The Loss (TNG episode)
Encyclopedia
Overview
In this episode, the USS EnterpriseUSS 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...
becomes trapped within a field of two-dimensional lifeforms, while 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...
struggles with the sudden unexpected loss of her telepathic abilities.
Plot
Traveling through deep space, the EnterpriseUSS 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...
stops to investigate an odd phenomenon that appears like phantom images. Meanwhile, ship's counselor 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...
experiences disorientation as her empathic abilities suddenly cease to work.
They discover they cannot resume course as the Enterprise is caught up in a group of two-dimensional lifeforms.
Without her powers, Troi suffers a tremendous sense of loss, and goes through several classic psychological stages including denial
Denial
Denial is a defense mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence.The subject may use:* simple denial: deny the reality of the...
, fear
Fear
Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...
and anger
Anger
Anger is an automatic response to ill treatment. It is the way a person indicates he or she will not tolerate certain types of behaviour. It is a feedback mechanism in which an unpleasant stimulus is met with an unpleasant response....
. Ultimately, despite the reassurances of her friends, she resigns as ship's counselor, believing that without her empathic abilities, she cannot perform her duties.
Commander 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...
and Commander 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...
realize the two-dimensional creatures are heading for a cosmic string
Cosmic string
Cosmic strings are hypothetical 1-dimensional topological defects which may have formed during a symmetry breaking phase transition in the early universe when the topology of the vacuum manifold associated to this symmetry breaking is not simply connected. It is expected that at least one string...
, with the Enterprise in tow, and once they reach the string the ship would be torn apart. Realizing Deanna's loss and the ship's predicament are somehow linked, 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...
pleads with her to try and communicate with the strange creatures.
After attempting to warn the creatures of the danger posed by the cosmic string, Troi posits that they are seeking out the cosmic string in much the way a moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
is drawn to a flame. Working from this hypothesis, Data simulates the vibration of a cosmic string at a position well behind the Enterprise. The simulations causes the creatures to briefly reverse their course allowing the Enterprise to break free.
Freed from the two-dimensional creature's influence, Troi's empathic ability is restored. She discovers that her powers were never lost, but were instead overwhelmed by the two-dimensional creatures' strong emotions. Troi returns to her old job with a renewed confidence.