Captain's log, stardate 46192.3.
We have arrived at Star base 112
and are loading relief supplies for Tagra IV,
an ecologically devastated planet in the Argolis Cluster.
We have also taken on a rather unusual passenger.
Welcome, Miss Rogers. I'm delighted to have you on board.
- Thank you. - And congratulations.
I understand you were selected for this internship from hundreds.
Yes, sir. I still can't believe they chose me.
- There were others better qualified. - Her transcript is impressive.
She's done work in neurobiology, plasma dynamics
and eco-regeneration. I'd say that's pretty well-rounded.
A nice way of saying I haven't decided what to do with my life.
You'll work in all our departments while you're here.
By the time it's over, you'll know what field you're interested in.
Or what fields you're not interested in.
Come.
We're bringing up the cargo. We can leave in an hour.
Escort Miss Rogers to her quarters.
We need to discuss the Tagrans' medical needs.
- Miss Rogers? - Yes?
You've won yourself a rare opportunity. Avail yourself of it.
I will, sir. And thank you.
It'll take a few days before you know where everything is.
If you need any help, use one of these comm panels.
We're on deck seven, section four.
- You're right. - I practically memorized the specs.
You're a quick study. This is it.
- Is this for me? - It's all yours.
It's so big.
For honours students, only the best.
Well, I could have brought my zoo.
- Your zoo? - That's what my parents call it.
- Three dogs isn't that many, is it? - It depends how they get along.
I could have had a dozen. Mother said enough is enough.
I'm sure gonna miss 'em.
We'll keep you so busy, you won't.
I've gotta get back to cargo bay two.
Well, thanks for walking me down.
Sure.
No!
No, I didn't mean it.
You guys can't stay here.
Come on, all of you.
Hello.
Come here, little one.
You, too. Come on.
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.
See all these read-outs?
That's your heart rate, blood pressure, all your vital signs.
You're in good shape. You might just live to be my age.
All these tricorders need testing before they can be sent to Tagra.
So I should scan myself with each to make sure they're working?
Any that doesn't, put aside and we'll do a diagnostic.
OK.
I hear you've been accepted to the Academy. I have a son there.
Being posted on the Enterprise, you don't get to see him very often?
No, not as often as I'd like.
Do you have any other children?
My husband died a number of years ago. Wes was our only child.
Was he old enough to know his father?
Jack died when he was five.
My parents died when I was a baby. I don't remember anything about them.
Sometimes, I wonder what they were like.
Your adoptive parents are in Starfleet?
Yeah, marine biologists. They've just been posted to the Bilaren System.
Sickbay to Dr Crusher. You wanted to know when the cultures were ready.
On my way.
When you've finished, take the tricorders to the shuttle bay.
OK.
Thank you very much for your help.
We can use every available hand.
This is one of our largest relief efforts.
Why bring everything down in shuttlecraft?
We can't use the transporters due to ionization in the atmosphere.
- From the baristatic filters? - How did you know that?
I did a paper on eco-regeneration.
A thousand baristatic filters put out quite a bit of ionization.
- A thousand? - Yeah.
They've polluted their atmosphere pretty badly.
They go to such lengths to clean the air
instead of regulating the emissions that cause the problem.
Yeah, you're right.
The only thing the filters can do is keep things from getting worse.
They shoot the air...
Commander. Are you alright?
- You OK? - I didn't even see it coming.
This is the main control area.
We can access any primary circuit from all of these panels.
Over here is a Jefferies tube.
Where the major conduits are routed.
You've done your homework.
It's hard to imagine the energy in there.
Imagination is not necessary. The scale is readily quantifiable.
We are presently generating 12.75 billion gigawatts...
Temperature in the reactor chamber is up 47 percent.
Couplings are frozen. I can't slow the reaction.
Temperature increase is at 106 percent and rising.
Bridge. We're looking at a core breach.
We'll have to vent the plasma.
- Inductors not responding. - We'll lose containment.
Everybody, out of here now. Let's go. Move it.
Bring down the isolation door. Eject the warp core.
Temperature in the reaction chamber has returned to normal.
She's a little shaken up, but she's gonna be fine.
You said she was adopted. Could she be an alien?
She's human. There's nothing unusual about her that I can detect.
Have you determined the cause of the warp breach?
No. It was all normal,
and then the laws of physics went out the window.
And why shouldn't they? They're so inconvenient.
- Q! - Mon capitaine.
Are you responsible for this incident?
Yes. I needed to find out if what I suspected about the girl were true.
- That being? - That she's Q.
- Amanda's a Q? - How is that possible?
Her biological parents were human.
Well, not exactly.
They had assumed human form in order to visit Earth for amusement.
But in vulgar human fashion, they conceived a child.
And then like mawkish humans became attached to it.
What is it about squirming infants that you find so appealing?
- That's beyond your comprehension. - I desperately hope so.
- What happened to Amanda's parents? - They died in an accident.
None of us knew if she had inherited the capacities of the Q,
but they've begun to emerge and, as an expert in humanity,
I was sent to investigate.
You, an expert in humanity?
Not a very challenging field of study, I grant you.
Are you saying you created a core breach just to test this girl?
And if she couldn't stop it?
Then I would have known she wasn't a Q.
And now that you know, what do you intend to do?
Instruct her.
If this child does not learn how to control her power,
she may accidentally destroy herself. Or all of you. Or your entire galaxy.
I don't believe that you're here to do us a favour.
You're quite right, I wouldn't,
but there are those in the Continuum
who have an over-exaggerated sense of responsibility.
They want to take precautions to keep her from running amuck.
And once you've taught her, then you'll go away?
And leave her here? Of course not.
She'll come back to the Continuum.
Wait a minute. You can't take her from everything she's ever known.
I assure you I can.
She has plans. She wants to have a career and a family.
I'm rescuing her from that miserable existence.
That miserable existence is all she's known for 18 years.
You have no right to take her away from it.
Mon capitaine, I think that we need to speak privately.
Well, there, that's better.
Crusher gets more shrill with each passing year.
Q, what is it you really want?
Since you know so much about the Q, you can introduce me to the child.
Let her know she can trust me.
I don't trust you. Why should I expect Amanda to?
She'd better, because I'm all she's got.
She needs me to prepare her for her future with the Q.
What if she doesn't want that future? It must be her decision.
Yes! Do you think she will want to remain an enfeebled mortal?
But if she really is Q, she must understand what that means.
Very well. I will introduce you.
But we cannot argue like this in front of her.
We must at least appear to be...
Pals?
Civil.
I knew I could count on you, Jean-Luc.
Mr. Data, I want you to access any available records on Amanda Rogers.
Yes, Captain.
I want to know about her biological parents, about their death.
I find it odd that any Q could die in an accident.
It is not consistent with what we know, sir.
I'm convinced Q isn't telling us everything.
- See what you can find out. - Aye, sir.
It started happening about six months ago.
Things that I would wish for would just suddenly appear.
I thought I was going crazy.
In a funny way, finding this out is kind of a relief.
I can understand that.
This person I mentioned, from the Q Continuum, would like to meet you.
If it's alright with you.
- I'm ready. - Good.
There's my girl.
Amanda, allow me to introduce Q.
He's an acquaintance of ours. We've known him for years.
Impressive how you contained that explosion.
- What else have you done? - I don't understand.
Telekinesis? Teleportation?
Spontaneous combustion of someone you don't like?
That sort of thing.
What Q is asking is have you ever deliberately used your abilities?
Not until I came here.
The first time was when the container almost fell on Cmdr Riker.
You handled that well. That's why I gave you a greater challenge.
The warp-core breach.
She has potential, this one.
She can return right now.
- What? - Q.
I don't want to go anywhere.
Don't worry, with time you'll overcome your disadvantages.
No one will hold it against you for having been human. Let's go.
Leave me alone! I'm not going anywhere with you.
You agree she has a right to choose her own future.
- Then you try to abduct her. - You're overreacting as usual.
I was merely testing her powers. She's quite a little spitfire now.
What's going on, Q? What's your real purpose here?
I've been clear. The Continuum has a vested interest in this woman.
If you wish to protect that investment, approach her differently.
She was being impetuous.
She'll just have to start behaving like a Q.
If I'm not mistaken, she just did.
You understand, don't you?
It's just that I have these things I want to do.
I'm going to go to the Academy, I want a career,
and I want to join Starfleet.
- You can still do all those things. - It just seems so complicated now.
These powers that I have are just going to stand in the way.
- I don't want to deal with that. - Well, you're going to have to.
Listen, I can only imagine how you feel.
And it certainly would be easier if this would just go away.
But it's not going to go away.
And you need someone to help you.
And the person who can help you is Q.
But he's so horrible.
He is the only one who can help you to understand who you are.
Amanda, you are going to have to make some hard choices about your future.
And you can't make them if you're going to ignore the truth.
Yeah.
I know.
But I don't want any of this to disrupt my time here.
I want to do everything that I'm expected to do.
And I don't want you to treat me any differently.
Please.
You've got a deal.
When you're free, join me in the Medical lab.
I have an experiment I need your help with.
Yes, ma'am.
Your progress, Q?
As anticipated, there are some problems. I need time.
However, it's possible we won't have to terminate the girl.
Come in.
Hello, my dear. I've been told I behaved badly. I apologize.
Apparently, you had every reason to chastise me.
But then again, what's done is done, right?
- I'd like to ask some questions. - Anything.
What exactly are the Q?
It would be so much easier to show you than tell you.
If you would agree to take a visit to the Continuum...
No, just tell me.
Well, to put it simply, we're omnipotent.
There's nothing, nothing we can't do.
- And what do you do with this power? - Anything we want.
- Do you use it to help others? - I think you've missed the point.
Clearly, you've spent far too much time with humans.
As a Q, you can have your heart's desire, instantly, whatever it is.
Would you like precious jewels? Works of art?
Would you like to walk along the rings of Tautine?
- I'm not interested in any of those. - Of course not. You're a Q.
But surely there must be something that you want?
Something that you never dreamed was possible.
Tell me, Amanda. What is it?
I'd like to know what my parents looked like.
- My real parents. - How quaint.
So do it.
- What do you mean? - Summon the image.
- I don't know how. - Think about them.
Evoke the memory.
You can do it, Amanda.
Trust me.
Close your eyes.
In your mind, return to the time when you were an infant.
Think about your parents. Remember them.
Good.
Now, open your eyes.
They loved me.
Wait for it to be metabolized at another 20?
Wait for it to be metabolized over and over,
and wait till the bacilli can't be absorbed any more.
That's right.
Just be sure and record the rate of mitosis from each of the dishes.
Mitosis, right.
You seem distracted.
Well, I just saw my parents.
My real parents. Q showed me how.
Can you imagine how that felt?
No, I don't think I can.
You know, you were right, I can't ignore what's happened to me.
I just don't know if I can cope with it.
Amanda, you are stronger than you think.
You know, when I saw them there, right in front of me,
I realized that I caused this to happen.
I wanted to see them and I did.
If it were you, if suddenly you could have anything you wanted, ...
..what would it be?
I have no idea.
No, think about it. Really think.
If suddenly you could make anything happen, what would it be?
Well, I would probably want to heal people,
people who are hopelessly ill.
Would you bring your husband back?
Amanda, I don't know.
And I don't think that I could make a decision like that
until I was actually faced with it.
I am faced with it.
Try to do the work.
I'll check on you later.
I thought she'd never leave.
I don't know if I'll ever get used to that.
It's time for another lesson.
Well, I have to finish this experiment first.
What are you doing?
We're delivering live vaccine bacilli to Tagra.
I'm meant to find the best nutrient solution
to keep them living while they're in stasis.
Fascinating. I've just had a splendid idea.
Why don't we combine what you're doing with our lesson,
and you'll finish in no time.
I should finish it the way Dr Crusher showed me.
She'd be delighted if we sped things along.
Think what it would mean. You could triple the workload.
- Well... - Good.
I guess so.
Now, as you take a look at the tissue samples, ...
..form an image in your mind.
Dr Crusher has some live vaccine bacilli for Tagra
to be shipped in a stasis field.
- Can you arrange it? - I'll get right on it.
Captain, message coming in from Tagra IV.
On screen.
Enterprise, I am Orn Lote, Engineer.
We are having difficulties
with the reactor that powers our baristatic filters.
We may have to shut it down for repairs.
- Could my Chief Engineer assist? - I hope so.
If we're forced to disable the reactor,
it would take months to re-establish the ionic currents
the filters have formed in the atmosphere.
Send us your specifications. I'm sure we can help.
Thank you.
- Captain? - What is it, Mr. Data?
I have some information regarding Amanda Rogers' parents.
They died in Topeka, Kansas. Their home was destroyed during a tornado.
Tornado? Why wasn't it dissipated by the weather-modification net?
Unknown. The bodies were discovered after the storm passed.
See if you can find any more details. I'd like to know more.
Aye, sir.
Well, if it isn't Number Two.
I was looking for Dr Crusher to see what nutrients to send.
I'm not sure. I'll tell her to contact you.
Thanks.
You could stay here and wait for her, if you, you know, wanted to.
Tell her I'll be in shuttle bay two.
- You're attracted to him. - I am not.
I think you are.
How repulsive.
How do you stand that hair all over his face?
Doctor, Cmdr Riker was looking for you. He's in shuttle bay two.
Thank you.
- Have you finished already? - Yes.
- How did you do it so quickly? - Q helped.
It took us half the time it would have normally taken.
That explains this data.
I needed to know the rates of mitosis.
By artificially inflating them, you made the experiment useless.
- Now I have to do it all over again. - I'm sorry, Doctor.
Don't be sorry.
If she wants to make things difficult, that's her business.
- Why did you interfere? - She's a Q.
Making her plod through human chores is beneath her.
She asked to be treated normally.
- Don't bore her. - I don't interfere with what you do.
- You'd be incapable! - You should do the same.
And you stay out of mine.
Well, when you put it like that, I think you're absolutely right.
- Captain? - Yes, Mr. Data?
I have more information on the tornado that killed Amanda's parents.
What is it?
It was unusually compact yet extremely powerful.
Its wind velocity was characteristic of a funnel three times its size.
Download the files to my ready room. I'll study them there.
Aye, sir.
Have you practised teleportation?
Yes, but it's hard. I keep ending up somewhere I don't want to be.
It won't do to be sloppy.
You should hone your abilities. I have a wonderful idea.
Why don't we play a little game?
I'll hide somewhere on the ship and you find me.
But how do I know how?
Don't worry, Amanda. You can do it.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
If we use phase buffers, we may be able to devise
a mechanism that can be integrated into the present system.
You're still thinking like a human.
Now do you understand?
What do humans have to offer that even begins to compare with that?
Your future contains wonders you can't even imagine.
The universe could be your playground.
Dr Crusher and Counsellor Troi, they're taking me to dinner.
You don't have to eat, you know.
It's a nasty human habit you could easily do without.
- Hello, Amanda. Are you ready? - Yes.
Well, Amanda, how are you feeling about this now?
It must be overwhelming.
It was at first, but now I'm enjoying myself.
- Hello, ladies. - Hello, Will.
Cmdr Riker.
Won't you join us?
I'd love to, but I have other plans.
- Hi. - Hi.
So, how are your lessons going? Is Q being patient with you?
Amanda?
What is this all about?
I thought it might be nice to spend some time alone together.
I think it would be nice if you took us back to ten-forward.
Are you sure you wouldn't want to stay here with me for a while?
The moonlight is so beautiful.
Isn't it nicer here than at ten-forward?
Yes, it's very pleasant, but that's not the point.
I think it is.
No.
You can't snatch people and put them into your fantasies
and expect them to respond.
Don't you like me? Even just a little bit?
You're a very lovely young lady.
But none of this is real.
- My feelings are real. - I know.
But you can't make someone love you.
Can't I?
Oh, Amanda.
You are so beautiful.
- Do you love me? - More than anything.
You're right.
None of this is real.
I thought it would be romantic, ...
..but it's empty.
- Amanda. - Just go back to ten-forward.
Bonjour, mon capitaine. You wanted to speak with me.
I wanted to ask you about Amanda's biological parents.
When they decided to remain on Earth,
what was the reaction in the Q Continuum?
We found it incomprehensible.
Were they pressured to return? Were they threatened if they didn't?
What are you driving at, Picard?
The circumstance of their deaths is odd.
A tornado somehow escaped the weather-modification net
and touched down in only one spot.
- Amanda's home. - You can never predict the weather.
But tornadoes develop from existing storm fronts.
But there were no storm fronts in Kansas that day.
Witnesses report the funnel materialized spontaneously,
directly over Amanda's home, destroyed it and disappeared.
If you say so. I wasn't there.
Were Amanda's parents executed by the Q Continuum?
And what if they were?
She has a right to know that before making a choice about her future.
Don't be foolish, Picard. She has no choice. She never did.
If she's truly a Q, she must return to the Continuum where she belongs.
But if she were a hybrid, neither human nor Q, then...
You would be so despicable?
Don't be naive. You have no idea what it means to be Q.
With unlimited power comes responsibility.
Do you think we can allow omnipotent beings
to roam free through the universe?
So what have you concluded? Does she live or does she die?
I haven't decided yet.
Captain's log, stardate 46 193.8.
We have arrived at Tagra IV and begun delivering supplies.
In the meantime, I face a crisis of a different nature.
Look, I have no reason to believe that Q is lying.
He claims he has orders from the Continuum.
If Amanda cannot prove she is fully Q, he must kill her.
We have to tell her.
I don't know if we should. It almost seems cruel.
Maybe she can protect herself.
After all, she has a great deal of power.
So did her parents. It didn't save them.
I agree with the Counsellor.
Amanda deserves to know her situation.
We have no right to hold such crucial information from her.
But it isn't going to be easy telling her.
What is your impression of the field modulator?
Quite ingenious. I...
I'm amazed at how it is incorporated with the existing system.
Commander, we're all loaded. We can head for the surface.
I'm eager to see the field modulator in place, Commander. I...
- We'd better get going. - Yes.
Kill me?
But why?
They're not convinced that you are fully Q.
And they are also responsible for your parents' death.
My parents?
But what right do they have?
Q? Answer me.
Are you afraid to face me?
She's such a plucky little thing now, isn't she.
I really do enjoy you, you know.
Amanda's question deserves an answer.
You've made yourself judge, jury and, if necessary, executioner.
By what right have you appointed yourself to this position?
Superior morality.
Yes.
I recall how you used your superior morality when we first met you.
You tried us for the crimes of humanity.
The jury's still out on that, Picard, make no mistake.
Your arrogant pretence at being the moral guardians of the universe
strikes me as being hollow, Q.
I see no evidence that you are guided by a superior moral code,
or any code whatsoever.
You may be nearly omnipotent,
and I don't deny that your parlour tricks are very impressive,
but morality? I don't see it. I don't acknowledge it, Q.
I would put human morality against the Q's any day.
And perhaps that's the reason that we fascinate you so.
Because our puny behaviour shows you a glimmer of the one thing
that evades your omnipotence, a moral centre.
And if so, I can think of no crueller irony
than that you destroy this young woman,
whose only crime is that she's too human.
Jean-Luc, sometimes I think the only reason I come here
is to listen to these wonderful speeches of yours.
But this time, your concern is unwarranted.
We've decided not to harm her.
And we are prepared to offer her a choice.
- What kind of choice? - Come to the Continuum with me...
- Or? - Now this choice is more difficult.
You have it within yourself to refrain from using the power of Q.
- If you do that, you can stay here. - Then, I'm staying here.
Think about this. This is not so easy.
Your parents were given this choice
and they were unable to resist the temptation of using their power.
All I've wanted since this whole thing began
is to become a normal human being again.
I know I can resist.
Worf to Picard. Emergency message from Cmdr Riker.
I'm on my way.
Captain, the damage to the reactor is greater than we were told.
The field modulator is operational,
but it won't be enough. The reactor's overloading.
Can you correct it?
Geordi is trying now. We will stay as long as possible.
There are thousands here, if the reactor goes...
Commander. Quickly.
- Is this your doing, Q? - Not this time, Picard.
Mr. Worf, see if we can cut through the interference and beam them out.
Aye, sir.
Captain, Geordi is trying a neutrino infusion to smother the reaction.
There's too much ionization. Transporters are useless.
The heat has fused the injector. We're losing containment.
- How long till meltdown? - A few minutes.
- Look at this! - This is impossible.
I don't know what's happening,
but the reaction is stabilizing on its own.
Captain, I am reading a massive energy fluctuation in the atmosphere.
On screen.
Contaminants have dropped to less than one part per trillion.
The ecosystem has been restored to its natural state.
Amanda?
I told you it would be harder to resist than you thought.
I couldn't let all those people die.
Ever since I got here, I've been fighting this.
I've been denying the truth.
Denying what I am.
I am Q.
Dr Crusher, I've decided that I can't stay.
I can't stay here.
Well, now that you've come to your senses, let's go.
No. I want to go and see my parents first.
It'll take time to explain all this, so you'll have to be patient.
I hope I can come back and see you.
You're a Q. You can do anything you want.