[Promenade]

CRUSHER: I should be through with the water contaminant analysis in a few hours. Then I'm going to check out one of the holosuites. They have got a relaxation programme here, Jean-Luc, from Alture Seven. Listen to this. First they bath you in a protein bath. Then a cloud of chromal vapour carries you into a meditation chamber. You should try it.
PICARD: Well, I'll be too busy discussing the finer points of water management with ten Bajoran bureaucrats. And they won't be carrying me on a cloud of chromal vapour. Ops.

[Replimat]

WORF: What is this?
LAFORGE: It's pasta al fiorella. One of my favourites. Don't worry, you'll love it. You know, I really want to take a look at those Ktarian antiques. I understand they've got a twenty first century plasma coil in almost perfect condition. (pushes plate away) I'll have to talk to Chief O'Brien about these replicators. Worf, I don't see how you can eat that stuff. It tastes like liquid polymer.
WORF: Delicious.
LAFORGE: You know, I think I'm going to try that kiosk on the other side of the promenade. It looked like they had some real food.

[Bridge]

DATA: Commander, I am reading a minor power drain in the starboard EPS conduit.
RIKER: What's causing it?
DATA: The problem's originating in Sickbay. There has been an unauthorized access into the computer's bio-imaging systems.
RIKER: You'd better check it out.
DATA: Aye, sir.

[Medical lab]

(a young, eager, intense Doctor in engrossed in what he is doing)
DATA: Excuse me. Do you have authorisation to work in this area?
BASHIR: Come in, come in. I need a hand with this field generator. See if you can boost the power output to sixty five percent.
DATA: I am sorry, but use of sickbay equipment is limited to ship's medical personnel.
BASHIR: Ah. Doctor Julian Bashir, Chief Medical officer, Deep Space Nine. And you are Commander?
DATA: Data.
BASHIR: Commander Data. The synthetic lifeform.
DATA: Yes.
BASHIR: It's an honour to meet you, sir. I've heard so much about you. You must have a fascinating perspective into biocybernetic research. I'd be delighted if we could discuss the subject sometime.
DATA: I would be happy to do so. However, I must ask you to stop your experiment.
BASHIR: Ah, yes. I realise I should have asked before using your sickbay, but it would've taken me days to analyse this device with the computer I have on Deep Space Nine.
DATA: What type of device is this?
BASHIR: It was discovered in the Gamma Quadrant. I think it must be some sort of medical instrument.
DATA: It appears to employ plasma inputs.
BASHIR: I'm hoping it's a medical scanner. I wanted to use your computer to find out how it works.
DATA: I suggest we take it to Engineering and run a complete circuit-pathway diagnostic.
BASHIR: Splendid. I must admit, Commander I didn't think you'd be so personable.

[Replimat]

(a very wrinkled alien with the voice of the modern Zephram Cochrane approaches Worf while he is still eating the dodgy pasta)
SHREK: Klingon. You are Starfleet Klingon.
WORF: I am Lieutenant Worf.
SHREK: Worf. Son of Mogh.
WORF: What of it?
SHREK: I am Jaglom Shrek, a man with information to sell.
WORF: You have no information I could use.
SHREK: I would not be so sure. It is about your father, Mogh.
WORF: My father died twenty five years ago at Khitomer.
SHREK: That is what you believe. What if I tell you he is still alive?

[Somewhere dark and private]

WORF: My father is dead.
SHREK: No, he's not. I know where he is.
WORF: How is that possible?
SHREK: I expect to be paid for my information. Perhaps we could negotiate an exchange. The location of your father, for
WORF: Tell me what you know.
SHREK: Not all of the Klingons at Khitomer were killed during the massacre. Many were captured by the Romulans and placed in a prison camp on a remote planet. Your father was among them.
WORF: Where is this planet?
SHREK: Not far from here. I could give you the location, for a price.
WORF: A Klingon would rather die than be taken prisoner. I should kill you for spreading lies about my family. My father was killed defending Khitomer.

[Bridge]

WORF: Ensign Lopez. This duty roster is unacceptable. The assignments should be listed in order of priority. Prepare it again. I will expect it no later than oh nine hundred hours. Dismissed.
RIKER: Worf, we need to get your rendezvous schedule to Commander Rudman on board the Merrimac as soon as you
WORF: I am well aware of your request, Commander.
RIKER: Lieutenant, are you all right?
WORF: Yes, sir. I am fine. I will send your schedule, sir. Excuse me.

[Worf's quarters]

(he is practising his martial arts, but gets angry and smashes a glass table. The doorbell chimes)
WORF: Enter.
TROI: Did the table do something wrong?
WORF: No.
TROI: I'm glad you weren't that hard on Ensign Lopez.
WORF: He made a mistake. The duty roster was inaccurate.
TROI: Would you like to talk about what's bothering you or would you like to break some more furniture?
WORF: Today on the Promenade, a Yridian approached me. He knew who I was and tried to sell me information about Mogh.
TROI: Your father?
WORF: He claimed that he's alive and is being held captive in a Romulan prison camp.
TROI: My god. Could it be true?
WORF: A Klingon would never allow himself to be captured. A warrior fights to the death. If my father were alive it would dishonour his sons and their sons for three generations. Even Alexander would bear the burden of guilt.
TROI: So, you're willing to ignore the possibility because you're concerned about dishonour?
WORF: My father is dead. That Yridian is selling lies!
TROI: If you're so sure about that, why are you still so upset? Worf, you can't deny the possibility just because you don't want it to be true. If you want to talk about this, you know where to find me.

[Engineering]

DATA: If we transfer twenty megajoules of energy from the dilithium chamber into the plasma inputs, it should be sufficient to activate the device.
LAFORGE: It's worth a try. You two can begin by connecting the coil to the chamber. I'll configure the energy transfer.
BASHIR: Right. Data, can I ask you a personal question?
DATA: Certainly.
BASHIR: Does your hair grow?
DATA: I can control the rate of my follicle replenishment. However, I have not yet had a reason to modify the length of my hair. Why do you ask?
BASHIR: Just curious.
DATA: Power conduits are ready. Is something wrong, Doctor?
BASHIR: You're breathing.
DATA: Yes. I do have a functional respiration system. However, its purpose is to maintain thermal control of my internal systems. I am, in fact, capable of functioning for extended periods in a vacuum.
BASHIR: And you have a pulse.
DATA: My circulatory system not only produces bio-chemical lubricants, it regulates micro-hydraulic power. Most people are interested in my extraordinary abilities. How fast I can compute, my memory capacity, how long I will live. No one has ever asked me if my hair will grow, or noticed that I can breathe.
BASHIR: Your creator went to a lot of trouble to make you seem human. I find that fascinating.
LAFORGE: Okay, I think we're ready to begin the transfer.
DATA: Power connections are complete.
BASHIR: I'll monitor the coil's transfer rate. Will you keep an eye on the transient power response?
DATA: Of course. We are ready, Geordi.
LAFORGE: Okay. Initiating energy transfer.
(an orange light appears between the two sections of the device)
BASHIR: Power levels are holding steady.
DATA: Transient response is normal.
BASHIR: Hold on. I'm picking up a power surge. Reduce the transfer rate.
LAFORGE: Reducing rate by twenty percent.
(a crackle of energy lances out and hits Data. He falls back, rigid)
LAFORGE: What happened?
BASHIR: The power connections blew. It sent out some kind of plasma shock.
LAFORGE: His synaptic energy is dropping.

[Corridor]

(Data is having a vision. He follows the sound of metal on metal to discover a young Noonian Soong pounding on an anvil with a hammer.)

[Engineering]

(Geordi is doing something to the inside of Data's head when he wakes up)
BASHIR: Data, are you all right?
DATA: I believe so. What has happened?
LAFORGE: A plasma shock overloaded your positronic net. You were down a good thirty seconds.
DATA: That cannot be possible. I have a memory record for that period of time. I can recall a series of images. I saw Doctor Soong. My father.
(after the adverts, tests are continuing)
LAFORGE: Data, I can't find anything wrong with your positronic subprocessors or your circuit controllers. No sign of any residual energy fluctuation, cascade overload.
DATA: My internal diagnostic indicates that my memory systems are functioning within normal parameters. For the forty seven seconds that I was inactive, there is no record of cognitive activity.
LAFORGE: There's no doubt about it, Data. You were completely shut down. Maybe you had some kind of random power fluctuation, caused you to access one of your memory files.
DATA: That cannot be. The image I saw was of Doctor Soong as a young man. I did not encounter him until much later in his life. There appears to be no rational explanation for my experience.
LAFORGE: I'll take another look at the diagnostic log. In the meantime, you'd better disconnect that device.
BASHIR: Data, perhaps we're going about this the wrong way.
DATA: How so?
BASHIR: Well, maybe you had a dream or a hallucination.
DATA: I am not capable of either of those functions.
BASHIR: Yet you can't account for what happened today, can you?
DATA: At present, I cannot.
BASHIR: Well maybe you should approach this from a more human standpoint. You're right that machines can't have hallucinations, but then again, most machines can't grow hair.

[Ten Forward]

(Data is about to speak, then changes his mind)
WORF: Wait. What is it, Commander?
DATA: I am sorry to bother you, but I have a question of a personal nature. Do you have a moment?
WORF: A moment.
DATA: I have heard you mention that you once experienced a vision.
WORF: Yes. When I was young my adoptive parents arranged for me to partake in the Rite of MajQa.
DATA: I understand it involves deep meditation in the lava caves of No'Mat. That prolonged exposure to the heat induces a hallucinatory effect.
WORF: Why are you asking me about this?
DATA: I have recently had an unusual experience, which might be described as a vision.
WORF: What happened?
DATA: An accident in Engineering shut down my cognitive functions for a short period of time, yet I seemed to remain conscious. I saw my father.
WORF: You are very fortunate. That is a powerful vision.
DATA: If it was a vision, I do not know how to proceed.
WORF: You must find its meaning. If it has anything to do with your father, you must learn all you can about it. In the Klingon MajQa ritual, there is nothing more important than receiving a revelation about your father. Your father is part of you, always. Learning about him teaches you about yourself. That is why no matter where he is or what he has done, you must find him.
DATA: But I am not looking for my father.
WORF: Yes, of course. Do not stop until you have the answer.
DATA: Thank you, Worf.

[Promenade]

(Morn is in conversation with a blue-skinned woman when Worf spots Shrek on the upper level)
SHREK: Lieutenant Worf. You have reconsidered.
WORF: Yes. I wish to go to the Romulan prison camp.
SHREK: Excellent. I can provide you with the coordinates.
WORF: No. You will take me there.
SHREK: No, it's not possible. I have no means of transportation.
WORF: I checked the station records. You have a vessel that is capable of warp speed.
SHREK: I, I do not have the time. I have other business.
(Worf dangles Shrek over the railing)
WORF: What is the real reason you do not wish to take me? Is it because what you have told me is not true?
SHREK: No. The camp is located on the edge of Romulan space. It is a dangerous journey.
WORF: Dangerous? It would be more dangerous for you to refuse.
SHREK: Very well. But I will require full payment in advance.
WORF: No. No, I will pay you after.
SHREK: But
(Worf leans him further over the railing)
SHREK: Yes, yes, of course. After.
WORF: If you are lying, if there is no prison camp, I will kill you.

[Shrek's shuttlecraft]

SHREK: The Romulan guards have a detection perimeter. It will be necessary to transport you to the surface thirty kilometres from the prison camp.
WORF: The foliage is very dense. It will take me approximately twelve hours to reach the camp. I may have to travel during the night.
SHREK: That would be unwise. This is not an empty jungle. There are many predators.
WORF: I am prepared.
SHREK: Very well. But I recommend that you look up from time to time. The arboreal needle snake likes to attack from above. I will provide you with a map of the camp.
WORF: How did you learn of this camp?
SHREK: It is not important for you to know.
WORF: Why have you not informed the Klingon government of this place?
SHREK: I sell information. I do not give it away.
WORF: You do this for profit.
SHREK: I have my reasons, Mister Worf.
WORF: What reasons could you have for letting these people suffer?
SHREK: We will arrive in the Carraya Sector in approximately three hours. I suggest you get some rest.

[Ready room]

PICARD: Come.
(Data enters)
PICARD: Yes, Mister Data?
DATA: I am sorry to disturb you, sir.
PICARD: Not at all. I'm here studying the intricacies of Bajoran aqueduct management. I would welcome an interruption. Please, sit down.
DATA: I require your advice. I have come to an impasse regarding my recent unexplained experience.
PICARD: Your vision of Doctor Soong. How is your investigation proceeding?
DATA: I have analysed over four thousand different religious and philosophical systems, as well as over two hundred psychological schools of thought, in an effort to understand what happened.
PICARD: And what have you found?
DATA: I have been unable to find a single interpretation of the images I saw during the time I was shut down. The hammer, for instance, has several meanings. The Klingon culture views the hammer as a symbol of power. However, the Taqua tribe of Nagor sees it as an icon of hearth and home. The Ferengis view it as a sign of sexual prowess.
PICARD: I'm curious, Mister Data. Why are you looking at all these other cultures?
DATA: The interpretation of visions and other metaphysical experiences are almost always culturally derived, and I have no culture of my own.
PICARD: Yes, you do. You're a culture of one, which is no less valid than a culture of one billion. Perhaps the key to understanding your experience is to stop looking into other sources for a meaning. When we look at Michaelangelo's David or Symnay's Tomb and we don't ask what does this mean to other people. The real question is, what does it mean to us? Explore this image, Data. Let it excite your imagination. Focus on it. See where it leads you. Let it inspire you.
DATA: I believe I understand, sir. Thank you.
PICARD: Good luck, Mister Data.

[Data's quarters]

(Data paints his vision, then begins to embellish it)

[Jungle]

(it is dark and there are lots of noises)
SHREK: The camp is in a southeasterly direction. After approximately ten kilometres, you will come to the edge of the sulphur canyon. Look for a riverbank and follow it until you come to the camp. This is a homing device. It will allow you to find my ship when I return. I will not be landing in the same location.
WORF: When will you return?
SHREK: Fifty hours. Do not be late.
(Worf sets off, looking up regularly. Many hours later, he hears splashing and finds himself spying on someone who has just been bathing in a pool. We discover this is a Klingon young lady)
BA'EL: Who's there? Toq, is that you? I can see you. I hope you're enjoying yourself. Toq, I swear I will hang you by your
(Worf stands, she starts to run)
WORF: Stop, please,
BA'EL: Who are you?
WORF: I've come to help you.
BA'EL: Help me?
WORF: Yes. How did you get out of the camp? Does anyone know you are gone?
BA'EL: Yes I come here often
WORF: You must lead me to the camp.
BA'EL: You are Klingon. Where did you come from?
WORF: That does not matter. I have come to take you home.
BA'EL: Home? This is my home.
ROMULAN [OC]: Ba'el?
WORF: It is very important you tell no one you saw me.
(Ba'el goes to meet the person who called her)
BA'EL: Is it time for the ceremony?
ROMULAN: Yes, we're about to begin.

[Data's quarters]

(the painting has developed a lot when the doorbell rings)
DATA: Come in.
LAFORGE: Data, what are you doing? We were supposed to meet at
(There are lots of paintings stacked around the walls. Corridor, hammer striking metal, hand. Data is working on two more at the same time.)
LAFORGE: Data, what are you doing?
DATA: I am painting.
LAFORGE: I can see that. How long have you been at this?
DATA: I have created twenty three individual illustrations in the past six hours, twenty seven minutes. I believe you could say I have been inspired.
LAFORGE: I'll say.
DATA: I have done as Captain Picard suggested. I have tried to explore the images.
LAFORGE: Has it helped?
DATA: I am not certain. I began by painting the image of the blacksmith. Then I painted the corridor. After that, the anvil, the hammer, and Doctor Soong's face. The thought then occurred to me that I should paint smoke.
LAFORGE: Smoke? Why smoke?
DATA: I cannot explain it. It is not an image I saw during my vision.
LAFORGE: Well, you have the smoke coming out of a bucket of water. Blacksmiths used to use water to cool the metal. Maybe that's why you painted it.
DATA: Perhaps. After I painted the smoke, it then occurred to me to paint a bird's wing. I then drew an entire bird. A flock of birds flying in formation. An individual feather. If the image of a bird is related to my vision, I do not understand how. I am left with more of a mystery than ever. Geordi, I would like to recreate the experiment which caused my initial shut down.
LAFORGE: What for?
DATA: I do not know how much longer my vision would have continued had I not been reactivated.
LAFORGE: Data, that plasma shock almost fused your neural net. I don't think it's such a good idea to try that again.
DATA: I am aware of the risks involved. But I can think of no other way to investigate my experience. Will you help?
LAFORGE: Yeah. Yeah, sure. I'll go find Doctor Bashir.
DATA: I will prepare the power transfer.

[Engineering]

LAFORGE: Okay, Data, we're going to monitor every subsystem in your positronic net. If I see any neural pathways overload beyond sixty five percent, I'm shutting down the experiment.
DATA: Agreed.
BASHIR: We're ready.
LAFORGE: Initiating energy transfer. Get ready, Data.
BASHIR: Power levels are rising.
LAFORGE: It should be any second now.
(the energy burst knocks the tricorder out of Data's hand)

[Corridor]

(Once again, Data finds Soong at the anvil. He plunges a bird's wing into water, and steam rises. When it clears, Soong is gone and a raven is there. It flies off down the corridor)
DATA: The bird did not appear in my original experience. This vision is different.

[Bridge]

(There is no furniture, no equipment)
SOONG: Of course it's different. It's never the same. Always changing. Unpredictable. It doesn't make sense.
DATA: What is happening, Father?
SOONG: I don't know, Data. What is happening?
DATA: We are on the Bridge of the Enterprise. My cat is present, my potted plant, and my paintings.
SOONG: A beginning. Still a little grounded in the mundane, but showing promise.
DATA: I do not understand.
SOONG: You're not supposed to. No man should know where his dreams come from. It spoils the mystery, the fun. I'm proud of you, son. I wasn't sure you'd ever develop the cognitive abilities to make it this far. But if you're here, if you can see me, you've crossed over the threshold from being a collection of circuits and subprocessors and have started a wonderful journey.
DATA: What type of journey?
(Data is lying on a bed)
SOONG: Think of it, think of it as an empty sky.
DATA: I do not understand.
SOONG: Shh. Just dream, Data. Dream. Data, you are the bird.
(and he flies along the corridor, past Soong and out into the wonders of space before waking up again in Engineering)

[Corridor]

DATA: The images I saw during the time I was shut down were generated by a series of previously dormant circuits in my neural net. I believe Doctor Soong incorporated those circuits into my base programming, intending to activate them when I reached a certain level of development.
BASHIR: But the plasma shock activated them prematurely.
DATA: That is correct.
BASHIR: I'm curious. Now that those circuits are active, what are you going to do with them?
DATA: I plan to shut down my cognitive functions for a brief period each day. I hope to generate new internal visions.
BASHIR: It sounds to me like you're talking about dreaming.
DATA: An accurate analogy.
BASHIR: Remarkable. You know, this is just the kind of thing that might get me published in the Starfleet Cybernetics Journal. Would you mind if I authored a paper on all this?
DATA: Of course not.
BASHIR: Thank you, Data. And sweet dreams.
(and Sid pads off down the corridor, wearing the pink overshoes designed to reduce sound on stage)

[Meeting hall]

(Worf climbs over the wall and follows the sound of singing to a table by a fire)
L'KOR: (sings) van'aj javDIch Qong DIr Sa'VIch ghIH yot quelI'Pa qevas HoH Qa. teblaw'nghu mughato'Du ylja'Qo' ylja'Qo' ylja'Qo'
(Worf follows an old man inside and grabs him)
WORF: Quiet! I'm a friend.
L'KOR: Who? Who are you?
WORF: Worf, son of Mogh.
L'KOR: Why have you come here?
WORF: I have come to find my father. Is he alive? Is he here?
L'KOR: Your father fell at Khitomer.
WORF: Did he die in battle?
L'KOR: He was fortunate.
WORF: You were captured.
L'KOR: Yes.
WORF: Romulans. They robbed you of your right to die in battle. There's very little time. How many Klingons are being held here?
L'KOR: Seventy three.
WORF: How many Romulans guard the camp?
L'KOR: Worf, there are things you do not understand.
WORF: What do you mean?
L'KOR: I must speak with the Elders.
(he goes to the doorway and calls the others in) 
L'KOR: ghoS! I knew your father well, Worf. And I remember you. A boy, barely able to lift a bat'leth. Once your father insisted we take you on the ritual hunt. You were so eager, you tried to take the beast with your bare hands. It mauled your arm.
WORF: I still have the scar. I do remember you now.
L'KOR: You should not have come here, Worf.
WORF: I do not understand.
L'KOR: You should not have come.
GI'RAL: Who is this?
WORF: I am Worf, son of Mogh. I have come to help you escape.
L'KOR: He does not know.
GI'RAL: (an old woman) He must leave at once.
L'KOR: No, it is too late for that. He would bring others. vang ghaH!
(The men grab him. Worf easily breaks free but Romulan soldiers stop him at the doorway)
L'KOR: We are not leaving here and neither are you.

To Be Continued...