04x11 - Observer Effect

[bunniefuu]

You'll win in eight moves.

You're really starting
to get a feel for the game.

Thirty two pieces, 64 squares,
it's not as if it's difficult.

The total number of possible outcomes
is limited.

Ten to the 123rd power.

That's what I mean.
Chess is so predictable.

I'm surprised anyone bothers
to play it.

Their average life span's only
about a hundred years.

There's no time to play
all the possible games.

- What a waste.
- Careful.

No emotional involvement.

I know the rules,
observation without interference.

You'll win in five moves.

I'm the ship's champion.
I win all the tournaments.

[GROUP CHATTERING]

How do you think they'll react
to what's on this planet?

Well, that's what
we're here to find out.

But in my experience,
all physical species are alike.

I don't expect humans
will be any different.

Do you think our hosts
will die tonight?

It's possible.

For some of the species
that have come here,

I've seen the whole crew die.
For others, only a few.

But somebody always dies.

Always.

Your move.

I can't wait to get back.

TRIP: Two days ago,
you couldn't wait to get off the ship.

Sifting through
a Klingon garbage dump,

not my idea of exploring
strange new worlds.

Tired of exploration, ensign?
All the planets starting to look alike?

- Not a chance, sir.
- I didn't think so.

[COUGHING]

I feel like I'm still breathing dirt.

Shuttlepod 1 to Enterprise.

ARCHER: Welcome back.
How did your treasure hunt turn out?

Well, nothing worth bringing home.

The Klingons must have been
here years ago.

All they left was an old power cell
and a bunch of empty ration packs.

- And a latrine.
- Yeah.

A long hot shower's
looking pretty good.

Shuttlepod 1 out.

[COUGHING]

Commander?

What's wrong?

Take over. Gotta dock.

Shuttlepod 1 to Enterprise.
I have a medical emergency.

Commander Tucker's collapsed.

- Can you bring the shuttlepod in?
- Yes, sir. At least in simulations.

Slow and steady, ensign.
I'll see you in decon.

Understood.

Call Phlox.

[INTERCOM BEEPS]

[MONITOR BEEPS]

ARCHER:
Trip, how are you feeling?

Uhn. Like I've been gut-punched
by a Tellarite.

Doctor, should we start
with the bio-gel?

Not until we know
what we're dealing with.

Three other landing parties returned
from the surface with no ill effects.

We need to check out
the shuttlepod too,

see if any of its environmental systems
were at fault.

I can do that, captain.
I should have thought of that myself.

Stay where you are, Trip.
Phlox needs blood samples.

Here's the med-kit.

[COUGHING]

Hoshi, what is it?

Before Commander Tucker
passed out, he started coughing.

Are you feeling
any other symptoms?

[VOMITING]

I'm gonna guess that's a yes.

I'll prepare anti-nausea medication.
Get me those blood samples. Hm?

As soon as you can.

Anything?

PHLOX:
Whatever's afflicting them,

it's not showing up
on the standard scans.

ARCHER: Doesn't sound good.
- It's not.

I studied your report on how
the Klingons reacted to the infection.

Their response was typical for
a species at their level of development.

The Klingon commander didn't let
his landing party back on his ship.

- Your point?
- Captain Archer did.

Captain Archer's done
nothing different from the Klingons.

The launch bay and decon chamber

are completely isolated
from the rest of the ship.

So it doesn't matter if an infected
landing party comes aboard.

Precisely.

Humans don't want to interact
with dying crewmates

any more than Klingons did.

If it was left to me,
I'd stop our observations immediately.

We have nothing more
to learn from humans.

Oh, I don't know.

They're showing concern
for each other.

The Cardassians did that
when they were here, didn't they?

But in the end,
they k*lled their infected crew,

just as the Klingons did.

The only difference is the time
it took to reach that decision.

Maybe the humans will surprise us.

I've been observing aliens
for 800 years.

I've yet to be surprised.

Still, we should follow protocol.
Start questioning the infected crew.

I'll check in with the doctor.

TRIP: Okay, this is for nausea,
muscle pain

and a cough suppressant.

I'm not coughing anymore.
Neither are you.

- Maybe we're getting better.
- Well, doctor's orders.

[INTERCOM BEEPS]

Commander, Hoshi.
Just wanted to say hi.

We're a little busy right now, Travis.

Can you tell me
what's in the hypospray?

Something for our symptoms.

Yeah. Phlox doesn't know
what's wrong with us yet.

Have either of you faced
serious illness before?

Aren't you supposed to be on duty?

I was curious to know how you
compare this experience

with other illnesses
you might have contracted.

Travis,

- we really need to get some sleep.
- I only have a few more questions.

- Thanks for stopping by.
- But...

Ah. Lieutenant Reed.

- Something I can do for you?
- Headache.

Of course. Just a moment.

Are these the blood tests for
Commander Tucker and Ensign Sato?

PHLOX:
That's correct.

[SCANNER BEEPS]

Huh. I'm not detecting
any vascular involvement.

- Hm?
- Your headache.

Not a bad one, I take it.

Uh-- No, not yet.

Although it feels like it could
get worse. Preventive measure.

- A lot to do today.
- Mild analgesic it is.

Doctor, I'm curious to know
how you think

these tests will help you develop
an effective treatment.

So am I.

I mean, are you approaching this
strictly on a symptomatic level

or do you believe
there's any similarity

to other conditions
you've seen in the past?

[SIGHS]

Lieutenant, I believe
I can put your mind at ease.

If your colleagues have returned
with a contagious illness,

there is no way it can spread
to the rest of the ship.

- We are all quite safe.
- I'm not worried about that, no.

- I'm interested in the methodology.
- Out, out. I have a lot to do as well.

Hm?

TRIP: You ever see
The Andromeda Strain?

- Strain of what?
- It's a movie, mid-20th century.

Let me guess,
Dr. Andromeda builds a monster

and it kills him in the end.

It's about an extraterrestrial disease.

All your movies are the same.
I can't keep the stories straight.

This reminds me of my dorm room
at Starfleet training.

Got into a lot of trouble at old STC.

I got kicked out.

Well, you can't stop there.

In my second month, I...

I had a difference of opinion
with the company commander.

I broke his arm.

Can I ask why?

Poker.

You broke his arm playing cards?

He tried to shut down a game
I was running

for some of the recruits
and a couple of the training staff.

Hold on.

You ran a floating poker game
at STC?

The way the regulations are worded,

gambling was an honor violation
only if it took place during duty hours.

So I ran the game on weekends.

One night my CC showed up,

tried to sweep all the chips
off the table and I...

Well, I have a black belt in aikido.

I think he was just upset
that I hadn't invited him to play.

What happened?

I got a bad conduct discharge.

How the hell did you end up
on Enterprise?

Starfleet needed
language specialists

more than they needed
to make an example out of me.

They let me back in on probation

[SIGHS]

and here I am.

Huh.

The closest classification it matches
is a virus.

Highly contagious, silicon based.

This is an M-class planet.

All life forms down there
should be carbon based.

I can only surmise
the virus was brought here,

perhaps by a meteorite,
which could explain

why only one of our landing parties
encountered it.

Is there a treatment?

There's no record of anything like it
in the Denobulan database.

Then it's up to you.

I'll do all I can, captain,

but at the rate the pathogen
is reproducing,

Command Tucker and Ensign Sato
have less than five hours to live.

The doctor identified the pathogen.

Ah. That happens
37 percent of the time.

But no one's made the decision
to abandon the infected crewmembers.

Then this will likely be one of the times
when everyone dies.

[INTERCOM BEEPS]

TRI P:
Travis, if that's you again...

It's me.

Next time
I ask to go on a landing party,

talk me out of it, okay?

You're usually too stubborn
to be talked out of anything.

But I'll do my best.

ARCHER: How's Hoshi?
- Sleeping.

Whatever Phlox gave us,
at least it's helping with the pain.

Phlox identified
what's causing all the trouble.

A silicon-based virus.

Well, I don't suppose he's on his way
over here with the cure.

He's working on it.

So is T'Pol.

So there is no cure.

Not yet.

I'm getting the idea
you're up against a deadline.

If you mean how much time
do you have,

it's too early for that kind of talk.

Your own immune system
could knock this thing out.

I remember exobiology 101, captain.

Humans are carbon based.
Our immune system can't fight silicon.

Don't you give up on me.

There's still a bunch of planets
out there we haven't seen.

Get some rest.

We're looking for signs of elevated
intelligence in the species we observe.

Rational intelligence, yes,
which Archer has not demonstrated.

The longer the infected crew remain
onboard,

the greater the risk
that quarantine will fail.

I'm sure Captain Archer knows
exactly what the risk is.

Maybe it's not as important
to him as standing by his crew.

It's just as probable that he hasn't
realized how hopeless the situation is.

There's a way to be sure.

We chose the helmsman and
the armory officer for good reason.

They're both stationed on the Bridge,

yet neither plays a critical role
in a medical emergency.

Which is why we should inhabit
the doctor and the science officer.

Archer relies on their findings
to make his decisions.

We could witness that
as it happens.

The more people we inhabit,

the greater the chance
that we will inadvertently interfere.

The more people we inhabit,
the more we'll be able to observe.

How many languages
can you speak?

That's not how it works.
There are a lot of common patterns.

I'm just good at hearing them,
that's all.

Good? You're a genius.

The way you can pick up an alien
language you've never heard before

and start spouting it back to them...

I got to tell you, I've always
been jealous you can do that.

I wish I could fix warp engines
with duct tape and a pocket Kn*fe.

It's a bit more complicated
than that sometimes.

Seriously, engineering,
building things,

have you always been good at that?

Mm? When I was a kid,
not so good at building.

But I was a terror when it came
to taking things apart.

My folks used to put all our kitchen
appliances on the highest shelves.

One Thanksgiving,
I have no idea what I was thinking,

but I removed every screw from this
big dining room table we had.

It was so old,
the wood sort of stuck together,

so it stayed standing

until my dad put the turkey down.

[CHUCKLES]

I spent the next month in my room.

- How old were you?
- Oh, 24, 25.

- How long have they been there?
- We didn't see you there.

[INTERCOM BEEPS]

We didn't want to interrupt you.

TRIP: How's the research coming?
- We're waiting on new test results.

We thought we'd see
how you two were progressing.

You're the ones
with the medical scanners.

We were more interested
in discussing your state of mind.

Look, if you really wanna know
how we feel,

we'd be a lot better
knowing you two were back in Sickbay

working on the cure for this.

Of course. We're going there now.

Commander, ensign.

They both came to see us.

Maybe that means
they're almost finished.

Yeah, unless there's nothing more
they can do.

They're very brave,
the way they're facing death.

Their courage isn't at question.
Their intelligence is.

- You want the humans to fail.
- This isn't a competition.

Either a species' intelligence is
developed enough for first contact

or it isn't.

Perhaps we should consider
other qualities in making our decision.

This is the measure
we have used for 10,000 years.

- It's not our responsibility to change it.
- Then whose responsibility is it?

ARCHER:
There.

If Phlox is right about the virus
coming here on a meteorite,

that crater might be the source of it.

Which means the Klingons
at this campsite

must have been infected too.

Set up a priority channel
to Starfleet Command.

We need to find out which
Klingon ship explored this world

and whether
or not they developed a cure.

Right away, sir.

[COMPUTER BEEPS]

Those are the new test results
my host is waiting for.

We should leave these creatures
to their work undisturbed.

The helmsman and the armory officer
are back on the Bridge.

The altered immune receptors
weren't effective.

This could indicate the virus
is sensitive to ionizing radiation.

At levels that would be fatal
to humans, but it's a start.

I'll prepare new samples for testing.

[SPEAKING
IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

Hoshi.

Hoshi, wake up.

I was back in Brazil.

The shuttle was coming
to take me to Enterprise.

That's where we are.

Captain Archer needed me early.

I didn't get the chance
to say goodbye to my students.

TRI P:
You'll see them again.

I've heard from Starfleet.

They're working through diplomatic
channels to contact the Klingons,

but it might not be necessary.

This spectrograph identifies
a Klingon alloy.

That's the signature
of standard hull plating.

I found it here.

You've detected a debris cloud
in orbit.

It's what's left of a Klingon
shuttlecraft,

their response to an infected
landing party.

The commander k*lled
his own shuttle crew.

They didn't even plead for mercy.

I mean, they wouldn't, would they,
being Klingon?

Captain, does knowing
what the Klingons did help us at all?

At least we know we don't have to
bother asking them if they have a cure.

But if they had developed one,
you'd ask them for it, right?

On bended knee.

[HOSHI SPEAKING
IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

TRI P:
Hoshi.

[KEYPAD BEEPING]

We're in quarantine for a reason.

[HOSHI SPEAKING
IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

I have no idea with you're saying,

but you can't break
the lock-out code.

Math is just another language.

[ALARMS BLARING]

Quarantine breach on D Deck.

The decon chamber
has been unsealed.

[PANTING]

[ALARMS BLARING]

Someone's overriding
the safety interlocks.

Shut down all power to D Deck.
I want those doors sealed.

Hoshi, you have to stop.

That's an airlock.

You open those doors, we die.

[SPEAKING
IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

- Hoshi, come on.
- I need to tell them.

[BOTH GRUNTING]

- While there's still time.
- The captain won't let us down.

Trip to...

Whoever's out there,

we're back.

Commander,
I want you to set your hypospray

for three units of sonambutril.

That could drop a horse.

We can't risk Hoshi
wandering off again,

especially since
it seems she can override

every security safeguard
on Enterprise.

Yeah, she's full of surprises today.

Sweet dreams, Houdini.

Anything else?

- It's your turn, Trip.
- Come on, captain.

Commander, the virus is incompatible
with carbon-based life.

It's attacking your bodies in ways
I can't predict.

You think I'm gonna wander off too?

Start opening the wrong doors?

- Not if you're sedated.
- Sorry, Trip.

Commander.

I'm just wondering if either one of us
will ever wake up again.

PHLOX:
You should lie down right away.

I won't argue with that.

How close are you to stopping this?

T'Pol and I have isolated
a specific frequency of radiation

that disrupts the silicon matrix
of the virus.

Sounds promising.

Unfortunately,
the dosage required would be lethal.

There's got to be some kind
of a trade-off,

a way to produce enough radiation
to slow down the virus

- without k*lling the patient.
- That's what I'm working on.

Work faster.

[DOOR OPENS]

We can stop
what this virus is doing to them.

That's not why we're here.

We came to observe their response
to the unexpected,

not to watch them suffer.

This is not the place
to be having this discussion.

I know
where we can talk undisturbed.

The sensations in this host
are different from the others.

I'm experiencing physical pain.

So am I.

Why should any species
have to endure this weakness?

Because the desire to overcome it

will spur them to move beyond
the limitations of the physical world.

- Maybe that isn't true for all species.
- It was true for us.

You can't be awake.

Not with that much sonambutril.

Our ancestors were physical beings.

Well, what worked for us
might not work for everyone.

- Humans have different qualities.
- Nothing I haven't seen before.

TRI P: What do you have against
this species?

HOSHI: What disturbs me most
about the humans

is their capacity for v*olence.

- Extraordinary.
- Klingons embrace v*olence.

The humans try to avoid it.

Humans say they avoid it
but their words don't...

We're being observed.

Ah. Captain, T'Pol,
I was just coming to see you.

These are brainwave readings of
Commander Tucker and Ensign Sato.

What is the significance?

The patterns aren't human.

T'POL: Did you know
they had this capability?

He must have used
Denobulan technology.

I see.

Are you responsible
for what happened to my patients?

We had nothing to do with it.

We come here only to study how
physical species react to the unknown.

You can help by telling us
how you detected our presence.

That happens in less than
2 percent of our missions.

Commander Tucker
and Ensign Sato were sedated.

They shouldn't have been able
to stand and talk.

It's been so long
since we had physical form,

we weren't able to distinguish sleep
from sedation.

We'll remember next time.

Is there anything you can do
to help my patients?

We're here to observe.
We can't interfere.

You're interfering with me.

Our subjects are human.
You're Denobulan.

You were inhabited a few hours ago,
an intriguing experience.

- I have no recollection of that.
- Memories are simple to adjust.

You're going to adjust mine again.
Hm?

So I won't remember a word
of this encounter.

Or what you observed
in the decon chamber.

If you have that ability,
you must be able to help my patients.

- We could.
- But we won't.

Thank you for your help, doctor.

No wonder you erase memories.

Your behavior is appalling.

According to what I read
on the doctor's medical PADD,

he's learned
how to stop the infection.

I've seen seven other species
develop the radiation cure.

But never in time.

Did we make first contact
with any of them?

Of course not.

Expending resources
to attempt an impossible task

is not a sign of intelligence.

The captain and science officer
have decisions to make.

We need to return
to our original hosts.

For the radiation to destroy the virus
without k*lling the patient,

it must be precisely focused.

The emitters in the decon chamber
aren't suitable.

But the bio-scanner in Sickbay is.

To move them from decon
to Sickbay

we'll need to expand
the quarantined area.

That won't be a problem.
We're gonna make this work.

[BEEPING RAPIDLY]

PHLOX: Ensign Sato's condition
is deteriorating. We need to hurry.

ARCHER:
Engaging quarantine.

Reed to Bridge.
I confirm a positive seal.

Environmental systems are isolated.

ARCHER:
Entering the quarantine zone.

She's going into oligemic shock.
Captain, she's dying.

Get her on the bio-scan bed.

She's stopped breathing.

Someone always dies.

ARCHER:
Hoshi.

[BEEPS]

Phlox.

Aah!

What are you doing?

This equipment's not designed
for EV gloves.

- I'll be your hands.
- No, captain, no.

Right now, Enterprise needs a doctor
more than it needs a captain.

Attach the leads
20 centimeters apart.

I don't understand.

In 800 years,
no one's ever done that before?

No.
Not once they know it's hopeless.

You need to inject 40 units
of trinephedrine into her heart.

No, no, no.
That can't go deep enough.

Old-fashioned but effective.

Angle it slightly more to the right.

Now in one quick motion,
insert it 3 centimeters.

Press the activator.

[MACHINE BEEPS]

Clear.

[RAPID BEEPS]

Come on, Hoshi.

Three hundred millijoules.

[RAPID BEEPS]

- Captain...
- Again!

PHLOX:
Three hundred and forty.

[CONTINUOUS BEEPS]

She's gone.

Captain, help me
with Commander Tucker.

How many have to die before
you'll admit humans are different?

We need to stop this.

I will not depart from protocol.
The incident isn't over.

When the first death
occurs on the ship,

there's a 68 percent chance the rest
of the crew will become infected.

What more will that teach us
about them?

All this would have happened
whether we were here or not.

We are not responsible.

Maybe we should be.

PHLOX: We need to move him
into the scanner.

[MACHINE BEEPING]

It didn't work.

I'm sorry, captain.

Not your fault, doctor.

There's nothing more
I can do for Commander Tucker,

but you've still got a few hours.

There has to be something else
I can try.

You should continue your work
on the Bridge.

Less chance of something
going wrong with your suit.

I won't give up.

You know where to find me.

[DOOR OPENS THEN CLOSES]

[INTERCOM BEEPS]

Archer to T'Pol.

T'Pol here, captain.

I take it you've been watching.

I have.

Then you know you're in command.

Yes, captain.

I would like to think you'll stay
in command.

Don't let Admiral Gardner sneak
in someone over your head.

I'll do my best.

I know you will.

I need to look after Trip now.

We'll talk again--

We'll talk again.

T'POL:
Captain.

If Commander Tucker
becomes conscious...

I'll let you know right away.

Archer out.

[WHEEZING]

[CONTINUOUS BEEPS]

I have such respect for you,
Captain Archer.

- Trip?
- Not exactly.

I'm an Organian,

a non-physical life-form.

Trip is my host.

- What did you do to him?
- Nothing.

We never interfere in the natural
development of other species.

We only observe.

Did you know
about the silicon virus?

That's why we come here.

To see how different species react
when they encounter it.

You knew about the virus
that k*lled two members of my crew

and you didn't warn us?

I wanted to,

but it's not up to me.

You're breaking every rule we have.

TRIP: Because they don't apply
to this species.

That is not our decision to make.

- If we don't challenge the rules--
- I don't care about your rules.

Tell me what happens
to Trip and Hoshi

when you're finished
with their bodies.

We have to leave them as they are.

Dead.

I understand

why you won't get involved
with a species' natural development.

I've faced that decision myself.
It isn't an easy one to make.

- Then we agree.
- No, we don't.

Our encounter
with the virus was an accident,

one that you could have prevented.

Then how would we ever learn
about you?

Ask us. Talk to us.

Just like you're doing now.

Talking is a limited form
of communication for us.

We're much more advanced
than humans.

Not from where I'm standing.

Maybe you've evolved
into beings with abilities

I can't comprehend,
but you've paid a hell of a price.

You've lost compassion

and empathy.

Things that give life meaning.

If that's what it takes
to be advanced,

I don't want any part of it.

We're leaving now, captain.

You won't remember a thing
about our presence.

[COUGHING]

And in three hours, you'll die as well.

No.

We have the power to save them all.

- Are you defying me?
- I'm defying the entire protocol.

What Archer has done today,
his act of compassion,

you've never witnessed that before.

In time, we'll study other humans.

ARCHER:
There's another way.

Experience compassion for yourself.

You want to know
what it means to be human,

you need to do more than observe.

ARCHER:
Archer to the Bridge.

T'Pol. Go ahead.

You wanted to know
when Trip was awake.

Yes.

Well, you better get down here

because he's talking up a storm
and so is Hoshi.

- Captain, Hoshi--
- You too, Phlox.

Maybe one of you can tell me
what the hell just happened.

You're all completely free
of the virus.

It has to have been
a delayed reaction

to Commander Tucker's
radiation treatment.

But how it spilled over to you
and Hoshi,

I have no explanation.

Obviously, the pathogen's behavior is
more unpredictable than we assumed.

I'm sure someone
at Starfleet Medical will figure it out.

But for now,

we're going to leave a warning
beacon in orbit here

and make sure
what happened to us

never happens to anyone again.

You realize the consequences
of what we've done.

We will never be able to observe
another species encounter this virus.

Good.

I'm looking forward to making
my first report.

After 10,000 years,
the rules need to change.

These humans have not been
a good influence on you.

I would not encourage
further encounters.

I don't think we can avoid them.

I'm going to recommend
that we start preparation

for an official first contact mission.

Indeed.

At the rate they're progressing
that will barely

- give us 5,000 years to prepare.
- Then we'd better get started.