Random Thoughts (episode)

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B'Elanna is imprisoned for having violent thoughts on a planet of peaceful telepaths.

Summary

The USS Voyager is in orbit around a planet of telepathic lifeforms called the Mari. Down on the planet, Lieutenant jg B'Elanna Torres and Captain Kathryn Janeway are doing business with a man called Guill. The captain is attempting to negotiate a reasonable price for what she wants to buy. Just as they reach an agreement, a man bumps into Torres. She gets angry for a second as the man apologizes but she accepts his apology. Guill comes over and asks if she is all right. She says yes and Janeway finishes her transaction. A short while later, they hear screaming in the streets. They run over to find the man who bumped into Torres beating another man bloody. The beaten man is severely injured as Janeway stops the aggressor. The aggressor seems surprised at himself and says he does not know why he did that.

While all of this is happening, Lt. Commander Tuvok and the city's Chief Examiner, Nimira, talk of security and maintaining order. Nimira says there has been no violence in their society for years. She is one of the last security officers among the Mari. Tuvok offers to transport her aboard Voyager to demonstrate their ways of security enforcement.

On Voyager, Tuvok and Nimira walk out of the brig while Nimira comments on what an odd concept the brig is: keeping a person in confinement as a punishment. Tuvok explains more on how their security system works. When they hear of the incident on the street however, they both beam back to the surface to investigate.

Back on the planet, Nimira asks Janeway, Neelix and Torres routine questions about the incident because they were all witnesses. While asking questions, she telepathically observes their minds. As she is interrogating Torres, the incident where the man bumped into her comes up. Torres admits that she was angry at him and felt like hitting him back for a split second. Upon hearing that comment, Nimira puts Torres under arrest for having violent thoughts.

Nimira justifies her decision by stating that Torres' images were transferred to the man earlier that day in that split-second when she had her violent thoughts. Because of this trasnfer, it was Torres' fault that the crime took place in the first place. Janeway tries to explain that it really was not Torres' fault and that the Mari could not possibly incarcerate her for her "thoughts" because, after all, the man who committed the act ought to be held responsible for his own actions. However, Nimira refuses to accept Janeway's argument and schedules an engramatic purge of Torres's memory to remove those images. Janeway tries to stop Nimira but she refuses and apologizes, stating that this practice is necessary and part of the Mari legal and law-enforcement system.

Janeway and Tuvok begin their own investigation of the crime to find a way to stop the engramatic purge which could cause Torres serious brain injury. They cannot seem to find any convincing evidence except that the man, Frane, had been charged numerous times with possessing violent thoughts. Nimira says that this information is irrelevant.

Later that day, while Neelix and Seven of Nine are on the planet's surface talking, they hear a scream. They rush over to the source. They find an old woman with a bloody knife standing over Talli, a woman with whom Neelix had become friends. Talli is dead. Neelix is deeply upset that Talli was killed and, on Voyager, asks Tuvok to do everything in his power to find who was responsible for this act and bring him to justice.

Tuvok and Nimira have no doubt that the murder and the beating have a connection. Nimira is still certain that it is Torres's fault but Tuvok decides to interrogate Torres for himself and decides to do a mind meld with her. The meld is not very deep but Torres starts to remember exactly what she was thinking when the man bumped into her. She suddenly remembers something very disturbing about Guill that day, when he asked her if she was alright right after that man had bumped into.

Tuvok later decides to interview Guill. The way Guill answers him makes Tuvok suspicious so that when Guill leaves to supposedly have dinner with his family, Tuvok follows him. He finds him and another man, Malin, talking. Malin hands him a case of what appears to be money and Tuvok confronts them. Based on the conversation he had earlier with Guill, he realizes that Guill is in the business of sharing and collecting violent images between people. Tuvok offers to share his violent images with him but, having no intention of really going through with this, he attempts to take Guill to Nimira for investigation before the sharing of his thoughts can happen. Before Tuvok and Guill go to Nimira, Guill’s helpers take Tuvok by force and make him expose his violent thoughts. Tuvok locks Guill in a mind meld and gives him what he wants but Vulcan emotions, which they've learned to suppress, are extremely intense compared to many other humanoids and Guill is overwhelmed by the violence and savagery of Tuvok's deepest, darkest thoughts.

The next day, Nimira takes Torres to begin the engramatic purge. Because Tuvok has not returned to Voyager, Janeway has no evidence to stop Nimira. Nimira begins the purge just as Tuvok returns to Voyager with Guill. Janeway says it is extremely important to stop the engramatic purge immediately. Nimira is reluctant but agrees to stop the purge while presented with the findings of Tuvok's investigation. Tuvok explains to Nimira that it was in fact Guill who caused all the incidents the previous day. He explains that Guill is a big merchant in a black market in which the Mari sell violent thoughts to each other. Apparently, the Mari are not as enlightened as initially thought. Their attempt to outlaw violent thoughts has not made violence go away – all it has done is force people to share it in back alleys. Tuvok tells Nimira that it appears as if the Mari have a somewhat more serious problem than the random thoughts of a single alien. Nimira is extremely surprised and has difficulty believing what she hears but she completely stops the engramatic purge of Torres.

After leaving orbit, The Doctor reverses the effects that the partial engramatic purge had on Torres. In the corridor, Tuvok explains to Torres that investigating this case has given him a new respect for her inner struggle: burdened as she is by her primitive Klingon psyche. Tuvok explains that it is a wonder she is able to keep her violent thoughts under control as much as she does. Torres seems amused, questioning whether Tuvok complemented her and thanks him for his help.

Later, in the captain's ready room, Seven complains to Janeway that this crew's philosophy of exploration and first contact exposes Voyager to constant risk. She suggests that they avoid all extraneous contact with outsiders and maintain a direct course for home in order to increase their chances of getting there in a timely manner and in one piece. However, Janeway explains that they seek out new races because they want to, not because they follow protocols. Their experiences with the Mari, for example, gave them insights into a culture they have never encountered. Even though Seven finds that irrelevant Janeway explains that this is how they gain knowledge. She tells Seven their mission is not going to change. Somewhat confused, Seven accepts the captain’s explanation, even though she disagrees.

Log entries

Captain's log, USS Voyager, 2374

Memorable quotes

"Your brig, it's a puzzling concept. Shutting someone away as punishment. Do you find that it rehabilitates the prisoner?"
"The brig is primarily used as a means of ensuring the safety of others."
"In what sense?"
"For example, if we find ourselves with a hostile alien in our custody we may need to confine the individual until we can locate the proper authorities."
"I see."
"And on rare occasions we have been forced to incarcerate a crew member who has committed a serious infraction."
"I'm surprised that one of your people could be capable of doing something serious enough to warrant imprisonment."
"It's extremely rare. In any case, the brig has been occupied for less than one percent of our journey."
"Forgive me, Tuvok, but it seems barbaric."
"If all species were as enlightened as yours and mine, there would be no need for prisons." (telepathically)

- Chief Examiner Nimira and Tuvok

"You don't understand the truth of violence. Its darkness...its power!"

- Tuvok, when sharing his violent thoughts.

"Where we come from, people are responsible for their own actions."
"And here, people are responsible for their own thoughts."

- Torres and Chief Examiner Nimira

"Tom - I may have let you sit in the captain's chair, but remember - she's still the boss."

- Chakotay

Background Information

Gwynyth Walsh (Nimira) previously played B'Etor in three TNG episodes, DS9: "Past Prologue" and Star Trek Generations.
One of the buildings of the Mari city is a reuse of the Chronowerx building from "Future's End".
The doors in the medical lab seem to have a sound that combines the familiar door sound from TOS as well as the door opening sound of DS9's Security Office.
The surface of the Mari homeworld features the Delmar T. Oviatt Library from California State University, Northridge.
The communicators used by the Mari security officers are very similar to the communicators used by the terrorists who attempted to steal trilithium resin from the USS Enterprise-D in TNG: "Starship Mine".
The uniforms worn by the Mari security officers are also very similar to those worn by the Rutian police officers in TNG: "The High Ground". In addition, the Mari uniform includes a patch reused from the uniforms of the guards of Sanctuary District A from DS9: "Past Tense, Part I" and "Past Tense, Part II", including the conspicuous letter "A." The only difference is that the Mari patch has been dyed red.
This is the first time the Star Trek: First Contact-style uniforms were seen on Voyager, albeit in footage only.

Event Horizon footage

Tuvok's violent thoughts include scenes from Star Trek Generations (the scene of Veridian III exploding and of the Nexus in that planet's upper atmosphere), Star Trek: First Contact (a view of a Borg pursuing USS Enterprise-E crew members), footage of the Kradin from VOY: "Nemesis" and the mother creature from "Parturition", though not in footage that was used in those particular episodes. Also utilized is the 1997 film Template:IMDb-name. Event Horizon was released to theaters on August 17th, only three months before this episode aired. The film was produced by Paramount Pictures.

Video and DVD releases

UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 4.5, catalog number VHR 4626, 1 June 1998.
As part of the VOY Season 4 DVD collection.

Links and references

Starring

Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway

Also starring

Robert Beltran as Commander Chakotay
Roxann Dawson as Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres
Robert Duncan McNeill as Lieutenant Tom Paris
Ethan Phillips as Neelix
Robert Picardo as The Doctor
Tim Russ as Lieutenant Commander Tuvok
Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine
Garrett Wang as Ensign Harry Kim

Guest Stars

Co-Stars

Star Trek: Voyager
Season 4

Next episode:
"Concerning Flight"