| Now
that the Enterprise crew is communicating regularly with Earth, Hoshi observes
that Dr. Phlox is getting more letters from home than anyone else. Phlox
has been corresponding with a human medical colleague named Dr. Lucas, who
is now serving on Phlox's home planet Denobula. In his letters Phlox shares
his observations of human behavior during their first deep space venture,
and he mentions his growing relationship with Ensign Cutler, whom Phlox
is mentoring to be a part-time medic and who he suspects is romantically
interested in him. Phlox is called on to treat two alien astronauts rescued
from a disabled pre-warp craft. The astronauts reveal they are from a planet
called Valakis, and have been traveling in space for over a year searching
for technology to develop a cure for an epidemic that is slowly killing
their people. The Valakians appeal to Captain Archer to allow Phlox to help
them, and without objection from T'Pol, Archer agrees and sets course for
their world. In a letter to Dr. Lucas, Phlox expresses the overwhelming
feeling of taking responsibility for 50 million patients, but he is struck
by the human desire to help others. Archer, Phlox, T'Pol and Hoshi visit
a Valakian hospital and learn more about the epidemic and their unsuccessful
attempts to treat it. They also learn there's a second humanoid species
indigenous to the planet called the Menk who are less evolved than the Valakians
but are very hard and loyal workers. The Menk have never contracted the
disease, so Phlox begins his research with their immunity system, and he
recruits Cutler to assist him. On a personal note, Phlox tells his pen pal
that the affection Cutler is showing toward him is leaving him perplexed,
and he goes so far as to ask T'Pol for advice; predictably, T'Pol thinks
humans lack the emotional maturity for interspecies relationships. Meanwhile,
Archer is getting pressured by Esaak, the director of the Valakian clinic,
for a progress report, so he calls Phlox into his Ready Room. Phlox reveals
that the illness is not viral or bacterial, but genetic the proteins that
bind the Valakian chromosomes are deteriorating and have been doing so for
thousands of years, but the rate of mutation has accelerated over the last
few generations, and Phlox projects that the Valakians will be extinct in
less than two centuries. Archer wants to know if a cure is possible. Phlox
believes that the Menk immunity could be the key, so he sets out to study
them further. With Hoshi and Cutler's assistance, Phlox visits a Menk village
to run some tests and take blood samples. The relatively primitive Menk
are cooperative, and one helper named Larr even begins to learn English
just by listening to the visitors. Cutler and Hoshi start to suspect that
the Menk are being exploited by the Valakians, even though the two species
have developed a peaceful symbiotic relationship that seems to work. And
after Larr organizes the blood samples in a sophisticated way, it becomes
apparent that the Menk are more mentally evolved than they've been given
credit for. Phlox tries to appease Cutler's concerns by pointing out that
alien cultures have different ways. As an example Phlox addresses Cutler's
apparent attraction to him, revealing that he already has three current
wives back home, which is perfectly normal for his culture. Taken aback,
Cutler admits her interest in him, but she doesn't want to be wife number
four, only a friend. Meanwhile in the Valakian hospital, Archer visits one
of the rescued astronauts, who insists that if Phlox can't cure them the
Valakians need to acquire warp engines immediately to seek help elsewhere.
This request puts Archer in a very uncomfortable position. Back on Enterprise,
Archer relates the astronaut's request for warp drive to T'Pol, ironically
beginning to understand how the Vulcans must have felt toward humans 90
years ago. Later in Sickbay, Phlox makes a very troubling discovery. Meeting
up in the Mess Hall, Archer asks Phlox if he's found a cure. The doctor
says that even if one could be found, it may not be ethical to administer
it, because such a cure would interfere with nature. Based on study of their
genome, the Menk show evidence of an evolutionary awakening, and have the
potential to become the dominant species on the planet, which won't happen
as long as the Valakians are around. Archer counters that they have a moral
obligation to help people who are suffering, despite theories of what may
happen thousands of years hence. But then Phlox reveals that he already
has the cure. Suddenly Archer is faced with an enormous dilemma. After spending
the entire night reconsidering, he decides Phlox is right, and makes a decision
that goes against all his principles. But he realizes that in the lack of
some sort of directive telling him what he can and cannot do out in space,
he has to remind himself that they're not out there to play God. He and
Phlox deliver medicine to the Valakians to help ease their symptoms, perhaps
long enough for them to find a cure on their own, but once again Archer
has to reject their request for warp technology. Phlox closes his letter
to Dr. Lucas saying that he's gained a new respect for Archer. But his heart
is heavy so he takes Ensign Cutler up on her offer to be a friend. |
