"In the Hands of the Prophets" is the 20^th episode

Episode

An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...

 of the science fiction

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: Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...

.

Overview

Friction escalates when Vedek Winn arrives on DS9 and sees that Keiko O'Brien is teaching that the Bajoran Prophets

Prophet (Star Trek)

In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Prophets, also known as Wormhole Aliens, are non-corporeal beings who inhabit the artificially constructed Bajoran wormhole which connects a distant point in the Gamma Quadrant to the Alpha Quadrant, near the planet of Bajor and the space station Deep Space...

 are wormhole aliens.

Plot

Keiko O'Brien operates a school on Deep Space Nine

Deep Space Nine (space station)

Deep Space Nine is a fictitious space station, and is the eponymous primary setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It serves as a base for the exploration of the Gamma Quadrant via the Bajoran wormhole, and is a hub of trade and travel for the sector's denizens...

 for the station's children, most of whom are Bajoran

Bajoran

In the Star Trek science-fiction franchise, the Bajorans are a humanoid extraterrestrial species native to the planet Bajor. They were first introduced in the 1991 episode "Ensign Ro" of Star Trek: The Next Generation and subsequently also featured in episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and...

. She is accused of blasphemy

Blasphemy

Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...

 by Vedek Winn, one of the spiritual leaders of Bajor, as she explains the scientific background of the Bajoran wormhole. Winn feels that, as the Bajoran civilization sees in it a religious symbol (the "Temple of the Prophets"), the Bajoran children should be taught this theory in preference to Starfleet

Starfleet

In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...

 physics and astrobiology. After a bomb is detonated in the school, Commander Sisko

Benjamin Sisko

Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Early life and career:...

 is forced to seek help from Vedek Bareil, a Bajoran spiritual leader who has a different ideology than Winn.

The episode is significant in that it lays the groundwork for the tension on Bajor that would be more fully realized in Deep Space Nines second season. However, it also begins to bring Sisko and Major Kira

Kira Nerys

Kira Nerys , played by Nana Visitor, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Backstory:Per Bajoran custom, her family name, Kira, precedes her given name, Nerys. She has two brothers , and her parents' names are Kira Taban and Kira Meru...

closer together, as they realize that they both have Bajor's best interests at heart.

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