"Regeneration"

Written by Mike Sussman and Phyllis Strong
Directed by David Livingston


In which some foolish scientists revive some Borg trapped for a century under the Arctic ice, leaving Enterprise to stop them from doing some really bad things...

Synopsis - Analysis - Memorable Quotes - Observations


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Synopsis

As the episode begins, a Starfleet research team lands near some mysterious wreckage in the Arctic. The three main scientists look around, and one of them find a body frozen just below the surface of the ice. It is clearly recognizable as a Borg drone, though of course, none of the scientists know what they are looking at.

The research team calls in for more support. One of the scientists finds another body, this time on the surface. The first body turns out to have part of one arm missing, which the scientists manage to extract. They bring the bodies back to a temporary research facility for study. The scientists are amazed by the integration of cybernetic parts with biological systems, as well as the bizarre genetics and advanced technology evidenced in the bodies and wreckage.

Without warning, one of the systems on the severed arm begins to move, then stops just as suddenly. The scientists study tissue samples from the bodies, and find that some kind of nanotechnology is rapidly repairing the damaged cells. The head scientist decides that the bodies should be kept under observation, to see where the regeneration leads.

Meanwhile, one of the other scientists determines that the wreckage must have come from a vessel shaped like a perfect sphere. She also finds evidence of a warp signature within the wreckage. Back in the research “tent”, the other scientist is shocked when one of the bodies begin to show lifesigns. The body takes a breath, and then focuses on the scientist.

The remaining two scientists rush to the tent when they hear screaming, and find that their colleague was attacked. Something is spreading just under the skin from punctures in the neck. Before they can react, the revived drone approaches the scientists.

Admiral Forrest is informed of problems with the excavation team, and Starfleet sends a security team to investigate. They find only remains of the research facility, and no sign of the scientists’ shuttle. Also, much of the recovered wreckage is gone.

Out in space, Archer briefs his command staff on their new mission. According to Admiral Forrest, the scientists’ shuttle transport was detected leaving Earth at warp 3.9, which isn’t supposed to be possible. Along with a copy of the information gathered by the research team, Forrest sends Archer orders to intercept the stolen vessel.

In sickbay, Reed consults with Phlox regarding the data on the unknown aliens. Reed wonders if the cybernetic implants might contain weaponry. Reed wants to know how the aliens could have overpowered the well-armed research team.

Hoshi intercepts a distress signal from a ship being attacked by the unknown cyborgs. Enterprise arrives as the unknown aliens are ripping into the distressed ship. The aliens fire on Enterprise, which is also a new upgrade to the science transport. Using phase cannons, Enterprise takes out the weapons on the science transport. When the transport turns to leave, Archer elects to stay behind and see if there are any survivors on the ship that was attacked.

Soon, Phlox informs Archer that the two Tarkelians saved from the attacked ships have been infected by some kind of rapidly reproducing nanoprobes. Already, devices have been constructed inside the Tarkelians, replacing organs and adding cybernetic systems. Phlox doesn’t think that there is any way to eliminate the nanoprobes, but he wants to keep the patients in sickbay for treatment. Archer, wary, leaves a guard posted.

A bit later, Archer tells T’Pol about something that the incident had reminded him of. Eighty-nine years earlier, Zephram Cochrane had told a graduating class at Princeton how his first warp flight had been threatened by strange cybernetic aliens. Cochrane had gone on to talk about how humans helped save the flight, and how both the humans and the aliens had been from the future.

T’Pol, of course, notes how Cochrane used to drink heavily, and Archer is also forced to admit that Cochrane later recanted. But Archer finds an archive file that mentions the speech, and notes that Cochrane claimed that the aliens were trying to enslave the human race. Archer wonders if the aliens, now revived, are trying to contact their homeworld in a renewed attempt.

In sickbay, the Tarkelians awaken, and one of them immediately attacks Phlox, injecting the doctor with nanoprobes. After taking out the guard, as the nanoprobes begin to spread through Phlox’s system, the Tarkelians escape into the maintenance shafts.

Archer and a security team arrive shortly, and Archer sends Reed after the Tarkelians. Archer promises to help Phlox with his self-treatment however he can. Reed’s team tracks down the Tarkelians as they progress through the ship. The Tarkelians stop in a large maintenance area and begin stripping away panels. Meanwhile, T’Pol informs Archer that the modified transport has been found again, and they set a course to intercept.

Reed’s team finds the Tarkelians, but the phase pistols are proven to be less than effective. Reed is forced to fall back, especially when the altered Tarkelians go on the offensive. As it becomes obvious that the Tarkelians are doing something bad to the plasma manifold junction, Archer orders Reed to take his team out of that section. As soon as Reed’s team is clear, Archer orders T’Pol to space the Tarkelians.

Archer orders Reed and Trip to determine what the Tarkelians were doing to the junction. Meanwhile, Hoshi tries to help Phlox by bringing food for him and his animals. Hoshi offers to stay and keep Phlox company, but the doctor firmly tells her to leave for her own safety. However, Hoshi’s sentiment does not go unappreciated.

Reed and Trip find it difficult to understand what the Tarkelians were trying to achieve. Reed is bothered by the shielding that the Tarkelians demonstrated against the phase pistols, and chooses to go to the armory to attempt increasing the particle yield.

Archer finds T’Pol in the mess, and it’s clear that Archer is struggling with the possibility that the human scientists and the remaining Tarkelians may not be able to be recovered. T’Pol thinks that destroying the altered transport may be the only real option. Archer, however, is not ready to declare those infected as a lost cause.

Phlox asks Archer to come to sickbay. It’s clear that the nanoprobes are progressing, despite the robust Denobulan immune system. Having failed at dealing with the nanoprobes as a disease, Phlox has been researching the use of radiation against the technology. He believes that omicron particle radiation could be used to disable the nanoprobes, but even if one probe remains, the treatment would be moot. Therefore, he intends to expose himself to a massive burst of the omicron particles as a last resort. He gives Archer a neural toxin that cane be used if the radiation therapy doesn’t work.

Reed manages to maximize the yield on the phase pistols, just in time for Enterprise to catch up with the altered transport. Already, the transport is showing signs of even more advanced alterations. As Enterprise runs them down, the transport sends an activation sequence. The circuits added to Enterprise take out most of the primary systems, and the transport comes around to take control of the crew.

While Trip works frantically on removing the cybernetic technology, Archer grabs Reed and risks using the transporter to get over to the altered transport. As Phlox prepares his therapy, he begins to hear voices in his head. He knows that he needs to act quickly, before his will is no longer his own. The treatment is obviously painful and intense.

Archer and Reed materialize on the transport, with the new phase pistols in hand. They find the transport heavily altered on the interior as well, and it doesn’t take long before they are shooting at active drones. Archer recognizes one of them as the female scientists from the Starfleet research team. Archer and Reed rush around the transport, as some of the cyborgs board Enterprise.

Archer and Reed find the retrofitted warp engine as a security team engages drones on Enterprise. Without the high-power phase pistols, the defense doesn’t last very long, and security is forced to retreat. Reed sets explosives on the warp engine while Archer covers him with the boosted phase pistols. Just as the drones begin to adapt to the weapon and begin to carve a hole into Enterprise, Archer calls for T’Pol to extract him and Reed.

Once back on the ship, Archer activates the explosives, taking out the power systems on the transport. Luckily, Trip manages to disable the modifications to the Enterprise power systems, bringing the weapons back online. The drones on Enterprise retreat to the transport, and very quickly, the damage to the transport begins to repair itself. Before that can happen, Enterprise fires a heavy barrage, destroying the transport.

Afterward, Archer learns that Phlox is expected to recover completely, though it will take a great deal of time to heal. Phlox tells Archer about the voices in his mind while he was infected, positing a group consciousness. However, Phlox notes that he remembers a numerical sequence, linked to the feeling of sending a subspace message.

Later, Archer informs T’Pol that the information provided by Phlox shows that the cyborgs sent the coordinates of Earth were sent to someplace in the Delta Quadrant. By T’Pol’s reckoning, that message would arrive in about 200 years, in the mid-24th century. Archer figures that they only managed to postpone the inevitable invasion.


Analysis

With the introduction of the Borg to the 22nd century, “Enterprise” has definitively stepped into the worst of the continuity messes created by “Voyager”. Ever since the Borg were introduced in “Next Generation”, their popularity has led to more and more contrived appearances. In truth, the damage began before “Next Generation” was completed, and the worst blow was dealt by “Star Trek: First Contact”. Even when the Borg appeared on “Voyager”, it could have been justified, if the execution of that concept had been handled with more care.

As it is, the original conception of the Borg no longer fits the revisionist version that has taken its place since “Voyager” retooled the Collective, so trying to make sense of the Borg in the context of the entire franchise continuity is impossible. Part of the problem is temporal mechanics in general. Star Trek writers have drifted from one explanation and concept of temporal mechanics to another over the years, and the result is a complete inability to maintain a consistent set of rules for the franchise.

At the core, Trek temporal mechanics follow a general theory that states that any change in a given timeline outside of the normal flow of time creates an alternate timeline which then becomes the new “normality”. In some cases, this is interpreted as “erasing” the previously established timeline, but that’s not quite how it is treated.

Rather than treating the Trek franchise as having one “root” timeline, which is changed by any trips to the past by future intervention, the overall theory sets up a more flexible and organic timeline concept. In essence, once someone or something goes back in time, they have already removed themselves from their original timeline. By the rules of the franchise, the initial travel back in time will always take you back to a point within your timeline. But once the change is made, you are not guaranteed to go back to your original timeline.

Instead, once the change is made, it initiates a decision point. At that point, there is the original timeline where event “A” occurred. But now that has been replaced by event “B”. By temporal theory, “B” would not replace “A”, but would instead result in two alternatives. Both events “A” and “B” would continue forward into infinite possible futures, at least some of which are going to be similar (since infinite means that there are always going to be futures that result from both events, regardless of how different they are).

The time traveler, then, cannot know whether or not they are definitively returning back to the same exact timeline from which they left. In fact, the likelihood is almost zero that one would return to the same exact timeline, even if it was “restored”. What one would actually do is return to one of any number of possible futures that are indistinguishable from the original timeline of the person traveling through time.

Though there are any number of examples that one could use in the Trek franchise to illustrate the concept, the events of “Star Trek: First Contact” pertain the most to this episode. Leaving aside the illogical plans of the Borg, which frankly made no sense in light of temporal mechanics, the arrival of the Borg much earlier than previously established in the franchise continuity had a typical effect.

The arrival of the Borg and the subsequent activity by the crew of the Enterprise-E represents a series of events that would spawn an infinite number of possible futures, at least some of which would be effectively identical to the existing future seen in “Next Generation”. In essence, it would still be possible for a single timeline to exist which includes the events of “Enterprise” yet also results in the same future as previously portrayed.

Where this all falls apart, in terms of the writing, is a lack of commitment to that theory and the subsequent concepts. By the rules that are established and simple logic, it’s actually possible to say that any given episode of every series could be considered to be snapshots from a vast number of alternate yet generally similar possible futures. In other words, the episode that introduced the Borg on “Next Generation” was a completely different timeline/future than the one shown in this episode of “Enterprise”. Hence, one does not impact the other.

Of course, this is completely unsatisfying, and it flies in the face of what the writers imply: that these constant temporal incursions actually impact one definitive timeline. Unfortunately, the writers cannot easily have it both ways. The only real solution to that problem is an almost endless series of changes that conveniently erase the consequences of certain events and redirect the timeline into the futures that have previously been revealed.

The result is a continuity that needs to account for dozens, if not hundreds, of alternate timelines, which would branch out from depicted events like haphazard tapestries, eventually connecting together when all the stories are told and all the changes are set in stone, allowing the necessary plot contrivances to be inserted to make it all work.

While that’s perfectly logical in terms of temporal mechanics, it’s extremely disappointing for any fan with any appreciation of a cohesive continuity. This is a perfect example of why other genre series try to place limits and rules on the temporal mechanics within their series’ mythologies. Without a clear set of rules, the only way to explain away apparent inconsistencies is to simply accept that anything depicted can only be considered part of a short-term continuity.

The writers have introduced more than a few ideas to allow for this, not the least of which is the Temporal Cold War. This is an obvious plot device for doing anything during “Enterprise”, since at the end, something could occur in the TCW that reboots events to match those in the earlier series in the franchise. Beyond that, there are the “temporal authorities” depicted in “Voyager”, which also serve the same purpose.

Ultimately, it’s possible that all of “Enterprise” will actually fit within the series continuity, in terms of what ought to be known. After all, on the original series, rules on time travel and warnings about changing history are already in place. One could contemplate whether or not those rules were put into effect because of what happens on “Enterprise”. Starfleet and the Federation could recognize that something happened, even if the details are no longer available or known. The result could be the rules against time travel, as well as groups like Section 31.

In terms of this specific episode, taking the worries over continuity out of the equation helps one enjoy it. Taken on its own merits, this episode works well. In the absence of any other information, Phlox develops a reasonable solution to the problem of his infection by the nanoprobes, and there is a nice bit of characterization for Archer in this episode. One could easily see how these events continue to push Archer into being more and more authoritative and reactionary.

There are the obvious criticisms. The actions of the Starfleet research team make little sense. It’s obvious that Starfleet is aware that there is something unusual in the Arctic, so why not send in more than a handful of researchers with absolutely no sense of self-preservation? The scientists make bad decision after bad decision, as though odd cybernetic creatures that can repair themselves are nothing new!

At first, it seems wrong that there should be so much intact technology, considering that it is supposed to have fallen from out of orbit. Not only that, but would there have been bodies left intact by the impact, let alone above the ice? Probably not…but at the same time, there are those self-repairing systems that must have been working hard over the previous 100 years or so.

It also seems a little too convenient to have the Borg choose a course that takes them directly to Enterprise before the point where the reviving technology reaches a point beyond the defense of those in the 22nd century. It is, however, a great touch to have the Borg slowly redevelop skills and capabilities, so that Archer and the others aren’t outmatched. However, that does leave the audience with an odd impression that the Borg have been retooled so that Reed’s simple amplification of power is enough to overcome their defenses.

The final scene adds a nice touch, while at the same time firmly placing this episode on the fence in terms of how time travel is treated. It’s hard to understand how records regarding this episode could have been lost before Kirk’s time, let alone how Starfleet could have forgotten that they knew something odd was happening (why else would they send the researchers?). But at the same time, the writers make it clear that this is how the Borg learned about Earth, and why they were coming in the 24th century. It makes one wonder if Q intentionally gave Picard some kind of advance knowledge of the Borg, pretending to be judging them harshly while actually trying to help them see what was happening along the Neutral Zone.

In the end, this episode stands well enough on its own. There are plot contrivances, but overall, the episode does what it is intended to do. The biggest argument against it is the apparent dismissal of huge amounts of continuity, but at this point, the moot is more or less moot. Continuity can only be fixed by a massive “deus ex machina”, which no matter how clever it is, will be regarded as the worst cheat in the history of the franchise.


Memorable Quotes

There wasn’t a distinctive or clever quote in the entire episode, which was rather surprising, since this was hardly the worst episode of the series!


Observations

- Wow. An actual teaser...

- Could this episode have been channeling “The Thing” a little more?

- Nice mention of the Bynars, which of course were featured in the first season of “Next Generation”...

- Good effects for the various Borg-ish attack sequences!

- The addition of Borg elements to the Enterprise, however, was very poorly done...way too fake...

- Spacing the Tarkelians was an interesting if blatant way to keep Borg technology available for future episodes!

- Wait a second...is that actually a scene where Hoshi is showing some kind of character interaction?!?

- I like the transporter effect, but what’s with the oddly jumpy shot of the transport console?

- Time stamp: March 1, 2153...

Overall, this episode suffers from the mortal wounds that it delivers to an already punch-drunk franchise continuity. However, taken on its own, this is a fairly competent episode, plot contrivances aside. It ought to be interesting, if frustrating, to see how these events are dealt with as the series progresses.

I give it a 7/10.


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