scan to see if I could detect what he saw.
I picked up distortions in the surrounding dekyon field.
Somehow his visor translates them into visual impulses.
Could be a malfunction in the warp-field generator.
Run a localized subspace scan for anything else.
Keep me advised.
- Crusher to Cmdr La Forge. - La Forge here.
Geordi, I just heard what sounded like voices in my room.
But no one else is here.
Sensors picked up something strange. We're checking it out.
I'm on my way.
Looks like you managed to record 6.2 seconds' worth.
Let's see if we can filter the signal.
- Then I wasn't hearing things? - The sound appears real.
However, it does not correspond to any ship's system,
nor to any voice communication at that time.
Then where did it come from?
You heard it at the same time
our scan picked up a dekyon-field distortion.
The two may be related. Let's have another listen.
Computer, perform a narrow-bandwidth analysis.
Eliminate non-vocal waveform components.
Can we isolate the voices? Find out what they're saying?
Computer, continuous playback.
There are approximately 1,000 voices overlapping.
The voices are those of the Enterprise crew.
Our voices.
I'm sorry to call you so early
but we couldn't wait till 0700 hours.
We think we have an explanation for the occurrences.
- Commander. - This is gonna sound pretty wild.
Somehow we seem to have entered a temporal-causality loop.
We think we're stuck in a fragment in time.
We've been repeating that fragment over and over.
Is this causing our déjá vu?
Yes, but it's more. In déjá vu, you think you're repeating events.
- We actually are. - Our theory is this.
Every time the loop begins again,
everything resets itself and starts all over.
We don't remember anything
so each time, we think it's the first.
You mean we could have had this conversation a dozen times?
A dozen, a hundred. It's impossible to tell.
We could have been here for hours, days, maybe years.
If what we're saying is true,
those voices I heard might be echoes from previous loops.
It's the same with my visor.
After-images in time.
If you're right, how did it happen? How did we get there?
I have a hypothesis that may explain that.
I have analyzed the recording.
Most is quite ordinary.
150 discussions about ship operations,
252 conversations of a personal nature,
five couples in romantic encounters...
Your point, Mr. Data?
There is evidence of a disaster aboard the Enterprise,
severe enough that the Captain ordered all hands
to abandon ship.
I have isolated three segments of this recording that are crucial.
A localized distortion of the space-time continuum.
Collision course. Impact in 36 seconds.
All hands, abandon ship!
Repeat. All hands, abandon...
Worf refers to a distortion.
If this were temporal and we were close enough,
it's possible an explosion ruptured the space-time continuum.
We collided, exploded, then got caught in this repeating loop.
If you're right, we could escape by avoiding collision.
That's our guess.
Perhaps we should reverse course.
For all we know, reversing course may lead us into the crash.
No. We can't start second-guessing ourselves.
Stay on course until we have reason to change.
But let's do everything we can to avoid the collision.
We might not be able to figure out how to avoid this accident.
If the loop begins again, we'll forget everything we've learned.
What do you suggest?
If we find a way to avoid this collision,
we should send that information into the next loop.
Is that possible?
We have seen that echoes or after-images from previous loops
appear as distortions in the dekyon field.
We could send an echo into the next loop.
- Like a message in a bottle? - Exactly.
We could enhance a dekyon emission and send ourselves a message.
Not a long one, only a few characters.
Maybe one word.
How will we know to pick up that word?
If the dekyon emission is modulated correctly,
it will set up resonance's in my positronic subprocessors.
I will receive the information on a subconscious level.
There's the catch.
We don't know how this will be perceived by Data.
It might be like a post-hypnotic suggestion.
Even so, we've got to try.
Take whatever steps are necessary to send a message. Dismissed.
It's possible we've tried this 1,000 times and it's never worked.
Do you feel that you've done this before?
No, I don't.
Neither do l. Maybe that's a good sign.
Let's test the emitter.
Particle accelerators at full power.
Dekyon field active.
Particle flux nominal. We're in business.
All we need now is a message.
Senior officers, to the bridge.
On our way.
We have to figure out how we handled this before.
Back us off, Ensign. Nice and slow.
Aye, sir.
Manoeuvring thrusters are not responding.
Distortion field is fluctuating.
All main systems down. Power levels are dropping.
There is an energy build-up.
We have to get out of here.
Something is emerging.
Shields up. Evasive manoeuvres.
- Shields inoperative. - The helm's not responding.
The vessel is on a collision course. Impact in 36 seconds.
- Hail them. - No response.
Suggestions?
Decompress main shuttle bay to blow us out of the way.
I suggest we use the tractor beam to alter their trajectory.
- Make it so, Mr. Worf. - Engaging tractor beam.
- Damage report. - Casualties all over the ship.
Starboard nacelle sustained an impact.
- We are venting drive plasma. - Emergency core shutdown.
Inertial dampers failing. Losing attitude control.
This is the bridge. All hands to escape pods.
Core shutdown is unsuccessful. We are losing antimatter containment.
We've got to eject the core.
Ejection systems are off line. Core breach is imminent.
All hands, abandon ship!
Repeat, all hands, abandon...
Captain's log, star date 45652. 1.
The Enterprise has entered an area known as the Typhon Expanse.
We are the first Starfleet vessel to chart this region.
I wonder if he's stacking the deck.
I assure you, the cards are sufficiently randomized.
I hope so.
Something wrong, Mr. Worf?
I am experiencing nlb'poH, the feeling I have done this before.
- Last Tuesday night. - That's not what I mean.
I've been having the same feeling. Wait!
An eight. An ace. A queen. And a four.
Deal the cards, Data.
Three. All threes.
I was positive I knew what cards were going to be dealt.
I was also sure.
Finish dealing the hand.
Look at this. We've all got three of a kind.
First we get a three and then three of a kind.
Ogawa to Dr Crusher.
Go ahead.
Cmdr La Forge needs you in sickbay.
I'm on my way.
At first I thought the catwalk was spinning.
It turns out it was me.
Luckily, Fletcher grabbed me.
It's a long way down to the bottom of the warp core.
You have the symptoms of an inner-ear infection.
That would explain the headaches and dizziness.
But I don't see any physical...
What? What is it?
Have you had these symptoms before?
Now that you mention it, yes.
Do you recall when?
No, I don't.
We've had this discussion before.
I remember giving you this examination.
Let's check the medical logs.
You've been treated for headaches from your visor
but no mention of dizziness.
Must be déjá vu.
Both of us? About the same thing?
I'd like to run an optical diagnostic.
For an ear infection?
I have a hunch.
Hold still. This pulse may be a little bright.
Have you made changes to your visor lately?
No, why?
I'm detecting a small phase shift in your visual receptors.
Crusher to Capt Picard.
Yes?
Can you come to sickbay? It's urgent.
I'm on my way.
Dizziness is from a phase shift in his visual receptors.
It's causing him to see things.
Like blurry after-images.
I ran a scan to see if I could detect what he saw.
I picked up distortions in the surrounding dekyon field.
His visor seems to be translating them into visual impulses.
Could be a malfunction in the warp-field generator.
Run a localized subspace scan for anything unusual.
Aye, sir.
Keep me advised, Doctor.
Lateral sensors on line. Subspace scanners active.
Data, run a level-two diagnostic on the warp subsystems.
All threes. That can't be right.
I have encountered the numeral three many times in the last two hours.
We have a dekyon-field fluctuation on deck nine, section 28.
- Crusher to La Forge. - Here.
I've just heard voices in my room, but there's no one here.
Sensors picked up something strange, too.
On my way.
Dr Crusher. Are you alright?
I'm fine.
I have isolated three segments of this recording.
A localized distortion of the space-time continuum.
Collision course. Impact in 36 seconds.
All hands, abandon ship! Repeat, all hands, abandon...
Worf refers to a distortion.
If this were temporal and we were close enough to it,
it's possible an explosion ruptured the space-time continuum.
We collided, exploded, then got stuck in this repeating loop.
If you're right, perhaps we can escape by avoiding collision.
- That's our guess. - Reverse course.
For all we know, reversing course might lead to the crash.
We can't second guess ourselves.
Stay on course until we have reason to change.
In the meantime, do what we can to avoid a collision.
We've seen the number three all over the ship.
On consoles, in a poker game.
To date, we have encountered 2,085 examples of the number three.
All these threes can't be coming up by accident.
Maybe someone is telling us something.
We came to the same conclusion, so we ran a diagnostic.
We found a dekyon-field modulation in Data's subprocessors.
- What could be causing it? - I don't know.
But if I wanted to send information between loops,
I might use a dekyon emission.
- We sent ourselves a message? - It would make sense.
Maybe we are trying to contact ourselves.
If that were true, what could three indicate?
We should run a level-three diagnostic.
That's a good idea. I'll run an algorithm on three.
- Bridge to Capt Picard. - Go ahead.
We have unusual readings, 20,000 kilometres off the starboard bow.
On our way.
Report.
Sensors didn't detect the phenomenon until now.
It is a localized distortion of the space-time continuum.
On screen.
How did we handle this before?
Back us off, Ensign. Nice and slow.
Aye, sir.
Manoeuvring thrusters are not responding.
Distortion field is fluctuating.
All main systems down. Power levels dropping rapidly.
There is an energy build-up.
We have to get out of here.
Something is emerging.
Shields up. Evasive manoeuvres.
- Shields inoperative. - The helm's not responding.
The vessel will impact in 36 seconds.
Hail them.
No response.
Suggestions?
Decompress main shuttle bay to kick us out of the way.
I suggest we use the tractor beam to alter their trajectory.
Make it so.
Engaging tractor beam.
The tractor beam will not be successful.
I am decompressing main shuttle bay.
We are clear of the distortion.
Data, what happened?
At the last moment, I speculated that three
might refer to the rank insignia on Cmdr Riker's uniform.
That indicated that his suggestion was the correct course.
You must have picked up a message from the last loop
and stacked the poker deck without realizing.
That is possible.
I may also have been responsible
for the unexplained occurrences of the number three.
Mr. Worf, end red alert.
Try to access a Federation time base beacon.
Let's see how long we've been in this causality loop.
Time base confirms our chronometers are off by 17.4 days.
Reset them, Mr. Data.
Aye, sir.
Captain, we are being hailed by the other vessel.
The computer identifies it as USS Bozeman,
a Federation starship.
- Soyuz-class. - Soyuz-class?
They haven't been in service in over 80 years.
Open a channel.
This is Capt Bateson of Federation Starship Bozeman.
Can we render assistance?
I'm Capt Jean-Luc Picard of Federation Starship Enterprise.
We were going to ask you the same.
Capt Picard, your vessel is not familiar to us.
Captain, have you any idea what has happened?
Our sensors detected a temporal distortion.
Then your ship appeared. We nearly hit you.
The Enterprise has been in a temporal causality loop.
I suspect that something similar happened to you.
You must be mistaken. We left star base three weeks ago.
Captain.
Do you know what year this is?
Of course I do. It's 2278.
Perhaps you should beam aboard our ship.
There's something we need to discuss.


Pøedcházející epizoda

Seznam epizod páté sezóny

Následující epizoda