Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001): Season 1, Episode 9 - Prime Factors - full transcript

Captain's log, stardate 48623.5.

There are 246 elements
known to Federation science.

We have just discovered the 247th
in the ring system of a Class-D planet.

The element has an unusually large
atomic mass - over 550 nucleons.

And it appears to be stable.

A stable transuranic element
in a natural environment!

Imagine what we could make!

Probe casings that could
go into a sun, reactor shielding.

If we can mine it. Locate the highest
concentration of the element.

It's in the asteroids comprising
the rings. I'll beam a sample aboard.

Or we could look at this element
in its natural environment.



Most of these asteroids
support Class-M atmospheres.

Good idea.
Commander, you're in charge.

- Mr Kim, would you like to join us?
- I wouldn't miss it, Sir.

The highest concentration
is about 30 metres directly ahead.

There's a large cavern in there.
The readings are...

What the hell is this?

It's organic.
Some kind of biopolymer residue.

I wanna see what's ahead.

The readings are higher over here,
but I still can't find the source of the...

Commander?

Class-5 humanoid. Appears to be dead.

There are 18 humanoid bodies here.
Eleven male, seven female.

They're in various stages
of decomposition.

Some have been here for years,
others a few days.



One body arrived twelve hours ago.

- From where?
- I don't know.

But I'd say we're looking
at some kind of burial site.

What about the element?

It's emanating from their bodies.

We think it's a by-product
of their decomposition process.

I recommend we leave them in peace.

However, Mr Kim has a different opinion.

With all due respect, I have to disagree.

It's our first contact with this race
and we should learn all we can.

It's a unique opportunity.

I understand that chance,

but this race meant for their dead to be
left alone and we should respect that.

I'm afraid I agree
with Commander Chakotay.

Set your tricorders for passive scans.

The sanctity of these bodies
should be respected.

I recommend we make visual
observations only. No tricorders.

Very well. Keep me informed.
Janeway out.

Your only sensors are your eyes.
Concentrate on details.

We'll have to do a thorough report
when we get back.

Thanks for letting me
voice my opinion to the Captain.

The first time I went
on a tomb excavation on Ktaria VII,

I wanted a memento so I picked up
a rock from the burial site.

I found out later it wasn't just a rock.

- What was it?
- It was a sacred stone.

The Ktarians lay thousands of them in
the tomb, each representing a prayer.

I had desecrated that man's grave.

- I've found out all I can with my eyes.
- Really?

What have you learned
about the culture?

They like to bury their dead
on asteroids.

That's about all I can tell.
Just some naked dead people.

You're looking but not seeing.
Their nakedness says a lot.

This race doesn't
believe in dressing the deceased.

And they don't believe any worldly
goods can be taken into the afterlife.

What makes you think they believe
in an afterlife at all?

Look at the position
of the arms and hands.

They're arranged in poses of serenity,

and wrapped in the biopolymer residue
we found earlier.

This culture has a lot of ritual
associated with disposing of the dead.

That shows some belief in the afterlife.

The Klingons believe in an afterlife,
but there's no ritual.

They just dispose
of the corpse efficiently.

Good point. But some archaeological
digs on the Klingon Homeworld...

Tricorders.

A dimensional distortion is forming.
A subspace vacuole.

Chakotay to Voyager.
Emergency beam-out.

We can't lock
on to your signals. Stand by.

Have everyone stand closer together.
I'm centring on your com signal.

Energise!

Transporter room 3,
do you have them?

Subspace distortions
are interfering with the lock.

I'm attempting to compensate.

OK. I think I've got them.

Chakotay and Torres are aboard.

So is one of the bodies.
But there's no sign of Ensign Kim.

Scan the asteroid.

No lifesigns, Captain.
I'm broadening the scan.

Nothing. He is nowhere
in the entire asteroid field.

Initiate emergency transport
procedure 21-Alpha.

I'm already on it.
It's no use. His pattern's gone.

The vacuole has disappeared.

My only guess is
he was pulled into the vacuole.

This isn't one of the bodies
we found in the cavern.

This body might have come out of
the vacuole when Kim was taken in.

There are signs
of electrical activity in the brain.

She died just a few minutes ago.
We might be able to revive her.

If we can, we might get some answers.

We can't interfere with
her natural process of death.

What do you suggest we do?
Kim's gone.

She's the only one who might
be able to tell us what happened.

Beam us directly to sickbay.

Death is the end of this life.

But it is also the beginning
of a new journey.

Ptera will now thrive
in the Next Emanation.

This is both her sacred duty
and her great privilege.

As she begins her transition,

we promise to carry memories of her
so that when we enter the...

Help! Get me out of here!

She's alive!
Deactivate the cenotaph! Quickly!

Let me out!

Here it is.

Thanks.

A lot of memories in this.

We're so proud of you, Hatil.
This is such a generous, selfless act.

It's my last gift for you and the children.

And it's one we will always cherish.

- But I'm still gonna miss you.
- I know.

I'll miss you too.

But I'll see you in the Next Emanation
when you're ready to join me.

Give my love to your father.

Tell him that the garili trees he planted
have bloomed for three years straight.

I will.

Goodbye.

Lie down. It's going to be all right.

We won't harm you.

- Who is that?
- We're not sure yet.

We think he came
from the Next Emanation.

The Next Emanation?

- You mean he's come back?
- Come back from where?

The thanatologist
will be here any moment.

There should be no further discussion
about this until he arrives.

How did you get here?

I'm not sure.

I just sort of woke up
inside one of those pods.

I was conducting an investigation on an
asteroid. We found some dead bodies.

Then there was
some kind of subspace phenomenon.

What do you mean,
you saw dead people there?

I'm Dr Neria,
the chief thanatologist of this facility.

Ensign Harry Kim
of the Federation starship Voyager.

I see. What race are you from?

We call ourselves human.

We come from Earth,
in a distant part of the galaxy.

He said he saw dead people
on an asteroid.

- Dead?
- Look, can you tell me where I am?

- Doctor, what does this mean?
- Rest, Hatil.

There's no need for concern.

May I speak to you privately,
Ensign Harry?

Just Harry is fine.

We are the Vhnori
and this is our Homeworld.

We were investigating an asteroid
in the rings around your planet.

There are no rings around our world.

So the subspace vacuole must have
transported me somewhere else.

Do you have any star charts
I could see?

I'd like to know where I am now,
in relation to where I was.

Where you are now
is in the world of the living.

Where you came from
was another dimension.

- Another dimension?
- Yes.

You returned from the Next Emanation.
The afterlife.

- How were you able to revive her?
- It's a simple process.

She died of a cancer on the brain.
I removed it, replicated new tissue,

and used the Starfleet
postmortem resuscitation technique.

Why was she covered
with this biopolymer?

She wasn't covered with it.
It's a by-product of her tissues.

As her tissues decayed,
the cell membranes broke down

into a biopolymer resin which was
then excreted by her epidermal layer.

It's a natural decomposition
process for this species.

So the other biopolymer fibres...

Were probably the result of other
bodies that had left a membrane.

In essence, Commander, you were
strolling through dead bodies.

- Can you wake her?
- Yes. Kes, 2 cc's of netinaline.

Hello.

This must be very confusing,
but you're all right.

My name is Kathryn Janeway.

I'm Ptera. Where's my brother?

Your brother? I'm afraid he's not here.

But he should be here.
They should all be here.

Ptera, we were able to remove
the tumour from your brain.

You'll be fine.
We revived you because...

This is the Next Emanation?
This is the afterlife?

No. No, it's not. You're on a starship.

This can't be right.
My brother's supposed to be here.

- Let me explain.
- No.

Get away from me. This isn't right.
This can't be right!

There was a woman
in here before I arrived?

Her name was Ptera. She was dying
of a tumourous lesion to her midbrain.

Dying. So she wasn't dead yet?

No. She didn't die
until the cenotaph was activated.

It terminates a life just before
the appearance of a spectral rupture.

And then it allows their body
to be taken to the Next Emanation.

- Spectral rupture?
- I can show you.

This looks like a subspace vacuole.
Does the cenotaph create ruptures?

No. They're natural occurrences.

The complex was built here because
a spectral rupture occurs here.

Forgive my curiosity, Harry,

but you are the first person
ever to come back from the afterlife.

I have quite a few questions.
You said that you saw dead bodies?

That's right. There were
seven females, eleven males.

Some had been there for years,
others a few days.

Are you saying that when we die we go
to some asteroid and decompose?

That's what it looked liked to us.

These bodies.
Did you perform bioscans on them?

Was there any specific
medical data that you remember?

Doctor,
maybe I should just stop right there.

This is what we call
a "first contact” situation,

and we're careful about how much
we tell alien cultures we've just met.

I would like to start a complete
bioanalysis. Just follow Dr Renora.

Bioanalysis? Look, all I want to do
is get back to my ship.

- I can use this spectral rupture...
- You're not going anywhere.

You are our first glimpse
into what lies beyond death.

We are not going to let
this opportunity pass us by.

We've analysed the ring system.

There are over 200,000 alien bodies
on various asteroids in the rings.

A subspace vacuole appears every two
hours, deposits a body and disappears.

Try to probe the vacuoles
with high-resolution subspace scans.

- See if you can find Mr Kim.
- Sickbay to Captain Janeway.

Our guest is conscious
and is calmer this time.

I'm on my way. You have the bridge.

That's all I know. I'm sorry.
I can't tell you anything more.

You've told me a lot. Now I know
what might have happened to Mr Kim.

Is there anything I can do for you?

- I'd like some answers.
- About what?

About what happens to my people
when we die.

We're not sure exactly.

But we think the vacuoles
deposit the bodies on the asteroids.

- Then what?
- I'm not sure what you mean.

We're supposed to evolve
into a higher level of consciousness,

to gain a greater understanding.

All of our questions
are meant to be answered.

Ptera, I know
this must be frightening for you.

You've been through
a very traumatic experience.

But please try to understand.

Just because I don't have the answers
doesn't mean there aren't any.

My brother...
I always thought I'd see him again.

I had so many things to tell him about
his children, the people he left behind.

But he isn't here, is he? He's...

What am I supposed to do now? Spend
the rest of my life on this starship?

Ptera, I'll do everything in my power
to figure out just how you got here.

And as soon as I know anything,
I will tell you, all right?

All right.

Maybe we should get out of sickbay,
clear your mind, get something to eat.

- Are you hungry?
- Yes. I could use something to eat.

- What was that?
- Janeway to bridge. Report.

A dimensional distortion is forming.
It looks like a subspace vacuum.

B'Elanna, what's going on?

I've pinpointed the location.
It's right here in engineering. Stand by.

Hatil, what are you saying?

I'm just not sure I'm ready, that's all.

- I don't understand.
- Neither do 1.

It's just that I'm starting to wonder
what really happens when we die.

If I'm really going on
to a higher level of consciousness?

The alien.
What has he been telling you?

All he's done is made me think about
something we've taken for granted.

Now that I've thought about it, I'm not
so eager to go through with it any more.

Hatil, we know nothing about him,
or why he's come here,

or why he's spreading lies.

You can't throw away
a lifetime of belief because of him.

It doesn't make any sense.

I don't know what to think any more.

I'm scared, Loria.

It's going to be all right. Think about
your father. He's waiting for you.

I'll see you at
the transference ritual.

I don't know who you are
or where you come from,

but you stay away from my husband.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...

Harry, you have to forgive my wife.

She's having trouble
understanding my concerns.

That's why I'm here.
I'm getting ready to die.

Forgive me for asking again

but can you tell me anything about what
I might find in the Next Emanation?

Everyone's asking me that, and I keep
giving the same answer. I don't know.

But you do come from the afterlife?

I come from a different reality,

maybe another dimension,
maybe your afterlife.

Countless billions of people there
are born, live and die, just like you.

But you did see my people there.
You said they were dead.

Yes, but... Look, for all I know,
your thanatologists are right,

and I just saw the corporeal remains
of your people,

and you do go on
to a higher consciousness.

But it's...

It's also possible that
there is no higher existence for us,

that when we die
we simply cease to exist.

I really can't say.

I don't know what happens
to your people after they die,

or what happens to my people.

Don't you have thanatologists,
people who study death?

Sort of.

There have certainly been medical
experts, philosophers, theologians,

who have debated
what happens after death.

But no one has an answer yet.

My people think of death
as just another stage of our existence.

There are some people
who are even eager to die.

If they feel depressed or lonely in this
life, they move on to the next one.

Is that why you're here? Because
you're not happy with your life?

Ever since the accident...

...life hasn't been easy.

But this is more
my family's idea than it is mine.

- Your family?
- I'm a burden to them right now.

It takes time and resources to care
for me and I can't give much back.

So there was a family meeting
and it was agreed

that I should move on
to the Next Emanation.

- You look appalled.
- It's not my place to judge your culture.

But from my perspective,
it's a little chilling to hear that.

Even though the family did it out of love,

and everyone was happy for me,

and they said they'd see me
when they got to the Next Emanation...

I have to admit there was a little voice
inside of me that is terrified of dying.

And since I've been talking to you,

that little voice has
started to get louder.

Another vacuole is forming. Tuvok,
Remodulate the shield harmonics.

It's no use. The vacuole is still forming.

Take the body to the ship's morgue.

This is odd. Three bodies have
appeared on Voyager so far,

and each one of them has released
some kind of neural energy.

In every case, the energy has passed
through the hull and out into the rings.

The frequency is identical to the
ambient radiation in the asteroid field.

The vacuoles are disrupting the warp
core. We'll lose antimatter containment.

The vacuoles have all formed
within 20 metres of the warp core.

Janeway to bridge.
Lay in a course.

I want to get at least
a half a light year away. Warp 7.

Paris to Janeway. We're out of warp,
0.6 light years from the ring system.

- Any other vacuoles forming?
- No.

The magnetic interlocks
have stabilised.

Work on a way to protect
the warp core from these vacuoles.

Sometimes I just
stare out at the stars for hours.

I never get tired of looking at them.

We were told we would see
beautiful sights in the Next Emanation -

colours, lights -

and that we would see them
with a new understanding.

But now...
What happened to the others?

My brother, my father
and everyone before them?

People die every day on my world.
Do they all end up as lifeless corpses?

When people die on my world,
we bury them,

and we believe that their comra
is released into the afterlife.

Their comra?

Our soul, our spirit,
the essence of our beings.

Maybe something
similar happens to you.

But you don't understand.
We don't believe in any kind of spirit.

When we die, we're supposed
to reappear as physical beings.

That's the point of sending people
through the spectral ruptures.

We're supposed to travel on to
the Next Emanation as ourselves,

and be reunited with our families.

But none of that is true, is it?

None of the people I love are here.

I'm alone.

I don't belong here.
I can't live like this.

Please, can't you send me home?

There is only one person on this ship
who could answer that question.

We're doing everything
we can to get you home.

Our missing officer
might be able to tell us enough to...

Captain, maybe there is a way to send
Ptera home and find Ensign Kim.

- Explain.
- What if we recreated the accident?

If Harry was pulled through the vacuole,

we could reproduce those
circumstances and send Ptera home.

We could send Ptera
through the transponder

and lock on to Kim
with the transporter beam.

So I can get home?

Ptera, there's no guarantee
this is going to work.

I understand,

but I've been dead once
and I'm prepared to die again.

So if there's a chance I can get home,
I'm willing to take the risk.

Prepare a subspace transponder
and teach Ptera how to use it.

Captain's log, supplemental.

We're preparing to send Ptera
back to her dimension.

Lieutenant Torres can protect
the warp core against the vacuoles,

but she is uncertain
how long her measures will be effective.

You understand the instructions
for Mr Kim if you find him.

We've got one forming
ten metres below us, deck 13.

Will your dampening field
protect the warp core?

The field is fluctuating slightly,
but holding.

Engineering to transporter room 3.
There's a vacuole forming on deck 13.

Magnetic interlocks are stable.

I see the vacuole. Locking on.

Good luck, Ptera.

I have a transporter lock. Energising.

Matching her pattern
to the subspace distortions... Wait.

I can't get her pattern through.

- Abort the procedure. Pull her back.
- I'm losing her pattern.

Shunt emergency power
into buffer tank 4.

That's it. I've got the pattern.

- She's dead.
- Can we revive her?

How long until we have to leave?

- We're safe for two hours.
- We have two hours to find Mr Kim.

Perform another subspace scan. This
time extend the scan radius to ten AU.

I'm on my way to engineering.

Ensign, beam her
onto one of the asteroids.

That's where she was meant to be.

I hope you find your afterlife, Ptera.

Why?

We want to scan
your microcellular structures

and examine your neurochemistry.
This facility isn't equipped for that.

The complex at Paffran
has everything we need.

If my ship is still searching for me,
they won't stay there forever.

- I have to get back.
- We don't know how you got here.

Maybe I can work out how to get back.
Let me look at a cenotaph.

There's no time. Word about
you has spread very quickly,

in the scientific world
and the community.

There are many people who are very
nervous about what you represent.

Some see you
as a threat to their beliefs.

We need to take you
to a more secure location.

It's for your own protection.

- Wait!
- I'm sorry, Harry.

It's out of my control.

- What are you doing?
- Preparing for the transference ritual.

This is a ceremonial shroud that's
been in my family for five generations.

You wrap yourself
in your own death shroud?

It's something
we look forward to, actually.

I remember when my father used
this shroud, his father before him.

The difference is
when my father put this on

there was no doubt in his mind
about where he was going.

Can't you just back out?
Say you've changed your mind.

I have thought of
just walking out and disappearing.

My friends in the Cararian Mountains
would let me stay with them.

But my family would worry about me.
They'd wonder what was happening,

if I was all right, if I were hurt.

No. Everyone's expecting a
transference ritual, and they'll get one.

What if you did disappear
into the mountains,

but your family thought you were dead?

They're here for a transference ritual,
right?

- Do you know what you're suggesting?
- It's perfect.

Those cenotaphs send you back to my
dimension, which is where I want to go.

Voyager's probably
still near the asteroid.

As soon as I appear, they'll pick up
my signal and beam me aboard.

And you, you can just disappear.

Your family will think you're dead,

and you can live out your life
in the mountains.

Harry, if you go into that cenotaph

and go through with the ritual,
you'll die.

If Voyager can beam me aboard
quickly enough,

our doctor should be able to revive me.

Medicine's pretty advanced
in our culture.

People have been dead for hours
and still been brought back to life.

- But it's not certain.
- No, it's not.

But I think this is
my only chance to get home.

The shroud must be wrapped properly.
I'll show you how, but we have to hurry.

I'm scheduled for transference
in less than an hour.

A pleasant trip, Hatil.

Say hello to Varel and Toyan.

I'll see you there in a few years.

We're joined here today to bid farewell
to our dear friend Hatil Garan.

We salute not only his life,

but the manner in which
he has chosen to end it.

He makes a noble sacrifice today that
his family may have a better tomorrow.

We send him on
to the Next Emanation

with the full knowledge that
the life there is better than the one here,

that he will no longer
be hampered by his infirmity

and that he will come
to understand the cosmos

in a way that he could
never have imagined.

Goodbye, Hatil. I love you.

Another vacuole. Deck 15.

The body of an alien female.

Chakotay to transporter room 3.
Transport the body to an asteroid.

Status on the warp core.

The dampening field's down to 21%.
The interlocks won't hold much longer.

I recommend leaving, Captain.

Very well. Mr Paris, bring us about.
Prepare to resume our...

I'm picking up
a vacuole forming on deck 12.

- It deposited a human body.
- Human?

But it's dead.

Janeway to Seska. Beam the body
on deck 12 directly to sickbay.

2 cc's cordrazine.

Relax, Mr Kim. Everything's fine.
You're alive.

- Mind if I join you?
- No, not at all. Please.

Thank you.

So how are you feeling?

Better.
I'll be ready for duty tomorrow.

- You're off duty for the next two days.
- Captain, I'm fine.

It's not your capabilities.

I just want to give you a chance
to reflect on what's happened.

This may not make much sense
to you now, a young man,

but one of the things you'll learn
as you get a little older is that...

you wish you had more time
in your youth

to really absorb all the things
that happen to you.

It goes by so fast.

It's so easy to become jaded,

to treat the extraordinary
like just another day at the office.

But sometimes there are experiences
which transcend all that.

You've just had one, and I want you
to live with it for a little while.

Write about it, if you feel like it. Paint.

Express yourself in some fashion.

- The bridge will be there in two days.
- Thank you, Captain.

I have been a little preoccupied
with the experience.

All those people think
they know what happens after death.

They look forward to it.
They're prepared for it.

But the truth is, none of it's real.

They don't have an afterlife.
They just decay inside those asteroids.

I wouldn't be so sure of that.

That neural energy their bodies release,

it becomes part of the electromagnetic
field surrounding the planet.

The energy is unusually dynamic.

There's variation in pattern complexity,
quantum density.

Are you saying
you think they do have an afterlife?

That the energy field is where they exist
at a higher level of consciousness?

I'm not certain.

But I am certain about this:

What we don't know about death is far,
far greater than what we do know.

See you in two days, Ensign.

Thank you, Captain.