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Phantasms (TNG episode)
Encyclopedia
"Phantasms" is the 158th episode of the science fiction
television series Star Trek: The Next Generation
.
sees three workmen destroying a warp plasma conduit. He tells them to stop and, after he speaks, he emits a high-pitched sound through his mouth. The workers tell him to be quiet, then attack him and tear him limb from limb. As Data's head is violently torn off, he suddenly wakes up in his bed.
The USS Enterprise
is leaving a starbase
after installing a new warp core
. Captain Picard
has been invited to the annual Starfleet Admiral's Banquet on Starbase 219 and says that, after six years, he's run out of excuses to avoid the boring event.
Meanwhile, in engineering, Data can't stop talking about his nightmare. In the nine months since he had activated the dreaming program, he has had 111 dreams, but only one he could call a nightmare. Geordi
assures him that nightmares are normal and being preoccupied with them is also part of the human experience. Geordi and Data attempt to activate the new warp drive, but they run into problems and the Enterprise is delayed for several hours.
In his quarters, Data observes his cat sleeping and wonders what Spot dreams about. Counselor Troi
visits Data to talk about his nightmares, and encourages him to continue with the dream program.
Data dreams. He's in Ten-Forward, and Worf
is nearby, enjoying a piece of cake. Data asks what kind of cake it is. "It is a cellular peptide
cake," Worf says, "with mint frosting. Would you like a bite?" Data declines, and his attention turns to Dr. Crusher
and Riker
. Riker has a straw coming out of his head, and Crusher is drinking something out of it. There's a telephone ringing in the background. "Aren't you going to answer that?" Riker demands. The workmen are also there, and again Data emits the high-pitched scream. They tell him to be quiet, and he shuts his mouth. One hands him a knife, and he cuts at a cake in the shape of Counselor Troi. Troi pleads with him to stop, but he doesn't.
Troi, Worf, and Geordi wake Data up and tell him he's overslept. "That is not possible," he says, but it has happened nonetheless. Geordi supposes that perhaps it's part of the program, that Data is supposed to oversleep at times, as part of the human experience. Geordi asks about Data's dreams and comments that the imagery must have been strange. "Strange," Data says, "is not a sufficient adjective to describe the experience."
Data consults a holographic depiction of Sigmund Freud
on the holodeck
but, after the psychologist comes up with an irrelevant theory (saying the nightmares related to Data's desire for his mother
, though Data had no mother), Data leaves.
Admiral Nakamura calls the Enterprise, demanding when Picard will arrive for the banquet. The captain assures him he will be there on time. Shortly afterwards Geordi and Data again try to activate the warp drive, but there's another problem and the Enterprise is adrift.
In engineering, Data sees dream imagery while he's awake. He sees a 'mouth' on Geordi's neck, and the engineering tool he holds looks like the knife with which he cut the 'cellular-peptide cake'. He hears the telephone ringing again and Riker appears with a straw in his head, ordering Data to "answer it". Data opens his own chest and picks up the telephone receiver. "Hello?" he asks. "Kill them. You must kill them all, before it’s too late." It is Freud's voice. Data "awakens" and wonders how it is possible that he is having daydreams. Later, Data attacks Troi with a knife in a turbolift. Riker and Worf find them. Data claims that he saw another mouth on Troi's shoulder, and he had an uncontrollable urge to eliminate it; he is confined to quarters, which he remarks is a wise precaution. (After Worf escorts Data to his quarters, he asks a personal favor: for Worf to take Data's cat, Spot, to Worf's quarters for safekeeping.)
Dr. Crusher treats Troi's injuries, and discovers a creature on her shoulder. Crusher determines that the Enterprise is infested with interphasic (IP) organisms which are feeding on the cellular peptides of the crew's cells. Each person she scans has a creature attached to him or her somewhere, and they can be seen only in the light of an IP scanner. The crew don't know how to destroy the creatures but, if they don't, the cells of their bodies will disintegrate. Picard thinks the creatures may be connected to Data's odd behavior because their locations correspond to objects in Data's dreams. (Riker's is on his head, in the same place that Data previously 'dreamed' the straw to be.) They decide to connect Data to the holodeck, so they might observe his dreaming.
Once there, Geordi and Picard observe Data, who again finds himself in Ten-Forward, and then in Sigmund Freud's office. The three workmen are there, again dismantling a plasma conduit (which Geordi recognizes as one that was recently replaced with the new warp core). Data makes the shrieking sound, which, Picard notes, immobilizes them. Data wakes up and says he knows how to get rid of the parasites. He reconfigures his brain to emit an interphasic pulse, and the creatures are killed.
Geordi explains that the new warp core must have been infested with the interphasic organisms, and that's why they had so many problems initializing it. He will have to construct a new conduit. It will take at least six hours, which means that Picard lucks out of attending the admirals' banquet once again.
Troi visits Data and brings a snack: a cake in the android's shape. "I wonder, what would Doctor Freud say about the symbolism of devouring oneself," Data says. "Data," Troi responds, smiling, "sometimes a cake is just a cake."
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...
.
Overview
As the Enterprise sits adrift in space from unknown warp engine problems, Data's dream program leads to apparently aberrant behavior.Plot
DataData (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...
sees three workmen destroying a warp plasma conduit. He tells them to stop and, after he speaks, he emits a high-pitched sound through his mouth. The workers tell him to be quiet, then attack him and tear him limb from limb. As Data's head is violently torn off, he suddenly wakes up in his bed.
The USS 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 leaving a starbase
Starbase
A starbase is a facility, often in space, used in science fiction works such as Star Trek, Babylon 5, and Firefly. Typically they act as drydocks, battle stations or trading outposts.- Star Trek :...
after installing a new warp core
Warp drive (Star Trek)
Warp drive is a faster-than-light propulsion system in the setting of many science fiction works, most notably Star Trek. A spacecraft equipped with a warp drive may travel at velocities greater than that of light by many orders of magnitude, while circumventing the relativistic problem of time...
. Captain 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 invited to the annual Starfleet Admiral's Banquet on Starbase 219 and says that, after six years, he's run out of excuses to avoid the boring event.
Meanwhile, in engineering, Data can't stop talking about his nightmare. In the nine months since he had activated the dreaming program, he has had 111 dreams, but only one he could call a nightmare. Geordi
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...
assures him that nightmares are normal and being preoccupied with them is also part of the human experience. Geordi and Data attempt to activate the new warp drive, but they run into problems and the Enterprise is delayed for several hours.
In his quarters, Data observes his cat sleeping and wonders what Spot dreams about. Counselor 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...
visits Data to talk about his nightmares, and encourages him to continue with the dream program.
Data dreams. He's in Ten-Forward, 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...
is nearby, enjoying a piece of cake. Data asks what kind of cake it is. "It is a cellular peptide
Peptide
Peptides are short polymers of amino acid monomers linked by peptide bonds. They are distinguished from proteins on the basis of size, typically containing less than 50 monomer units. The shortest peptides are dipeptides, consisting of two amino acids joined by a single peptide bond...
cake," Worf says, "with mint frosting. Would you like a bite?" Data declines, and his attention turns to Dr. 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...
and 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...
. Riker has a straw coming out of his head, and Crusher is drinking something out of it. There's a telephone ringing in the background. "Aren't you going to answer that?" Riker demands. The workmen are also there, and again Data emits the high-pitched scream. They tell him to be quiet, and he shuts his mouth. One hands him a knife, and he cuts at a cake in the shape of Counselor Troi. Troi pleads with him to stop, but he doesn't.
Troi, Worf, and Geordi wake Data up and tell him he's overslept. "That is not possible," he says, but it has happened nonetheless. Geordi supposes that perhaps it's part of the program, that Data is supposed to oversleep at times, as part of the human experience. Geordi asks about Data's dreams and comments that the imagery must have been strange. "Strange," Data says, "is not a sufficient adjective to describe the experience."
Data consults a holographic depiction of Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
on the 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...
but, after the psychologist comes up with an irrelevant theory (saying the nightmares related to Data's desire for his mother
Oedipus complex
In psychoanalytic theory, the term Oedipus complex denotes the emotions and ideas that the mind keeps in the unconscious, via dynamic repression, that concentrate upon a boy’s desire to sexually possess his mother, and kill his father...
, though Data had no mother), Data leaves.
Admiral Nakamura calls the Enterprise, demanding when Picard will arrive for the banquet. The captain assures him he will be there on time. Shortly afterwards Geordi and Data again try to activate the warp drive, but there's another problem and the Enterprise is adrift.
In engineering, Data sees dream imagery while he's awake. He sees a 'mouth' on Geordi's neck, and the engineering tool he holds looks like the knife with which he cut the 'cellular-peptide cake'. He hears the telephone ringing again and Riker appears with a straw in his head, ordering Data to "answer it". Data opens his own chest and picks up the telephone receiver. "Hello?" he asks. "Kill them. You must kill them all, before it’s too late." It is Freud's voice. Data "awakens" and wonders how it is possible that he is having daydreams. Later, Data attacks Troi with a knife in a turbolift. Riker and Worf find them. Data claims that he saw another mouth on Troi's shoulder, and he had an uncontrollable urge to eliminate it; he is confined to quarters, which he remarks is a wise precaution. (After Worf escorts Data to his quarters, he asks a personal favor: for Worf to take Data's cat, Spot, to Worf's quarters for safekeeping.)
Dr. Crusher treats Troi's injuries, and discovers a creature on her shoulder. Crusher determines that the Enterprise is infested with interphasic (IP) organisms which are feeding on the cellular peptides of the crew's cells. Each person she scans has a creature attached to him or her somewhere, and they can be seen only in the light of an IP scanner. The crew don't know how to destroy the creatures but, if they don't, the cells of their bodies will disintegrate. Picard thinks the creatures may be connected to Data's odd behavior because their locations correspond to objects in Data's dreams. (Riker's is on his head, in the same place that Data previously 'dreamed' the straw to be.) They decide to connect Data to the holodeck, so they might observe his dreaming.
Once there, Geordi and Picard observe Data, who again finds himself in Ten-Forward, and then in Sigmund Freud's office. The three workmen are there, again dismantling a plasma conduit (which Geordi recognizes as one that was recently replaced with the new warp core). Data makes the shrieking sound, which, Picard notes, immobilizes them. Data wakes up and says he knows how to get rid of the parasites. He reconfigures his brain to emit an interphasic pulse, and the creatures are killed.
Geordi explains that the new warp core must have been infested with the interphasic organisms, and that's why they had so many problems initializing it. He will have to construct a new conduit. It will take at least six hours, which means that Picard lucks out of attending the admirals' banquet once again.
Troi visits Data and brings a snack: a cake in the android's shape. "I wonder, what would Doctor Freud say about the symbolism of devouring oneself," Data says. "Data," Troi responds, smiling, "sometimes a cake is just a cake."