Blink of an Eye (Voyager episode)
Encyclopedia
"Blink of an Eye" is the twelfth episode from the sixth season of Star Trek: Voyager
. This episode, well regarded among fans, is believed to have been inspired by the 1980 novel Dragon's Egg
.
It follows the crew's interaction with a world where time passes rapidly, allowing them to witness most of its inhabitant's history.
approaches an alien world which exhibits unique properties. It is discovered that the planet is enveloped in a tachyon
field, giving it an odd temporal nature. The crew of Voyager becomes fascinated by the strange world, and in an effort to learn more about it, Captain Kathryn Janeway
orders the ship to move closer. However, Voyager is trapped in orbit by a magnetic
field from which they cannot escape.
As the crew concocts an escape plan, Seven of Nine
surveys the strange planet and discovers that Voyager's presence is causing occasional quake
s on the planet. Further scans reveal that time passes at a much more rapid rate on the planet and is inhabited by a primitive humanoid race.
As hours on Voyager pass, centuries pass on the planet below and its humanoid inhabitants reach a level of technology similar to the 20th century
. As the crew discusses the unusually rapid technological progress of the species, a radio
message is broadcast at Voyager. Tom Paris
wants to reply, but Janeway counters that the species has still not developed warp
technology and so a reply would be a violation of the Prime Directive
. Instead, Janeway suggests a covert one-man mission to the planet.
As he would not be affected by the change in the passage of time, the Doctor volunteers for the mission. Upon returning he reports that Voyager, simply by its presence, has encouraged the culture to advance as the humanoids attempt to contact the "sky-ship." While some strive to establish peaceful contact others are developing increasingly powerful weaponry in an attempt to shoot down Voyager.
Meanwhile the species below develops technology sophisticated enough to send astronaut
s on a manned mission to make contact with the sky-ship. A capsule is launched and succeeds in docking with Voyager. Its two astronauts begin to explore the ship but fall unconscious from the stress of adjusting to the different time-line and are taken to sickbay. One dies but the other, Gotana-Retz, is successfully treated whilst Voyager is hit by a bombardment of antimatter
artillery
.
Janeway urges Gotana-Retz to return to the planet and convince them to cease the attack. Gotana-Retz does so just before Voyager's shields collapse. As the crew sigh in relief, two immense starships appear alongside Voyager, and using tractor beam
s, tow the vessel to safety. Gotana-Retz briefly transports to Voyager, and Janeway thanks him and his people.
On the surface, an elderly Gotana-Retz, long returned from his experience in space, gazes wistfully into the sky as his people's beloved Sky Ship vanishes from the heavens.
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
. This episode, well regarded among fans, is believed to have been inspired by the 1980 novel Dragon's Egg
Dragon's Egg
Dragon's Egg is a hard science fiction novel written by Robert L. Forward and published in 1980. In the story, Dragon's Egg is a neutron star with a surface gravity 67 billion times that of Earth, and inhabited by cheela, intelligent creatures that have the volume of sesame seeds and live a...
.
It follows the crew's interaction with a world where time passes rapidly, allowing them to witness most of its inhabitant's history.
Plot
The starship VoyagerUSS Voyager (Star Trek)
The fictional Intrepid-class starship USS Voyager is the primary setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. It is commanded by Captain Kathryn Janeway....
approaches an alien world which exhibits unique properties. It is discovered that the planet is enveloped in a tachyon
Tachyon
A tachyon is a hypothetical subatomic particle that always moves faster than light. In the language of special relativity, a tachyon would be a particle with space-like four-momentum and imaginary proper time. A tachyon would be constrained to the space-like portion of the energy-momentum graph...
field, giving it an odd temporal nature. The crew of Voyager becomes fascinated by the strange world, and in an effort to learn more about it, Captain Kathryn Janeway
Kathryn Janeway
Kathryn Janeway, played by Kate Mulgrew, is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise. As the captain of the Starfleet starship USS Voyager, she was the lead character on the television series Star Trek: Voyager, and later, a Starfleet admiral, as seen in the 2002 feature film Star Trek...
orders the ship to move closer. However, Voyager is trapped in orbit by a magnetic
Magnetism
Magnetism is a property of materials that respond at an atomic or subatomic level to an applied magnetic field. Ferromagnetism is the strongest and most familiar type of magnetism. It is responsible for the behavior of permanent magnets, which produce their own persistent magnetic fields, as well...
field from which they cannot escape.
As the crew concocts an escape plan, Seven of Nine
Seven of Nine
Seven of Nine is a fictional character on Star Trek: Voyager, portrayed by actress Jeri Ryan. Born human, she was assimilated by the Borg at the age of six. Eighteen years later, Voyager left Borg space with Seven on board, after attempts to negotiate passage through Borg space proved only...
surveys the strange planet and discovers that Voyager's presence is causing occasional quake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s on the planet. Further scans reveal that time passes at a much more rapid rate on the planet and is inhabited by a primitive humanoid race.
As hours on Voyager pass, centuries pass on the planet below and its humanoid inhabitants reach a level of technology similar to the 20th century
20th century
Many people define the 20th century as running from January 1, 1901 to December 31, 2000, others would rather define it as beginning on January 1, 1900....
. As the crew discusses the unusually rapid technological progress of the species, a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
message is broadcast at Voyager. Tom Paris
Tom Paris
Thomas Eugene "Tom" Paris, played by Robert Duncan McNeill, is a character in the television series Star Trek: Voyager. Paris serves as the chief helmsman and an auxiliary medic aboard the USS Voyager...
wants to reply, but Janeway counters that the species has still not developed warp
Warp drive (Star Trek)
Warp drive is a faster-than-light propulsion system in the setting of many science fiction works, most notably Star Trek. A spacecraft equipped with a warp drive may travel at velocities greater than that of light by many orders of magnitude, while circumventing the relativistic problem of time...
technology and so a reply would be a violation of the Prime Directive
Prime Directive
In the universe of Star Trek, the Prime Directive, Starfleet's General Order #1, is the most prominent guiding principle of the United Federation of Planets...
. Instead, Janeway suggests a covert one-man mission to the planet.
As he would not be affected by the change in the passage of time, the Doctor volunteers for the mission. Upon returning he reports that Voyager, simply by its presence, has encouraged the culture to advance as the humanoids attempt to contact the "sky-ship." While some strive to establish peaceful contact others are developing increasingly powerful weaponry in an attempt to shoot down Voyager.
Meanwhile the species below develops technology sophisticated enough to send astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
s on a manned mission to make contact with the sky-ship. A capsule is launched and succeeds in docking with Voyager. Its two astronauts begin to explore the ship but fall unconscious from the stress of adjusting to the different time-line and are taken to sickbay. One dies but the other, Gotana-Retz, is successfully treated whilst Voyager is hit by a bombardment of antimatter
Antimatter
In particle physics, antimatter is the extension of the concept of the antiparticle to matter, where antimatter is composed of antiparticles in the same way that normal matter is composed of particles...
artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
.
Janeway urges Gotana-Retz to return to the planet and convince them to cease the attack. Gotana-Retz does so just before Voyager's shields collapse. As the crew sigh in relief, two immense starships appear alongside Voyager, and using tractor beam
Tractor beam
A tractor beam is a device with the ability to attract one object to another from a distance. Since the 1990s, technology and research has labored to make it a reality, mostly at microscopic level. Less commonly, a similar beam that repels is called a pressor beam or repulsor beam...
s, tow the vessel to safety. Gotana-Retz briefly transports to Voyager, and Janeway thanks him and his people.
On the surface, an elderly Gotana-Retz, long returned from his experience in space, gazes wistfully into the sky as his people's beloved Sky Ship vanishes from the heavens.