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SUMMARY: Kes prematurely enters the Ocampan stage of 'elogium', ready to have a child. The clue to her unusual condition emanates from a spaceborne swarm of small primitive lifeforms.
the swarm as seen on the Bridge's viewscreen | Voyager encounters a swarm of small space-dwelling lifeforms, appearing on scanners as a magnetic disturbance. Janeway opts to study them from a distance. The creatures form a swarm of some two thousand, flagellate like protozoa and can achieve speeds of over 3,000 kilometres per second. They do not have a digestive system but have a porous outer covering, leading the crew to hypothesise that the lifeforms absorb nutrients directly from space. But the creatures also emit an electromagnetic resonance field, creating their own magnetic wake which pulls Voyager into their midst. |
Their unusual energy patterns create problems for many of the ship's systems and cause some very strange behaviour in Kes - she cannot stop gorging herself on strange foods including spawn beetles, and Neelix has to physically force and carry her to Sickbay.
Kes is horrified to find she has been snacking on spawn beetles |
Kes scoffs all kinds of foods in her quarters |
Neelix carries a protesting Kes from her quarters to Sickbay |
Kes shows Janeway the mitral sac on her back, which Janeway can feel under her clothes |
the elogium causes bodily changes in Kes, including the urge to gorge, and heavy perspiring |
As the crew tries to figure out how to move away from the lifeforms without harming them, the Doctor examines Kes and discovers that they are wreaking havoc wthin her body. The activity of the lifeforms is prematurely pushing her into the phase of life in which Ocampan women become fertile, known as the elogium. The process should only occur once in her life, which means that if Kes ever wants to have a child, she must do so immediately. |
| Janeway and Chakotay discuss the implications of having children aboard Voyager. Meanwhile, Kes asks Neelix to father her child, giving him only a short time to decide because a substance called the ipasaphor has already formed on her hands, making the mating bond possible and giving her fifty hours to begin the mating process. Neelix's initial hesitation causes Kes to question whether he really wants a baby with her.
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Kes and Neelix discuss having a baby together |
the Doctor performs the rolisisin ritual |
Neelix consults Tuvok on the realities of parenthood and eventually decides that he is ready to have a child. Accordingly Kes begins the ritual prelude to the mating process. The rolisisin, the ritual whereby the woman's feet are massaged until her tongue begins to swell, is normally performed by a parent and in their absence she chooses the Doctor instead. |
in the foreground is part of Voyager's starboard nacelle |
Torres modifies the main deflector and projects from it an inverted magnetic pulse toward the swarm of lifeforms in an attempt to break Voyager free. The plan works until some of the lifeforms attach themselves to the nacelles and turn blue, at the same time causing a massive energy drain from the ship. |
in the foreground is part of Voyager's starboard nacelle |
Suddenly, an even larger version of the creatures appears and blocks Voyager's path. The larger creature emits an electrically charged plasma stream with almost the same subspace signature as Voyager's warp nacelles. The swarm of smaller creatures is attracted to the subspace emissions. The crew try to escape the large creature which begins ramming them. |
Voyager rolls |
They at last realise that it is a mate for the swarm and that it thinks Voyager is a rival. Every aggressive move they make is met by a stronger one by the creature. Chakotay suggests Voyager acts submissively by mimicking the actions of the smaller lifeforms by rolling over and, as Kim adds, venting plasma residue to turn the ship blue. The plan works and the swarm moves away with the larger creature. |
Kes ultimately decides against having a baby, but is relieved by the Doctor's belief that her elogium may have been a false alarm brought on by the electrophoretic field created by the swarm. If that turns out to be true, she should have another chance at having a child.
Ironically, Ensign Wildman, a xenobiologist in the science division, visits Janeway to inform her that she is pregnant (her husband remained in the Alpha Quadrant), which effectively brings to an end Janeway's internal struggle on whether or not Voyager should be a generational ship.
 | | JANEWAY: What would that mean to the children? What kind of life would we be giving them, aboard a starship travelling through a potentially hostile part of space? And are we equipped to provide for their needs - childcare, educational facilities? We'd be building an entire community on board this ship! That's a massive commitment. |
| | NEELIX: Bringing a child into the world - it's a huge responsibility. I know you'd want to be sure we'd both be up to the task. I mean, somebody would have to keep an eye on the little guy all the time, or he'd be off sticking his finger in an EM conduit or playing with the plasma injectors.
KES: Yes, that's right. It's what's called being a parent. |
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