Where No One Has Gone Before

"Where No One Has Gone Before" is a first season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It is episode #6, production #106, first broadcast October 26, 1987. It was directed by Rob Bowman.

Diane Duane and Michael Reaves took writing credit on the episode, which is similar to Duane's Star Trek novel The Wounded Sky. Producer Maurice Hurley rewrote the script.

Overview: An alien visitor takes the Enterprise on a wild trip outside of the galaxy.

Plot

On stardate 41263.1, the USS Enterprise rendezvous with the USS Fearless, to bring aboard Mr. Kosinski, a Starfleet propulsion expert, who will run different tests on the warp drive engines and experiment with new intermix formulas. Commander Riker and Mr. Data show disillusion toward Kosinski's nonsensical formulas, despite reports he made a 3% speed improvement to older ships like the USS Ajax and Fearless; their computer simulations show the formulas won't really improve the Enterprise's newer engines.

Riker and chief engineer, Lt. Cmdr. Argyle, welcome Kosinski's arrival. The expert is accompanied by an alien assistant from Tau Alpha C. Riker asks the assistant's name, but the being says it is unpronounceable by humans. Kosinski quickly shows an arrogant disposition, waving off formalities and insisting he get to work immediately. He is first annoyed by the lack of Captain Picard's direct interest in the tests, and then by the presence of a "child", Wesley Crusher, in main engineering. Riker explains Wesley is working on a science project and should be no problem as long as he stays out of the way.

Argyle and Riker go over the formulas as Kosinski tries to explain the process. Wesley is puzzled by the assistant's work as he enters Kosinski's formulas into the computer. Wesley discusses "patching holes" in Kosinski's warp field matrix. The assistant looks over the new model approvingly, admiring the youth's problem solving abilities.

The experiment begins; Picard orders the ship to proceed at warp 1.5 - at which point Kosinski and his assistant initialize the new mixture formula. Wesley keeps his eye on the alien assistant who suddenly appears to phase out of existence for a moment. Kosinski and the others have eyes locked on the console readouts and miss this.

Suddenly, the Enterprise shoots ahead with an incredible burst of speed. Kosinski gasps and is stunned by what is happening while Argyle and Riker look to each other dumbfounded. The warp core is shown pulsing at an incredible rate. On the bridge, La Forge reports the ship passed warp 10 (which seems to violate later canon that defines warp 10 as occupying every spot in the universe simultaneously). They travel for several minutes at that speed. Picard orders an all stop. Data reports that no one had ever stopped at this velocity, but the Enterprise comes safely to a halt. Picard orders a position report, but Data and La Forge look puzzled by the readings. Data indicates they have left the Milky Way galaxy, passed through another, and are now on the far side of the M33, or Triangula. The Enterprise had traveled a distance of 2,700,000 light years. La Forge calculates that, at maximum warp, it would take over 300 years to get home. A message is sent via subspace radio to Starfleet Command - which Data calculates will arrive at Starfleet in a little over 51 years.

Kosinski comes to the bridge where Picard demands an explanation of what happened. Kosinski rattles off some technical babble and believes he made what he calls an "incredible mistake". He is fascinated by the results and ponders about the advancements it will bring to space exploration. Picard is more interested in returning home safely than celebrating the event. Kosinski explains he'll just do whatever he did... again, and everything should be fine. Back in engineering, the alien assistant appears exhausted. Wesley knows that Kosinski had nothing to do with the burst of speed, however the alien is too tired to explain himself, only stating he means no harm in what he's doing. Picard decides to head back to Federation territory - knowing that if this effect can be repeated other vessels could perform follow up visits.

Wesley tries to inform Riker that Kosinski didn't cause the problem, but the commander is too busy to listen. Kosinski and his assistant run the experiment again; the Enterprise heads into warp on a course back to known space. Kosinski becomes nervous as speed increases and nothing seems to happen. The assistant forces himself to concentrate; this time however, Riker notices the alien's phasing as the Enterprise jaunts forward at incredible speed. Picard orders a full stop and position report; this time however, there is no way of knowing where they have ended up. Even the space around them is bizarre, filled with unknown shapes and colors of energy. Data guesses they are literally, "where none have gone before."

Picard heads to engineering just as Lt. Worf hears a peculiar grunting next to him. He turns and sees, to his delight, a Klingon targ (a boar-like animal with spines along its back). Tasha Yar sees the animal as well, which Worf identifies as a pet he had when he was a boy. Worf bends down to pet the animal, but suddenly it vanishes as strangely as it appeared. Picard's turbolift arrives at engineering level, but when the doors open, he catches himself before falling into an empty void of nothingness. He reels back in terror and the doors close. They open again, and this time a normal corridor appears, onto which he gingerly steps.

Throughout the ship, more hallucinations appear; Tasha Yar sees a cat she found while on the run from a rape gang - one of many horrors she faced during her youth on her brutal colony world. Picard encounters a couple of terrified crewmen running from an invisible horror behind them, as well as an Ensign dancing in a cargo bay. Picard braves the remaining corridor and encounters his long dead mother sitting at a table having tea. He questions her about what is going on, but is interrupted when Riker calls him. When he turns back, he sees an empty corridor once again. Picard begins to understand that the illusions are conjured by thoughts. He orders Red Alert, thinking the klaxon will get the crew's attention and snap them out of their fantasies. He knows whatever part of the universe they are in, thought and reality are somehow intermixed. He orders the crew to keep focus on what they are doing, and not let their minds wander.

Riker leads the captain to sickbay, where Kosinski's assistant lies unconscious on a table. Picard demands an explanation from Kosinski, but Riker points out that he had nothing to do with the warp effect. In fact, Kosinski's formulas are nonsense, and it was his assistant's ability the whole time. With a gaping hole in his ego, Kosinski stands humiliated. He expresses that he truly believed his formulas worked, but never knew why. Picard listens to Wesley's explanation of what happened during the tests just as Dr. Crusher announces the alien is dying. The alien's physiology is too complex for Beverly to figure out, but Picard stresses that the alien is their only hope of getting home, which is estimated at over one billion light years away, and she must revive him.

The alien comes to and Picard feverishly questions him. The alien identifies himself as "a Traveler", explaining that he journeys the universe for reasons of curiosity. He indicates that he sought passage aboard Starfleet vessels to explore the universe, acting as Kosinski's assistant, and allowing the expert to take all the credit. He admits it seemed a worthwhile trade. The Traveller goes on to explain that he has the ability to focus pure thought like a lens that can alter reality, stating that thought and reality are one and the same. This explains what is happening to the crew in this part of the universe: proof their own minds can modify reality. Saddened, the alien apologizes for the predicament in which he placed the Enterprise, saying he made a mistake in bringing them here. Humans are not yet ready to face this part of the universe, he explains, without the ability to better control the situation.

The Traveler asks to talk with Picard alone, at which point he explains that encountering Wesley, and others like him, is why he travels. Picard is unsure of Wesley's role in the recent events, but the alien explains that Wesley has a gift. Likening the young Crusher's gift to that of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the Traveler explains that Wesley is fated to craft his destiny with the tools of science and the instruments of physics. The Traveler requests Picard only encourage the boy to fulfill his destiny, and to never inform him of it. Picard remains unsure of what the Traveler is attempting to explain, but agrees to help Wesley any way he can.

The ship prepares for transit and as minds now have the power to warp reality, Picard orders the crew to concentrate on their duties of supporting the Traveler. The alien appears strengthened by this and takes his place at engineering. Wesley stands near him, offering support. On the bridge, Picard takes the ship to warp and the Enterprise experiences another explosion of speed. The Traveler phases out to near transparency, and eventually he completely disappears. The Enterprise exits warp, arriving safely at their starting position. To the dismay of all, especially Wesley, the Traveler does not reappear.

Afterward, Picard calls Wesley to the bridge to encourage along his "destiny." Wesley is commended by Picard on a job well done during the Traveller incident, and to Wesley's surprise, granted the rank of acting ensign, thus allowing him unrestricted access to the bridge and a role as a member of the bridge crew.

Trivia

• Eric Menyuk, who played the Traveler, had originally tried out for the part of Data.
• The original script for this episode, which was credited to Diane Duane and Michael Reaves, was completely rewritten for shooting by producer Maurice Hurley.
• Some have suggested that Kozinski, the propulsion expert, held the rank of warrant officer. He wears a standard Starfleet uniform; however, his rank insignia is unique to the series. If so, then his episode marks the only known appearance of a warrant officer in any Star Trek television series episode or feature film. Certainly, his position as a senior technical expert would make him a candidate for a warrant office in a technical billet in many present-day militaries. Because of his highly disrespectful attitude towards higher-ranking officers, many have instead speculated that Kozinski may have been a civilian expert and not a Starfleet officer. This is also a possibility, as certain present-day military forces (such as the United States Navy) often employ civilian technical representatives (known informally as "tech-reps") to perform facilities and vessel maintenance, diagnostics, and upgrades. These "tech-reps" usually wear a standard undress uniform (such as a US Navy khaki uniform), though with no rank insignia. (The first season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine gave indications that Miles O'Brien might be a Warrant Officer, but this was disproved in later seasons when his character was confirmed as a Senior Chief Petty Officer.)
• This episode is the first Next Generation episode to explicitly mention a "speed limit" for warp vessels. Prior to this, speeds greater than Warp 10 were routinely featured in Trek-based novels and comic books and in one episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series, the Enterprise was propelled at a speed greater than Warp 30. After this episode aired, a widely accepted piece of fanon was developed that the warp speed scale was, at some point, recalibrated between the events of TOS and those of TNG. This is officially fanon as, to date, no film or TV episode has yet suggested that the warp speed scale was ever changed. The Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, published by Pocket Books, does mention that series creator Gene Roddenberry decided to recalibrate the warp scale, placing Warp 10 as the absolute maximum (i.e., infinity).
• When the Enterprise is first flung 2.7 million light years away, Geordi says that it would take over three hundred years to return to the United Federation of Planets. By the estimation of 300 years to go 2,700,000 light years at maximum warp, it can be established that the Enterprise's maximum speed is less than 9,000 * c.

External links

• Where No One Has Gone Before at Memory Alpha