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Old 10-03-2022, 04:32 AM
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September 28th, 1992, "Realm of Fear"


Expect plenty of Treknology nits with this one. You have been warned.


Fiver by Marc


The Episode


RIKER: The last report we have says they were observing the streamer at medium range.



What counts as "medium range"? Are there specific "medium range sensors"?


PICARD: Can we tractor them out?
DATA: No, sir. Ionic interference is too heavy.



Tractor beams don't work, but transporters do? That's just ridiculous...


BARCLAY: Commander, if we bridged our transporter system with theirs we might be able to cut through the ionic field.
LAFORGE: That's a good idea, Barclay. Captain, I think we can do it. We're going to bridge the two transporter systems.



How? If there's too much interference for a transporter lock, there should be too much interference for an interlink between the computers.


LAFORGE: Aye sir. Barclay, I'm going to need a systems engineer on this Away Team.



I found myself asking what a systems engineer does. They handle the interactions between the computers and other stuff. I'm not sure why one is needed on this mission, the stuff in "Hero Worship" seems more fitting.


BARCLAY: I'll ask Ensign Dern to join you.



There are actually two Ensign Derns on board. This one is an engineer, in Genesis a different one will serve as a Conn officer and die of Barclay's Protomorphosis Syndrome.



O'BRIEN: I'll have to send you over one at a time, Commander, because of band width limitations, and the transport cycle will take a little longer.
RIKER: How much longer?
O'BRIEN: Four, five seconds. About twice the normal time.



The transporter cycle is always five seconds. I think someone messed up their fact-checking with this one.



O'BRIEN: I'm afraid you're in for a bumpy ride, Commander.
BARCLAY: What do you? What exactly do you mean by a bumpy ride?
O'BRIEN: There may be a small amount of static charge accumulation. You'll feel a bit of tingling. It's nothing to worry about.



I kinda thought the whole idea of the transporter beam is that you're exchanging a cylinder of air from the destination with one from the origin. The transporter beam isn't skin-tight. If the static charge is distributed within the matter stream, wouldn't that muck up the rematerialization of the person's atoms, stopping them from forming living cells at the destination?



TROI: Reg, you were faced with a difficult transport. Anyone would have been apprehensive in that situation.



Yeah, but properly trained officers would suck it up.



BARCLAY: Actually, this isn't the first time I've been apprehensive. Every single time that I tried to do it, I had a certain feeling. I guess you could call it mortal terror.
TROI: Why have you kept it a secret?
BARCLAY: Why? Because my career in Starfleet would be over, that's why.



You gotta hand it to Reg, he cares so much about his career that he's willing to try to get a grip on this. It would be easy to ask for a planet-based post, but he believes in the Enterprise's mission.


BARCLAY: The idea of being deconstructed, molecule by molecule. It's more than I can stand. Even when I was a child, I always had a dreadful fear that if ever I was dematerialised that I would never come back again whole. I know it sounds crazy, but
TROI: It's not crazy about it. You are being taken apart molecule by molecule.



Ah yes, justifying mortal terrors. Great counseling work, Deanna.



TROI: Well, you might first try a relaxation technique, like plexing.
BARCLAY: Plexing?



There's a lively discussion on social media about the effectiveness of plexing. Some say this was a deliberate placebo invented by Troi. I'm not sure that qualifies as medically ethical. At least both Troi and Barclay did the plexing maneuver in later episodes to keep continuity.



The specific location mentioned corresponds with a Chinese acupuncture point that is responsible for regulating and calming the spirit. If it is a placebo, at least it's an educated placebo. The year after the episode was made a new placebo technique was invented called Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) that is sort of the same thing as plexing.



As an interesting Trek parallel, someone on the TrekBBS says that if you do it repetitively it'll make you pass out. Real-life nerve pinch?


LAFORGE: There was an explosion. That much we do know.
RIKER: Any idea what caused it?
LAFORGE: I've ruled out a reactor core failure.



Well, duh. The ship is still here. Maybe Troi and Neelix are too stupid to grasp this concept, but I'd expect Geordi to know better.


O'BRIEN: I know how you feel about this, sir.
BARCLAY: You're afraid of transporting, too?
O'BRIEN: No. Arachnids. Sickening, crawly little things, don't you think? All those legs.
BARCLAY: Spiders? They've never bothered me.



Brannon Braga wrote both this episode and "Genesis", where Barclay turns into a spider. Coincidence?


LAFORGE: Mission logs, science logs, medical logs, they're all scrambled. Looks like the blast wiped out the ship's core memory.



You'd think they could build these things to avoid EMP-like side effects.


BARCLAY: There was phased matter all around. At first I thought it was some kind of energy discharge, but then it flew toward me and it touched my arm. How could something be in there? Molecules flying apart, half phased? I mean, it's impossible, isn't it?



Yes, it is impossible. This plot is stupid.



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