tlynch@heights.CIT.CORNELL.EDU (Tim Lynch NN TESTER) (06/04/90)
WARNING: The following post contains a synopsis of this week's TNG episode, "Transfigurations", and as such contains spoilers. The author takes no respon- sibility for any spoilage (unless, like my friend Matt, you just got married today, in which case all bets are off...) The Enterprise is on a star-charting mission, exploring sectors previously unknown to the Federation. They pick up a faint distress call from a nearby planet, and find one humanoid, critically injured, under the wreckage of an escape pod. They beam him up (after stabilizing him a bit down planetside), and somehow, he recovers. Bev refuses to take credit for it, though--it's "John Doe", as they call him, who's responsible--his cells are regenerating themselves at an astounding rate, and some of them are mutating. He regains consciousness a couple of weeks after having been taken aboard, but doesn't know who he is. From here on in, things get seriously weird. Somehow, the cell mutations in John's body are linked to strange episodes of pain he's experiencing, and those in turn are linked to strange energy pulses that come from him. The first pulse, which hit Geordi moments after John was discovered, gave Geordi a strong boost of confidence with women. Later, though he has no control over his spo- radic energy bursts, and they in fact can prove harmful, he can also heal any sort of injury, such as O'Brien's dislocated shoulder. The mystery deepens. Eventually, (like another 2-3 weeks later) by analyzing some remnants taken from John's wrecked pod, Geordi and Data manage to figure out where his home planet is, and it's even along their course. By this time, though, John's re- gained just enough of his memory to know that he cannot allow himself to go home yet. He attempts to steal a shuttle, and accidentally kills Worf. He then revives Worf, effortlessly. Meanwhile, another vessel, heading towards the Enterprise at Warp 9.72, arrives. On it are people from the planet Zalkon, clearly John's home. The captain, Sunad, denounces John as a criminal and demands that he be turned over to them at once. When Picard, after some deliberation, refuses, Sunad triggers a weapon which makes everyone on board the Enterprise completely unable to breathe. Everyone, that is, except John, whose memory is now completely restored. He sends a bolt of energy through the entire ship, releasing everyone, and once on the bridge, plucks Sunad off his bridge onto the Enterprise. It seems that John is a transitional stage of Zalkonian evolution, and is about to progress beyond his physical body. Although those in authority have tried to kill those who are about to attain this ability as a threat to the "natural order", John's powers have now progressed to the point where he cannot be affected anymore. He sends the Zalkonian ship packing, and after bidding a tender farewell to Dr. Crusher, departs. Tim Lynch (Cornell's first Astronomy B.A.) BITNET: H52Y@CRNLVAX5 INTERNET: H52Y@VAX5.CIT.CORNELL.EDU UUCP: ...!rochester!cornell!vax5.cit.cornell.edu!h52y "We are talking the jape of the century lads. We are talking April, May, June, July, AND August Fools." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edited by Jim Griffith - the official scapegoat of rec.arts.startrek.info E-mail submissions to trek-info@scam.berkeley.edu or ...!ucbvax!scam!trek-info