No question about it, she was bluffing, Worf.
Bluffing is not one of Counsellor Troi's strong suits.
I'm reading chlorinide leakage, but I can't pin it down.
Maybe up here.
It would have been unwise to call.
Yes. My hand was not strong enough.
You had jacks and eights, she bluffed with a pair of sixes.
How did you know what I had?
Let's just say I had a special insight into the cards.
Next time, bring a deck that's not transparent to infrared light.
Not to worry, Worf, I only peak after the hand is over.
Still nothing.
I'll get a dynoscan. We'll try again.
- Commander, is that what you wanted? - Yes. If anything changes, tell me.
Ensign, run a dynoscan.
Look out!
- Worf! - What happened?
La Forge to sickbay. Medical emergency in cargo bay three.
What happened?
The containers you were checking fell on you.
You're lucky to be alive.
Doctor, I will not attempt to leave sickbay without your approval.
The restraining field is not necessary.
Worf, there is no restraining field.
- But I can't move my legs. - I know.
You can't move because a container shattered seven of your vertebrae
and crushed your spinal cord.
I'm afraid there's no way we can repair this kind of injury.
**Captain's log, star date 45587.3
Lt Worf has been removed from active duty following a severe injury.
Although a neuro-specialist has arrived,
Dr Crusher believes his paralysis may be permanent.
Welcome, Dr Russell. I'm Beverly Crusher.
A pleasure. I have equipment on the Potemkin.
Can you send it to your labs?
- Send it to med lab four. - Yes.
Before we get down to business, I had the pleasure of reading
your paper on cybernetic regeneration.
Really? You're the first to mention it.
I thought it was brilliant.
Your ideas on bio-active interfaces border on revolutionary.
It will be a pleasure working with you.
Thank you. Have you had a chance to review Worf's case yet?
Only briefly. I was shocked
to find the state of Klingon neurological medicine so primitive.
It's a cultural bias. The Klingon Medical Division informed me
they usually let the patient die in a case like this.
They've done no research on neurological trauma.
We'll be in uncharted waters.
Worf is having a hard time.
He's always been a difficult patient, but now...
He's tough at first, but you'll like him...
I know that as a starship doctor,
you have to maintain close ties with patients.
But it will be best if I maintain a discreet distance.
That way, I can give an objective opinion regarding treatment.
Yes. You're probably right.
Good. Well, I believe you said I'd be working in med lab four?
Right this way.
You look good for somebody who's eaten sickbay food for three days.
Please, sit down, Commander.
Thank you for agreeing to see me in this condition.
I'm not a Klingon. There's no shame in being injured.
I am not merely injured, Commander.
Dr Crusher believes my paralysis to be permanent.
I'm sorry.
I have a personal favour to ask.
Name it.
I want you to help me perform the Hegh'bat ceremony.
I want you to help me die.
What?
When a Klingon can no longer stand and face his enemies as a warrior,
when he becomes a burden to friends and family,
it is time for the Hegh'bat.
Time for him to die.
- There must be other options. - No. There are not.
I will not live as an object of pity or shame.
My life as a Klingon is over.
Mr. Worf,...
..l will not help a friend commit suicide.
You and I have served together for many years. Fought side by side.
I know you to be a brave and honourable man.
If you truly consider me a friend, help me now.
Help me end my life as I have lived it,
with dignity and honour.
Please.
The spinal tract has deteriorated over the last 72 hours
despite CPK enzymatic therapy.
- What about alkysine treatment? - Ineffective.
Over-designed. Klingon anatomy.
23 ribs, two livers, eight-chambered heart,
double-lined neural pia mater.
I've never seen so many unnecessary redundancies.
Unnecessary? The Klingons refer to it as the brak'lul.
Almost every vital function in their bodies
has a built-in redundancy in case any primary organ or system fails.
It's a good design in theory,
but in practice the extra organs are just that much more to go wrong.
Let me show you something.
I've been experimenting with DNA-based generators.
This is a genetronic replicator.
It reads the DNA coding of damaged organs,
translates that into a specific set of replicant instructions,
and then begins to grow a replacement.
I've read of your preliminary work.
The early results have been very encouraging.
Beverly, the genetronic replicator
can create a completely new neural conduit for your Lt Worf.
- Replace his entire spine? - Exactly.
Instead of pasting together broken connections
like a couple of glorified tailors, we create a new living system.
I had no idea you were using this on humanoids.
I haven't been. This will be the first time.
First time?
I've done dozens of holo-simulations. The success rate is up to 37 percent.
Even a holographic patient would balk at those odds.
Sooner or later it has to be tried on a living patient.
You're talking about a spinal column.
Even before we could replace it, we have to remove the existing one.
We don't know enough about Klingon medicine to reattach it.
If something goes wrong, he'll die.
I agree it has remarkable potential,
but you're still in the most preliminary stages of research.
No, I can't justify the risk to Worf.
We'll have to use more conventional approaches.
Dr Crusher, report to the bridge.
On my way.
The transport ship Denver struck a gravitic mine.
They've sustained damage.
They attempted to crash-land on a planet in the Mericor system.
- We'll arrive in seven hours. - How many were aboard?
The Denver's crew complement is 23,
but they were transporting 517 colonists to the Beloti Sector.
Convert all shuttle bays into emergency triage centres.
Civilians with medical training report for duty.
Make it so.
May I speak to you in private?
- Yes. You have the bridge, Mr. Data. - Aye, sir.
I have always tried to keep an open mind,
not to judge someone's culture by my own,
but to be part of this ceremony...
I understand from Dr Crusher
that Worf will never regain the use of his legs.
- That doesn't mean his life is over. - That's a very human perspective.
For a Klingon in Worf's position, his life is over.
I can't accept that.
If you were dying, terminally ill with an incurable disease,
and facing the remaining few days of your life in pain,
wouldn't you look on death as a release?
Worf isn't dying and he is not in pain.
He could lead a long life...
You and I could learn to live with that disability, but not Worf.
His life ended when those containers fell on him.
We don't have to agree with it or understand it,...
..but we do have to respect his beliefs.
I can respect his beliefs,
but he is asking me to take an active part in his committing suicide!
He's asking for your help because you're his friend.
You'll have to make your decision based on that friendship.
Which leaves me back where I started.
Will.
Look, I'm sorry, I cannot help you make this decision,
but I can tell you this.
Klingons choose their friends with great care.
If he didn't know he could count on you, he would never have asked.
Why won't you let me see him?
Alexander, I told you, it's not my decision.
- Your father doesn't... - My father wants to see me.
You're the one keeping me away from him.
- I think you know that's not true. - Then, why can't I see him?
Come here.
He's been injured and he's embarrassed.
And to have anyone see him now would make him feel worse.
Even if it were you.
This is part of that Klingon stuff, isn't it?
My mother always said Klingons had a lot of dumb ideas about honour.
That Klingon stuff is very important to your father.
It isn't very important to me.
I don't care about being Klingon, I just want to see my father.
It's been a long day.
Get ready for bed and we'll talk about this again in the morning.
Alexander is scared, confused, hurt,...
all because his father is refusing to see him.
You know why I left those instructions.
Yes, it's not the Klingon way, right?
It is a question of honour,
and I would ask that you respect my wishes in this matter.
All I care about, at this moment, is a little boy
who's terrified he's going to lose his father.
Maybe it's time you stopped lying here worrying about your honour,
and started thinking about someone else, like your son.
Would you like us to come back?
No, please, come in, Doctor.
This is Dr Toby Russell from the Adelman Neurological Institute.
She specializes in spinal injuries.
We've discussed a variety of surgical procedures.
None of them will repair the spinal cord,
but we have found a way for you to regain much of your mobility.
We can implant neural transducers into your lower torso and legs.
They pick up electrical impulses from your brain
and stimulate the corresponding muscles.
With a little work, you could regain
60 to 70 percent of your motor control.
The first step is to fit your legs with motor-assist units like this.
They're a training device.
Once you've mastered using them, you can move on to the implants.
Now try to move your leg.
No, that's good for a first try.
It will take some time to get used to...
No!
I will not live like that.
These are very sophisticated devices.
With enough time, they'll give you...
60 percent of my mobility?
No. I will not be seen lurching like some half-Klingon machine.
The object of ridicule and disgust.
Perhaps all this seems a bit frightening to you now.
I want you to take time before making a decision.
Think about it.
There is one other option I'd like you to consider.
It's called genetronic replication.
It's still experimental,
but if it works, it will restore virtually all your mobility,
and without the need for artificial implants.
I thought we'd discussed genetronics?
- We did. - We decided against recommending it.
You heard him, he'd rather die than live with the implants.
I gave him a better option than suicide.
He's grasping for straws and you're giving him one.
Now he's going to be thinking about this miracle cure of yours.
There's a real chance this could work.
If it does, it'll be a major breakthrough in neurogenetics
that will change a lot of lives.
You're using the desperation of an injured man as an excuse
to try a procedure that you couldn't normally do.
Starfleet Medical have turned down your request
to test genetronics on humanoids three times already.
Are you really going to hide behind the rules of some bureaucracy?
Beverly, your patient's life is at stake here.
- Before you do any of this... - Picard to Dr Crusher.
Go ahead.
- We've located the Denver survivors. - We're ready here.
Triage teams standing by.
Very well. We'll transport survivors immediately. Bridge out.
Beverly.
- Could you use a pair of hands? - Absolutely.
Father?
Come in, Alexander.
Deanna said you hurt your back, that you couldn't walk.
I am still struggling with my injury.
I was worried about you.
There is much to discuss.
There will be difficult times ahead.
- You must be strong. - I understand.
Good.
As Klingons, we all must be prepared for...
Father!
- Take him away. - Let me help you.
- Leave! - Alexander, go on.
It'll be alright, I'll take care of him.
- Use this to cauterize the tissue. - Yes, Doctor.
- What happened here? - Neural metaphasic shock.
From leporazine? That's unusual.
He couldn't take it. His blood pressure was too low.
- I tried something else. - A morathial series?
No, a new rival therapy I've been working with. It's called borathium.
I've had some very good results.
You used this man to test a theory?
Borathium is decades ahead of leporazine and morathial.
Morathial would have saved his life.
His injuries were so severe
no conventional treatment would have saved him.
You didn't even try standard treatment.
I made the choice I thought gave him the best chance of surviving.
Isn't that what you would do?
You used this to test one of your theories,
like you're doing with Worf.
That's what this is really about, isn't it? Lt Worf.
I'm offering him a chance to recover fully.
A chance you can't give him.
This is about the kind of medicine you practise.
I make no excuses for my approach.
I don't like losing a patient any more than you do.
But I'm looking down a long road. This man didn't die for nothing.
The data that I gathered is invaluable.
It will help save thousands of lives.
That won't be any comfort to his family.
Let me ask you this.
If some years from now,
borathium therapy saved the life of someone you loved,
would you still condemn me?
I will not be drawn into a hypothetical argument.
Your research here is over. You are relieved of medical duties.
Is that clear?
Perfectly.
Doctor?
I'm on my way to see your patient.
Be my guest.
Don't expect much conversation, he's in full Klingon mode,
honourable, strong and closed-minded.
I understand that you have relieved Dr Russell of duty.
That's right. She's irresponsible. I won't have her practising here.
Beverly,...
..maybe you should let her go ahead with this genetronic procedure.
How can you say that?
She has a theory based on a little empirical knowledge
and a lot of supposition.
If he can't make a full recovery, Worf will kill himself.
Not in my sickbay he won't.
I'll put him in a restraining field and post security around his door.
How long will you keep him there? A week? A month? A year?
If I have to. Suicide is not an option.
Putting aside the fact that a paraplegic can live a full life,
conventional therapy could restore much of his mobility.
- But not all of it. - No, not all of it!
There are some things I can't fix.
Klingon or no, he'll have to accept his condition.
He can't make the journey you're asking of him.
You want him to go from contemplating suicide
to living with a disability, but it's too far.
And the road between covers a lifetime of values, beliefs.
He can't do it, Beverly.
But perhaps he can come part of the way.
Maybe he can be persuaded to forego the ritual
in order to take the chance
of regaining the kind of life he needs.
A Klingon may not be good at accepting defeat,
but he knows all about taking risks.
The first tenet of good medicine is never make the patient any worse.
Right now, Worf is alive and functioning.
If he goes into that operation, he could come out a corpse.
This may not be good medicine,
but for Worf, it may be his only choice.
I am ready, Commander.
I've been studying this ritual of yours.
Do you know what I've decided?
I think it's despicable. I hate everything about it.
Casual disregard for life,
the way it tries to cloak suicide in some glorious notion of honour.
I may have to respect your beliefs, but I don't have to like them.
It is not something I expect you to understand.
No. All you really expect me to do is bring you the knife
and then walk away so you can kill yourself in peace.
Well, I'm not gonna make it that easy for you.
It is not easy for me.
But each of us must die in our own time. And my time...
Remember Sandoval? Hit with a disruptor blast two years ago.
She lived for about a week.
Fang-lee? Marla Aster?
Tasha Yar?
How many friends have we watched die? I've lost count.
Every single one of them fought for life until the very end.
- I do not welcome death, Commander. - Are you sure?
I think you feel noble about this.
"Look at me. Aren't I courageous? An honourable Klingon?"
Let me remind you, a Klingon does not put his desires
above those of his family or his friends.
How many people on this ship consider you a friend?
How many owe you their lives?
Have you ever thought about how you've affected us?
How we might feel about your dying?
Will you or will you not help me with the Hegh'bat?
You are my friend.
And in spite of everything I've said,
if it were my place, I would probably help you.
But I've been studying Klingon ritual and law,
and I've discovered that it's not my place to fill that role.
According to tradition,
that honour falls to a family member, preferably the oldest son.
That is impossible. He is a child.
The son of a Klingon is a man the day he can first hold a blade.
- True? - Alexander is not fully Klingon.
- He is part human. - That's an excuse.
What you really mean is it would be too hard
to look at your son and tell him to bring you the knife.
Watch you stab it into your heart,
then pull the knife out of your chest and wipe your blood on his sleeve.
That's the rite of death, isn't it?
Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Worf.
I can't help you.
There's only one person on this ship who can.
You said you wanted to see me.
- I need you to help me. - Anything, Father.
I have taught you about Klingon customs,...
..the beliefs which we value.
According to tradition,
I must take my life after suffering this kind of injury.
But I have decided to break with tradition.
I have decided to live.
I'm glad, Father.
I must still undergo a dangerous operation.
I may still die, but it will not be by my own hand.
- Return this to our quarters. - Yes, sir.
Chief Medical Officer's log, supplemental.
After consultation with Starfleet Medical
and much soul-searching,
I have granted Worf's request to undergo the genetronic procedure.
We started multiplication today.
Teacher said I'm faster than anybody in my class.
We will speak again soon.
Yes, Father.
If I die,...
..he must be cared for.
I'll make sure he reaches your parents safely.
No. They are elderly. They cannot care for Alexander.
Counsellor, I have a serious request to make of you.
Would you consider...?
You want me to raise Alexander?
I have come to have a great respect for you, Deanna.
You have been most helpful in guiding me since Alexander's arrival.
I can't imagine anyone who would be a better parent to my son.
If it is too much to ask...
I'd be honoured.
I am ready.
Focus the drechtal beams on the anterior and posterior spinal roots.
- Focused. - Initiate.
All neural connections below the first vertebrae have been separated.
Microtome.
I'm severing the brain stem now.
Cerebral cortex placed on life support at 0831 hours.
Three hours 26 minutes until primary brain dysfunction.
OK, let's remove the support frame.
Exoscalpel.
I've notified Starfleet that our survey of Sector 37628
will be delayed by a week while we drop off the survivors.
Good. I understand from Mr. La Forge that there's a minor fluctuation
in the starboard warp coil.
I've scheduled a stress-simulation routine to check it out.
- Has there been any word? - No.
Preliminary genetronic scans are complete.
Initiating DNA sequencer.
Reading at ten to the ninth base pairs per second.
Once we're past the first two levels, we'll begin the encoding sequence.
Increase TCH levels to...
What's happened?
The scanner can't read the Klingon dorsal-root ganglia.
- This showed up in your simulations? - Yes. I thought I made adjustments.
Bring me the detronal scanner.
I can scan the ganglia manually. It'll just take a little longer.
One hour 43 minutes until primary brain dysfunction.
- Retract the paraspinal muscle. - Got it.
- Watch the proximal nerve endings. - I see them.
Make sure the cranial segment
is 15 centimeters from the brain stem.
- Fluctuation in the isocortex. - 20cc inaprovaline.
OK.
Release retractors on the paraspinal.
- How much time left on life support? - 27 minutes.
Cover.
Close, please.
Ready.
Tissue growth proceeding at anticipated rates.
No initial signs of rejection.
OK, ready. Terminate life support.
Life support disengaged.
Neural connections appear stable.
Looking good so far.
- Fluctuations in the isocortex. - 40cc inaprovaline.
- Synaptic response falling. - BP dropping. Now 60 over 40.
- VeK'tal response falling rapidly. - Increase oxygen to 95 percent.
Beginning direct synaptic stimulation.
Respirations shallow and rapid. No response in the isocortex.
75cc inaprovaline.
- Heart rate is erratic. - Going into cardiac arrest.
Alright. Let's go to chloromydride. 15cc.
We're losing him.
No BP. No pulse.
- Brain activity? - No higher brain functions.
OK, 25cc cordrazine.
That'll kill him.
We've done a good job of that already.
No BP, no pulse.
- No activity in the isocortex. - Cortical stimulator.
Now.
Again.
Doctor.
Alright, make a note in the log.
Death occurred at 1240 hours.
It was all going so well.
No anomalies during replication. No initial rejection.
No.
Alexander, I am so sorry.
I want to see him.
- Alex... - No!
I want to see him.
Activate biomonitors.
- 25cc polyadrenaline. - What's going on?
Not sure, but if I'm right, one of the unnecessary redundancies...
Doctor.
I don't believe it. Begin cardio-aid and ventilation.
That's amazing. There must be a back-up for his synaptic functions.
Vital signs are stabilizing.
Begin rybo-synetic therapy. Increase oxygen to 90 percent.
Prepare a thalamic-booster series.
Well, I'd say your patient's recovery is going well.
You won't acknowledge what I did for him.
You just can't admit that it was my research that made this possible.
I am delighted that Worf is going to recover.
You gambled, he won.
Not all of your patients are so lucky.
You scare me, Doctor.
You risk your patients' lives and justify it in the name of research.
Genuine research takes time.
Sometimes a lifetime of painstaking, detailed work
in order to get any results.
Not for you. You take short cuts.
Right through living tissue.
You put your research ahead of your patients' lives.
And, as far as I'm concerned, that's a violation of our most sacred trust.
I'm sure your work will be hailed as a stunning breakthrough.
Enjoy your laurels, Doctor. I'm not sure I could.
This is gonna take time, Worf.
Your muscles are still sorting out their new signals. Don't rush it.
Alexander. Remember what we talked about?
Your father wants to do this by himself.
It's alright, Counsellor. I would appreciate some help from my son.
We will work together.
Yes, sir.