For the beetle, see Darkling beetle

Darkling beetle

Darkling beetles are a family of beetles found worldwide, estimated at more than 20,000 species. Many of the beetles have black elytra, leading to their common name...

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For the comic book character, see Asylum (comics)

Asylum (comics)

This article is about the Marvel Comics characters. For the Image Comics anthology, see Asylum .Asylum is the name of two characters in the Marvel Comics Universe.-Fictional character biography:...

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For an Ing-possessed creature, see Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, known as in Japan, is a first-person, action-adventure video game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube video game console. It is the seventh game in the Metroid series, a direct sequel to Metroid Prime, and the first game in the series with...

"Darkling" is an episode of Star Trek: Voyager

Star Trek: Voyager

Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...

, the eighteenth episode of the third season.

Plot

The Doctor attempts to improve his program by including elements of the personalities of various famous people that he admires, taken from holocharacters of them. However, the darker, less well-known sides of these people's personalities form a second, evil personality (similar to Mr. Hyde). This evil version of the Doctor attempts to murder an alien from the planet being visited by Voyager by pushing him off a cliff. The evil twin also temporarily paralyzes Lt. Torres

B'Elanna Torres

B'Elanna Torres is a main character in Star Trek: Voyager played by Roxann Dawson. She is portrayed as a half-human half-Klingon born in 2349 on the Federation colony Kessik IV. Torres joined the Maquis in 2370 and was serving on the Val Jean when brought to the Delta Quadrant...

 when she discovers it. It later jumps off a cliff with Kes

Kes (Star Trek)

Kes is a character in the television series Star Trek: Voyager, played by Jennifer Lien.She was a regular for the first three seasons, leaving the show in the season four episode "The Gift". She made one guest appearance two seasons later....

 but is beamed back to Voyager while falling. At the end of the episode, the Doctor's program is restored to normal. While the episode concludes, the Doctor is heard citing part of the Hippocratic Oath

Hippocratic Oath

The Hippocratic Oath is an oath historically taken by physicians and other healthcare professionals swearing to practice medicine ethically. It is widely believed to have been written by Hippocrates, often regarded as the father of western medicine, or by one of his students. The oath is written in...

.

Cultural References

This episode opens with a tale from an alien of his story of a visit to a moon. Upon landing on the moon his crew light a fire. A sudden moon-quake arises and it emerges that the moon is actually a massive life form. This story is a clear parallel to the story of the first Tale of Sinbad the Sailor

Sinbad the Sailor

Sinbad the Sailor is a fictional sailor from Basrah, living during the Abbasid Caliphate – the hero of a story-cycle of Middle Eastern origin...

 where a sailing ship lands on an island that proves to be a massive whale which comes to life after the crew light a fire on its back.
Also, this episode's plot-line is a reference to the famous story by Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....

 of a man's fight with his evil alter-ego in the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.