Revulsion (episode)
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(written from a Production point of view)
| "Revulsion" | ||
|---|---|---|
| VOY, Episode 4x05 Production number: 173 First aired: 1 October 1997 | ||
| ← | 72nd of 168 produced in VOY | → |
| ← | 72nd of 168 released in VOY | → |
| ← | 481st of 727 released in all | → |
 | ||
| Written By Lisa Klink Directed By Kenneth Biller | ||
| 51186.2 (2374) | ||
The Doctor tries unsuccessfully to help another sentient hologram deal with its existence.
Contents |
[edit] Summary
[edit] Teaser
A man slumps to the floor, dead from a bloody wound to the back of the head. Another man drags the corpse away, then scrubs away the bloodstains. But as he scrubs, he begins to fade in and out, as if in a malfunctioning transporter. He immediately goes to a console and sends out a hail, identifying himself as an HD5 isomorphic projection, and calling for help.
[edit] Act One
Aboard the USS Voyager, Captain Kathryn Janeway, her senior staff and much of the crew are in the mess hall, holding a promotion ceremony for Lieutenant Tuvok. Lieutenant junior grade Thomas Paris evokes laughter with accounts of his pranks on Tuvok. Captain Janeway recounts how Tuvok corrected her in front of three admirals for failing to observe proper tactical procedures during her first command. Her ego was bruised, she recalls, but, she adds, he was correct. She lauds him, stating that she has come to rely on his insightful and unfailingly logical advice. Citing his outstanding service as Chief Tactical Officer and Security Chief, she pronounces him promoted to Lieutenant Commander and attaches a black pip to his collar, adding it to the two gold ones he has, indicating his new rank. With typical Vulcan stoicism, he thanks the captain and assures all present of his continued service to the best of his ability.
The formal part of the proceedings over, those present mingle as refreshments are served. Commander Chakotay takes Ensign Harry Kim aside. He as an assignment for him: the design of a ship’s astrometrics laboratory. It will be beyond state of the art, utilizing Borg as well as Starfleet technology. He will be working alongside the provider of the Borg technology: the recently de-assimilated former Borg drone, Seven of Nine. (VOY: "Scorpion, Part II", "The Gift") Kim becomes quite nervous on hearing this, as his last collaboration with her proved quite physically painful. (VOY: "The Gift") But, not having a choice, he acknowledges the order.
The bridge calls Captain Janeway and informs her of a received distress call from a ship. It is the same one sent out by the isomorphic projection. She goes to the bridge, taking with her The Doctor to provide possible medical insight into whatever crisis the distress call may be due to.
The Doctor is very excited to see that the hailer is a hologram like himself. He pleads with Janeway to allow him to go to the ship, citing that he is the obvious choice to render assistance to a hologram. Janeway is reticent; he is their Chief Medical Officer. Should he be destroyed, it would be catastrophic for the crew. However, his eagerness wins her over, along with his suggestion that the Chief Engineer accompany him to watch over him.
A very uneasy Ensign Kim enters a darkened Cargo Bay 2. Reluctantly, he calls to Seven of Nine. The tall, statuesque blonde responds as she comes down a ladder, and goes to him. He is nervous, but very evidently smitten by her beauty. They begin to discuss plans for the initial phase of the lab’s design.
The Doctor and the Chief Engineer, Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres, head for the stricken ship on a shuttlecraft. They arrive and beam aboard. They look around a bit, then Torres, tricorder in hand, goes to a console and begins working at it. The isomorph appears behind them, in the shadows, glowering. He picks up a hammer-like object and sneaks up toward them sinisterly. Oblivious to the danger, the two officers banter. The Doctor’s holographic nature is mentioned.
On hearing this, the isomorph dematerializes, dropping the object, and re-materializes on the other side of the room, as if he had just come in. The object’s clang as it hits the deck alerts the officers. The projection apologizes for frightening them and steps forward. The officers introduce themselves.
[edit] Act Two
The projection's name is Dejaren. He seems disappointed to learn that only The Doctor is a hologram. Torres scans him as he flickers and believes she can repair his projection controls. He shows her where they are, and she goes to them and starts working.
The Doctor asks him what happened to the crew. Agitated, he responds that the ship had left their home planet Seros eight months prior. There had been six on the crew, all flesh-and-blood. They became sick and eventually died. He has no medical subroutines, thus there was nothing he could do. Two of the crew, it seemed, had become infected with a fatal virus which spread to the others. After they all died, systems started to malfunction, including his holographic systems.
Torres returns and informs Dejaren that she has temporarily stabilized him, but she needs to repair his primary holographic matrix and asks him where it is. He informs her that it is down below, but warns her that that deck is flooded with radiation; she would be killed instantly. He points her to an alternate interface on the deck they are on, and she goes to it.
Back on Voyager, Ensign Kim and Seven of Nine continue designing the astrometrics laboratory. Seven of Nine's nature as a former drone drives her to be as precise as possible, but she makes a mistake, which Kim points out, somewhat to her distress. She also shows a characteristic that will prove troublesome later on: a flagrant disregard for procedures she finds inefficient or unnecessary. This is shown when she, using her left hand, which still has remnants of a Borg exoskeleton, reaches into a power coupling despite its extremely high energy level, which could cause severe injury or death. Kim sternly warns her not to do this again, whether the exoskeleton can handle it or not; safety protocols dictate that the power be shut off first. Nonchalantly, she acknowledges.
On the other ship, Torres works on Dejaren's matrix while The Doctor is in another area, doing scans. Dejaren is with him, eagerly admiring his mobile emitter, which allows him to go anywhere without installed holographic projectors. He mourns his inability to do so. The Doctor tells him about when he first was activated and the initial discourtesy he had to deal with, being treated like mere tool. (VOY: "Caretaker" et. al.) But, he adds, he has gradually gained the respect of the crew as an equal. He has, he continues proudly, even developed hobbies: art, literature and music. He suggests that Dejaren could do the same.
Dejaren seems frightened by the suggestion, but The Doctor assures him that the way he has handled this crisis will speak well in his favor. He finishes his work and puts away his scanner, not noticing the bloodstain it had been obscuring. Dejaren quickly wipes it away with a rag before he can see it.
Torres continues working. Dejaren, enters behind her, startling her. He goes up to her, passing close to a ripped-out power cable on the floor, still crackling with energy. Torres sternly warns him to be more careful, lest he destabilize hims matrix completely, destroying himself. He offers her food, which she takes and nibbles. He looks at the open bulkhead with agitation. He bemoans the condition of the ship, saying that he feels a part of it, as it sustains him. Torres sympathizes with him.
His reaction is completely unexpected. He disparages her, retorting that she is organic, existing apart from her ship, thus she could never understand. Raving manically, he mocks her and calls her repulsive; he exists, he sneers, as pure energy, but she, like all organics, depends on food and water to survive, "grinding up plants and animals with teeth, swallowing it into a pit of digestive acids", shedding hair and skin, leaving her oily sweat on everything. She is, he yells, a filthy animal and he is ashamed to be made in her image. Torres stares at him. His raving ends and he apologizes. She quickly leaves. But his look, as he watches her go, is very sinister.
[edit] Act Three
Torres enters The Doctor's area and informs him of Dejaren's behavior. She voices her opinion that he should be deactivated; his behavior denotes psychosis. Further, she informs him, he lied about the lower decks being irradiated. She suggests that he is hiding something down there.
This disturbs The Doctor. He suggests Dejaren's behavior may be the result of the ordeal he has endured. That may be, Torres agrees, but she intends to find out what is down below. She asks him to keep him occupied while she goes. He agrees, just as Dejaren enters, holding a holographic fishbowl containing a holographic fish which he calls Spectrum. Torres quickly exits as The Doctor engages Dejaren in conversation about his 'pet'.
Back on Voyager, Kim and Seven of Nine continue their work. They endeavor to remove a node containing Borg navigational data in order to access it. But when they pull it from its socket, Seven of Nine sustains a nasty laceration on the hand. This distresses her greatly; as a drone, she would have healed almost instantly from such an injury. Kim immediately takes her to the sickbay.
In the Doctor's absence, Lt. Paris, a trained medic, mans the sickbay. He warns Seven of Nine to be more careful, as she no longer has her Borg healing factor and could have severed her carpal nerve, requiring major surgery. Shaken, she leaves.
Kim angrily rebukes Paris for his perceived lack of sensitivity to her, frightening her with his talk of severed nerves and major surgery. Paris, amused, correctly guesses Kim's infatuation with her, but seriously warns him not to pursue it. Kim leaves after weakly denying the assertion.
[edit] Act Four
On the other vessel, as The Doctor keeps Dejaren occupied, Torres goes to the lower decks. She is looking, not only for anything untoward, but also for Dejaren's main matrix controls, in order to shut him off. Moving carefully along the darkened corridors, she comes to a chamber, opens it and enters. Lights come on. Horrified, she sees the bloody remains of the dead crewmen strewn on the floor.
She now knows the truth: there was no infection. Dejaren's manic anti-organic rant was far more ominous than she had realized. He killed the crew, loathing their organic nature. Her life is in jeopardy. Hurriedly, she searches for his matrix controls and finds them.
Above, The Doctor listens to Dejaren as the latter tries to persuade him to leave Voyager and join him. The organics treat holograms like mere tools, he insists, mania again creeping into his demeanor. He has spent his entire existence cleaning up after them. He has learned now that this need not be, and will not give control of the ship to any organic. The Doctor tries to reason with him, stressing that, as technological entities, they need maintenance that only organics can give. Dejaren rants that this is untrue: they do not need nourishment nor do they suffer from disease, therefore they, not organics, are the higher form of life.
The moment Torres accesses his matrix, he becomes aware of it. Furious, he tells The Doctor his intentions for her, then transfers himself to her location. Horrified, The Doctor rushes there on foot.
As Torres, works, Dejaren appears. The insane look on his face warns her that talk is futile. She swings a fist at him, but he goes intangible, rendering it ineffective. He phases his hand into her chest and squeezes her heart. She gasps in agony, but manages to touch a button on a control panel that shuts him off before blacking out. As he vanishes, he screams in rage and frustration. The Doctor enters, finds her lying unconscious, and tends to her.
Aboard Voyager it is the time in the crew’s 24-hour work period that is considered late at night. Ensign Kim is working on the astrometrics lab schematics alone in the empty mess hall. Seven of Nine enters in response to a summons from him. He informs her he had an inspiration concerning the lab's design. At her request, he hands her the PADDs on which he has outlined his idea. Refusing his offer to sit, she comments on the low lighting in the room, insufficient to see the PADDs displays properly.
Kim begins to lay moves on her. Smiling, he calls the light relaxing and offers to take her to the holodeck to watch the Ktarian moonrise simulation.
Seven of Nine's response steeps him in embarrassment. She notes aloud his attempts to engage her in idle conversation and his dilated pupils whenever he watches her body. She asks him point-blank if he is in love with her. Kim, not expecting such bluntness, blurts out that he is not. Her next question embarrasses him further: does he wish to copulate? He stammers in the negative. She notes the elaborate ritual of seduction and how round-about it is compared to the Borg way of simply assimilating a species they want. Nevertheless, she concludes, she is willing to explore her Humanity. Advancing on him, she instructs him to remove his clothes. Kim, now all but ready to flee from the room, stutters that he was only being friendly, and suggests they end their work for now. Seven of Nine matter-of-factly agrees and returns to Cargo Bay 2, leaving Kim to slump back in his chair, looking badly shaken.
[edit] Act Five
The Doctor revives Torres. He informs her he has found the bodies of all six murdered crewmen. He also informs her of the damage Dejaren did to her heart, which she confirms when pain stabs through her chest when she tries to rise. He has tried to transport himself and her back to the shuttle, but interference is preventing it. She stumbles to a console to try to get through. She asks for her toolkit, which he goes to retrieve.
On the way, he sees Dejaren's holographic fish and bowl on the floor, indicating that she did not turn off all the holo-emitters. He hurries back, and finds Torres again lying insensible on the floor, this time with a bloody head wound. Dejaren stands over her with the same hammer-like instrument he first tried to sneak up on them with. He wails in psychotic anguish at The Doctor's perceived betrayal of a fellow hologram. The Doctor tries futilely to reason with him.
They engage in taking physical blows at each other, a useless exercise, as each simply phases the other's blow through himself without harm. Then, however, Dejaren manages to strike The Doctor’s mobile emitter, knocking it off him and taking him offline. Gleefully, he picks it up.
Torres comes to and struggles to rise, but fails. Dejaren advances on her, hammer-like instrument in hand. Torres scrabbles away, through corridors, closing doors after her. Dejaren merely phases through them, and continues pursuing her. Eventually, he chases her into the room where his psychotic state was first revealed to her. The broken power cable still lies on the floor. Dejaren enters. Having lost his bludgeon, he reaches for her with his hands.
Torres scrabbles backward to the console near the cable and activates power to the cable, which begins to crackle with energy. She seizes it and plunges it into Dejaren's chest area. This completely destabilizes his matrix, as she had warned him when he nearly stepped on it earlier. A vacant look suffuses his face as he vanishes, this time, permanently. Torres takes the mobile emitter and re-activates The Doctor. She informs him of Dejaren's fate. They leave to go to the shuttle.
During the morning time period, Ensign Kim enters Commander Chakotay's office to report to him on the progress of the astrometrics lab. He reports that the schematics are complete. Chakotay commends him on their quick work and turns his attention to the construction phase. After what happened the night before, Kim very much prefers not to work with Seven of Nine in any way again. He nervously suggests that an engineering team would be better to handle the construction, unable to say outright that he wants off the project or why.
Chakotay appears confused, asking Kim if he does not want to supervise the construction after all the work he put into the design. Kim nervously declines. Chakotay gravely asks him if there is some sort of problem between him and Seven of Nine. He blurts out no, then almost trips over himself seeking dismissal to leave. Chakotay sternly orders him to state what is going on. Kim falteringly tells him of what happened the night before, making sure to be very vague on the details. He refers to the incident as merely basic "Borg-human cultural differences". Chakotay matter-of-factly tell him that Seven of Nine said otherwise.
Kim looks as if he is about to retch. Stammering badly, he asks Chakotay if Seven of Nine spoke to him about what took place. Chakotay tells him that Seven that her opinion is that they are making progress, but she is confused by what she called "our 'complex social interactions.'". Kim weakly feigns confusion as to what she meant by that. Chakotay again complements him on his work, but makes it clear that he will stay on the project and work with her. Dismissed, Kim miserably leaves. Chakotay watches him go. When the door closes, he erupts into an amused smile and laugh.
Torres and The Doctor, having returned to Voyager, are in the sickbay, where The Doctor mends her heart. Lt. Paris, who has just begun a romantic relationship with Torres, comes to see her, concerned. They make plans to meet later in her quarters. The Doctor, hearing them, begins to feign Dejaren's psychotic behavior, manically ordering Paris to clean up the sickbay from his "oily residue on every hypospray" and "sloughed secretions on every console." But before the two officers get too alarmed, especially Torres, he smiles, revealing the jocular nature of his actions.
[edit] Memorable Quotes
"Had I known this commendation entailed ritual humiliation, I might have declined."
- - Tuvok, on the Tuvok-quotes the crew were swapping
"During my three years on Voyager, I have grown to respect a great many of you. Others [sideway glance to Paris and Kim] I have learned to tolerate."
- - Tuvok
"The captain had authorized me to recruit someone with advanced medical training to help out in sickbay. Unfortunately, the most qualified crewmember is you."
"You want me to be the new nurse?!"
"If that's the title you prefer. It...will only be temporary, three duty shifts a week. Report to sickbay at 0600 hours. Bring a tricorder, and a smile."
- - The Doctor and Tom Paris, talking shop after the Doctor broke in on Tom and B'Elanna kissing
"When I was first activated I was regarded as little more than a talking tricorder."
- - The Doctor
"This is going to get tedious."
- - The Doctor, fighting Dejaren
"I exist as pure energy, but you depend on food and water to survive. Frankly, I find it disgusting. Look at you. Look at you! Grinding up bits of plants and animals with your teeth. Secreting saliva to force it down your esophagus into a pit of digestive acids. You can't even stand to think about it yourself. What a repulsive creature you are, constantly shedding your skin and hair, leaving your oily sweat on everything you touch! You think that you are the height of intellect in the universe but you are no better than any filthy animal! And I am ashamed to be made in your image!"
- - Dejaren
"I just spent the last ten minutes hearing his views on biological life. Let's just say they're a bit unconventional. Did you realize that we organics are a bunch of inferior, disgusting animals?"
"Now that you mention it..."
- - B'Elanna Torres and The Doctor, on Dejaren
"I see the way your pupils dilate when you look at my body."
- - Seven of Nine, to Ensign Kim
"Are you in love with me, Ensign?"
"Well... no."
"Then you wish to copulate?"
"No! I mean... I ... I don't know what I mean."
- - Seven of Nine and Ensign Kim
"We...we had a misunderstanding."
"About?"
"Oh, it's nothing really important. Just your basic Borg-human cultural differences."
"Really? That's not what she says,"
(Fearful stuttering) "You... you... you... you spoke... you spoke to her?"
- - Ensign Kim and Chakotay
"All of these elaborate rituals of deception... I didn't realize becoming human again would be such a challenge. Sexuality is particularly complex. As Borg, we had no need for seduction, no time for single-cell fertilization. We saw a species we wanted, and we assimilated it. Nevertheless, I am willing to explore my humanity. Take off your clothes."
"Uh... Seven..."
"Don't be alarmed. I won't hurt you."
- - Seven of Nine and Ensign Kim
"I'm detecting elevated hormonal levels. If you two don't take it easy, I'll have to declare a medical emergency."
- - The Doctor, to Torres and Paris, who were flirting
[edit] Background Information
- Tuvok is promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander even though for the first several episodes of the series the creators mistakenly give him the rank insignia of a lieutenant commander.
- Before this episode, Leland Orser guest starred in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine twice. He played Gai in "Sanctuary" and Colonel Lovok in "The Die is Cast". He later appears as Loomis in ENT: "Carpenter Street".
- Paris states that the events of "Day of Honor" occurred three days earlier.
[edit] Video and DVD releases
- UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 4.3, 6 April 1998.
- As part of the VOY Season 4 DVD collection.
[edit] Links and References
[edit] Guest Stars
[edit] Uncredited Co-Stars
- Sue Henley as Brooks
- Louis Ortiz as Culhane
[edit] References
alphanumerics; antimatter radiation; antimatter waste; Arrithean; astrometric projector; astrometrics; USS Billings; Borg; carpal nerve; class 2 shuttle; distress call; exoskeleton; fish; HD25 Isomorphic Projection; heart; hologram; holographic matrix; holographic technology; internal sensor; isomimetic conduit; isomorph; Jefferies tube; Ktarian moonrise simulation; "live long and prosper"; mobile emitter; optical assembly; power cell; primary isomatrix; reactor core; Seros; Serosians; Spectrum; thoracic assembly; virus; Vulcan tea; watt
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