The Quickening (DS9 episode)
Encyclopedia
"The Quickening" is an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...

, the 24th episode of the fourth season. It has an average fan rating of 4.5/5 on the official Star Trek website.

Plot

In this episode, Dr. Bashir
Julian Bashir
Lieutenant Julian Subatoi Bashir, M.D., played by Alexander Siddig, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Bashir is the chief medical officer of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS Defiant.-Overview:...

 and Jadzia Dax
Jadzia Dax
Jadzia Dax , played by Terry Farrell, was a main character during the first six seasons of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine....

 travel to a planet that was attacked by the Jem'Hadar
Jem'Hadar
In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Jem'Hadar are the shock troops of the powerful Dominion located in the Gamma Quadrant. Genetically engineered for strength and resolve, they are also short-lived and believe that "victory is life." They are bred to perceive the Founders, enigmatic...

 200 years earlier. In order to make an example of its people, the Jem'Hadar infected them with an incurable disease called the "blight" that leaves spidery black lesions on the body that at a random time (usually before adulthood) will "quicken" into a spreading red form that results in a slow, painful death.

Bashir is distraught when he learns that the closest equivalent to a doctor these people now possess is Trevean, a man who offers a swift and comfortable death through herbal treatments to the recently quickened. Bashir attempts to develop a cure with the help of recently quickened volunteers, but fails when he finds that the electric fields from his equipment are causing the virus to mutate rapidly.

When the others leave to return to Deep Space Nine
Deep Space Nine (space station)
Deep Space Nine is a fictitious space station, and is the eponymous primary setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It serves as a base for the exploration of the Gamma Quadrant via the Bajoran wormhole, and is a hub of trade and travel for the sector's denizens...

, Bashir elects to remain behind to help a recently quickened woman who is in late pregnancy. While he administers his anti-viral treatment to her, it appears to have no effect, and she dies shortly after childbirth. However, the child is born without the lesions, as the treatment apparently acts as a vaccine rather than a cure. This gives hope to the people of the planet that by applying the anti-viral treatment to pregnant women, the next generation can be free of the blight.

Back at DS9, Bashir is seen still working on a cure for the disease in those who already have it, but is unsuccessful. Sisko
Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Early life and career:...

reassures him that at least the next generation will be free of the disease, but Bashir does not seem entirely satisfied.

External links

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