Object
Internal Body Clocks (P2's Physiological Rhythms)
An invisible, molecular timing system housed within Picard Two's biology — an array of cellular oscillators and hormonal pulses that govern systemic synchronization. The mechanism offers no visible form but announces itself through symptoms: transient desynchronization, overlapping physiological markers, and the clinical possibility of two identical bodies briefly coexisting as their rhythms re‑align. Pulaski probes and names the process; Troi physically recoils and collapses under the empathic shock of P2's panic, while Picard recoils as certainty unravels.
2 appearances
Purpose
To coordinate an individual’s internal timing (circadian and related physiological rhythms); here it functions as the medical mechanism whose realignment explains the temporary duplication and normalization of Picard Two's body.
Significance
Serves as the story’s medical and dramatic hinge: it converts an abstract temporal paradox into a concrete physiological threat, destabilizes Picard's command through the literal possibility of doubling, and weaponizes P2's panic by exposing his desperate need for exile—heightening both personal and shipwide stakes.
Appearances in the Narrative
When this object appears and how it's used