BLINK OF AN EYE
Episode 132

 

Voyager encounters a planet which has an extremely high number of revolutions compared to other planets in the Delta Quadrant. Entering a gravometric gradient, Voyager is pulled into orbit and becomes the planet's third pole. A tachyon core has created a space-time differential. This means that one second of time on Voyager is equivalent to one day on the planet. On the planet, Voyager's arrival is noted while the planet is in a prehistoric society. Voyager's presence causes periodic earth tremors, earning the star-deity the name "ground-shaker". As the society of the planet develops, its people especially its scientists are intrigued by the brightly shining skyship and seek ways to communicate with it, partly to try and end the earth tremors which are damaging their buildings. Voyager's crew observe the growth of the planet's society, from prehistoric times through its industrial age and into its space age. For only hours of Voyager's time, the Doctor is stranded on the planet during a reconnaissance mission meant to last three seconds i.e. three days on the planet; but due to the time-differential the Doctor spends three years on the planet. During that time the Doctor enters a committed relationship by which he sires a son called Jason. When the planet enters the start of its space exploration age, two astronauts arrive on Voyager but only one, a male called Gotana-Retz, survives the transition to Voyager's time speed. He tells Janeway that a child's mobile of the skyship was the first thing he ever saw as a baby, and he prayed to the skyship as a child. Despite losing years of his life while on Voyager, he spends enough time there to learn Voyager's specifications. Meanwhile, in the Astrometrics Lab, Seven's scanning of the planet shows the population is developing warp technology and improving its nuclear weapons arsenal. When his planet develops powerful enough weapons and fires anti-matter torpedoes at Voyager, Gotana-Retz elects to return to try and persuade his people to stop shooting. After ten minutes of Voyager's time, equivalent to a year and half on the planet, two space rockets from the planet arrive and tractor Voyager out of its trapped orbit. Gotana-Retz transports onto Voyager's bridge and shows Janeway a wrist-mounted device which he explains enables him to enter their time speed without leaving his own. It seems that his people are close to joining the rest of the other civilisations capable of space warp travel, once they have solved the problem of the time differential. Voyager takes several hours to effect full engine repairs and then leaves the planet forever - Voyager's departure is witnessed by Gotana-Retz, now an old man.    GOTANA-RETZ TO JANEWAY: When I was a young child, the toys hanging above my crib depicted the Skyship. It's the first thing I ever remember seeing, even before my mother's face. And now I'm the only one who knows its name - Voyager.