Whispers (episode)

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"Whispers"
DS9, Episode 2x14 Production number: 40512-434 First aired: 6 February 1994
←	33rd of 173 produced in DS9	→
←	33rd of 173 released in DS9	→
	{{{nNthReleasedInSeries_Remastered}}}th of 173 released in DS9 Remastered
←	306th of 726 released in all	→
Teleplay By Paul Coyle and Michael Piller Story By Paul Coyle Directed By Les Landau
47581.2 (2370)
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After O'Brien returns from a mission in the Gamma Quadrant, it seems that everyone on the station has turned against him.

Contents 1 Summary 1.1 Teaser 1.2 Act One 1.3 Act Two 1.4 Act Three 1.5 Act Four 1.6 Act Five 2 Memorable quotes 3 Background 3.1 Video and DVD releases 4 Links and references 4.1 Guest stars 4.2 Co-Stars 4.3 Uncredited co-stars 4.4 References 4.4.1 Other references 4.4.2 Timeline 4.5 External links

Summary

Teaser

Traveling by himself, Chief Miles O'Brien takes a runabout through the wormhole. He sets a heading for the Parada system and opens a new file...

"O'Brien personal log, stardate 47581.2. I got to try to set the record straight about the last 52 hours. I don't know who's going to hear this. I don't even know if I'll be alive by the time this log is recovered. I figure they'll be coming after me. If I'm right about this whole thing, they won’t want me to warn the Paradas..."

coffee, Jamaican blend, double strong, double sweet

"... I wish I could tell who "they" are. That’s part of the puzzle I haven’t figured out yet…part of the puzzle?… none of this whole damn thing makes any sense. I’m trying to remember the first time I noticed that things were wrong. It seems to me it was…yeah… It had to be the first morning after I got back to the station..."

He enters a flashback:

O'Brien had just returned from a meeting with a species known as the Paradas in which they discussed security measures for upcoming peace talks. He awoke to find Keiko and Molly dressed and eating breakfast, at 5:30am. Keiko seemed somewhat suspicious and Molly did not want Miles to give her a kiss, but he thought little of it as Keiko left their quarters with Molly.

Upon reporting for duty, O'Brien discovered an officer had begun working on the security arrangements without him, apparently under orders from Commander Benjamin Sisko. He decided to pay Sisko a visit but thought better of it when he saw Sisko and Keiko having a private discussion on the Promenade.

Act One

Continuing his log:

"So it was all a little curious, but who could have guessed at that time? I mean the way they were acting, they might have been trying to pull off one of those surprise parties that I can’t stand, only my birthday is not until September. And believe me, as it turned out I had nothing else to celebrate."

Sisko orders O'Brien to report for an annual physical, and when asked about his discussion with Keiko, claimed it was about Jake Sisko's grades. After an overly thorough examination by Doctor Julian Bashir, O'Brien believed people's strange behavior that morning must have been because he had contracted some sort of disease; however, Bashir gave him a clean bill of health.

Things became stranger as the day went on. Jake asked O'Brien for help with a science project, but when O'Brien mentioned his grades, Jake said they were fine.

Act Two

"Sisko was telling the truth about one thing, the upper pylons had failed again. It didn’t make any sense; because the new pressure locks I’ve installed seemed working just fine so it had to be an entirely new problem. I realized it wasn’t going to be a quick matter to track it down after all and I couldn’t help thinking how this was going to keep me occupied while the security arrangements for the Paradas were underway."

Even Major Kira Nerys acted suspicious toward him.

"I worked on the pylon controls the better part of the day; needle in a haystack wouldn’t do this job justice. When I finally found the crack in the RF power conduit, I couldn’t imagine how it could’ve occurred so deep in the system, unless someone had broken it deliberately."

When O'Brien returns to his quarters Keiko had prepared his favorite meal. Keiko informs him that Jake, who had requested his help earlier, had miraculously fell ill so he wouldn't be coming over.

"I don't know if there was anything wrong with the stew or not. When I went back later to check, she had already put it in the disposal. But all I could think of as I looked at her was that this was not my Keiko."

Act Three

"I didn’t get much sleep that night. I waited for Keiko or whoever she was to go to bed and I started my search. I had no idea what I was looking for something odd, something not quite normal, anything to explain what was going on."

He reviewed the other officers' logs, which confirmed that Sisko and the others were observing his movements, although to what end it was unclear. When Odo returned from a meeting with the Paradas, he offered to investigate the situation, a bastion of friendship in a sea of suspicion.

In his log, O'Brien alludes to having made other preparations while he awaited a response from Odo. As he pondered the matter at Quark's, the Ferengi approached him from behind and declared, "The odds are against you, O'Brien!" Although Quark had only been referring to O'Brien's scheduled racquetball game with Bashir, the chief asked to change the subject. Quark brought the Paradas up, intent on finding out about the potential customers. O'Brien told Quark to look elsewhere for such information and began to leave as Odo asked him to come to the security office.

After a brief discussion, a strange look from Odo gave O'Brien reason to suspect that the conspiracy had widened. He was about to leave Odo's office when Sisko and Kira entered with phasers followed by Bashir with a sedative. "Who the hell are you?" O'Brien exclaimed, to which Kira calmly responded, "We don't want to hurt you." O'Brien used one of his improvisations to stun the crew members and he shot two security officers before fleeing the Promenade.

Act Four

O'Brien attempted an emergency transport to the runabout Rio Grande, but the computer responded, "Unable to complete request. Please contact station commander for assistance." He discarded his combadge in a corridor and set up a series of force fields. Using maintenance conduits and his intimate knowledge of the station, he made his way to the runabout and escaped. He contacted Admiral Rollman of Starbase 401 to warn her that the command crew of Deep Space 9 was under some form of alien influence, but she ordered him to return to the station and assured him he would not be harmed. That was when O'Brien set a course for the wormhole.

Act Five

Now en route to the Parada system in the Gamma Quadrant, O'Brien is being pursued by the Mekong. Unable to reach the system before the Mekong overtakes him, he travels toward one of Parada IV's moons and manages to outmaneuver the other runabout, which assumes another course. He follows the Mekong to Parada II and beams to the surface, where he finds Sisko and Kira with a pair of Parada rebels. One of the Paradans shoots him, and when the door opens, Bashir is behind it along with O'Brien — the real O'Brien. It is revealed that the Paradan government abducted O'Brien and created a replicant designed to assassinate the rebels' delegation at the peace talks.

Before it dies, the O'Brien replicant says Keiko's name and grabs O'Brien's shoulder. "What about her?" he asks. "Tell her... I love..." it whispers as it loses consciousness.

Memorable quotes

"Are you nearly finished? I believe you poked into every orifice in my body... and created a few new ones."

- O'Brien to Bashir, during his physical

"Look, if you are determined to keep me here until you find something wrong with me, I'll see if I can't grow you a hangnail!"

- O'Brien to Bashir

"Well, your sense of humor seems normal enough."
"I don't have a sense of humor."
"Cough."
[O'Brien coughs]
"How's the sex life?"
"I don't have a sense of humor."

- O'Brien and Bashir

"They'd even broken into my personal logs to see what they could find in there. I hope they enjoyed reading the sexy letters to my wife..."

- O'Brien, voiceover

"Computer, identify Mekong's new heading."
"41, mark 201"
"Probable destination?"
"Parada II"
(to self) "Parada II? What's on Parada II?"
"Specify parameters."

- O'Brien and the computer

Background

• Writer Paul Robert Coyle's original idea for this episode involved O'Brien waking up one morning to find Molly and Keiko gone and nobody on the entire station remembers him ever being there. He then finds out that Chief Miles O'Brien is still on board the Enterprise, and the episode entails him trying to sort out the mystery. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
• This is the second of two DS9 episodes to feature actress Susan Bay as Admiral Rollman. The previous episode in which she appeared was "Past Prologue".

• An arrival roster featured in this episode, an okudagram graphic on a desk viewscreen, was created by the art department and shows many starships, with command and departure information.
• Jadzia Dax does not appear on screen in this episode. Her only appearance is in O'Brien's playback of vocal station logs.
• This episode is the favorite Star Trek episode of Futurama co-creator and writer David X. Cohen, who says he finds it has "a slightly Futurama-esque storyline." [1]
• The finished version of the episode bears a strong resemblance to both the 1974 Alan J. Pakula film The Parallax View and the 1956 Don Siegel film Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
• A scene was filmed for this episode with O'Brien singing The Minstrel Boy while being chased on the runabout; an allusion to the TNG episode "The Wounded", where he says it is his "happy thought" song for bad situations. However, due to a continuity slip that wasn't noticed until the last minute, the scene was removed. The mistake involved the name of the pursuing runabout, which is referred to as the Rio Grande. However, the Rio Grande was the runabout being chased. The pursuing ship was actually the Mekong. This mistake wasn't noticed until writer Paul Robert Coyle was sent a copy of the shooting script, which is only sent out after an episode is completed. By the time the mistake was spotted, it was too late to sort it out, so the scene was simply removed. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
• The fake O'Brien is called a "replicant" by Coutu. This unusual term was chosen because the producers didn't want to use the standard term of "android", nor did they wish to use "clone". Writer Paul Robert Coyle ultimately chose replicant as an homage to the 1982 Ridley Scott film Blade Runner. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
• Referenced Ferengi Rules of Acquisition: #194 ("It's always good to know about new customers before they walk in your door")
• Again, one of the Pakleds can be seen on the Promenade, sitting next to Jake Sisko.

Video and DVD releases

• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 17, 11 July 1994.
• As part of the DS9 Season 2 DVD collection.

Links and references

Guest stars

• Rosalind Chao as Keiko O'Brien
• Todd Waring as Ensign DeCurtis
• Susan Bay as Admiral Rollman
• Philip LeStrange as Coutu

Co-Stars

• Hana Hatae as Molly O'Brien
• Majel Barrett as the computer voice

Uncredited co-stars

• Bill Hagy as a Paradan guard
• Robin Morselli as a Bajoran officer

References

annual physical; arrival roster; Bolians; coffee; Coutu; DeCurtis; emitter crystal; endive salad; Ferengi Rules of Acquisition; flan; fricandeau stew; Gupta; Mekong, USS; O'Brien, Keiko; O'Brien, Michael; O'Brien, Miles (replicant); O'Brien, Molly; Paradas; Parada II; Parada IV; Parada system; RF power conduit; Rollman; Starbase 401; subspace technology

Other references

47 references; Adams, J.J.; Annandale; Aries, USS; Arlington IV; Bligh, W.; C-111 system; C-57-D; Cameron Station; CAR 54-Q; Carinae Delta V; Centre Minor; Clinton, W.; Crane, S.; D'hjty, USS; Dytallix; Ellison, H.; Elmira, ITA; Gallico, USS; Geldonero, FMS; Gh'aster, CGM; Gifford, K.L.; G'Mat, USS; GS-12; Gulliver, G.; Gump, J.; Gyt'aerat, FGMS; Hispaniola Minor; Hispaniola, USS; Jura'assic IV; Land, N.; Luna; Min'ow, USS; New Brooklyn IX; okudagram; Oregon, SS; Organia; ; Per'ot, GHD; Powell, USGS; Priestly, J.; Prince, M.; Recio, F.; Recio, GCS; Rio Grande, USS; Robinson, E.; Romulan Neutral Zone; Savage, R.; Sol system; Sondheim, S.; Starbase 58; Starbase 172; Starships visiting Deep Space 9; Swift, J.; Theta Omicron IV; W.E.B. DuBois; Yorktown, USS; Yosemite, USS; Zimmerman, H.

Timeline

2370

• Stardate 47550 : The arrival roster began.
• Stardate 47579.4 : The O'Brien replicant began his final log entry.

External links

• Whispers (episode) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Whispers (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) at Wikipedia

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 2

Next episode: "Paradise"