05x16 - Ethics

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Star Trek: The Next Generation". Aired: September 28, 1987 – May 23, 1994.*
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Series is set 78 years after the original series -- in the 24th century.
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05x16 - Ethics

Post by bunniefuu »

No question about it.

She was bluffing, Worf.

Bluffing is not one of
Counselor Troi's strong suits.

Still reading chlorinide leakage,
but I can't pin it down.

Maybe up here.

It would have been unwise to call.

Yes.
My hand was not strong enough.

You had jacks and eights,
she bluffed you with a pair of sixes.

How did you know what I had?

Let's just say I had a special insight
into the cards.

Maybe next time
you should bring a deck

that's not transparent
to infrared light.

Not to worry, Worf.

I only peek after the hand is over.

Still nothing.

I'll get a dyno-scan. We'll try again.

Here's our latest readings.
Should we continue to go on?

LA FORGE: Yes, and if
anything changes, you let me know.

MAN:
Yes, sir.

LA FORGE:
Ensign, run a dyno-scan...

[CLATTERING]

WOMAN:
Look out.

Worf!

MAN:
Commander, what happened?

La Forge to Sickbay.
Medical emergency in Cargo Bay 3.

What happened?

The containers you were checking
fell on you.

You're lucky to be alive.

[SIGHS]

Doctor, I will not attempt to leave
Sickbay without your approval.

The restraining field
is not necessary.

Worf,

there is no restraining field.

- But I can't move my legs.
- I know.

You can't move because
one of the containers shattered

seven of your vertebrae
and crushed your spinal cord.

I'm afraid there's no way

we can repair this kind of injury.

PICARD:
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.

PICARD:
Captain's log, stardate 45587.3.

Lieutenant Worf has been removed
from active duty

following a severe injury.

Although a neurospecialist
has arrived,

Dr. Crusher believes
his paralysis may be permanent.

Welcome to the Enterprise,
Dr. Russell.

- I'm Beverly Crusher.
- A pleasure.

I have some equipment
aboard the Potemkin.

Would you please have it sent
to one of your labs?

- Of course. Send it to Medlab 4.
- Yes, doctor.

Before we get down to business,
I just wanted to say

that I had the pleasure
of reading your paper

on cybernetic regeneration recently.

Really? You're the first person
to mention it.

I thought it was brilliant.

Your ideas on bioactive interfaces
border on revolutionary.

It's going to be a genuine pleasure
working with you.

Thank you.

Have you had a chance to review
Worf's case history yet?

Only briefly.

I must admit I was a little shocked

to find the state of Klingon neurological
medicine to be so primitive.

It's a cultural bias.

When I contacted
the Klingon Medical Division,

they informed me that they usually
let the patient die in a case like this.

As a result, they've done almost
no research on neurological trauma.

We'll be in uncharted waters.

Worf is having a hard time
dealing with his injuries.

He's always been a difficult patient,
but now...

He's tough at first,
but I'm sure you'll like him after you...

Doctor, I know that
as a starship doctor,

you have to maintain
close ties with patients.

But I think it would be best
if I maintain a discreet distance.

That way I can give you a completely
objective opinion regarding treatment.

Yes. You're probably right.

Good. Well, I believe you said
I'd be working in Medlab 4?

Right this way.

You look pretty good for someone

who's been eating Sickbay food
for three days.

Please, sit down, commander.

Thank you for agreeing
to see me in this condition.

I'm not a Klingon.

I don't think there's any shame
in someone being injured.

I am not merely injured,
commander.

Dr. Crusher believes
my paralysis to be...

...permanent.

I'm sorry.

I have a personal favor to ask.

Name it.

I want you to assist me in
performing the hegh 'bat ceremony.

I want you to help me die.

What?

When a Klingon can no longer stand
and face his enemies as a warrior,

when he becomes a burden
to his friends and family,

it is time for the hegh'bat.

Time for him to die.

There must be other options.

No. There are not.

I will not live as an object
of pity or shame.

My life as a Klingon is over.

Mr. Worf...

...I will not help a friend
commit su1c1de.

You and I have served together
for many years,

fought side by side.

I know you to be a brave
and honorable man.

If you truly consider me a friend...

...help me now.

Help me end my life
as I have lived it,

with dignity and honor.

Please.

The corticospinal tract has continued
to deteriorate over the last 72 hours

despite CPK enzymatic therapy.

- What about alkysine treatment?
- Ineffective.

Over designed.

Klingon anatomy.

Twenty-three ribs, two livers,
eight-chambered heart,

double-lined neural pia mater.

I've never seen so many unnecessary
redundancies in one body.

Unnecessary?

The Klingons refer to it
as the brak'lul.

Almost every vital function in their
bodies has a built-in redundancy,

in case any primary organ
or system fails.

It's a good design in theory,
but in practice,

all the extra organs means
just that much more can go wrong.

Let me show you something.

I've been experimenting
with DNA-based generators.

This is a genetronic replicator.

It reads the DNA coding
of damaged organs,

translates that into a specific set
of replicant instructions

and then begins to grow
a replacement.

I've read of some of the preliminary
work you've done.

The early results
have been very encouraging.

Beverly, the genetronic replicator

can create a completely new neural
conduit for your Lieutenant Worf.

- Replace his entire spinal column?
- Exactly.

Instead of splicing and pasting
together broken connections

like a couple of glorified tailors,

we create a new living system.

I had no idea you were already
using this on humanoids.

I haven't been.

This will be the first time.

First time?

I've done dozens
of holo-simulations.

The success rate
is up to 37 percent.

Even a holographic patient
would balk at those odds.

Sooner or later it has to be tried
on a living patient.

You're talking about
a spinal column.

Even before we could replace it,
we have to remove the existing one.

And we don't know enough about.

Klingon neurological medicine
to reattach it.

If something goes wrong, he'll die.

I agree it has remarkable potential,

but you're still in the most
preliminary stages of research.

No, I'm afraid I can't justify
the risk to Worf.

We'll have to do with
more conventional approaches.

PICARD [OVER COM]: Dr. Crusher,
please report to the Bridge.

On my way.

Doctor, the transport ship Denver
has struck a gravitic mine

left over from the Cardassian w*r.
They've sustained heavy damage.

Their last message said
they were attempting to crash-land

on one of the planets
in the Mericor system.

We should arrive
in just under seven hours.

How many people were aboard?

The Denver's standard crew
complement is 23,

but they were transporting
517 colonists to the Beloti sector.

I'll need to convert all three shuttlebays
into emergency triage centers.

I want all civilians with medical training
to report for duty.

Make it so.

Captain, may I speak
to you in private?

Of course, Number One.

- You have the Bridge, Mr. Data.
- Aye, sir.

I have always tried to keep
an open mind.

Not to judge someone else's
culture by my own.

But for me to be part
of this ceremony...

I understand from Dr. Crusher

that Worf will never regain
the use of his legs.

That doesn't mean
that his life is over.

That's a very human
perspective, Will.

For a Klingon in Worf's position,

his life is over.

I can't accept that.

Will, if you were dying, if you were
terminally ill with an incurable disease

and facing the remaining few days
of your life in pain,

wouldn't you come to look on death
as a release?

Worf isn't dying
and he is not in pain.

He could lead a long life...

You and I could learn to live
with a disability like that, but not Worf.

His life ended when
those containers fell on him.

Now, we don't have to agree with it,
we don't have to understand it...

...but we do have to respect
his beliefs.

I can respect his beliefs,
but he is asking me

to take an active part
in his committing su1c1de.

He's asking for your help
because you're his friend.

That means that you're gonna
have to make your decision

based on that friendship.

Which leaves me right back
where I started.

Will.

Look, I'm sorry. I cannot help you
to make this decision.

But I can tell you this:

Klingons choose their friends
with great care.

If he didn't know
he could count on you,

he would never have asked.

Why won't you let me see him?

Alexander, I told you,
it's not my decision.

- Your father doesn't...
- I don't believe you.

My father wants to see me.

You're the one keeping me
away from him.

I think you know that's not true.

Then why can't I see him?

Come here.

He's been injured
and he's embarrassed.

And to have anyone see him now
would make him feel worse,

even if it were you.

This is part of that Klingon stuff,
isn't it?

My mother always said Klingons
had a lot of dumb ideas about honor.

Alexander, that Klingon stuff
is very important to your father.

Well, it isn't very important to me.

I don't care about being Klingon,
I just want to see my father.

It's been a long day.

Why don't you get ready for bed

and we'll talk about this again
in the morning?

Alexander is scared, confused, hurt,

all because his father
is refusing to see him.

You know why I left
those instructions.

Yes, I do.
It's not the Klingon way, right?

It is a question of honor.

And I would ask that you respect
my wishes in this matter, counselor.

All I care about at this moment

is a little boy who's terrified
he's going to lose his father.

Maybe it's time you stopped lying here
worrying about your honor

and started thinking
about someone else,

like your son.

Would you like us
to come back later?

No. No, please come in, doctor.

This is Dr. Toby Russell.

She's from the Adelman
Neurological Institute.

She specializes in spinal injuries
like yours.

We've discussed a variety
of surgical procedures.

I'm afraid none of them
will repair the spinal cord.

But we have found a way for you
to regain much of your mobility.

We can implant a series
of neural transducers

into your lower torso and legs.

They're designed to pick up
the electrical impulses from your brain

and stimulate
the corresponding muscles.

With a little work,

you can eventually regain 60
to 70 percent of your motor control.

The first step would be to fit your legs
with motor-assist units like this one.

They're a training device.

Once you've mastered using them,
we can move on to the implants.

Now, try to move your leg.

No, no, that's good for a first try.

It will take some time before
you get used to manipulating...

No.

I will not live like that.

These are very
sophisticated devices.

With enough time,
they will give you...

WORF:
Sixty percent of my mobility?

No. I will not be seen
lurching through corridors

like some half-Klingon machine.

The object of ridicule and disgust.

Perhaps all this seems
a bit frightening to you now.

I want you to take some time
before making a decision.

Think about it.

There is one other option
I'd like you to consider.

It's called genetronic replication.

It's still in the experimental stage,
but if it works,

it will restore virtually
all your mobility

and without the need
for artificial implants.

I thought we had discussed
genetronics.

We did.

I also thought we'd decided
against recommending it.

You heard him.

He'd rather die
than live with the implants.

I just gave him a better option
than su1c1de.

He's grasping for straws
and you're giving him one.

Now instead of dealing
with his paralysis,

he's going to be thinking about
this miracle cure of yours.

There's a real chance
this could work.

And if it does, it'll be a major
breakthrough in neurogenics

that will change
a lot of people's lives.

You're using the desperation
of an injured man as an excuse

to try a procedure that you couldn't do
under normal circumstances.

I checked with Starfleet Medical.

They have turned down
your request

to test genetronics on humanoids
three times already.

Are you really going to hide behind
the rules of some bureaucracy?

Beverly, your patient's life
is at stake here.

Look, before you do any of this...

PICARD [OVER COM]:
Picard to Dr. Crusher.

Go ahead, captain.

We've located the survivors
from the Denver.

We're ready down here.

- We have triage teams standing by.
- Very well.

We'll begin transporting the survivors
onboard immediately. Bridge out.

Beverly.

Could you use
an extra pair of hands?

Absolutely.

Father?

Come in, Alexander.

Deanna said you hurt your back.

That you couldn't walk.

I am still struggling with my injury.

I was worried about you.

There is much to discuss.

There will be difficult times ahead.

You must be strong.

- I understand.
- Good.

As Klingons,
we all must be prepared for...

Father.

Take him away.

- Worf, let me help you.
- Leave!

Alexander, go on.

It'll be all right.
I'll take care of your father.

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]

WOMAN: Doctor, please.
MAN: Okay, easy now.

- With this patient right here?
WOMAN: Yes, yes, yes.

Use this to cauterize the tissue.

MAN 2:
Yes, doctor.

MAN:
Doctor, we need you right now.

WOMAN:
I need more help, please.

MAN: Yes, right here. Right here.
WOMAN: Thank you.

MAN:
Hold this right...

What happened here?

RUSSELL: He went into neural
metaphasic shock.

From leporazine? That's unusual.

He couldn't take leporazine.
His blood pressure was too low.

I had to try a different treatment.

- A morathial series?
- No.

I tried a new rybo-therapy
I've been working with.

It's called borathium.

I've had some very good results.

You used this man
to test one of your theories?

Borathium is decades ahead
of leporazine and morathial.

Morathial would have saved his life.

His injuries were so severe,

I don't think any conventional
treatment would have saved him.

The point is you didn't even try
standard treatment.

I made the choice I thought gave him
the best chance of surviving.

Isn't that what you
would have done?

I think you used this situation
in order to test one of your theories,

just like you're trying to do
with Worf.

That's what this is really about,
isn't it? Lieutenant Worf.

I'm offering him a chance
to recover fully.

A chance you can't give him.

What this is about is the kind
of medicine you seem to practice.

I make no excuses
for my approach to medicine.

I don't like losing a patient
any more than you do.

But I'm looking down
a long road, doctor.

This man didn't die for nothing.

The data that I gathered
is invaluable.

It will eventually help save
thousands of lives.

I doubt if that will be of any comfort
to his family.

Let me ask you this:

If some years from now,

borathium therapy were to save the life
of someone you loved,

would you still condemn me?

I will not be drawn
into a hypothetical argument, doctor.

Your research on this ship is over.

You're relieved of all medical duties
until further notice. ls that clear?

Perfectly.

PICARD:
Doctor.

I'm on my way to look in
on your patient.

Be my guest.

Just don't expect
a lot of conversation.

He's in full Klingon mode.

Honorable, strong
and close-minded.

I understand that you've relieved
Dr. Russell of duty.

That's right. She's irresponsible.

I won't have her practicing medicine
on this ship.

[SIGHS]

Beverly...

...maybe you should consider
letting her go ahead

with this genetronic procedure.

How can you say that?

She has a theory based
on a little empirical knowledge

and a lot of supposition.

If he can't make a full recovery,

Worf Will k*ll himself.

Not in my Sickbay, he won't.

I'll put him in a restraining field
and post security around his door

before I let him commit su1c1de.

And how long will you keep him there?
A week? A month? A year?

If I have to.

su1c1de is not an option.

Putting aside for the moment
the fact that a paraplegic

can live a very full life,

there is also a conventional therapy
that could restore much of his mobility.

- But not all of it.
- No, not all of it.

There are some things I can't fix.

Klingon or no, he is going to
have to accept his condition.

Beverly, he can't make the journey
you're asking of him.

You want him to go
from contemplating su1c1de

to accepting his condition
and living with a disability.

But it's too far.

And the road between
covers a lifetime of values, beliefs.

He can't do it, Beverly.

But perhaps he can come
part of the way.

Maybe he can be persuaded
to forgo the ritual

in order to take the chance
of regaining

the kind of life he needs.

A Klingon may not be good
at accepting defeat,

but he knows all about taking risks.

The first tenet of good medicine
is never make the patient any worse.

Right now,
Worf is alive and functioning.

If he goes into that operation,
he could come out a corpse.

Well, this may not be good medicine,
but for Worf,

it may be his only choice.

I am ready, commander.

I've been studying this ritual
of yours.

Do you know what I've decided?

I think it's despicable.

I hate everything about it.

Casual disregard for life,

the way it tries to cloak su1c1de
in some glorious notion of honor.

I may have to respect your beliefs,

but I don't have to like them.

It is not something
I expect you to understand.

No. All you really expect me
to do is bring you the Kn*fe

and then walk away.

So you can k*ll yourself in peace.

Well...

...I'm not gonna make it
that easy for you.

It is not easy for me.

But each of us must die
in our own time, and my time...

Remember Sandoval?

Hit with a disruptor blast
two years ago.

She lived for about a week.

Fang-lee. Marla Aster.

Tasha Yar.

How many men and women...? How
many friends have we watched die?

I've lost count.

Every one of them, every single one,
fought for life until the very end.

I do not welcome death,
commander.

Are you sure?

Because I get the sense
you're feeling noble about this thing.

"Look at me. Aren't I courageous?
Aren't I an honorable Klingon?"

Let me remind you of something.

A Klingon does not put his desires

above those of his family
or his friends.

How many people on this ship
consider you a friend?

How many owe you their lives?

Have you ever thought about how
you've affected the people around you?

How we might feel
about your dying?

Will you or will you not
help me with the hegh 'bat?

You are my friend.

And in spite of everything I've said,
if it were my place,

I would probably help you.

But I've been studying Klingon ritual
and Klingon law and I've discovered

that it's not my place to fill that role.

According to tradition,

that honor falls to a family member,

preferably the oldest son.

That is impossible. He is a child.

The son of a Klingon is a man
the day he can first hold a blade. True?

Alexander is not fully Klingon.

He is part human.

That's an excuse.

What you really mean
is it would be too hard

to look at your son and tell him
to bring you the Kn*fe.

Watch you s*ab it into your heart,

then pull the Kn*fe out of your chest
and wipe your blood on his sleeve.

That's the rite of death, isn't it?

Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Worf...

...I can't help you.

There's only one person
on this ship who can.

You said you wanted to see me.

I need you to help me.

Anything, Father.

I have taught you
about Klingon customs,

the beliefs which we value.

According to tradition,

I must take my life
after suffering this kind of injury.

But I've decided
to break with tradition.

I've decided to live.

I'm glad, Father.

I must still undergo
a dangerous operation.

I may still die,

but it will not be by my own hand.

Return this to our quarters.

Yes, sir.

CRUSHER: Chief medical officer's log,
supplemental.

After further consultation
with Starfleet Medical

and a great deal of soul-searching,

I have reluctantly granted
Lieutenant Worf's request

to undergo the genetronic
procedure.

We started doing
multiplications today.

The teacher said I'm faster
than anybody else in my class.

We will speak again soon.

Yes, Father.

If I die...

...he must be cared for.

I'll make sure he reaches
your parents' home safely.

No. They are elderly.

They cannot care for Alexander.

Counselor,

I have a serious request
to make of you.

Would you consider...?

You want me to raise Alexander?

I have come to have a great respect
for you, Deanna.

You have been most helpful
in guiding me since Alexander's arrival.

I can't imagine anyone

who would be a better parent
to my son.

If it is too much to ask...

I'd be honored.

I am ready.

Focus the drechtal beams on the
anterior and posterior spinal roots.

CRUSHER:
Focused.

Initiate.

All neural connections
below the first cervical vertebrae

have been separated.

Microtome.

I'm severing the brain stem now.

Cerebral cortex placed on life support
at 0831 hours.

Three hours 26 minutes remaining

until onset of primary
brain dysfunction.

Okay, let's remove
the support frame.

Exoscalpel.

I've notified Starfleet
that our survey of Sector 37628

will be delayed by at least a week

while we drop off the survivors
from the Denver.

Good.

I understand from Mr. La Forge

that there's a minor fluctuation
in the starboard warp coil.

I've scheduled
a stress simulation routine

for this afternoon to check it out.

Has there been any word?

No.

CRUSHER: Preliminary
genetronic scans are complete.

Initiating DNA sequencer.

Reading the initial sequences at ten
to the ninth base pairs per second.

Once we're past the first two levels,
we'll begin the encoding sequence.

Increase TCH levels to...

[COMPUTER BEEPING]

What's happened?

The scanner is having trouble reading
the Klingon dorsal root ganglia.

Did this show up
in your simulations?

Yes, but I thought
I made sufficient adjustments.

Bring me the detronal scanner.

I can scan the ganglia manually.

It'll just take a little longer.

One hour 43 minutes
until primary brain dysfunction.

Retract the paraspinal muscle.

CRUSHER:
Got it.

Watch the proximal nerve endings.

I see them.

Make sure the cranial segment

is at least 50 centimeters
from the brain stem.

I'm reading a slight fluctuation
in the isocortex.

Twenty cc's inaprovaline.

RUSSELL:
Okay.

Release the retractors
on the paraspinal.

How much longer can we keep him
on life support?

Twenty-seven minutes.

Cover.

Close, please.

Ready.

Tissue growth proceeding
at anticipated rates.

No initial signs of rejection.

Okay, ready.

Terminate life support.

Life support disengaged.

RUSSELL:
Neural connections appear stable.

Looking good so far.

[COMPUTER BEEPING]

Fluctuations in the isocortex.

Forty cc's inaprovaline.

Synaptic response falling.

BP dropping. Now 60/40.

VeK'tal response is falling rapidly.

Increase oxygen mixture
to 95 percent.

Beginning direct
synaptic stimulation.

Respiration is shallow and rapid.

No response in the isocortex.

Seventy-five cc's inaprovaline.

- Heart rate is erratic.
- He's going into cardiac arrest.

All right, let's go to chloromydride,
15 cc's.

[EKG FLATLINES]

We're losing him.

No BP, no pulse.

Brain activity?

Showing no higher brain functions.

Okay, 25 cc's cordrazine.

That'll k*ll him.

Looks like we've done
a pretty good job of that already.

No BP, no pulse.

No activity in the isocortex.

Cortical stimulator.

Now.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Doctor.

All right.

Make a note in the log.

Death occurred at 1240 hours.

It was all going so well.

No anomalies during replication.

No initial rejection.

No.

Alexander,

I am so sorry.

I wanna see him.

- Alex...
- No.

I wanna see him.

[SNIFFLING]

Activate biomonitors.

Twenty-five cc's polyadrenaline.

- What's going on?
- Not sure.

But if I'm right, one of those
unnecessary redundancies...

Doctor.

I don't believe it.

Begin cardio-aid and ventilation.

That's amazing.

There must be a backup
for his synaptic functions as well.

Vital signs are stabilizing.

CRUSHER:
Begin rybo-synetic therapy.

Increase oxygen mixture
to 90 percent.

Let's prepare
a thalamic booster series.

Well, I'd say your patient's recovery
is going well.

You aren't even going to acknowledge
what I did for him, are you?

You just can't admit that it was
my research that made this possible.

I am delighted that Worf
is going to recover.

You gambled, he won.

Not all of your patients are so lucky.

You scare me, doctor.

You risk your patients' lives
and justify it in the name of research.

Genuine research takes time.

Sometimes a lifetime
of painstaking, detailed work

in order to get any results.

Not for you.

You take shortcuts.

Right through living tissue.

You put your research
ahead of your patients' lives,

and as far as I'm concerned, that's
a violation of our most sacred trust.

I'm sure your work will be hailed
as a stunning breakthrough.

Enjoy your laurels, doctor.

I'm not sure I could.

CRUSHER:
This is gonna take time, Worf.

Your muscles are still sorting
out their new signals.

Don't rush it.

[GROANS]

Alexander. Alexander,
remember what we talked about?

Your father wants to do this
by himself.

It's all right, counselor.

I would appreciate some help
from my son.

We will work together.

Yes, sir.
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