Unnatural Selection (TNG episode)

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Star Trek: TNG episode
"Unnatural Selection"
Dr. Pulaski shows signs of aging in "Unnatural Selection".
Episode no.	33
Prod. code	133
Airdate	January 30, 1989
Writer(s)	John Mason Mike Gray
Director	Paul Lynch
Guest star(s)	George Baxter, J. Patrick McNamara, Colm Meaney, Diana Muldaur, Patricia Smith, Scott Trost
Year	2365
Stardate	42494.8
Episode chronology
Previous	"The Schizoid Man"
Next	"A Matter of Honor"

Unnatural Selection is the seventh episode of the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation first broadcast on January 30, 1989. It is episode #33, production #133, and was written by John Mason and Mike Gray, and directed by Paul Lynch.

Overview: The crew of the Enterprise encounters a supply ship where everyone has died from rapid aging. They must find the cause before scientists on a research colony suffer the same fate.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

On stardate 42303.7 the USS Enterprise is en route to Star Station India when a distress call from the USS Lantree is received. The message is verbally broken as if the caller were gasping their last breath and Captain Picard orders a course change to intercept the ship. The Enterprise finds the Lantree adrift where scans show no life aboard. Data reports that the ship's systems are functioning perfectly and there is no sign of damage. Picard asks Lieutenant La Forge for a visual of the bridge where suddenly, a macabre scene appears showing the Lantree crew appears as shriveled corpses that died of old age.

Doctor Pulaski gives her prognosis of the Lantree crew saying they all died from acute organ failure due to extreme age. The prognosis is confounding since the average crew member was 34 years old. According to the Lantree's medical records, all hands were in perfect health with only one report of the second officer having Thelusian Flu. Picard wonders if that could have caused their demise, but Pulaski states the flu is an exotic but harmless virus. Data informs that the Lantree's last port of call was the Darwin Genetic Research Station at Gagarin IV. Picard orders course for Gagarin, and in the meantime, he places a medical quarantine on the Lantree whose white navigational strobes change to a yellow warning so other ships stay away.

Nearing Gagarin, Picard makes contact with the chief scientist Dr. Sara Kinglsey, (a woman who appears in her mid-50's) and reports her station has a serious medical emergency on their hands - the rapid onset of geriatric phenomena. Kingsley believes it was caused by a pathogen they contracted from the crew of the USS Lantree three days ago. Kingsley expresses her immediate concern if for "their children", indicateing that they have 32 children in isolation and asks they be evacuated to the Enterprise immediately. Picard declares he won't put his crew at risk by transporting anyone up unless there is absolute proof they haven't been exposed. Pulaski suggests they beam a child aboard so she can examine them. She says she can safely study a child encased in styrolite under suspended animation, that way there is absolutely no risk of contamination. Picard doesn't like the idea, but reluctantly approves it.

Arriving at Gagarin, La Forge readies a sophisticated force field around the center examination table in sickbay. Lieutenant Worf, Picard and Deanna Troi observe as Pulaski has a child beamed to the ship. Soon, a young male appears encased in a clear membrane, however he is hardly a "child" and appears to be a young adult. Once the styrolite casing is determined to be intact, Geordi lowers the force field. Immediately, Troi senses a strong telepathic presence in the room coming from the boy. Pulaski is awed as she makes her scans stating the boy is in perfect health and incredibly advanced saying; "We may be seeing the next step in human evolution". Pulaski requests that he be removed from the styrolite but Picard refuses stating the risk is to great. Pulaski suggests taking the boy out in shuttle craft. There, she could examine him in a secure environment without risking the ship and that Data can pilot the shuttle since he'll be immune to any infection. Picard gives approval.

Pulaski and Data head out in the shuttle craft. A moment later, Chief O'Brien transports the boy to them. Pulaski removes the styrolite casing and the boy immediately awakens. Pulaski is stunned as the boy telepathically greets her saying his name is David. Pulaski continues her examination, but then suddenly, she feels intense joint pain in her arm nearly doubling over. Pulaski scans herself and the readings indicate acute arthritic inflammation, consistent with the onset of the rapid aging condition. Picard orders Data to beam the boy back to the station and orders Pulaski to return to the Enterprise, but Pulaski says whatever has caused the aging affliction could spread it to the crew and says she must go to the research station.

Picard calls a staff meeting to ask for ideas on how to save Pulaski and Data. Even though Data is a machine, he's still a carrier of the disease. Geordi suggests that the transporter's bio-filter, which automatically screens out any harmful biological agents, can purge Data of any contamination. The same would be true for Pulaski, however any physical effects of the rapid aging can't be removed without reintegrating Pulaski's original "trace" — her genetic pattern which is kept in the transporter's pattern buffer after beam out. Worf mentions that Pulaski has never used the transporter, recalling she originally came aboard via shuttle craft from the USS Repulse. Picard wonders if the Repulse would have her original pattern on file.

Meanwhile, Pulaski, (who is already showing crow's feet around the eyes), and Data arrive at the station. Kingsley remains bewildered by the fact that the children carry the contagion, explaining they have genetically enhanced immune systems that are supposed to ward off any disease. Kingsley informs that the children were genetically engineered to be perfect with superior physical and mental abilities. Pulaski asks her to explain their immunity enhancements where Kingsley states their immune systems aggressively attack and destroy invading organisms by genetically altering them. Pulaski suddenly remembers the "Thelusian Flu" aboard the Lantree and asks how the children's immune systems would react to it. Kingsley says it would be genetically altered to extinction. Pulaski believes that's what happening to them — the children's immune systems are attacking everyone.

Back on the Enterprise, Picard talks with Captain Taggert of the Repulse who tells Picard that Pulaski's pattern was unfortunately deleted soon after her transfer.

Back at Darwin Station, Pulaski, (now a wrinkled old woman), has been informed of the Enterprise's vain attempt at restoring Pulaski's transporter pattern. Picard calls the station for an update where Pulaski says they've isolated the affected DNA chains and made a leap in the understanding of genetic aging in the processes, however she feels the effect is irreversible. Data solemnly returns to the ship as the bio-filter screens out the enhanced antibodies. Picard meets with Troi where he grieves at the thought of not being able to save the Doctor. Troi tells him not to be so hard on himself saying; "Kate knew what she was doing." Suddenly, Picard then has a burst of insight and believes he knows a solution.

Picard rushes to the transporter a medical officer confirms Data is clean of harmful agents. Picard asks if Data was immune because he has no biological tissue. Data confirms. Picard then asks if the alteration of Pulaski's DNA caused her rapid aging. Data confirms this as well. Picard tells him he has one more card to play. Data and Commader Riker curiously follow Picard to engineering. Picard rushes to Geordi and verifies that if they had Pulaski's original DNA pattern they could repair the damage caused by the aging effect. Geordi confirms, but doesn't see how since they don't have the pattern. Picard asks if it can be gathered from a genetic sample of her tissue, like a blood sample. Geordi thinks and sees a possibility and Picard tells his officers to find one, quickly.

Picard heads to the bridge and calls Pulaski. He tells her the hope of using a sample of her unaltered DNA as a filter to screen out any changes in her genome which should restore her to her proper age. Meanwhile Data and Riker dig through sickbay looking for a DNA sample, but unfortunately there isn't one on file. Riker is frustrated and wonders what else they can use. The two head for Pulaski's quarters where they find a single hair on one of the Doctor's brushes. Geordi and Data rush to get the DNA sequence into the transporter buffer while Pulaski nervously stands by.

With everything set, Picard says he'll operate the transporter console himself. With the containment forcefield in place Picard activates the system and Pulaski begins to fade into existence — her form coalescing into shape for several tense moments. When the beams fade, Pulaski appears with all signs of unnatural aging removed. Picard smiles and welcomes her back aboard the ship. The DNA filtering worked, and the scientist at the genetic station begin to restore themselves as well. The Enterprise then quickly heads back to where the USS Lantree waits. Pulling behind the ship, Picard orders a torpedo spread to destroy the ill-fated vessel.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Trivia

Actress Diana Muldaur who plays Dr. Pulaski felt so tired during the shooting of this episode and the use of extensive make-up she promised this would be her last season and she would never act in science-fiction again.

This episode shares some similarities with the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Deadly Years".

Picard uses the Lantree's control access code in order to take control of its bridge, much like Kirk does for the starship Reliant in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Planet Gagarin IV is named after Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space.

The character of Dr. Kingsley was first called Dr. Mendel in earlier scripts.

In an earlier concept of the story, a younger strikingly beautiful Dr. Kingsley, played by a younger actress, was to be seen on the viewscreen of the Enterprise during the last minutes, thanking the crew for saving the lives of everyone on the station. This scene was dropped to save time and expense, and Kingsley is never seen in her true form.

When Data gets the hair strand from Dr. Pulaski's hairbrush, he makes the observation that it had a follicle, meaning that it had living genetic material from which to work. This is incorrect. A hair follicle is the empty space in which a hair is positioned in the skin. The correct term for what Data meant was that the hair had a bulb.

The aging of the characters on Gagarin IV, including Dr. Pulaski, is also glaringly incorrect in one aspect. The infection from the children is said to cause a change in the genetic structure of a human body and (as Dr. Pulaski points out) becomes pervasive due to the self-replication of DNA. However, they also develop white hair almost immediately. This should not be possible; as noted above the only living part of hair is the bulb, not the shaft or ends, and therefore the DNA in a hair shaft does not replicate. The hair would have begun growing in white, but unless they spent weeks or months aging to allow the hair to grow out, which the episode clearly states does not happen, their natural hair color would have stayed the same.

Some fans have noted a serious inconsistency between this episode and the fifth season Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode Doctor Bashir, I Presume? - under the interpretation of Federation law given in the DS9 episode the actions of the Gagarin IV scientists could not have been legal. It would seem highly unlikely that Captain Picard and his crew could have been ignorant of the law, and that Picard should not have arrested the scientists since they were Federation citizens.