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A Matter of Time

Captain's Log, Stardate 45349.1.

The Enterprise is on its way to Penthara Four

where a type "C" asteroid

has struck an unpopulated continent.

The resulting dust cloud could very well create a phenomenon

not unlike the nuclear winters of 21st century Earth.

Commander La Forge has begun work on a plan

that would counteract the devastation.

I'm afraid the numbers coming in are already indicating climatic changes, Commander.

What kind of drop can we expect?

If the Pentharan spheral forecasts are correct,

10 to 12 degrees Celsius within the first ten days.

If it continues like that, their entire ecosystem will be shot to hell.

And I doubt if they are prepared to cope with the kind of cold that's coming.

PICARD: Commander Riker? Yes, sir.

Would you join me on the bridge please?

RIKER: Right away, sir.

Are you certain, Mr. Worf?

There was a space-time distortion, sir.

And there is something back there.

We passed within 300 kilometers of it.

That's too close to be a coincidence.

Mr. La Forge.

LA FORGE: Yes, Captain?

Would a delay of one hour affect your plans?

Not unless another asteroid decides to play a call on Penthara, sir.

The odds of that occurring, Captain, are extremely unlikely, given the time frame.

Thank you, Mr. Data.

Ensign, bring the ship about.

Let's take a look at Mr. Worf's distortion.

Aye, sir.

Mr. Worf's what?

The lieutenant's sensors have detected a temporal distortion almost in our current course.

There's a small object back there that wasn't there a few moments ago.

The object is 50 kilometers ahead, sir.

Full stop, Ensign. Aye, sir.

On screen.

RIKER: Dimensions, Worf?

Approximately five meters in length, sir.

Life signs?

No signs of any kind.

Our sensors do not penetrate the hull.

Try hailing it.

Now, that's odd. What's odd?

We've received a response, but...

Yes, Mr. Worf?

They want you to "move over," sir.

Reply that the Enterprise isn't going anywhere, lieutenant.

Not the Enterprise, Captain-- you.

What are you trying to tell me, Mr. Worf?

Oops. Excuse me, Captain, but you were standing right where I needed to be.

Who are you?

Rasmussen's the name, sir.

Professor Berlinghoff Rasmussen.

Oh, this is wonderful.

Actually, quite a bit larger than I thought.

Really?

Where I come from, every historian knows the bridge of old 1701-D.

And where, exactly, do you come from?

Why, Earth.

The late 26th century Earth, to be exact.

I've traveled back nearly 300 years just to find you.

PICARD: Space, the final frontier.

These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise.

Its continuing mission--

to explore strange new worlds,

to seek out new life and new civilizations,

to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Exactly what kind of historian are you?

Oh, my focus is on the 22nd through the 24th centuries-- early interstellar history.

You know, it was always believed this was on your desk, not here.

Fascinating.

Don't you move it on my account.

You can't expect me to believe that the layout of my ready room can possibly be of interest to future historians.

Oh, no less so than your legendary modesty, Captain.

I wish I could describe to you what a thrill it is to be here.

This is the original.

You flatter me, Professor.

But I can't help but wonder what could possibly have caused you to select me as a subject for your study.

Even in this decade, there are... far wiser and more experienced humans in and out of Starfleet.

I'd love to tell you, Picard,

I really would, but... try and imagine what a young Caesar might have done differently had someone given him a hint of what lay ahead, or if Lincoln had been coerced into changing his theater plans.

I truly wish I could be more specific on why you were selected, but I'm afraid the exchange of information will have to flow in one direction only.

Five, six, seven meters.

Ha! I was right.

Why now? LA FORGE: Right.

If you've come back to study us, to study the captain, why did you pick today?

Why not a year ago? Or a year from now?

Oh, I picked the right day, all right.

Just wait. You'll see.

Um... do you always sit there on that side of the table?

Usually. Why?

It's... not important.

Professor, at what point does time travel become a tool for historians?

Now, now, Commander, you know better than that.

I've studied a great deal about your century, including the fact that you're all quite aware of the dangers of anyone altering the past, and that's exactly what I'd be doing if I were to divulge information like that.

Telurian plague.

Beg your pardon?

The Telurian plague-- was it cured?

I mean, did they find the cure by your century?

Oh, it can't do any harm to ask that.

I realize that it's difficult, but we must keep to ourselves questions about the future.

Go on, Professor.

I'll be preparing questionnaires for each of you.

Please complete them at your convenience.

If you're concerned about a possible breach of security,

I'm sure your captain can make a determination.

And, thank you in advance for curbing your curiosity.

If I hand my assignment in on time, can I get a glimpse into next week's poker game?

( chuckling )

Mr. Data, would you escort the professor to his quarters?

This way, sir.

What did he mean he "picked the right day"?

You know everything I do, Number One.

Deanna?

It's hard to tell, but he is holding something back.

CRUSHER: Well, of course he is.

All the things he could tell us.

All the things he would like to tell us.

It might be that. I don't know.

What if he's an imposter?

God knows we've seen enough of them.

Well, he is human. The medical scans have proven that, right, Doctor?

He's human, all right.

And there was a temporal distortion back there, correct, Mr. Worf?

Yes, sir.

And no one can deny that that ship of his is unlike anything we've ever seen.

LA FORGE: The hull is made of some kind of plasticized tritanium mesh.

We've nothing like it on record.

At least, not until now. Hmm.

Mr. Worf, I do appreciate your caution.

I share it.

Bring his vessel into the shuttle bay.

Place it under guard. Yes, sir.

( sighs ) I realize that this... visit is going to be difficult for some of us.

But I've examined his credentials and everything seems to be in order, so I think we should extend to him every courtesy.

Including questionnaires?

Including questionnaires, Mr. Worf.

This is really a thrill, Data.

Like running across a Redstone missile, or a Gutenberg bible.

To think-- the model "T" of androids.

If you were referring to the first production model automobile of the 20th century, perhaps the subsequent model "A" would be a more apt analogy, since I am Dr. Noonian Soong's revised prototype.

I stand corrected.

Is there a problem, Professor?

Hmm, I suppose it will have to do... for now.

I'll get you a list of the things I'll be needing, okay?

Would I be correct, Professor, in assuming that you know whether or not I am still... alive in the 26th century?

Since you seem to know so much about Captain Picard and the ship, I assumed you--

It would be best if you kept your assumptions to yourself, wouldn't it?

Yes, sir.

Sorry, sir.

Captain's Log, Stardate 45350.3.

We have arrived at Penthara Four

and can see for ourselves

the atmospheric devastation caused

by the asteroid's impact.

We've located three underground pockets of carbon dioxide-- here, here, and here.

Now, our drilling phasers can release enough of the gas to form an envelope, which should temporarily hold in the heat of the sun.

We spend years, decades, trying to avoid anything that would lead to a greenhouse effect, and now here we are about to... create one on purpose.

Less than 20% of your normal sunlight is getting through through that dust, Doctor.

If we can hold enough heat in with the CO2, that should give the planet time to mend itself. WOMAN: Excuse me, Dr. Moseley?

What now?

New Seattle's reporting a cloud depth of 12 kilometers.

Two rivers-- tropical rivers-- are beginning to freeze.

We'd better get started before there's nothing left to mend.

RIKER: Look who's here.

Oh.

I hate questionnaires.

Professor!

Come and join us.

Hope I'm not intruding. Not at all.

I'm sure you're the topic of conversation at every table in this room.

Uh, as I promised, here are your assignments, and I'm sure they'll be painless.

Please try and complete them by tomorrow.

Tomorrow?

No problem, Professor.

Ah, you're all very calm.

Is there some reason we shouldn't be?

History always records where people were, what they were doing, when important events took place.

But it rarely remembers their activity, say, a week before, or a day, or even an hour.

Are you suggesting that an important event is imminent?

I didn't say that, now did I?

Please, just go on doing what you're doing and pretend I'm not here.

Why is there no record of other future historians traveling back to witness important events?

We're obviously very careful.

As a matter of fact, a colleague and I recently paid a call on a 22nd century vessel.

They hadn't perfected quarantine fields.

You probably saw some surgical masks and gloves.

Isn't it fascinating how everyone has different interests when it comes to history.

Different perspectives on progress.

Would you mind telling me what that is?

Oh, just checking the time.

No problem.

Is something important supposed to be happening here?

Oh, no, it's nothing, it's nothing.

What about you, Commander?

What do you see as the most important example of progress in the last 200 years?

I suppose, the warp coil.

Before there was warp drive, humans were confined to a single sector of the galaxy.

Spoken like the consummate explorer.

What is going on?

Are you expecting someone?

Phasers.

Beg your pardon?

There were no phasers in the 22nd century.

Ah, you see, Doctor?

Our Klingon friend is a perfect example of what I was trying to tell you.

He views history through the eyes of a hunter, a warrior.

His passion lies in the perfection of the tools of violence.

How delightfully primitive.

As soon as we input this atmospheric data from Moseley, the computer should tell us how many holes we'll have to punch.

What have you learned about the tectonic stability around the drilling sites? Couldn't be better.

Our scans were all clear and Moseley says there hasn't been so much as a quiver down there in well over a century.

A-ha, just the two I'm looking for.

Um, brought you the forms I need you to complete.

Shouldn't take anything more than a couple of hours.

We're kind of busy here, Professor.

Tomorrow would probably be better.

Data, we've got about 23,000 thermal simulations.

You think you could check them over for anomalies?

Certainly.

Is that as fast as he can go?

Not fast enough for you, Professor?

There's very little known about Data's efficiency.

Almost nothing about its part in this mission.

It's a topic of great conjecture.

DATA: 209 anomalies, all within acceptable parameters.

Thanks, Data.

You're here to witness this mission.

That's it, isn't it?

It would be best if you just thought of me as a fly on the wall and went about your business.

I will have your answered questions as soon as possible, Professor.

Data... at Penthara Four!

If you'll excuse me.

Um, your prosthesis-- what do you-- what do you call it again?

A visor.

Visor, right, a visor.

You know, I have a picture of you wearing that in my office.

How do you like it?

It allows me to see, and I like it just fine.

You know, Homer was blind.

Milton... Bach... Monet... Wonder.

A fly on the wall, huh?

A fly on the wall.

The computer has configured the drilling patterns in specified depths.

Captain, we've got everything we need.

I'm ready to transport down to the surface.

PICARD: I'll notify Dr. Moseley. Good luck, Geordi.

Gentlemen.

Who said these moments were any less exciting when you know the outcome, hmm?

I know of no one who said that, Professor.

The Enterprise will monitor the CO2 concentrations at six different altitudes.

If all goes well, it shouldn't take more than 20 bore sites.

Let's hope all goes well.

La Forge to Commander Riker. How are you doing?

RIKER: We've gotten word from the monitoring stations.

They're all online.

We're ready when you are, Geordi.

That's excellent.

All we need now is an open channel to Data.

Open a channel, Mr. Worf, and prepare to fire at target one.

The computer has locked in phaser depth calculations.

Mr. Data? Ready, sir.

Fire.

Target one is emitting 2,000 cubic meters per second.

Target two, 1,600.

The surface wind patterns over the target are stable.

You picking up anything at altitude, Data?

DATA: CO2 concentrations remain unchanged at upper elevations.

Have I missed much?

Target 14 complete, sir.

Data, what have you got?

No change, sir.

RIKER: How are the surface winds, Geordi?

Holding steady, sir.

The computer has stopped drilling.

You should be getting something now, Data.

Elevated CO2 levels at 20 kilometers, sir.

Now your talking.

We've got some new temperatures coming in.

All thermal monitoring stations are reporting no further temperature drops.

Correction, Doctor-- two equatorial stations are reporting slight increases.

Thank you. Thank you, all.

You've given us what we need-- time.

We're glad to be of help, doctor.

The Enterprise will remain in orbit and continue to monitor your progress.

Picard out.

"You've given us what we need-- time."

Ensign, return to synchronous orbit.

Aye, sir.

Very clever, Picard.

And well done.

We always knew how you did it, but to experience the moment, to witness the nuances, it's, uh... indescribable.

He's after more than a history lesson,

I can tell you that.

What is it? What are you getting from him?

I don't know.

It's like he's trying to confuse us, misdirect us, somehow.

RASMUSSEN: There you are!

Well, that certainly was exciting, wasn't it?

Professor, is everything all right? Are you well?

Yes, couldn't be better, thank you.

I just thought we might chat about your questionnaire.

Buck up, crewman.

You're a credit to that uniform.

I've got some things to take care of.

Uh, no, please, Counselor,

I'd very much appreciate your remaining.

Doctor, in response to my sixth question, you spoke of a neural stimulator.

May I see one?

I don't see why not. Give me a minute.

You don't like me very much, do you?

I don't dislike you, Professor.

Keep your eyes wide, soldier.

You'll be telling your grandchildren how you were there at Penthara Four.

But you don't trust me.

You should, you know.

Should I?

"Picard's empath won't trust you."

That's what they all said.

Picard's empath?

We're not that unalike, you and I.

You possess a sense that is foreign to the others.

My knowledge of the future is similar.

You know, some of my best friends are empaths.

They trust me.

Why should you care whether I trust you or not?

We're birds of a feather.

We're colleagues.

We could learn a lot from each other.

You're right. I don't trust you.

I knew you'd say that.

I'm sure you did.

Well, I'm glad to see you two are finally getting along.

I really have to be going.

Thank you.

Why don't you try a berylite scan.

I'd be interested to see what his micro-levels are.

So, what else can I show you?

You're a very curious woman.

Hmm?

No, no, I don't mean curious like that.

I mean, you're curious... about things.

About... berylite levels.

About... the future.

Well, curiosity is why all of us are out here, isn't it?

I understand, but you're different.

You're more... vibrant.

You're more, um...

More vibrant?

That's nice. I like that.

You know, whenever I travel back,

I meet very interesting people, men and women, but, um...

I've never met anyone who gave me thoughts about not going home.

You're not supposed to be influencing the past, remember?

Well...

And I am beginning to feel just a little bit... influenced.

Anyway, I could be your great, great, great, great grandmother.

What kind of questions did he have for you, Number One?

All he wanted to know about was previous starships-- what I thought was innovative about the last Enterprise, the one before that.

He said he wanted to see if we had

"a grasp of the fundamentals."

His questions to me primarily focused on Dr. Soong's--

( alarm ringing )

Captain, I'm detecting a massive earthquake on the surface.

Two earthquakes. Location?

Both epicenters are beneath the two southernmost drill sites, Captain.

Is La Forge still down there?

WORF: Yes, sir. Find him.

( alarm ringing )

We've also got some volcanic activity, pretty severe.

PICARD: Magnify.

La Forge here, Captain.

Moseley and I are on our way back to his lab.

Are you all right?

We're okay, but those were pretty big, sir.

If this was earth, I'd say around an 8 or an 8.5 on the Richter scale.

We're starting to see some volcanic plumes, Captain.

( alarms ringing )

Two more eruptions.

It is likely we overestimated the geologic stability around the CO2 pockets, Captain.

LA FORGE: We're in the lab, sir.

On screen.

We're fairly well quake-proof down here, Picard.

It's the volcanic dust I'm worried about.

What about the dust?

The ash the volcanoes are throwing into the atmosphere is gonna compound the existing problem.

In a matter of days, there'll be no sunlight getting through these clouds.

MOSELEY: No amount of CO2 will help us then.

Captain, take a look at this.

These are the coordinates of the eruptions, and these... are the coordinates of the phaser drilling sites.

The mantle is collapsing where the pressure was released.

LA FORGE: Captain, Dr. Moseley and I have a couple of ideas, but it's gonna take some time to sort them out.

Sort them out, Geordi.

Aye, sir.

We came here to help these people.

And look what we've done.

( multiple classical songs playing loudly )

( shouting ) What in God's name is that?

Music, Professor. Music?

Yes, sir.

Mozart's Jupiter Symphony in C-major,

Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #3,

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Second Movement,

"Molto Vivace" and "La Donna e Mobile" from Verdi's Rigoletto.

You think you could thin it out a bit?

Computer, eliminate program one.

Computer, eliminate program two.

Computer, eliminate program three.

Computer, half volume.

( shouting ) How the--

( normally ) How the hell can you listen to four pieces of music at the same time?

Actually I am capable of distinguishing over 150 simultaneous compositions.

But in order to analyze the aesthetics,

I try to keep it to 10 or less.

Only four today?

I am assisting Commander La Forge with a very complex calculation.

It demands a great deal of my concentration.

Hmm. Well, I, um... came to thank you for answering my questions, though I probably should have asked you to limit yourself to 50,000 words.

You did ask me to be thorough.

I realize it's hard to believe, Data, but very few records of Dr. Soong's work survived to the 26th century, so it would be invaluable to myself and other historians if you could provide us with some... schematics?

Certainly-- as soon as my work here is completed.

As long as it's before 0900 tomorrow.

That's when I'll be, uh... heading back.

WORF: Bridge to Commander Data.

Yes, Worf?

Commander La Forge is hailing you from the surface, sir.

Patch him through, please.

Have you rerun the phase reversal figures, Data?

There were no errors, Geordi.

The variance must be no more than .06 terawatts.

Well, I don't see any other choice.

We'll continue to run the numbers down here, but I doubt we'll come up with anything different.

You'd better inform the captain of the good news and the bad news.

La Forge out.

Which do you suppose he's gonna want to hear first?

The good news.

The motion of the dust has created a great deal of electrostatic energy in the upper atmosphere.

With a modified phaser blast, we can create a shock front that would encircle the planet and ionize the particles.

That would be like striking a spark in a gas-filled room.

With one exception, sir-- the particles would be converted into a high-energy plasma, which our shields could absorb and then redirect harmlessly into space.

Turn the Enterprise into a lightning rod.

Precisely, sir.

And the bad news?

If our phaser discharge is off by as little as .06 terawatts, it would cause a cascading exothermal inversion. Meaning?

We would completely burn off the planet's atmosphere.

Captain's Log, supplemental.

While Dr. Moseley takes La Forge's plan

to the leaders of the colony,

I find myself weighing the potential consequences

of a more philosophical issue.

( door chimes )

Come.

I imagine you know why I've asked you here.

Yeah, I have a fairly good idea.

I'm faced with a dilemma.

There is a planet beneath us which is slowly turning to ice, and unless we do something about it,

I'm told that in a matter of weeks, thousands, maybe tens of thousands, will die.

That would be a shame.

Yes, it would.

It would be quite a shame.

So, um... what's your dilemma?

Commander La Forge has a possible solution.

The margins of error are extremely critical.

But if successful... there will be no more threat.

And if it's not successful?

Every living thing on the planet will perish.

So, do nothing, and thousands will die.

Do something, and millions could die.

That's a tough choice.

Not if you were to help me.

You're not suggesting

I tell you the outcome of your efforts?

Oh, no! I am not.

Everything that Starfleet stands for, everything that I have ever believed in, tells me I cannot ask you that.

But, at the same time, there are 20 million lives down there.

And you know what happened to them-- what will happen to them.

So it seems you have another dilemma, one that questions your convictions.

Well, I've never been afraid of reevaluating my convictions, Professor, and now, well, I have 20 million reasons to do so.

And why did you ask to see me?

Because your presence gives me a potential access to a kind of information that I've never had available to me before.

And if I am to reexamine my beliefs, then I must take advantage of every possible asset.

It would have been irresponsible of me

not to ask you here.

However you come to terms with your beliefs, Captain,

I must tell you, I'm quite comfortable with mine.

How can you be?

How can you be comfortable watching people die?

Um... let me put it to you this way.

If I were to tell you that none of those people died, you'd easily conclude that you tried your solution and it succeeded, so you would confidently try again.

No harm in that.

But, what if I were to tell you they all died?

What then? Obviously, you'd decide not to make the same mistake twice.

Now, what if one of those people grew--

Yes, Professor, I know.

What if one of those lives

I save down there is a child who grows up to be the next Adolf Hitler?

Or, Khan Singh?

Every first-year philosophy student has been asked that question since the earliest wormholes were discovered.

But this is not a class in temporal logic.

It's not theoretical, it's not hypothetical, it's real!

Surely you see that. I see it all too well.

But you must see that if I were to influence you, everything in this sector, in this quadrant of the galaxy could change.

History-- my history-- would unfold in a way other than it already has.

Now, what possible incentive could anyone offer me to allow that to happen?

I have two choices.

Either way, one version of history or another will wend its way forward-- the history you know, or another one.

Now, who is to say which is better?

What I do know is that here, today, one way millions of lives could be saved.

Now isn't that incentive enough?

Everyone dies, Captain.

It's just a question of when.

All those people down there died years before I was born.

All of you up here as well.

So you see I can't get quite as worked up as you over the fate of some colonists who for me have been dead a very, very long time.

Of course, you know of the prime directive, which tells us that we have no right to interfere in the natural evolution of alien worlds.

Now, I have sworn to uphold it.

But, nevertheless, I have disregarded that directive... on more than one occasion... because I thought it was the right thing to do!

Now, if you are holding on to some temporal equivalent of that directive, then isn't it possible that you have an occasion here to make an exception, to... to help me to choose because it's the right thing to do?

Are we just talking about a choice?

It sounds to me like you're trying to manipulate the future.

But every choice we make allows us to manipulate the future.

Do I, um... do I invite Adrienne or Suzanne to the spring dance?

Do I take my holiday on Corsica, or Risa?

A person's life, their future, hinges on each of a thousand choices.

Living is making choices.

Now you ask me to believe that if I make a choice other than the one that appears in your history books, then your past will be irrevocably altered.

Well, you know, Professor, perhaps I don't give a damn about your past because your past is my future.

And as far as I'm concerned, it hasn't been written yet!

RIKER: Captain, the electrostatic conditions are about as good as they're going to get.

If we're going to try this, now is the time.

Please don't ask me, Captain.

I can't help you.

I'm sorry.

How long will it take to program the phasers, Number One?

We've just got to tie into

Geordi's atmospheric sensors.

So you've made your choice after all... and without my help.

Oh, on the contrary, Professor.

You were quite helpful. How's that?

By refusing to help me, you left me with the same choice

I had to begin with-- to try, or not to try, to take a risk, or to play it safe.

And your arguments have reminded me how precious the right to choose is.

And because I've never been one to play it safe...

I choose to try. Mr. Data... program the firing sequence.

Aye, sir.

Captain's Log, Stardate 45351.9.

Doctor Moseley has met with the colony leaders

who all agree they are willing to take the risk.

Warp power has been rerouted from the main deflector dish, Commander.

Keep those phasers on active surge control, Worf.

We're only going to get one shot at this.

Well, this is it.

You have the sequence locked in, Data? Yes, sir.

After an 8.3 second burst from the dish, we will discharge all E.P.S. taps through the phasers.

It's time for you to return to the ship, Mr. La Forge.

Mr. O'Brien stand by to transport.

Excuse me, Captain, but I can be of a lot more help down here.

We're gonna have to compensate for the density variations right up to the last second.

Dr. Moseley's computers can accomplish the same task, sir, but I believe Geordi would be better able to anticipate unexpected variances.

Mr. La Forge, you know better than anyone that there's no guarantee that this will work.

And if it fails...

There's no guarantee it's going to fail, Captain.

I'd like your permission to remain here on the surface.

Permission granted.

La Forge remained below.

Good luck, Commander.

Thank you, Captain.

DATA: The deflector dish has been reconfigured, sir.

Proceed, Mr. Data.

DATA: Stand by for auto-phaser interlock.

Activating deflector beam.

E.P.S. taps online. Phasers firing.

Activating shield invertors... now.

Mr. La Forge?

La Forge here.

Still breathing, Captain.

MOSELEY: We've got particulate levels right where they're supposed to be, and the sun is shining.

See, Captain? I told you there was nothing to worry about.

Report back to the ship when you're ready, Commander.

Doctor, we'll stay in orbit and analyze the remaining volcanic disturbances, but the best advice will be to... let them cool down on their own.

I'm getting in the habit of thanking you, Picard.

Well, I'd love to see more, but it's nearly time for me to go.

I am tickled pink to have had the opportunity of witnessing this, Picard.

And you did it all without any help.

Well, I must run.

I've got some packing to do.

You know, you're taller in person, Commander.

Well, would you look at this.

Who would have expected a teary farewell?

I'm afraid we're going to have to take a look inside your vessel.

Curious till the end, eh, Captain?

You can't be serious, Picard.

We've been through this more than once.

A number of objects have been discovered missing in the last two days, and if they're in your possession, then we would like them returned.

I'm not here in search of relics.

I'm sure they'll turn up.

If you will not open the vessel,

I will-- with explosives, if necessary.

I doubt you have the means.

If we don't get in that thing, I guarantee you don't either.

Considering the sensitive nature of my equipment,

I think you'll understand if I request that only Mr. Data be allowed to see it.

Why Data?

Because if I order Mr. Data never to divulge what he sees in there, he won't-- with the exception of anything that might belong to us.

Understood, sir.

Back in a minute.

DATA: I do not believe any of these items belong to you, Professor.

Nor does this.

This phaser is set at the highest stun setting.

If I'm correct, that is sufficient to immobilize even you.

Why have you stolen these objects?

To put in a museum?

Oh, they're far too valuable for that.

You see, in the century I come from, they haven't even been invented yet.

But this vessel, and the temporal distortion that coincided with your arrival...

Oh, this is a time pod, and it is from the 26th century.

At least, that's what the poor fellow said.

You see, he decided to travel back to the 22nd century-- that's my time-- and he had the misfortune of meeting me.

His clothes fit quite well, don't you think?

It took me weeks to figure out how to work this thing.

Then you are not an historian?

Mm, more of an inventor.

Up till a few weeks ago, a dismally unsuccessful one.

What are your intentions, Professor?

Well, thanks to your captain, its seems my intentions have changed slightly.

I was quite content with the notion of... returning with these trinkets.

I'd "invent" about one a year.

But now, look what fortune has graced me with.

You will take a little longer to figure out than a tricorder, but it should be well worth the effort.

If the auto-timer is programmed the way I think it is, in about two minutes, we should be on our way back to a place called... New Jersey.

I'm afraid you won't be awake for the ride.

I assume your hand print will open this door whether you are conscious or not.

That weapon was working yesterday.

DATA: You were right to suspect him, sir, but he is not from the future.

He is from the past.

Trying to make my history unfold in a way other than it already has, eh, Professor?

This was all a misunderstanding, Picard.

Just let me back in there.

We'll forget the whole thing.

Now what possible incentive could anyone offer me to allow that?

I believe you will find all of the missing items in the vessel, sir.

Doctor...

Very nice performance.

Not all of it. Some of it was real.

Captain...

He claims to be a 22nd century inventor, Captain.

A pity you weren't a bit more inventive.

If fewer things had disappeared, we might never have suspected you.

As it was, the only stumbling block was your ship.

Our sensors couldn't penetrate it, but once the door was opened, the computer was able to detect and deactivate everything you'd stolen, including this.

I'd love to hear more, Picard, but I really must get back in that pod.

Take him to a detention cell,

Mr. Worf, and notify Starfleet that we'll be dropping him off at Starbase 214.

WORF: Aye, sir. You can't do this.

I've got to get back. I don't belong here.

No!

I'm sure that there are more than a few

legitimate historians at Starfleet who will be quite eager to meet a human from your era.

PICARD: Oh, Professor?

Welcome to the 24th century.