Fabula
S1E24 · We'll Always Have Paris

Data Unveils Manheim’s Deadly Experiment and Dimensional Menace

On the Enterprise’s main bridge, Data painstakingly analyzes the labyrinthine scientific notes of Professor Paul Manheim, revealing that the professor’s foremost priority was destroying his own research to prevent catastrophe. This discovery exposes an active explosive device set to obliterate the lab and its occupants within minutes, underscoring the lethal stakes. Meanwhile, the crew confronts an even greater unknown: Geordi and Troi confirm that the erratic energy blasts hitting the ship originate from an unstable, unpredictable other dimension. Picard’s command is unflinching as he imposes a seven-minute deadline for the away team’s critical mission, while the crew grapples with the dual threats of imminent physical destruction and the possibility of being drawn irreversibly into another reality. This event marks a crucial turning point, deepening the scientific mystery, escalating tension, and amplifying the urgency that binds the crew’s actions and emotions.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

1

Data immerses himself in Manheim's notes on the computer, revealing the staggering complexity and groundbreaking nature of the scientific knowledge at stake.

analytical focus to awe

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

6

Determined and urgent, yet controlled, masking underlying tension about the crew's peril and the enigmatic threat.

Commanding the bridge with firm, urgent authority, Picard manages the crisis with precise orders and emotional restraint, balancing the lethal threat and unknown dimensional hazard while enforcing a strict seven-minute deadline for mission success.

Goals in this moment
  • Ensure the away team's timely success to prevent explosion and contain threat
  • Maintain operational control and crew focus amid escalating dangers
Active beliefs
  • The explosive device is an immediate lethal threat demanding swift action
  • The interdimensional blasts pose a serious, unpredictable danger to the ship and crew
Character traits
decisive authoritative calm under pressure empathetic
Follow Jean-Luc Picard's journey

Intellectually absorbed with a respectful solemnity given the lethal knowledge uncovered.

Methodically analyzing Professor Manheim's complex scientific notes and sensor data, Data reveals the existence of the rigged explosive device and explains the futility of waking the professor, underscoring the deadly precision of the photogenetic security code.

Goals in this moment
  • Decipher Manheim’s notes to understand the threat fully
  • Advise command on the explosive device’s nature and risks
Active beliefs
  • Manheim prioritized destroying his work over crew safety
  • The photogenetic code is the only barrier to disarming the explosive device
Character traits
analytical focused respectful meticulous
Follow Data's journey

Cautiously vigilant, fully engaged in protecting the ship and crew.

Assigned by Riker to carefully monitor the outer perimeter, Worf stands vigilant and alert, embodying disciplined readiness in anticipation of external threats during the high-stakes mission.

Goals in this moment
  • Secure and monitor the outer perimeter for threats
  • Support the away team's mission by ensuring external safety
Active beliefs
  • External threats may exploit vulnerabilities during internal chaos
  • Strong perimeter security is essential to mission success
Character traits
alert disciplined focused responsible
Follow Worf's journey

Resolute and determined to advance the mission efficiently despite risks.

Recommends immediate continuation of the mission without delay, delegating perimeter security to Worf, demonstrating decisive leadership and operational focus in the face of mounting danger.

Goals in this moment
  • Ensure the away team proceeds quickly to prevent detonation
  • Maintain ship security by assigning perimeter checks
Active beliefs
  • Delays increase the risk of catastrophic explosion
  • Worf is capable and reliable for security tasks
Character traits
decisive focused pragmatic supportive
Follow William Riker's journey

Concerned but composed, projecting calm to steady the crew through existential uncertainty.

Provides empathic interpretation confirming the multidimensional origin of the energy blasts, offering calm amid fear and emphasizing emotional steadiness to help the crew face the unknown.

Goals in this moment
  • Clarify the nature of the interdimensional threat to the command
  • Maintain crew morale and emotional balance under extreme stress
Active beliefs
  • The energy blasts are real and emanate from another dimension
  • Remaining calm is crucial to surviving the unpredictable threat
Character traits
empathetic calm reassuring insightful
Follow Deanna Troi's journey

Serious and analytical, aware of the unprecedented danger but focused on communicating findings clearly.

Reports new sensor readings to Picard, emphasizing the unique and unprecedented nature of the dimensionally sourced energy blasts, highlighting their unpredictable variability and potential threat to the ship’s integrity.

Goals in this moment
  • Provide accurate, real-time sensor analysis to command
  • Alert crew to the unpredictable nature of the interdimensional blasts
Active beliefs
  • The blasts represent a new, unclassifiable phenomenon
  • Understanding these blasts is critical to crew survival
Character traits
analytical serious precise detail-oriented
Follow Geordi La …'s journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

4
Terraforming Base Computer Screen and Data Display

The main computer screen on the bridge displays rapid, complex data scans of Manheim’s notes and sensor readings of the energy blasts, serving as a vital information nexus for Data and the command staff during the crisis.

Before: Active on the Enterprise’s main bridge, displaying scientific …
After: Continues active as the crew processes ongoing developments …
Before: Active on the Enterprise’s main bridge, displaying scientific and sensor data.
After: Continues active as the crew processes ongoing developments and threats.
Photogenetic Code

The photogenetic code functions as the impenetrable security mechanism preventing any manual disarmament of the explosive device, noted by Data as altered by Manheim himself, thus locking the crew into a lethal countdown and amplifying narrative tension.

Before: Encoded and active within the explosive device’s security …
After: Remains active and uncracked, continuing to deny disarmament.
Before: Encoded and active within the explosive device’s security system.
After: Remains active and uncracked, continuing to deny disarmament.
Professor Paul Manheim's Scientific Notes and Calculations on Dimensional Window

Professor Manheim's densely annotated scientific notes serve as the intellectual key in this event, meticulously examined by Data to reveal Manheim’s grim prioritization of destroying his research, thereby exposing the rigged explosive device and its deadly intent.

Before: In possession of the Enterprise’s main bridge computer …
After: Continues under analysis by Data, critical for understanding …
Before: In possession of the Enterprise’s main bridge computer system, partially destroyed and cryptic.
After: Continues under analysis by Data, critical for understanding and potentially disarming the threat.
Professor Manheim's Lab Explosive Device

The explosive device rigged within Manheim’s laboratory is revealed as an imminent lethal threat, triggered by the crew’s presence and set to detonate within ten minutes, its disarmament blocked by a complex photogenetic security code, commanding immediate and grave attention.

Before: Armed and active within Professor Manheim’s Laboratory, primed …
After: Still active and undisintegrated, countdown ongoing, endangering all …
Before: Armed and active within Professor Manheim’s Laboratory, primed for detonation.
After: Still active and undisintegrated, countdown ongoing, endangering all present.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Main Bridge

The USS Enterprise’s main bridge functions as the nerve center for crisis management, where Picard commands, Data analyzes critical data, and the crew confronts the lethal explosive threat while grappling with the destabilizing, erratic energy blasts from another dimension, creating a charged atmosphere of urgency and tension.

Atmosphere Tense and focused, filled with urgent commands, rapid data analysis, and a palpable undercurrent of …
Function Central command hub coordinating mission-critical decisions and information flow.
Symbolism Represents the heart of Starfleet authority and human resolve facing existential unknowns.
Access Restricted to senior officers and essential personnel during crisis.
Soft glow of tactical and scientific consoles Rapidly updating computer screens displaying Manheim’s notes and sensor data Ambient hum of ship electronics under stress

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

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Key Dialogue

"DATA: Professor Manheim's state of consciousness is of little use to us."
"DATA: It appears, sir, he was more interested in making certain his notes were destroyed than in our safety. When we came into the lab we triggered an explosive device. In less than ten minutes the lab and whoever is in it will cease to exist."
"TROI: Anything could happen. We're dealing with another dimension."