Thine Own Self
Thine Own Self
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"Thine Own Self" is aTNGepisode inTNG season 7.
Summary[]
DoctorBeverly Crusher is servingbridge duties on theEnterprise on thenight shift whenCounselorDeanna Troi returns from aclass reunion. Crusher informs Troi thatData has gone to apre-industrialplanet,Barkon IV, to retrieve theradioactive remains of adeep-space probe that crashed there. Also, because of the remote location of the crash site, there is no danger of Data encountering any of the nativeBarkonians. During the exchange that follows, Troi inquires as to why Crusher would want bridge duties when they aren't required for hermedical duties, to which Crusher replies that she wanted "to stretch herself a little."
On Barkon IV, Data has walked into avillage, hisuniform severely damaged and hiscommunicator gone, carrying ametal case reading "radioactive". He encounters the townmagistrateGarvin and his daughterGia, whereupon it is revealed that Data has nomemory of who he is or where he came from. Garvin opens the metal case and finds that it contains metal fragments.
Troi, meanwhile, approachesCommanderWilliam T. Riker about taking thebridge officers qualification test, citing reasons similar to Dr. Crusher's and an incident on theEnterprise where she had to assumecommand. He agrees, but informs her that despite giving her his support he'll be a hard judge.
Data, meanwhile, is being examined by the village'shealer,Talur, who concludes based on "currentscientific methodology" that Data is anice man. After she leaves, Gia names Data "Jayden" after astory she read. The next day, Garvin sells the fragments to the villageblacksmith,Skoran, who will use them forjewelry. As they do this, the stand under theanvil cracks, dropping it onto the leg of theblacksmith's apprentice. Data easily lifts the anvil from the apprentice's leg; since Garvin and Skoran couldn't do so together, this fit of strength adds to the mystery of "Jayden"'s existence. That evening, Data inadvertently begins challenging Talur's non-empirical pseudo-scientific approach. Garvin begins displaying the first signs ofradiation poisoning due to his handling the fragments.
On theEnterprise, the ship is onred alert and Troi is inengineering attempting to avert the crisis along withWorf andGeordi La Forge, but despite her best effortsantimatter containment fails and the ship explodes. Troi is then standing on theholodeck, where Riker sarcastically congratulates her for destroying theEnterprise (holographically) and therefore failing thebridge officer's test. Despite her questions, he refuses to tell her what she did wrong, as she has to take it again if she wants to become a bridgeofficer.
On Barkon IV, Data is attending a class being taught by Talur when Garvin suddenly becomes ill while talking to Skoran. Talur and Data take him home, puzzled by his symptoms. Data, not satisfied by her conclusions, begins his own investigation. As he is gathering supplies, he discovers that other townspeople are also suffering Garvin's symptoms. As he continues his investigation, Data notices that Gia, who is also displaying symptoms, is wearing a pendant made from the metal from Data's case.
Troi meanwhile is running through every conceivable variation on how to keep from destroying the ship in the simulation but still can't figure out what she's doing wrong. Riker appears and tells her that he wants to cancel the rest of the test as she is no closer to passing after three tries. Troi challenges him to tell her whether it's a test of character or if there really is a way to prevent destroying the ship, but he confirms that there is a solution. After he leaves, she realizes that Riker has given her a clue when he says that his first duty is to the ship. She immediately goes to the holodeck and begins the test again, but with a different outcome: in order to save the ship, she must order the holographic La Forge to repair aconduit inside an activewarp plasma shaft, theradiation of which would kill him. Once the holographic La Forge exits to hisdeath, the simulation ends and Riker appears, not surprised she took the test again and telling her that she passed. She hesitates, telling him that he was right about her not being bridge officer material, but he tells her that she is wrong and is now a commander.
Data has determined that the metal fragments are the cause of the illness. Talur leaves to collect the fragments and while she is gone, Skoran and the other villagers attack Data, whom they believe is the cause of the illness. During the confrontation Data is damaged, revealing his mechanical parts under his skin. They leave and Data shows his nature to Gia, who while shocked accepts that he means to help. Hours later, he comes up with a cure, which he administers to Garvin and Gia before determining that he needs to administer it to as many people at once as possible, and the only way to do that is to add it to the town's well. While doing this, he is again confronted by the townspeople and is impaled, collapsing and apparently dead.
Some time later, Riker and Crusher appear in the town in disguise inquiring after Data. They meet Gia, fully recovered from her sickness, who tells them that "Jayden" was her friend too, indicating where he has been buried, as well as where the fragments are. After Gia leaves, Crusher surreptitiously scans the area with atricorder, determining that Data is indeed buried there. They beam him up to the ship and quietly leave the village.
Data then wakes up insickbay where he has been repaired, but he has no memory of the events that took place on Barkon IV. He informs them that while trying to download the probe's onboardcomputer a power surge must have overloaded hispositronic matrix, resulting in hismemory loss, but judging from his clothes he must have "had an interesting time". He then notices Troi's commanderrank insigniapips and asks about her promotion, whereupon she tells him that he can now call her "sir".
References[]
Characters[]
- Beverly Crusher •Data •Garvin •Gia •Geordi La Forge •Martinez •Jean-Luc Picard •Rainer (Ensign) •William T. Riker •Skoran •Talur •Deanna Troi •Worf
Starships and vehicles[]
- Referenced only
- USSLexington (Nebula-classexplorer)
Locations[]
- Barkon IV (Barkonstarsystem,the galaxy'sAlpha Quadrant)
- Vellorian Mountains
- Referenced only
- Starbase 231 •Taranko colony
Races and cultures[]
States and organizations[]
Other references[]
- blacksmith •combadge •commander •government •hologram •holodeck programs •Jayden •probe •races and cultures •radiation •radiation poisoning •science •state •uniform •Starfleet uniform
Chronology[]
Appendices[]
Images[]
Connections[]
Timelines[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous episode: Lower Decks | TNGepisode produced | Next episode: Masks |
| Previous episode: Lower Decks | TNGepisode aired | Next episode: Masks |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous Adventure: Whispers | Next Adventure: Balance of Power | |
External link[]
- "Thine Own Self" article atMemory Alpha, the wiki for canonStar Trek.