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Cause and Effect

Damage report!

Casualty reports coming in from all over the ship!

The starboard nacelle has sustained a direct impact.

We are venting drive plasma.

Initiating emergency core shutdown!

Inertial dampers failing.

We're losing attitude control.

This is the bridge. All hands to emergency escape pods!

Core shutdown is unsuccessful.

We are losing antimatter containment.

We've got to eject the core!

Ejection systems off-line.

Core breach is imminent.

All hands abandon ship!

Repeat, all hands aban...

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.

♪♪

Captain's Log, Stardate 45652.1.

The Enterprise has entered an area of space

known as the Typhon Expanse.

We are the first Starfleet vessel

to chart this unexplored region.

Sometimes I wonder if he's stacking the deck.

I assure you, Commander, the cards are sufficiently randomized.

I hope so.

Eight.

Ace.

Queen.

The dealer receives a four.

No bet.

Ten.

Seven. No help there.

Pair of ladies for the doctor.

Dealer receives a nine.

Doctor?

May I remind you, since you show the highest hand you control the next bet.

Thank you, Data.

I bet ten.

Worf?

Jack.

Four.

Deuce.

Six.

Twenty.

Your 20, and 50 more.

Fifty?!

( muttering )

I'm in.

I will also see the bet.

Seven and a possible straight for Commander Riker.

Jack. Still no help for the Klingon.

Eight.

Nine for the dealer.

Twenty.

Too rich for my blood.

Your 20.

100 more.

Fold.

Two hundred.

Your two, and 300 more.

He does not have a straight.

Well, we'll soon find out, won't we?

Let's see your cards.

Take it.

( squeals )

How'd you know I was bluffing?

I just had a feeling.

I guess it's better to be lucky than good.

It's the way your left eyebrow raises when you're bluffing.

Just kidding, Commander.

Ogawa to Dr. Crusher.

Go ahead.

Commander La Forge needs you in sick bay.

On my way.

At first, I thought the catwalk was spinning.

As it turns out, it was me.

Luckily, Ensign Fletcher was there to grab me.

It's a long way down to the bottom of the warp core.

You have all the symptoms of an inner ear infection.

That would explain the dizziness and the headaches.

But there's no physical evidence.

My guess is, you've been working too hard.

( sighing )

Well, I have been putting a lot of extra hours on this Typhon Expanse project.

I'll give you 20 cc's of vertazine.

That should clear up the dizziness, but finding time to relax is up... to you.

What? What is it?

Geordi, have you had these symptoms before?

No.

You sure?

Yeah, I'm positive. Why?

It's funny.

I feel like we've discussed this before and I remember giving you a hypospray for dizziness.

Well, I've never had these symptoms before today so you must be thinking about another patient.

No.

I'm sure it was you.

( sighing ): Well, try to get some rest and stay away from high places for a few days, just in case.

Thanks, Doc.

Good night.

Good night.

( Beverly humming melody )

( humming continues )

( sighs )

( sighs )

( cacophonous voices murmur indistinctly )

( voices growing louder )

( glass shatters )

As you can see, the Typhon Expanse is huge.

If we want to chart the most remote star system we'll have to launch a probe within the next few hours.

Fine. What about the luminosity studies?

Uh, that may pose a problem.

How so?

The flux spectrometers are still down for realignment.

I thought they were supposed to be back on line yesterday.

They were, until the stellar dynamics lab decided they needed to install new modules.

I recommend we use a graviton polarimeter.

It will perform a similar function.

Make it so, Mr. Data.

Captain, I have something I'd like to report.

Yes, Doctor?

I heard voices in my room last night.

I was alone, so at first I thought

I was imagining things.

But this morning, ten other people reported hearing voices at the same time as I did.

What were the voices saying?

I couldn't make them out.

Data, did the sensors pick up anything unusual last night?

No anomalous readings were reported.

When we're through here, recheck the sensor logs.

Aye, sir.

Counselor?

I sensed nothing unusual last night.

Maybe it's a problem with the com system.

WORF: Bridge to Captain Picard.

Go ahead.

We are getting unusual readings

20,000 kilometers off the starboard bow.

On our way.

Report.

RO: Sensors didn't detect the phenomenon until we were almost on top of it, sir.

It is a highly localized distortion of the space-time continuum.

On screen.

Back us off, Ensign.

Nice and slow.

Aye, sir.

Captain, maneuvering thrusters are not responding.

The distortion field is fluctuating.

All main systems just went down.

Power levels are dropping rapidly.

Red alert.

There is an energy buildup in the distortion field.

We have to get out of here now.

DATA: Captain, something is emerging.

Shields up. Evasive maneuver.

Shields inoperative.

The helm's not responding.

The vessel is on a collision course.

Impact in 36 seconds.

Hail them.

No response.

Suggestions?

Decompress main shuttle bay.

The explosive reaction may kick us out of the way.

Captain, I suggest we use the tractor beam to alter the other ship's trajectory.

Mr. Worf, make it so.

Engaging tractor beam.

Damage report!

Casualty reports coming in from all over the ship!

The starboard nacelle has sustained a direct impact.

Venting drive plasma.

Initiating emergency core shutdown!

Inertial dampers failing.

We're losing attitude control.

This is the bridge.

All hands to emergency escape pods!

The core shutdown was unsuccessful.

We are losing antimatter containment.

We've got to eject the engine core!

Ejection systems are off-line.

Core breach is imminent.

All hands abandon ship!

Repeat, all hands abandon...

Captain's Log, Stardate 45652.1.

The Enterprise has entered an area of space

known as the Typhon Expanse.

We are the first Starfleet vessel

to chart this unexplored region.

Sometimes I wonder if he's stacking the deck.

I assure you, Commander, the cards have been sufficiently randomized.

I hope so.

Eight.

Ace.

Queen.

The dealer receives a four.

No bet.

DATA: Ten.

Seven. No help there.

Pair of ladies for the Doctor.

Dealer receives a nine.

Doctor?

May I remind you since you show the highest hand, you control the next bet.

WORF: Is there something wrong, Doctor?

No.

Um, I'll bet ten.

DATA: Jack.

Four.

Deuce.

Six.

Twenty.

Your 20... and I'll raise you 50.

You're going to call my bluff, aren't you?

I think I'll quit while I'm ahead.

How did you know I was going to call your bluff?

I just had a feeling.

Me, too.

Ogawa to Dr. Crusher.

Go ahead.

Commander La Forge needs you in sick bay.

On my way.

At first, I thought the catwalk was spinning.

As it turns out, it was me.

I was lucky Ensign Fletcher was there to grab me.

It's a long way down to the bottom of the warp core.

You have all the symptoms of an inner ear infection.

That would explain the headaches and the dizziness.

But there's no physical...

What?

What is it?

Geordi, have you ever had these symptoms before?

Come to think of it, I think I have.

Do you recall when?

No, I don't.

We've had this discussion before and I know I've given you this examination.

Let's check the medical logs.

You've been treated several times for headaches related to your VISOR but I read no mention of dizziness.

Must be deja vu.

Both of us?

About the same thing?

( humming )

( voices murmur indistinctly )

( glass shatters )

( murmuring stops )

Crusher to Picard.

Yes, Doctor?

Do you have a minute, Jean-Luc?

My Aunt Adele cured a lot of sleepless nights with this steamed milk.

Thank you.

Mmm. Nutmeg.

Whenever I get insomnia

I try to perfect the recipe.

It was the eeriest feeling.

When the glass broke it triggered the sensation even more intensely that I'd done it all before.

You know... earlier, I was reading this book and I had the distinct feeling that I'd read certain paragraphs before.

But I assumed that I'd read the book years ago and I'd forgotten.

I've had this feeling for hours... and then the voices.

Well...

( sighs )

...it could be nothing more than the result of a sleepless night but let's be sure.

Have Data and Geordi run a ship-wide diagnostic concentrating on the time and place when you heard the voices.

And we'll discuss the results tomorrow at 0700 hours.

Thank you... for everything.

Uh-uh. Thank aunt Adele.

The internal scans were negative.

There was no evidence of auditory anomalies anywhere on the ship.

As far as the sensors are concerned nothing unusual happened last night.

Ten other people reported hearing voices at the same time I did.

WORF: Bridge to Captain Picard.

Go ahead.

We are getting unusual readings

20,000 kilometers off the starboard bow.

PICARD: On our way.

Report.

RO: Sensors didn't detect the phenomenon until we were almost on top of it, sir.

WORF: There's a highly localized distortion of the space-time continuum.

On screen.

Back us off, Ensign.

Nice and slow.

Aye, sir.

Captain, maneuvering thrusters are not responding.

The distortion field is fluctuating.

All main systems just went down.

Power levels are dropping rapidly.

RIKER: Red alert.

DATA: There is an energy buildup in the distortion field.

We have to get out of here now.

DATA: Captain, something is emerging.

RIKER: Shields up.

Evasive maneuvers.

Shields inoperative.

The helm is not responding.

The vessel is on a collision course.

Impact in 36 seconds.

Hail them.

No response.

Suggestions?

Decompress main shuttle bay.

The explosive reaction may blow us out of the way.

Captain, I suggest we use the tractor beam to alter the other ship's trajectory.

Make it so, Mr. Worf.

Engaging tractor beam.

Damage report!

Casualty reports coming in from all over the ship!

Starboard nacelle has sustained a direct impact.

We are venting drive plasma.

Initiating emergency core shutdown.

Inertial dampers failing.

We're losing attitude control.

This is the bridge.

All hands to emergency escape pods!

The core shutdown was unsuccessful.

We are losing antimatter containment.

We've got to eject the core!

Ejector systems are off-line.

Core breach is imminent.

All hands, abandon ship!

Repeat, all hands, abandon...

Captain's Log, Stardate 45652.1.

The Enterprise has entered an area of space

known as the Typhon Expanse.

We are the first Starfleet vessel

to chart this unexplored region.

Sometimes I wonder if he's stacking the deck.

I assure you, Commander, the cards are sufficiently randomized.

I hope... so.

Something wrong, Mr. Worf?

I am experiencing nib'poh-- the feeling I have done this before.

Yes, last Tuesday night.

That's not what I mean.

I've been having the same feeling.

Keep dealing, Data.

Eight. Ace.

A queen. You're going to give me a queen.

And you're going to get a four.

Deal, Data.

But no one has bet.

Forget the bet. Just deal.

Ten.

Seven.

Queen.

Nine.

Jack.

Four.

Deuce.

Six.

This is highly improbable.

How did we know?

BEVERLY: Wait.

Crusher to sick bay.

Sick bay here.

Is Commander La Forge there?

No, Doctor, he's not.

Wait a minute.

He just came in.

You wanted to see me, Doctor?

Yes.

Captain... have you been getting the feeling that you've experienced certain things before-- a sense of repetition?

Yes, recently.

While I was reading.

Why do you ask?

There have been similar incidents reported all over the ship.

Feelings of deja vu.

I had a premonition

Geordi was going to come into sick bay.

A few seconds later, he did with the symptoms of an ear infection.

I was going to run the standard tests but somehow, I had a feeling that they would turn out negative.

So, I ran an optical diagnostic which traced the problem to Geordi's VISOR.

His dizziness is being caused by a phase shift in his visual receptors.

It's causing him to see images that aren't there.

They're like blurry afterimages.

I ran a scan to see if I could detect what he was seeing.

I picked up minuscule distortions in the surrounding dekyon field.

Somehow, his VISOR is translating those distortions into visual impulses.

Could be a malfunction in the ship's warp-field generator.

I'll check it out.

Run a localized subspace scan to look for anything else.

Aye, sir.

Keep me advised.

( voices murmur indistinctly )

( murmuring stops )

Crusher to Commander La Forge.

La Forge here.

Geordi, I just heard what sounded like voices in my room but no one else is here.

Sensors just picked up something strange, too.

We're checking it out.

I'm on my way.

( glass shatters )

Looks like you managed to record 6.2 seconds' worth.

Let's see if we can filter the signal and clear it up a little bit.

Then I wasn't just hearing things.

The sound itself appears to have been real.

However, the acoustic energy does not correspond to any ship's system nor to any voice communication sent at the time you heard it.

Then where did the sound come from?

Well, you heard the voices at the same time our localized subspace scan picked up a dekyon field distortion.

The two may be related. Let's give another listen.

( voices murmuring indistinctly )

( murmuring stops )

Computer, perform a narrow bandwidth analysis.

Eliminate all non-vocal waveform components.

( voices grow louder and more distinct )

Can we isolate the voices?

Find out what they're saying?

Computer, continuous playback please.

( voices replaying )

( voice replay continues )

There are approximately 1,000 voices overlapping.

The voices are those of the Enterprise crew.

Our voices.

I'm sorry to call you all here so early but we couldn't wait till 0700 hours.

We think we may have an explanation for the odd occurrences around here.

Commander.

This is going to sound pretty wild.

Somehow, we've entered what seems to be a temporal causality loop.

We think we're stuck in a specific fragment in time and that we've been repeating that same fragment over and over again.

Is this what's causing our deja vu?

Yes, but it's more than that.

In deja vu, you only think you're repeating events.

We actually are.

Our theory is this:

Every time the loop begins again everything resets itself and starts all over.

We don't remember anything that happened before so each time through the loop, we think it's the first.

You mean we could have come into this room sat at this table and had this conversation a dozen times already?

A dozen, a hundred.

It's impossible to tell.

We could have been trapped here for hours, days... maybe years.

CRUSHER: If what we're saying is true those voices I heard might have been echoes from previous loops.

It's the same with the phase shift in my VISOR-- afterimages in time.

If you're right about this, how did it happen?

How did we get there?

DATA: I have a hypothesis that may explain that, Captain.

I have analyzed the recording Dr. Crusher made.

Most of it is quite ordinary.

150 discussions about ship operations.

252 conversations of a personal nature.

Five couples engaged in romantic encounters...

Your point, Mr. Data.

There is evidence of some sort of disaster aboard the Enterprise severe enough that the Captain ordered all hands to abandon ship.

I have isolated three segments of this recording that are crucial.

WORF ( distorted voice ): A highly localized distortion of the space-time continuum.

DATA: Collision course.

Impact in 36 seconds.

PICARD: All hands abandon ship!

Repeat, all hands aban...

( recording stops )

LA FORGE: Worf refers to a distortion.

If this were a temporal distortion-- and if we were close enough to it-- it's possible that a large enough explosion might have ruptured the space-time continuum.

We collided, exploded, then got caught in this repeating loop of time.

If you're right, perhaps we could escape from the loop by avoiding the collision.

That's our guess.

Perhaps we should reverse course.

For all we know, reversing course may be what leads us into the crash.

No.

We can't afford to start second-guessing ourselves.

We'll stay on this course until we have reason to change it.

But let's do everything that we can to avoid the collision.

LA FORGE: Captain, we might not be able to figure out how to avoid this accident until it's too late.

And if the loop begins again, we'll forget everything we learned this time around.

What do you suggest?

If we do find a way to avoid this collision we should try to send that information into the next loop.

Is that possible?

We have seen that echoes or afterimages from previous loops appear as distortions in the dekyon field.

We may be able to send a deliberate echo into the next loop.

Like a message in a bottle.

Exactly.

We could enhance a dekyon emission to create a specific pattern and send ourselves a message.

Not a long one, probably only a few characters.

Maybe one word.

How do we know we'll pick up that word the next time through?

If the dekyon emission is modulated correctly it will set up resonances in my positronic subprocessors.

I will receive the information on what you would call a subconscious level.

LA FORGE: Now, there's the catch.

We have no way of knowing how this information will be perceived by Data.

It might be like a posthypnotic suggestion.

Even with all these uncertainties, we've got to try.

Take whatever steps are necessary to send a message.

Dismissed.

LA FORGE: You know, it's possible we've tried this a thousand times and it's never worked.

Do you have the feeling that you've done this before?

No, I don't.

Neither do I.

Maybe that's a good sign.

Let's test the emitter.

Particle accelerators at full power.

Dekyon field active.

Particle flux nominal.

We're in business.

All we need now is a message.

RIKER: Senior officers, report to the bridge.

On our way.

( alarm sounding )

RIKER: We've got to figure out how we handled this before.

PICARD: Back us off, Ensign.

Nice and slow.

Aye, sir.

Captain, maneuvering thrusters are not responding.

The distortion field is fluctuating.

All main systems just went down.

Power levels are dropping rapidly.

There is an energy buildup in the distortion field.

We have to get out of here now.

DATA: Captain, something is emerging.

RIKER: Shields up. Evasive maneuvers.

Shields inoperative.

The helm's not responding.

The vessel is on a collision course.

Impact in 36 seconds.

Hail them.

No response.

Suggestions?

Decompress main shuttle bay.

The explosive reaction may blow us out of the way.

Captain, I suggest we use the tractor beam to alter the other ship's trajectory.

Make it so, Mr. Worf.

Engaging tractor beam.

Damage report!

Casualty reports are coming in from all over the ship!

Starboard nacelle has sustained a direct impact.

We are venting drive plasma.

Initiating emergency core shutdown.

Inertial dampers failing. We're losing attitude control.

This is the bridge!

All hands to emergency escape pods!

DATA: Core shutdown is unsuccessful.

We are losing antimatter containment.

We've got to eject the core!

Ejection systems are off-line.

Core breach is imminent.

PICARD: All hands, abandon ship!

Repeat, all hands aban...

Captain's log, Stardate 45652.1.

The Enterprise has entered an area of space

known as the Typhon Expanse.

We are the first Starfleet vessel

to chart this unexplored region.

RIKER: Sometimes I wonder if he's stacking the deck.

I assure you, Commander the cards are sufficiently randomized.

I hope so.

Something wrong, Mr. Worf?

I am experiencing nib'poh-- the feeling I have done this before.

Yeah. Last Tuesday night.

That is not what I mean.

I've been having the same feeling.

Wait.

An eight, an ace, a queen and a four.

Deal the cards, Data.

Three. All threes.

BEVERLY: I was positive

I knew what cards were going to be dealt.

I was also sure.

Finish dealing the hand.

Look at this.

We've all got three of a kind.

First we get a three, and then three of a kind.

Ogawa to Dr. Crusher.

Go ahead.

Commander La Forge needs you in sick bay.

I'm on my way.

At first, I thought the catwalk was spinning.

As it turns out, it was me.

I was lucky Ensign Fletcher was there to grab me.

It's a long way down to the bottom of the warp core.

BEVERLY: You have all the symptoms of an inner ear infection.

That would explain the headaches, dizziness.

But I don't see any physi... cal...

What?

What is it?

Geordi, have you ever had these symptoms before?

Now that you mention it, I think I have.

Do you recall when?

No... I don't.

I know we've had this discussion before and I remember giving you this examination.

Let's check the medical logs.

You've been treated several times for headaches related to your VISOR but there's no mention of dizziness.

Must be deja vu.

Both of us?

About the same thing?

I'd like to run an optical diagnostic.

For an ear infection?

I have a hunch.

Now hold still, this pulse may be a little bright.

( groans )

Have you made any changes to your VISOR lately?

No, why?

I'm detecting a small phase shift in your visual receptors.

Crusher to Captain Picard.

Yes, Doctor?

Can you come to sick bay immediately?

It's urgent.

I'm on my way.

His dizziness is being caused by a phase shift in his visual receptors.

It's causing him to see things that aren't there.

They're like blurry afterimages.

I ran a scan to see if I could detect what he was seeing.

I picked up minuscule distortions in the surrounding dekyon field.

His VISOR seems to be translating those distortions into visual impulses.

Could be a malfunction in the ship's warp field generator.

I'll check it out.

While you're at it run a localized subspace scan to look for anything unusual.

Aye, sir.

Keep me advised, Doctor.

LA FORGE: Lateral sensors on line.

Subspace scanners active.

Data, would you run a Level-2 diagnostic on the warp subsystems?

All threes.

That can't be right.

I have encountered the numeral three an inordinate number of times over the last two hours.

( alarm beeping )

We have a dekyon field fluctuation on deck nine, section 28.

Crusher to Commander La Forge.

La Forge here.

I just heard what sounded like voices in my room but there's no one here.

Sensors just picked up something strange, too.

We're checking it out.

I'm on my way down.

( glass shattering )

Dr. Crusher, are you all right?

I'm fine.

DATA: I have isolated three segments of this recording that are crucial.

WORF: A highly localized distortion of the space-time continuum.

DATA: Collision course.

Impact in 36 seconds.

PICARD: All hands, abandon ship!

Repeat, all hands, aba...

Worf refers to a distortion.

If this were a temporal distortion and if we were close enough to it it's possible that a large enough explosion might have ruptured the space-time continuum.

We collided, exploded then got stuck in this repeating loop of time.

If you're right about this then perhaps we can escape from the loop by avoiding the collision.

That's our guess.

WORF: Perhaps we should reverse course.

For all we know, reversing course might be what leads us to the crash.

We can't afford to start second-guessing ourselves.

We should stay on this course until we have reason to change it.

But in the meantime, I think we should do what we can to avoid a collision.

Captain, we've been seeing the number three all over the ship-- on consoles, in a poker game.

DATA: To date, we have encountered

2,085 conspicuous examples of the number three.

All of these threes can't be coming up by accident.

Maybe someone's trying to tell us something.

We came to the same conclusion, so we ran a ship-wide diagnostic.

The only unusual thing we found was a dekyon field modulation in Data's positronic subprocessors.

What could be causing it?

I don't know, but if I wanted to send information from one loop into the next

I might use a method like a dekyon emission.

You think we sent ourselves a message?

It would make sense.

Maybe we are trying to tell ourselves something.

If that were true, what could three indicate?

Maybe we should run a Level-3 diagnostic on all key systems.

LA FORGE: That's a good idea.

I'll have the computer run a pattern-matching algorithm on the number three.

RO: Bridge to Captain Picard.

Go ahead.

We're getting unusual readings

20,000 kilometers off the starboard bow.

On our way.

( alarm buzzing )

Report.

Sensors didn't detect the phenomenon until we were almost on top of it, Captain.

WORF: It is a highly localized distortion of the space-time continuum.

On screen.

How do you think we handled this before?

Back us off, Ensign.

Nice and slow.

Aye, sir.

Captain, maneuvering thrusters are not responding.

DATA: The distortion field is fluctuating.

GEORDI: All main systems just went down.

Power levels are dropping rapidly.

There is an energy buildup in the distortion field.

We have to get out of here now.

DATA: Captain, something is emerging.

Shields up!

Evasive maneuvers!

Shields inoperative.

The helm's not responding.

DATA: The vessel is on a collision course.

Impact in 36 seconds.

Hail them.

No response.

Suggestions?

Decompress main shuttle bay.

The explosive reaction may kick us out of the way.

Captain, I suggest we use the tractor beam to alter the other ship's trajectory.

Make it so, Mr. Worf.

WORF: Engaging tractor beam.

The tractor beam will not be successful.

I am decompressing the main shuttle bay.

( loud whooshing )

We are clear of the distortion.

Data, what happened?

At the last moment, I speculated that "three" might refer to the number of rank insignia on Commander Riker's uniform.

That indicated to me that his suggestion might be the correct course of action.

Data, you must have picked up a message we sent from the last loop and stacked the deck in the poker game without realizing it.

That is possible.

I may also have inadvertently been responsible for the unexplained occurrences of the number three.

Mr. Worf, end red alert.

And try to access a Federation time base beacon.

Let's see if we can find out how long we've been in this causality loop.

Time base confirms our chronometers are off by 17.4 days.

Reset them, Mr. Data.

Aye, sir.

Captain, we are being hailed by the other vessel.

Computer identifies it as the USS Bozeman-- a Federation starship...

Soyuz-class.

Soyuz-class?

They haven't been in service in over 80 years.

Open a channel.

This is Captain Morgan Bateson of the Federation Starship Bozeman.

Can we render assistance?

I'm Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation starship Enterprise.

We were just going to ask you the same thing.

Captain Picard, your vessel is not familiar to us.

Captain, have you any idea what has just happened?

Our sensors detected a temporal distortion.

Then your ship appeared.

We nearly hit you.

The Enterprise has been caught up in a temporal causality loop, and I suspect that something similar may have happened to you.

You must be mistaken.

We left Starbase only three weeks ago.

Captain... do you know what year this is?

Of course I do.

It's 2278.

Perhaps you should beam aboard our ship.

There's something we need to discuss.

♪♪