Blink of an Eye (Voyager episode)
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"Blink of an Eye" is an episode from the sixth season of , airing on January 19 2000.
Somewhere in the Delta Quadrant, the starship Voyager approaches an alien world which exhibits several unique properties. The planet's oddly squashed, toroidal shape suggests a giant doughnut floating in space; furthermore, sensors determine that the planet rotates at an extremely rapid rate, about once every second. Voyager crewmembers are fascinated by the strange world, and Captain Kathryn Janeway orders the ship to move closer. However, the ship quickly becomes enmeshed in severe gravity distortions and is pulled towards the planet. Helmsman Tom Paris attempts to maneuver the ship out of orbit, but is unsuccessful, and can only watch in horror as the ship appears to head on a collision course towards the planet.Suddenly, Voyager stops dead in its tracks. Apparently the ship has managed to find itself in a stable orbit around the planet, but at a cost: Voyager is stuck in place and cannot leave, as the warp drive is off line and any attempt to move the ship would only produce more unpredictable gravity effects which could endanger the vessel. All the crew can do is wait in orbit and scan the planet, in hopes of finding a way to leave. Seven of Nine determines that Voyager has essentially become a third pole, and the gravity waves which have trapped the ship in orbit will also cause occasional quakes on the planet. Voyager continues to scan the world, and makes an astonishing discovery: time passes at a much more rapid rate on the planet. For every second that passes on the ship, nearly a day goes by on the world below.
Meanwhile, on the planet, a primitive tribe of humanoids is gathering. The local medicine man is preparing a sacrifice (of plants and other fruits which grow there) to Tahal, one of the brighest stars in their sky, worshipped as a god by the natives. Suddenly, massive quakes occur, and a new star, even brighter than Tahal, appears in the sky. The medicine man is instructed to prepare a new altar - to celebrate the new deity who has suddenly appeared in the sky: Voyager.
In orbit, Voyager crewmembers are still no closer to finding out how to leave orbit. They continue to observe sensor readings from the planet, watching the seasons come and go right before their eyes. Sensor probes are launched, and make their way towards the planet.
...where several centuries have passed, and the inhabitants are now at a level approximating the Middle Ages of Earth. The local village Protector emerges from his castle and enlists the aid of his Cleric in an attempt to contact the "sky ship" which has been in the sky for hundreds of years. The two men draft a written note, asking the unknown crew of the "sky ship" if they would care to stop the tremors which continue to shake their world. After placing the note into a hot air balloon and launching it toward the heavens, they wonder whether anyone will ever read their message.
On Voyager, Chakotay and B'Elanna Torres observe the changes which spring to life in seconds on the planet below. The inhabitants quickly (from Voyager's perspective) develop a system of roads and buildings which contain much more iron than any species at that technological level would be expected to use - perhaps in response to the quakes which Voyager is unknowingly causing. More centuries have passed on the planet, which now appears to be on the level of 1930's or 1940's Earth. Radio astronomers are attempting to contact Voyager, sending lists of prime numbers and other astronomical constants which any sentient species should understand. While doing so, the scientists debate who the crew of the sky-ship (which astronomers are beginning to locate with telescopes) might be, and proudly boast of the endless series of "sky ship friends" (toy replicas of Voyager) which they all own. After another quake, they attempt to send a voice message...which, after some doing, Voyager crewmembers manage to decipher and translate. Tom Paris wants to reply, saying that the inhabitants deserve an answer, but those who have sent the message are already long dead.
The Doctor, being a hologram, will be unaffected by the sudden change in time frames, and so is selected to journey to the planet's surface and observe its inhabitants. The Doctor intends to remain there for only a few days, planet time, but after Voyager briefly loses contact with him, the Doctor is left on the surface for over three of its years. After returning to the ship, he enthusiastically reports on what he has seen: Voyager has had much more of an effect on the planet than anyone could have predicted. Voyager, simply by its presence, has encouraged art, music, technology, architecture, literature, and even religion, all inspired by the ship in orbit. Furthermore, the 26 states on the planet below are all engaged in a space race to see who can make contact with the sky ship first. The Doctor sadly reports that some of these states would, if they could, aim their weapons at Voyager.
Fortunately, the first expedition from the planet (now on a late 1960's/early 1970's technological level) is peaceful. A space capsule, reminiscent of Earth's Gemini or Apollo space programs, docks with Voyager. Alien crewmembers Tureena and Gotana-Retz board the ship, but soon fall ill because of the shock to their systems. Tureena dies in sickbay but Gotana-Retz is successfully treated, and gazes with awe at the insides of the ship which he has dreamed of visiting all his life. His reverie is cut short when Voyager is hit by antimatter weapons from the planet; Gotana-Retz apologizes for the attack but Janeway counters that his people have every right to defend themselves against the quakes which still shake their planet. Gotana-Retz returns to his homeworld and convinces his people to break off the attack. By now, the natives' technology is equal to Voyager, and two starships appear in orbit and tow Voyager to safety. Janeway thanks Gotana-Retz and his people, and prepares to resume the long journey to Earth.
Some time later, Voyager successfully breaks orbit, while, on the planet below, decades have passed, and an elderly Gotana-Retz wistfully watches as his people's beloved Sky Ship vanishes. As the camera pulls back, we see that he is sitting on the same spot where, thousands of years ago, his primitive ancestors celebrated the Sky Ship's arrival...and now, a glittering technological metropolis stands on the site, a testimony to the lasting effects of Voyager and its crew.
Trivia
When the Doctor is briefly lost on the planet, Voyager crewmembers attempt to locate him by scanning the largest cities for major arts centers, opera halls, and concert venues. This is an allusion to the Doctor's enthusiasm for music and the fine arts, developed in earlier episodes.In the Voyager anthology novel Distant Shores, the planet's natives are called Tahal-Isut. Their world is named Tahal-Meeroj.
In the Middle Age era of the planet, the village leader is known as a Protector. The term carries forward into future eras of the planet, whose eventual world government is known as the Central Protectorate. Also, when the Cleric is drafting the written note which he will send to the Sky Ship, we see that he is writing in English — presumably a blooper because at that state in history they had no idea what the inhabitants of Voyager were like (they were still to send prime numbers).
When the radio astronomers are trying to send a message to the "sky ship", we see that the walls of their laboratory are lined with handholds — bars which can be gripped quickly in an emergency, undoubtedly because of the constant quakes.
This episode bears strong similarities in plot to the science-fiction novel Dragon's Egg, in which a time-accelerated society of creatures living on the surface of a neutron star is stimulated to develop culture & science in response to a human spaceship appearing nearby.
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