Its trajectory is erratic. Our sensors aren't detecting anything
that could account for its motion.
Then it isn't a comet?
And yet it looks, feels and tastes just like a comet.
There's a chance there are magnetodynamic forces acting on it
that are too subtle for our sensors to detect.
Or it may be something we've never encountered.
B'Elanna, let's beam aboard a sample for examination.
Harry, lock onto a core fragment.
Having no trouble penetrating the crust.
- Janeway to Torres. We're ready. - Setting up a containment field.
- Field in place. - Commence transport.
Energising.
Hello. My name is Q.
Torres to Janeway. You'd better get down here, Captain.
That transport brought a man aboard.
He says his name is Q.
Red Alert. I'll be right down.
Don't bother, Captain. Let me take you to lunch instead.
What a pleasure it is to meet you.
It's been so long since I greeted anyone.
Here. Take a seat.
Allow me to make the setting more appropriate.
I am Kathryn Janeway, Captain of the...
Federation starship Voyager.
Yes. I know all that.
Welsh rarebit like your grandfather used to make.
Rabbit? She never told me she likes rabbits.
What is a rabbit, anyway? Is this some new chef?
Please, eat. It's to express my appreciation.
- Appreciation for what? - For releasing me from captivity.
You were being held against your will
inside the comet?
In a manner of speaking.
And you, all of you.
You're mortals, aren't you?
Who was holding you prisoner?
You only live for nine years.
- That's right. - How I envy you.
Why?
Because the one thing I want, more than any other, is to die.
I don't know what you want here, but I know who you are.
Every captain has been briefed about your appearances and...
My appearances?
You've mistaken me for...
Oh, well. No matter. I really must get on with my business
before the others realise I'm here.
When someone asks you about me, and they will, would you tell them...
I've had 300 years to think of appropriate last words.
I wanted something memorable. You know, quotable.
Would you tell them I said,
"I die not for myself but for you".
I know. Enigmatic. Provocative. They'll understand.
Well, goodbye to you all. Many thanks.
Here's the end of me.
Oh, dear. That's not right.
Torres to Janeway. All the men have disappeared.
Report to the bridge. Janeway out.
- Bring them back. Now. - Of course.
I'm a little out of practice.
That's that, I'm afraid. They're gone.
- Gone? Where? - Just gone.
I apologise for the inconvenience.
Good luck to you all.
- I really have to be going now. - Return my crew.
I'm not sure how.
Humans. Humans.
Who would have more recent experience with humans?
What have you done now, Q?
Now isn't this just fine?
Humans shouldn't be in this quadrant for 100 years.
I didn't bring them here.
- How did you get out? - We're responsible for that.
That's what we get for having a woman in the captain's seat.
I thought Riker would get this command.
May I assume you're the Q I've heard so much about?
Have you heard about little me? Do tell.
Has Jean-Luc been whispering about me behind my back?
Say, is this a ship of the Valkyries
or have you finally done away with your men?
There was a slight accident.
A slight accident? Let me guess. You were trying to commit suicide.
Now you see why we've locked him up for 300 years.
Facial art. How very wilderness of you.
Captain?
- We should be going. - I'm not leaving.
Captain Janeway, I demand asylum.
- This is a joke! - No, it isn't.
I'm asking you to grant me asylum
and give me protection from my enemy, which is him.
You ask humans to protect you from me?
Fat chance.
- What did you do to him? - Nothing.
He's in the 24th Century. I just took us to an old hiding place of mine.
- Report. - Captain...
- There are no stars outside. - Actually, there's no universe outside.
On screen.
- Commander? - There's a build-up of baryonic particles.
Perfectly normal.
It appears we've been transported back in time to the birth of the universe.
- Very old hiding place. - I know all the hiding places, Q.
I hid here from the Continuum myself once.
We will not survive the formation of the cosmos.
But think of the honour of having your DNA spread across the universe.
You could be the origin of the humanoid form.
Q, either Q, get us out of here.
You heard the lady, Q. Back to your cell.
- We're under attack. - By a ship?
By... I'm not sure what they are.
I don't believe this, but according to my readings,
we're being attacked by protons. We've been reduced to subatoms.
He'll never find us here.
See if you can release a positive ion charge to repel them.
Ready or not, here I am.
- Now what? - Checking.
We seem to be tethered to some kind of large... plant.
Let's see it.
Computer, I need a wider angle.
- You can't hide from me, Q. - And you can't take me by force.
I'll stalemate you for eternity.
The hell you will. The vaunted Q Continuum.
Self-anointed guardians of the universe.
How dare you endanger this crew with your personal tug-of-war?
Did anyone ever say you're angry when you're beautiful?
- We're back where we started. - I'm not going back to that cell.
Would you like to spend eternity as a Gorokian midwife toad?
- Just try it. - Stop!
You want asylum? Fine. We'll have a hearing.
A hearing? You would have me put his future into your delicate little hands?
So touchably soft! What is your secret, dear?
When a captain receives a request for asylum there is a procedure.
I suggest, to end your deadlock, and to save my ship, that we follow it.
This could go on for a millennium or two.
I accept on behalf of the Continuum on one condition.
If you rule in our favour, Q agrees to return to his confinement.
And if you rule in my favour, the Continuum must grant me mortality.
So you can kill yourself? Accepted.
This will be an amusing diversion.
Will you send him to prison for eternity or will you assist in his suicide plan?
Tough. But that's why they made you Captain. To handle the real tough ones.
My, my. Now I guess we get to find out whether the pants really fit.
- Am I interrupting anything? - I am curious.
Have the Q always lacked manners,
or is it the result of an evolutionary process that comes with omnipotence?
What? Oh, you mean just popping in whenever we feel like it.
- That is one relevant example. - I apologise.
I guess we just stopped thinking about the little niceties.
So it seems.
We're not omnipotent. No matter what the Continuum wants you to believe.
You seem powerful to life-forms without your technical expertise.
It's no different with us. We may appear omnipotent but believe me, we're not.
Intriguing. Just what vulnerabilities do the Q have?
Always looking for the tactical advantage, Mr Tuvok. Very good.
In fact, that's why I've come to see you.
In a way, our vulnerability is what this is all about.
As the Q have evolved, we've sacrificed many things.
Not just manners but mortality and a sense of purpose
and a desire for change and a capacity to grow.
Each loss is a new vulnerability, wouldn't you say?
- Why are you telling me this? - Because I want you to represent me.
Me? I have no legal expertise.
I need someone who understands Federation asylum practices.
Besides, Vulcans approve of suicide.
It is true that Vulcans who have reached infirmity do practise ritual suicides.
But I fail to see how that would be meaningful in this circumstance.
I have the right to counsel, Mr Tuvok. Will you assist me?
I expect all parties to act appropriately and with respect for these proceedings.
I will not have this hearing turned into a circus. Is that clear?
Is that clear, Q?
Madam Captain, this is an issue of great importance to the Q Continuum.
We take this matter very seriously.
Thank you. And please don't call me "Madam Captain”.
Since your asylum would lead to suicide, you place me in a difficult position.
- I understand. - Why do you want to commit suicide?
As difficult as it is for you to imagine,
for me, immortality is impossible to endure any longer.
In the Continuum, one is obliged to be responsible to the path his life follows.
His life will follow. Emphasise life.
I never yielded that obligation to the Continuum.
The path I choose leads to death. What right have they to interfere?
He's putting his wishes above everyone else's.
If I don't agree with the majority I'm to be locked up for eternity.
Only because you're intent on harming yourself.
With your permission, Captain, I would like to call an expert on the Continuum
to discuss the implications of our decision.
- Proceed. - I call myself to the stand.
Thank you for coming.
It's an honour to have someone of your reputation and accomplishment with us.
Tell me, what would be the impact of a Q suicide?
It would interrupt the Continuum. It would change the nature of Q.
- Can you be more specific? - No.
We're not sure what the result would be.
His suicide could have unknown consequences.
Precisely. It would force the Q to deal with the unknown
for the first time since the New Era began.
They're afraid of me because they're afraid of the unknown.
How would you characterise his remarks?
No Q has ever tried to commit suicide.
Immortality is one of the defining qualities of being a Q.
By every measure of the Continuum,
his remarks would have to be considered as mentally unbalanced.
Mentally unbalanced? No civilised people in the universe,
including the primitive Federation societies,
would condone the suicide of a mentally unbalanced person.
Can you offer any other evidence of mental instability?
What more do I need? He wants to kill himself.
Until this issue arose, he was known as one of your great philosophers.
- Is that not true? - Not now.
You judge him mentally unbalanced due to his wish to commit suicide.
I submit that is a faulty premise.
In many cultures, suicide is acceptable
and cannot be used as evidence of mental illness.
- I tend to agree with Mr Tuvok. - Vulcans.
Isn't it true that the Continuum has executed Q's for certain crimes?
- On rare occasions, yes. - Did that interrupt the Continuum?
Their crimes created the interruption. I know where you're going with this.
Our society, like any other, must control its disruptive elements.
An execution may be undesirable,
but on some rare occasions, it is necessary and warranted.
The decision to proceed is made only after great deliberation.
You cannot imagine the chaos that would be created
if individuals could choose life or death.
This is a matter of social order versus anarchy.
I understand. And you find nothing contradictory
in a society that outlaws suicide but practises capital punishment?
- No. - Any other questions, Lieutenant?
Just one other thing.
Were you yourself not once accused of being mentally unstable?
Were you not disciplined?
- Objection. - I'll allow the question.
My record has been expunged.
I will take that as a yes. Thank you. That is all.
You're excused.
If I may beg the court's indulgence, I have other witnesses.
To what end?
I'm here to argue for the majesty of life, what it means to be alive.
A Q's life takes him across the universe.
This Q's life has touched and affected many others, including some on Earth.
I want to call some of the people whose lives have been changed by this Q.
You want to bring people here from Earth?
It won't impact the time line and no one will remember having been here.
This is most unusual. Do you have any objection, Mr Tuvok?
I am as curious as you are, Captain.
Very well. Proceed.
Q. What the hell is going on?
My apologies, Commander. To you all. My name is Kathryn Janeway.
Captain Janeway. U.S.S. Voyager.
That's correct, Commander. You're aboard Voyager.
We're lost in the Delta Quadrant. I wish you could tell them that at home,
but your memories will be wiped before you get back.
God, if you let me live through this, I promise I'll clean up my act.
I demand an explanation! Why are you dressed like this?
- Have you looked in a mirror lately? - Allow me to explain, Mr...
Ginsberg. Maury Ginsberg.
- Sir Isaac Newton. - William Riker. Nice to meet you.
Consider for a moment that it might be possible to travel forward in time,
say to the 24th Century,
onto a starship 75,000 light years from Earth.
You're having a very strange dream,
and in this dream you're seeing this man, whom you've all met before.
Yes, I have. You were sitting under the tree the day...
- The day the apple fell on your head. - Yes, that's right.
Quite a day, wasn't it? This man jostled the tree when he got up to leave.
Just before the apple fell, yes.
And a new era in human science was born.
Wait a minute. Weren't you the guy in the Jeep?
The guy in the Jeep,
who picked you up after your vehicle broke down that afternoon.
- Isn't that right? - He was a life-saver.
My van died and he dragged it off the road because of all the traffic.
- You were on your way to a job. - I was meant to be on the follow spot.
I wouldn't have made it without him.
What happened with that groovy chick with the long red beads?
- I've been looking for her. - You'll see her again, don't worry.
You were a spotlight operator at an outdoor concert,
which was put in jeopardy before it began because the sound system failed.
Somebody must have shagged an extension chord with one of the trucks.
- I'm just lucky I noticed it. - The right place at the right time.
It would have taken days to find the problem
and there would have been no concert.
I'm sorry to say I have met him.
- But I've never seen this man before. - Are you sure?
My client has been in captivity during Commander Riker's lifetime.
Have you seen this photograph before?
Sure I have. That is Colonel Thaddius Riker after he was wounded.
They used to call him Old Iron Boots.
He was in command of the 102nd New York during Sherman's march on Atlanta.
This picture was taken in 1864, just after they let him out of the hospital.
And the soldier beside him?
I'll be damned. It's him.
He carried your wounded ancestor back from the front line.
Didn't you?
My point is, Captain, Q has had a profound influence on these lives.
Without Q, Isaac Newton would have died forgotten in a Liverpool prison,
a suspect in several prostitute murders.
Without Q, there would have been no concert at...
- Woodstock. - Wherever.
Mr Ginsberg would never have met his future wife,
the "groovy chick with the long red beads,"
or become an orthodontist, settled in Scarsdale with four kids.
- Far out. - Yes.
Without Q, there would have been no William T Riker.
And I would have lost a dozen good opportunities to insult him.
And lest I forget, without Q, the Borg would have assimilated the Federation.
Thank you. Thank you.
This is the life that Q treats without respect and would give up so easily.
May I remind this hearing and my learned colleague
that for three centuries my client has not been allowed contact with anyone.
I wish to reproduce his confined environment
- I object. - No.
I'll allow this.
These are the conditions my client would live in for eternity
if you deny him asylum.
We want him to reconsider his position.
- I will never change my mind. - This is your doing.
You could live a normal life if you were willing to.
Please return us to the hearing room.
The quality of life my client will have to endure
should be considered in this proceeding.
I don't like those conditions either, and I wouldn't want to spend a day there.
But I'm here to rule on a request for asylum,
not to judge the penal system of the Q Continuum.
And he does have a point.
You were confined to prevent you from harming yourself.
I've been doing a lot of research, studying cultural attitudes on suicide
to frame the basis of the decision.
Do you know the "double effect" principle on assisted suicide
from the Bolian middle ages?
I believe it relates to the relief of suffering.
"An action that has the principle effect of relieving suffering may be justified
"even though the same action has the effect of possibly causing death.”
This is the only thing I can find
that could convince me to decide in your favour, Q.
And yet you don't seem by our standards aged, infirm or in any pain.
Can you show us that you suffer in any manner
other than that caused by your incarceration?
Any suffering that would justify a decision to grant you asylum?
May I request a recess to consider our response?
Granted.
We're going to lose, aren't we?
We have not yet convinced the Captain of the validity of our argument.
You're doing a fine job, Mr Tuvok. I'm glad someone believes in me.
I'm representing your position to the best of my ability.
It is most definitely not my own.
I see no evidence that a life like yours should be wasted
simply because you are disgruntled.
Frankly, I see no logic to your position.
You... surprise me, Mr Tuvok, which is a rare and special gift to a Q.
But if only you knew what life as a Q were like, you would see the logic.
Then perhaps what we should do next
is take this hearing to see life in the Continuum itself.
Captain's log, supplemental.
I want to find an alternative to suicide or prison,
so I've summoned the advocate Q to make a proposal.
- What is it? - Come to the next session.
Say that the Continuum will reintegrate Q into your society,
that you won't condemn him to that cell for eternity.
And you will rule in our favour?
I would consider it a meaningful gesture by the Continuum.
How would you know if I intended to keep my word?
Based on my research, you have been many things -
a rude, interfering, inconsiderate, sadistic...
- You've made your point. - ...pest.
And you introduced us to the Borg. Thank you very much.
But one thing you have never been is a liar.
I think you've uncovered my one redeeming virtue.
Am I blushing?
I wish I could help you, Kathy, but we're dealing with a dangerous man.
I didn't tell you this, but one of his self-destructive stunts
ignited the 100-year war between the Romulans and the Vulcans.
No. This man goes back into his confinement.
But I would like to make it easier for you.
The Continuum is prepared to do you a little favour...
if we approve of your ruling.
Look out the window.
Now you see it, now you don't.
We are prepared to illustrate the nature of Q's suffering.
We must show this hearing what life is like in the Continuum.
- How do you intend to do that? - By going to the Continuum itself.
- Is this possible? - No, you would never understand.
We should inspect the conditions that led to my client's suffering.
I would agree with that.
- You have some crazy idea? - Yes.
- Only if... - Fine.
We've agreed on a format for this sojourn.
- But I still believe it's ill-advised. - I'll be the judge of that.
Whenever you're ready.
This is the Q Continuum? A road in a desert?
- I told you so. - This is a manifestation of it.
We hope this falls within your comprehension.
This way.
Good afternoon.
I apologise for their lack of hospitality. We're not used to visitors.
You're the only ones who've ever come.
Then what is the purpose of the road?
It takes us to the rest of the universe
then it leads back here, an endless circle.
This was your existence before?
I've travelled the road many times, sat on the porch, played the games,
been the dog, everything.
- I was even the scarecrow. - Why?
- Because I hadn't done it. - We've all done that. Big deal.
I can't say I entirely understand this but they don't seem to be suffering.
Of course not! They're happy people.
What's there to feel sad about? Look at them.
They don't dare feel sad. If they could, that would be progress.
The philosopher speaks.
When I was a respected philosopher,
I celebrated the continuity, the undeviation of Q life.
Our civilisation had achieved a purity that no other culture had approached.
And it was wonderful. For a while.
At the beginning of the New Era, life as a Q was a constant dialogue
of discovery and issues and humour from all over the universe.
But listen to their dialogue now.
- I'm afraid I cannot hear any. - Because it has all been said.
Everyone has heard everything, seen everything.
They haven't had to speak in ten millennia.
There's nothing left to say.
I appreciate a little peace and quiet now and again.
- It's ironic, isn't it? - I don't know what you mean.
You do. That you of all people should be arguing their case.
I believe in the purity of the Q.
You who was banned and made mortal to pay for your crimes?
My penance has ended. I'm a born-again Q. That life is behind me.
What a shame. In many ways, that life inspired me.
- It did? I did? - Yes. You never knew that, did you?
Q rebelled against this existence by refusing to behave himself.
He used his powers irresponsibly and all for his own amusement
and he desperately needed amusement because he could find none here.
I paid for my inappropriate behaviour.
No, we paid the price by forcing you to stop.
But for a moment you really had our attention. My attention.
You gave us something to talk about.
But then you surrendered to the will of the Continuum
and you've become a fine, upstanding member of it.
But I miss the irrepressible Q, the one who forced me to think.
May I borrow this?
This was the beginning of my fall from grace.
This was the last edition. They shut down the presses after I wrote that.
But I continued to speak out in favour of self-termination.
That's when he started trying to destroy himself.
We had to confine him for his own safety.
Not for my safety. For theirs.
I was the greatest threat the Continuum had ever known.
They feared me so much they had to lock me away for eternity.
And when they did that they were saying that the individual's rights
would be protected only so long as they don't conflict with the state.
Nothing is so dangerous to a society.
My life's work is complete but they force immortality on me.
And when they do that, they cheapen and denigrate my life
and all life in the Continuum.
Captain, you're an explorer. What if you had nothing left to explore?
Would you want to live forever under those circumstances?
You want me to prove I suffer in terms you can equate with pain or disease.
Look at us. When life has become futile, meaningless, unendurable,
it must be allowed to end.
Can't you see, Captain? For us, the disease is immortality.
We rest our case, Captain.
Very well. I'll make my ruling in the morning.
We'll be in recess until then.
Trouble sleeping?
Did you ever try warm Kylerian goat's milk?
- Get out. - Did you think about our offer?
- You mean your bribe. - An incentive to make the right choice.
It will play no part in my deliberations.
No, I told them it wouldn't.
So I talked them into giving you what you asked for.
You have my word. He won't go back to the cell.
We'll assign someone to look after him. Whatever it takes.
- It's what you wanted, isn't it? - That's what I wanted.
So you've won.
Let's celebrate. Just you and me. The two of us.
- What? - I'll take you home.
Before you know it you'll be with your little puppies,
the grass beneath your bare feet.
The man coming over the hill in the distance waves to you.
You run to be in his arms and as you get closer you see that it's... me.
- You? - Forget Mark.
I know how to show a girl a good time.
How would you like a ticker-tape parade?
The Captain that brought Voyager back. A celebrated hero.
I never did anything like that for Jean-Luc.
But I feel very close to you. I'm not sure why.
Maybe it's because you have such authority but still such femininity.
Leave.
We'll talk about this after the hearing tomorrow.
I've tried to reconcile the conflicting emotions I've felt during this hearing.
My own aversion to suicide. My compassion for your situation, Q.
It hasn't been easy.
I've tried to tell myself that this is not about suicide,
but about granting asylum.
That I am not being asked to perform euthanasia.
And as technically true as that may be,
I cannot escape the moral implications of my choices.
I've also had to consider that a decision to grant asylum
and the subsequent suicide of a Q
might have a significant impact on the Continuum.
That such a decision could change the nature of an entire society,
whether it be a favourable or unfavourable change, disturbs me.
But then there are the rights of the individual.
I don't believe that you are unbalanced.
And I do believe that you are suffering intolerably.
Under these conditions,
I find it impossible to support immortality forced on an individual.
The unforeseen disruption that may occur is not enough, in my opinion,
to justify any additional suffering by this individual.
So I hereby grant you asylum.
- May I see you in your chambers? - You've been in my chambers enough.
A sidebar, Your Honour. Only for a moment.
She ruled in my favour. You made a promise!
Nothing happened. Nothing!
My powers are gone! I'm mortal.
- So much for ticker-tape parades. - I'm not finished. Q...
Now that you're mortal, you have a new existence to explore.
An entirely new state of being, filled with the mysteries of mortal life,
pleasures you've never felt before.
I like this life, Q.
You might, too. Think hard before you give it up.
This hearing is adjourned.
Captain's log, stardate 49301.2.
We have assigned quarters to our new passenger,
who has entered his name on our crew manifest as Quinn.
I'm anxious to engage him in ship activities as soon as possible.
How about stellar cartography?
We could shut it down with his knowledge.
That will be a problem with everything.
- There's got to be something... - Sickbay to Captain Janeway.
- Go ahead. - You should come down here.
Mr Quinn is here. I'm afraid he's dying.
- There's nothing you can do? - He's ingested Nogatch hemlock.
There is no known cure.
I'm sorry to disappoint you, Captain,
but I would only have been pretending to fit in to this mortal existence.
This is my final gift to my people.
Tell them those were my last words.
I dearly thank you for making this... possible.
Do you keep samples of fatal poisons in storage?
- No. - The replicators will not produce them.
So how did he get his hands on Nogatch hemlock?
I got it for him.
- You assisted a suicide? - Illogical, Tuvok? I don't think so.
By demanding to end his life, he taught me something about my own.
He was right when he said the Continuum scared me back in line.
I didn't have his courage or his convictions.
He called me "irrepressible”.
This was a man who was truly irrepressible.
I only hope I make a worthy student.
I imagine the Continuum won't be very happy with you, Q.
I certainly hope not.
Au revoir, Madam Captain. We will meet again.