Star Trek The Next Generation
S2E7
· Star Trek: The Next Generation - Unnatural Selection

Authority at the Brink

In the Darwin Laboratory, a physically ravaged Dr. Pulaski struggles with her deteriorating condition while working to isolate the altered DNA causing the rapid aging contagion. Captain Picard asserts his command by insisting she and Data remain in the secondary lab for safety, prioritizing containment over her scientific fervor. Pulaski challenges this directive by revealing Data's imminent departure, forcing a confrontation that lays bare the tension between command authority and medical ethics. Her use of Picard's first name—a rare breach of protocol—intensifies the personal stakes, framing her defiance as protective rather than rebellious. This collision of duty and compassion becomes the crucible where leadership is tested against imminent mortality.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

1

Picard asserts command, ordering Pulaski and Commander Data to stay aboard for their roles, and Pulaski counters that Data is preparing to leave—escalating the immediate risk of separation and forcing a choice between duty and safety.

protective authority to heightened alarm

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain
 primary

Controlled urgency with underlying protectiveness

Picard stands at tactical remove from Pulaski's workstation, his commanding stance contrasting with her deteriorating condition. He asserts quarantine protocols through clipped directives ('You and Commander Data belong here') while wrestling with unexpressed concern—his strategic mind calculating containment risks against moral duty.

Goals in this moment
  • • Maintain biosafety containment protocols
  • • Prevent Pulaski from worsening her condition
Active beliefs
  • • Chain of command cannot be compromised during crisis
  • • Scientific curiosity must yield to containment priorities
Character traits
Tactically decisive Emotionally restrained
Follow Jean-Luc Picard's journey
Data
Second Officer
 primary

Neutral professionalism

Data remains physically present but operationally sidelined, his imminent departure mentioned strategically by Pulaski to challenge Picard's authority. His neutral posture embodies Starfleet protocol even as he becomes a pawn in their ethical struggle.

Goals in this moment
  • • Execute assigned scientific duties
  • • Maintain quarantine integrity
Active beliefs
  • • Regulations exist for collective safety
  • • Android immunity imposes duty to assist afflicted humans
Character traits
Procedurally compliant Logically detached
Follow Data's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

1
Riker's Neural-Invasive Microbe

The altered DNA sample serves as both scientific focus and unspoken timer—its irreversible mutations physically manifested in Pulaski's aged appearance, making it the biological warrant for her defiance. Though not actively handled during this confrontation, its presence charges the lab with dreadful urgency.

Before: Isolated but not stabilized under biocontainment protocols
After: Remains contained but scientifically unresolved
Before: Isolated but not stabilized under biocontainment protocols
After: Remains contained but scientifically unresolved

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Darwin Laboratory

The secondary lab's sterile confinement becomes both protective barrier and ideological battleground, its locked-down status physically manifesting the ethical divide between Picard's containment strategy and Pulaski's research imperative. Stark lighting heightens the rawness of their confrontation.

Atmosphere Clinically oppressive with suppressed urgency
Function Quarantine zone for ethical confrontation
Symbolism Represents institutional safety protocols conflicting with individual sacrifice
Access Sealed under captain's orders
Harsh biocontainment lighting emphasizing Pulaski's deterioration Hum of active but constrained scientific equipment

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

No narrative connections mapped yet

This event is currently isolated in the narrative graph

Key Dialogue

"PICARD: No, Doctor. You and Commander Data belong here."
"PULASKI: Commander Data is preparing to leave now."
"PULASKI: Jean-Luc... I appreciate what you're trying to do. But I got into this by leaping before I looked, and I won't allow you to make the same mistake."