Ghost in the Machine (episode)

"Ghost in the Machine"

Summary[]

Act One[]

The crew of theUSSProtostar is in theholodeck trying to formulate a plan to leave theRomulan Neutral Zone and safely approachStarfleet. Unfortunately, every scenario they attempt ends in failure, leading the group to conclude that they can never go to theFederation.Hologram Janeway comes in and notes the dismal mood before recommending that everyone get some rest and look at the problem with fresh eyes tomorrow. After commiserating over bowls ofice cream in themess hall, they take Hologram Janeway's advice and all head to bed.

Soon, they all start seeing and hearing strange things, including a character namedGlittersmooch from Rok's "Delta Heart Magical Veterinarian" holodeck program. Soon, a strangefog rolls in and they find themselves on a dark island where they come across alighthouse, which Zero recognizes immediately. It's the headquarters for the "Cellar Door Society"milquetoast mystery program. Zero informs the group that means that they're still on the holodeck. When their attempts to exit fail, they contact Hologram Janeway, who states that she's working on the problem, which was apparently caused by somesubspace interference.

Zero theorizes that they should be able to leave the holodeck once they solve a "Cellar Door Society" mystery, since that is how the program has always behaved for them. As per for the norm for the program, a letter should arrive at midnight which will reveal what the mystery is. When multiple letters arrive, Rok correctly guesses that the individual letters must be a code that's revealed when all pages are placed on top of one another. The code reveals that this is "The Case of the Lost Skeleton Key." The crew search the lighthouse's library for the key for a little while, before noticing that a brightly backlit door has appeared, accompanied by a new soundtrack.

The group walk through the door and find themselves in an alley facing a group of menacing bikers who all look exactly like Dr.Noum, theTellarite who insulted Jankomweeks earlier at theDenaxi Depot. Apparently, Jankom's been letting off steam in astreet fighting sim with the bikers. While Rok is fearful that these bikers have the key they're searching for, Zero is more concerned that the two holo-programs have somehow merged. When Jankom faces off with the bikers, they knock out one of his teeth, and he realizes that the holodeck safetey protocols must be turned off. Dal calls holo Janeway for help, but she claims to be unable to work on essential functions, so he gives her hiscommand code to override whatever has gone wrong with the program. When it doesn't work, Rok subdues the bikers herself. They discover that one of the bikers has atattoo on his chest of a skeleton key, but the arch doesn't appear when they capture him. Upon closer examination, it isn't just a tattoo of a key - it's a tattoo of the logo of The Key Club.

Act Two[]

This clue leads them ablack and white film-noir1920s-era club calledThe Key Club. The group realizes this program must belong to Murf when he jumps on stage and begins singing, or perhapslip syncing, to an oldjazz song. Dal has them split up to search, and Gwyn heads to the bar to order ajumja tea and ask about the skeleton key. However, she is astonished to see that thebartender looks exactly like her father.

As Gwyn lays out her problem to the sympathetic bartender, Rok and Zero deduce that because it is only using their holoprograms rather than pulling randomly from the database, the holodeck must have a motive rather than a simple malfunction. Dal and Jankom contend with some seedy gangsters who all resemble Noum. Suddenly, Rok notices that the piano sounds funny and surmises that the lost key may refer to a piano key. She flips up the missing key, opening a portal in the piano that the crew escapes through before the gangsters can catch them.

Act Three[]

The portal leads them onto an old stylepirate ship. Recognizing his program, Dal orders his pirate crew, who now all look like Noum, to find the lost key. Meanwhile, a giant sea creature emerges – Rok's holo-creation, "Sparkle Sea-Hugger" – and almost hugs them all to death. Rok is able to defeat it by providing it with healthy food (shot from a cannon), but the pirate ship begins to sink as a result of the damage it sustained from being hugged. Murf finds acompass with a skeleton key on it. At this point, Zero deduces that the holodeck isn't randomly malfunctioning. It appears to be actively keeping them trapped. They review the evidence for the whole group, and declare that they must stop following the clues - the only way to win is to refuse to play "her" game.

Just before the pirate ship completely sinks, the program suddenly ends. When a relieved Holo Janeway enters, the crew questions whether she locked them all in the holodeck with the safety protocols off. When she denies it, Zero says that she believes she is telling the truth, but her program must've been corrupted by a pre-programmed "secretsubroutine" triggered by theliving construct when the crew decided to give up going to Starfleet. The security logs show that she, unknowingly, used Dal's command codes to take over the ship, exit the Neutral Zone, and set a course for theTerran sector. Hologram Janeway is horrified. She says that she would never do anything to hurt the crew, but that Zero must be right - something is wrong with her.

Suddenly, an alarm blares and the crew finds themselves nose to nose with theDauntless and locked out of controls. Hologram Janeway appears on the bridge and says, "I'm sorry."

Memorable quotes[]

"The mystery is afeet."

-Zero, when letters are deposited at each of their feet at the start of their "Cellar Door Society" holodeck mystery program.

"Murf can speak?"
"And Murf can dance!"
"Or convincingly lip-sync."

-Gwyn,Rok, andZero reacting to "Mr. Murfy No Shoes'" performance

"My father put the fate of our world on my shoulders without ever asking me."
"Sounds like despite your pop's intentions, you gotta find your own way."

-Gwyn andHologram Diviner

"Let's pop this blow-stand."
"I don't think that's how it goes."

-Gwyn andDal

"If we don't find that key pronto, we're gonna be hugged to death!"

-Jankom

"I'm so sorry. I'd never intentionally do anything to hurt you... I don't remember doing any of this. I, I think Zero's correct. There's something wrong with me."

-Hologram Janeway

Background information[]

Title[]

• The title was announced byParamount+ on25 October2022.[1]
• The phrase "ghost in the machine" refers to aconsciousness dwelling within acomputer, in this case,Hologram Janeway being manipulated by theliving construct.

Production[]

• Like "Masquerade", which was aired byNickelodeon in some European countries such as Croatia, Hungary, and Poland ahead of US release, this episode was originally scheduled to be aired there on22 November2022. However, other programming was aired instead on that day.[2]
• The episode was released on23 November2022 on CANAL+ online in Poland ahead of US release.
• "Mr. Murfy No Shoes'" song "Smile and Forget It" was written byTroy Kline and acquired throughSongtradr, a platform whose content is licensed for use in films and television.
• Dal'scommand code,GB64N32X, appears to obliquely reference severalvideo game systems. WithGB being an abbreviation forGame Boy,64N derived fromNintendo 64 and its abbreviationN64 and32X referring to Sega's32X.

Continuity[]

• In2369, the crew of theUSSEnterprise-D experienced a very similar situation, where the holographicJames Moriarty (who like Hologram Janeway, was also sentient) similarly attempted to take control of the ship. Moriarty's plan also consisted of trapping the crew in an endless holodeck simulation that was intended to trick them into believing they had left the holodeck. (TNG: "Ship In A Bottle")
• The crew laments that the ice cream they ate wasn't "real". However, it likely was real, sinceholodecks usedreplicators to create some elements of the simulation. Food had been eaten on the holodeck before, such as the tea and crumpets eaten by Dr. Pulaski inTNG: "Elementary, Dear Data". Later in this same episode, Gwyn sips a drink from a cup while she knows she is on the holodeck. It depends on how you define real, however; inTNG: "The Price",Deanna Troi requested a "realchocolate sundae" from the replicator, "Not one of your perfectly synthesized, ingeniously enhanced imitations."
• Rok mentions motion floor tracking and visual horizon manipulation as ways that the holodeck tricks user's minds to appear real. This is in line with information given in theStar Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual about how the holodeck simulates environments which are larger than the holodeck itself. It was also confirmed in an interview[3] with the episode's writerChad Quandt.
• Murf takes on the role of a holographic singer in the 1900s, similar to the holographic characterVic Fontaine featured onStar Trek: Deep Space Nine.
• In The Key Club, Gwyn orders ajumja tea, a drink first featured inDS9: "Crossover" that theBajorans in themirror universe were fond of and was the favorite beverage ofIntendantKira Nerys.
• The map towards Earth showed theProtostar's current location in the Neutral Zone as being adjacent to theYadalla sector, which was originally from theStar Trek: Star Charts andStellar Cartography: The Starfleet Reference Library reference books, but were later shown inStar Trek: Picard,Star Trek: Discovery, andStar Trek: Strange New Worlds.
• Although there is nostardate referenced within the episode, alog by theDauntless' computer on the "Star Trek Logs" Instagram account dated the episode to Stardate 61401.5.[4]
  • Due to the cliffhanger ending of "Preludes", said "log" is a file not found error since Admiral Janeway is incapacitated and was unable to record the log.

Links and references[]

Cast[]

• Rylee Alazraqui asRok-Tahk
• Dee Bradley Baker asMurf
• Brett Gray asDal
• Angus Imrie asZero
• Ella Purnell asGwyn
• Jason Mantzoukas asJankom Pog
• John Noble asThe Diviner(hologram)
• Jimmi Simpson asDrednok(credit only)

And

• Kate Mulgrew as "Hologram Janeway"/"Vice AdmiralJaneway"(latter credit only)
• Jason Alexander asDoctorNoum(s)(holograms)
• Bonnie Gordon asShip Computer

Uncredited co-stars[]

• Troy Kline asMr. Murfy No Shoes
• Unknown actors as
  • Glittersmooch gangster hologram
  • Human gangster hologram

Background characters[]

• Noum(s)(holograms)
• Human gangster holograms
• Human piano man hologram

References[]

24-hour clock;adventure;arch; "aye";alley;Augment;banana;barista;black and white;bones; "brace for impact";briefcase;Brikar;cannon; "cap'n";captain (title); "Case of the Biting Ghost, The"; "Case of the Lost Skeleton Key, The"; "Case of the Phony Pharaoh, The";Cellar Door Society;chapter;clue;combadge;command code;compass;computer virus;control panel;coordinates;cream;dance;databanks;Dauntless, USS;Dauntless-class;Delta Heart Magical Veterinarian (akaDelta Heart Hospital,Delta Heart Vet);detective (akaamateur sleuth);Diviner, The;envelope;evasive maneuvers;father (aka "pop");Federation;Federation space;fedora;feral;fiber;formal wear;fruit;funeral;gibberish;Glittersmooch;gold-pressed latinum;grand piano;grandfather clock;hand;happy place;headquarters;heirloom;holodeck;holoemitters;holo-pet;holo-program (akaholo,holo-sim,sim,simulation);hooligan (akaruffian);hug;Human;hybrid;ice cream;jazz;jowl;Jumja tea;kettle;Key Club;Key Club, The; "ladies and gentlemen";language;library;library book;life sign;lighthouse; "like you've seen a ghost";linguistic skills;lip sync;living construct (akaconstruct); "look what the cat dragged in";lunatic;mail slot;malfunction;malnutrition (akamalnourished);maze; "me hearties";Medusan;Mellanoid slime worm;mess hall;microphone;midnight;milquetoast mystery;monster;Morse code;motion floor tracking;motive;motorcycle;music soundtrack;neon sign;Noum;orange;paper;patient;percent;Petri dish;phaser beam;piano key;piano man;pirate ship;Protostar, USS;Protostar-class;pull-up;purveyor;puzzle;recreational time;rock and roll;rogue;Romulan;Romulan Neutral Zone;sadness;safety protocols;scoop;scribble;security feed;shields;singing;skeleton key;slap; "Smile and Forget It";snack;song;sparkle sea-hugger;speak;Starfleet;Starfleet uniform;street fighting sim;subspace disruption;tattoo;Tellarite;tentacle;torch;tractor beam;treasure;Vau N'Akat;Vau N'Akat language;vet;visual horizon manipulation;water;whipped cream;whipping;words

LCARS references[]

active line;auto scan;comm center;diagnostic check;impulse engine control;operations;synch;system update;Terran sector;Yadalla sector

External links[]

• "Ghost in the Machine" at theInternet Movie Database
• "Prodigy "Ghost in the Machine"" atMissionLogPodcast.com