Future Imperfect (TNG episode)
Encyclopedia
"Future Imperfect" is an episode from the fourth season of the science fiction
television series Star Trek: The Next Generation
.
Riker
's birthday celebration is interrupted as he, Geordi La Forge
, and Worf
beam down to a huge underground cavern on an uninhabited Class M planet
to investigate unusual readings. After their arrival, the cavern unexpectedly fills with toxic gases, and the three officers fall unconscious
. Worf
and La Forge
are beamed up
without incident, but the Enterprise
is unable for some reason to get a transporter
lock on Riker.
Riker awakens in sick bay
to find that sixteen years have passed. He is now Captain of the Enterprise, Data
is his first officer, and Picard
has been promoted to admiral, with Deanna Troi
serving as his aide. His amnesia, according to Doctor Crusher
, is a side effect of a viral infection he contracted during the away mission 16 years before — the last event he currently remembers before waking up. She informs him that his memory of the intervening events may or may not return in time.
Riker also learns that he was married, is now widowed, and has a son (Chris Demetral
) named Jean-Luc (named after Picard). He is further startled when Tomalak — a former archenemy of the Enterprise, now a Romulan
ambassador
— beams onto the ship to negotiate a peace treaty with the Federation
.
As events progress, numerous inconsistencies arise. The Enterprise computer consistently lags as Riker makes inquiries into his past. Data is unable to answer when Riker rapidly asks him computational questions. And finally, Riker's late wife "Min" is revealed to have been Minuet, the fictional holodeck
character he fell in love with in the first-season episode "11001001". Riker realizes that the entire "future" he has been experiencing is a charade and confronts Picard and Tomalak on the Enterprise bridge, where more proof that none of this is real arises; Data cannot make a calculation that he should be able to make with his positronic brain, and then he uses a contraction, which Riker knows full well that he cannot do.
Suddenly, the program freezes and the false future fades away, revealing an advanced Romulan holodeck. "Ambassador" (actually Commander) Tomalak is revealed to be the perpetrator of the deception, the object of which was to trick Riker into giving away the location of a key Federation outpost. The Romulans, Tomalak explained, had been fooled by the intensity of Riker's memories of Minuet and had incorporated her into their fantasy on the assumption that she was real.
Riker is put in a holding area, where he meets the boy whose image the Romulans had used to create his "son". The boy identifies himself as "Ethan." Together, they manage to escape and briefly elude their Romulan guards. However, as the two are hiding from their pursuers, Ethan inadvertently refers to Tomalak as "Ambassador", instead of "Commander". Riker realizes that he is still in a simulation; confronting Ethan over it, he demands that the game end immediately and that he be allowed to leave.
Everything disappears once more, leaving only Riker and Ethan in the cavern the Enterprise away team had originally been exploring. Ethan confesses that he had created the simulations, using sophisticated scanners to read Riker's mind and create the "reality" he experienced. Ethan's planet had been attacked and his people killed; his mother had hidden him in the cavern for his own safety, with all the simulation equipment, before she herself died; and Ethan, all alone, had been yearning for companionship. Riker realizes the peaceable intentions of Ethan, who reveals his true form as an grey like alien named Barash, and offers him refuge on the Enterprise. Barash accepts, and the two friends beam onto the ship.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
.
Plot
CommanderCommander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Riker
William Riker
William Thomas Riker, played by Jonathan Frakes, is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe primarily appearing as a main character in Star Trek: The Next Generation...
's birthday celebration is interrupted as he, Geordi La Forge
Geordi La Forge
Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge is a regular character in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and its feature films, played by LeVar Burton...
, and Worf
Worf
Worf, played by Michael Dorn, is a main character in Star Trek: The Next Generation and in seasons four to seven of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He also appears in the films based on The Next Generation. Worf is the first Klingon main character to appear in Star Trek, and has appeared in more Star...
beam down to a huge underground cavern on an uninhabited Class M planet
Class M planet
Class M is a fictional classification for planets and planetoids in the Star Trek science fiction media franchise. In the Star Trek: Enterprise series, T'Pol uses the Vulcan term Minshara class, which may be the origin of the later Federation designation.Their atmospheres comprise nitrogen and...
to investigate unusual readings. After their arrival, the cavern unexpectedly fills with toxic gases, and the three officers fall unconscious
Unconsciousness
Unconsciousness is the condition of being not conscious—in a mental state that involves complete or near-complete lack of responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli. Being in a comatose state or coma is a type of unconsciousness. Fainting due to a drop in blood pressure and a...
. Worf
Worf
Worf, played by Michael Dorn, is a main character in Star Trek: The Next Generation and in seasons four to seven of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He also appears in the films based on The Next Generation. Worf is the first Klingon main character to appear in Star Trek, and has appeared in more Star...
and La Forge
Geordi La Forge
Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge is a regular character in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and its feature films, played by LeVar Burton...
are beamed up
Transporter (Star Trek)
A transporter is a fictional teleportation machine used in the Star Trek universe. Transporters convert a person or object into an energy pattern , then "beam" it to a target, where it is reconverted into matter...
without incident, but the Enterprise
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)
The USS Enterprise is a 24th century starship in the Star Trek fictional universe and the principal setting of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series...
is unable for some reason to get a transporter
Transporter (Star Trek)
A transporter is a fictional teleportation machine used in the Star Trek universe. Transporters convert a person or object into an energy pattern , then "beam" it to a target, where it is reconverted into matter...
lock on Riker.
Riker awakens in sick bay
Sick bay
A sick bay is a compartment in a ship used for medical purposes — the ship's hospital.The sick bay will contain the ship's medicine chest which may be divided into separate cabinets such as a refrigerator for medicines which require cold storage and a locked cabinet for controlled substances...
to find that sixteen years have passed. He is now Captain of the Enterprise, Data
Data (Star Trek)
Lieutenant Commander Data is a character in the fictional Star Trek universe portrayed by actor Brent Spiner. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek...
is his first officer, and Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
has been promoted to admiral, with Deanna Troi
Deanna Troi
Commander Deanna Troi is a main character in the science-fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and related TV series and films, portrayed by actress Marina Sirtis. Troi is half-human, half-Betazoid and has the psionic ability to sense emotions. She serves as the ship's counselor...
serving as his aide. His amnesia, according to Doctor Crusher
Beverly Crusher
Commander Beverly Crusher, M.D. , played by actress Gates McFadden, is a fictional character on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and its subsequent spinoff films...
, is a side effect of a viral infection he contracted during the away mission 16 years before — the last event he currently remembers before waking up. She informs him that his memory of the intervening events may or may not return in time.
Riker also learns that he was married, is now widowed, and has a son (Chris Demetral
Chris Demetral
Christopher Peter "Chris" Demetral is a former American actor best known as Jeremy Tupper, the son of newly divorced New York book editor Martin Tupper on the HBO series Dream On...
) named Jean-Luc (named after Picard). He is further startled when Tomalak — a former archenemy of the Enterprise, now a Romulan
Romulan
The Romulans are a fictional alien race in the Star Trek universe. First appearing in the original Star Trek series in the 1966 episode "Balance of Terror", they have since made appearances in all the main later Star Trek series: The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager...
ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
— beams onto the ship to negotiate a peace treaty with the Federation
United Federation of Planets
The United Federation of Planets, also known as "The Federation" is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures...
.
As events progress, numerous inconsistencies arise. The Enterprise computer consistently lags as Riker makes inquiries into his past. Data is unable to answer when Riker rapidly asks him computational questions. And finally, Riker's late wife "Min" is revealed to have been Minuet, the fictional holodeck
Holodeck
A holodeck, in the fictional Star Trek universe, is a simulated reality facility located on starships and starbases. The first use of a "holodeck" by that name in the Star Trek universe was in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Encounter at Farpoint", although a conceptually...
character he fell in love with in the first-season episode "11001001". Riker realizes that the entire "future" he has been experiencing is a charade and confronts Picard and Tomalak on the Enterprise bridge, where more proof that none of this is real arises; Data cannot make a calculation that he should be able to make with his positronic brain, and then he uses a contraction, which Riker knows full well that he cannot do.
Suddenly, the program freezes and the false future fades away, revealing an advanced Romulan holodeck. "Ambassador" (actually Commander) Tomalak is revealed to be the perpetrator of the deception, the object of which was to trick Riker into giving away the location of a key Federation outpost. The Romulans, Tomalak explained, had been fooled by the intensity of Riker's memories of Minuet and had incorporated her into their fantasy on the assumption that she was real.
Riker is put in a holding area, where he meets the boy whose image the Romulans had used to create his "son". The boy identifies himself as "Ethan." Together, they manage to escape and briefly elude their Romulan guards. However, as the two are hiding from their pursuers, Ethan inadvertently refers to Tomalak as "Ambassador", instead of "Commander". Riker realizes that he is still in a simulation; confronting Ethan over it, he demands that the game end immediately and that he be allowed to leave.
Everything disappears once more, leaving only Riker and Ethan in the cavern the Enterprise away team had originally been exploring. Ethan confesses that he had created the simulations, using sophisticated scanners to read Riker's mind and create the "reality" he experienced. Ethan's planet had been attacked and his people killed; his mother had hidden him in the cavern for his own safety, with all the simulation equipment, before she herself died; and Ethan, all alone, had been yearning for companionship. Riker realizes the peaceable intentions of Ethan, who reveals his true form as an grey like alien named Barash, and offers him refuge on the Enterprise. Barash accepts, and the two friends beam onto the ship.