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Shadowplay (DS9 episode)
Encyclopedia
"Shadowplay" is the 36th episode
of the science fiction
television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
.
Dax
and Odo detect an unusual particle field
emanating from a planet in the Gamma Quadrant
, so they beam down to investigate. They discover the field is coming from a small village's power generator, but when a villager named Colyus discovers them, he is suspicious of them. Once Odo convinces Colyus of their intentions, Colyus explains that the village is a Yaderan colony and 22 people have disappeared in the past few days without a trace. Odo and Dax offer to help investigate the disappearances, but the village leader, Rurigan, seems unconvinced that the villagers will ever be found.
The next day, Odo talks with a shy child named Taya whose mother disappeared recently. The two find a common ground in that they are both orphans now – Taya has lost both her parents, while Odo never knew his – and during the course of their conversation, Taya reveals that the Yaderans never leave their valley. Rurigan, who was one of the village's founders and is the oldest living member, assures Odo that searching beyond the valley would be pointless. Apparently no one, including Rurigan and Colyus, has thought about searching beyond the valley or ever considered leaving it. In addition to this curious behavior, Rurigan does not seem intent on finding the villagers despite the fact that his own daughter is among the missing.
Odo and Dax take Taya to the edge of the valley, where Taya points out a tree and tells them she has never been beyond that point. When Dax passes that point, a Yaderan device vanishes from her hand. Taya reaches past the tree and her arm begins to disappear until she brings it closer to her. The three return to the village to share their findings with Colyus. Dax uses the reactor to make Colyus' cloak disappear and rematerialize, demonstrating that the entire village, including its citizens, is a holographic
projection
created by the reactor's particle field.
The reactor has fallen into disrepair and is breaking down, causing the villagers to disappear one by one. Colyus is skeptical and refuses to believe Dax and Odo at first, but they bring the villagers to the area by the tree and reenact what happened to Taya. The villagers begin to panic, thinking this is some sort of trick, but Colyus convinces them to believe Dax and Odo's story. The villagers were programmed not to think about leaving the valley, which is why such a thing has never occurred before. With Colyus' help, they convince the villagers to let Dax shut down the reactor and repair it before it stops functioning completely. However, when she does so, the village and all the villagers vanish – except Rurigan.
When the Dominion
arrived on Yadera Prime, Rurigan explains, it destroyed life as he knew it, so he escaped to an abandoned planet and recreated the world he had lost. He has been living in this illusion for over 30 years, and now he admits that none of it was real. However, Odo points out that were it not real Rurigan would not have been able to develop feelings for the villagers - after all, they are only holograms. He argues that Taya and the others are real and deserve a real chance to live. Dax and Rurigan repair the reactor, restoring the village, including the missing people. Before he and Dax leave, Odo realizes how close he has grown to Taya and the two share a heartfelt goodbye. Taya thanks him for finding her mother and wishes him luck in finding his own parents. Before they leave, Odo demonstrates his abilities by morphing into a toy Taya played with earlier.
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
Odo and Dax investigate why a village's residents are disappearing; Major Kira and Vedek Bareil become personally involved.Plot
Dax
Jadzia Dax
Jadzia Dax , played by Terry Farrell, was a main character during the first six seasons of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine....
and Odo detect an unusual particle field
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
emanating from a planet in the Gamma Quadrant
Galactic quadrant
A galactic quadrant, or quadrant of the galaxy, refers to one of four circular sectors in the division of the Milky Way galaxy.-Quadrants in the galactic coordinate system:...
, so they beam down to investigate. They discover the field is coming from a small village's power generator, but when a villager named Colyus discovers them, he is suspicious of them. Once Odo convinces Colyus of their intentions, Colyus explains that the village is a Yaderan colony and 22 people have disappeared in the past few days without a trace. Odo and Dax offer to help investigate the disappearances, but the village leader, Rurigan, seems unconvinced that the villagers will ever be found.
The next day, Odo talks with a shy child named Taya whose mother disappeared recently. The two find a common ground in that they are both orphans now – Taya has lost both her parents, while Odo never knew his – and during the course of their conversation, Taya reveals that the Yaderans never leave their valley. Rurigan, who was one of the village's founders and is the oldest living member, assures Odo that searching beyond the valley would be pointless. Apparently no one, including Rurigan and Colyus, has thought about searching beyond the valley or ever considered leaving it. In addition to this curious behavior, Rurigan does not seem intent on finding the villagers despite the fact that his own daughter is among the missing.
Odo and Dax take Taya to the edge of the valley, where Taya points out a tree and tells them she has never been beyond that point. When Dax passes that point, a Yaderan device vanishes from her hand. Taya reaches past the tree and her arm begins to disappear until she brings it closer to her. The three return to the village to share their findings with Colyus. Dax uses the reactor to make Colyus' cloak disappear and rematerialize, demonstrating that the entire village, including its citizens, is a holographic
Holography
Holography is a technique that allows the light scattered from an object to be recorded and later reconstructed so that when an imaging system is placed in the reconstructed beam, an image of the object will be seen even when the object is no longer present...
projection
Graphical projection
Graphical projection is a protocol by which an image of a three-dimensional object is projected onto a planar surface without the aid of mathematical calculation, used in technical drawing.- Overview :...
created by the reactor's particle field.
The reactor has fallen into disrepair and is breaking down, causing the villagers to disappear one by one. Colyus is skeptical and refuses to believe Dax and Odo at first, but they bring the villagers to the area by the tree and reenact what happened to Taya. The villagers begin to panic, thinking this is some sort of trick, but Colyus convinces them to believe Dax and Odo's story. The villagers were programmed not to think about leaving the valley, which is why such a thing has never occurred before. With Colyus' help, they convince the villagers to let Dax shut down the reactor and repair it before it stops functioning completely. However, when she does so, the village and all the villagers vanish – except Rurigan.
When the Dominion
Dominion (Star Trek)
In the Star Trek universe, the Dominion is a ruthless and militaristic Gamma Quadrant state consisting of many different races. The Dominion wages war on the United Federation of Planets and its allies in the late 24th century, acting as an antagonist in the TV show Star Trek: Deep Space...
arrived on Yadera Prime, Rurigan explains, it destroyed life as he knew it, so he escaped to an abandoned planet and recreated the world he had lost. He has been living in this illusion for over 30 years, and now he admits that none of it was real. However, Odo points out that were it not real Rurigan would not have been able to develop feelings for the villagers - after all, they are only holograms. He argues that Taya and the others are real and deserve a real chance to live. Dax and Rurigan repair the reactor, restoring the village, including the missing people. Before he and Dax leave, Odo realizes how close he has grown to Taya and the two share a heartfelt goodbye. Taya thanks him for finding her mother and wishes him luck in finding his own parents. Before they leave, Odo demonstrates his abilities by morphing into a toy Taya played with earlier.
Arc significance
- This is the third mention of the Dominion. It seems they have also conquered Rurigan's home planet, Yadera Prime, and changed their whole way of life.
- This episode also begins the romance between Major KiraKira NerysKira 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...
and Vedek Bareil which was intimated in Kira's orb experience in "The Siege."