The Omega Directive

Martha -- 15 Apr 1998, 9:50 PM

So, do you think they will rename it "The Secondary Directive?" To start off with a complaint "The Prime Directive is rescinded for the remainder of this mission?" Uh, really? I know its been broken numerous times, by all of Treks captains, but have they actually come out and *rescinded* it? Doesn't it need a new name if it is under the Omega Directive? I vote for "The Not So Prime Directive"

Aside from that, I really enjoyed this episode. I love Harry being the voice for all the Seven complaints "Is there anything you *can't* do?" he asks as he echoes our thoughts. I thought Wang did a good job and I see that his character actually can have a good, non-bumbling interplay with Seven.

While this probably falls into the "Another Seven Story" category I thought the interaction between her and the rest of the crew really worked. The mini-collective she established was really wonderful, particularly demoting Harry from "6 of 10" to "2 of 10."

Did anyone notice that in Seven's particularly detailed log she didn't allocate any time for personal hygiene, even after her hour of cardio vascular working out? Are the regenerators really *that* thorough?

I don't want to get into the logic of the alien crew firing on Voyager with the hundreds of Omega particles aboard. Could any species really be so risky so as to eliminate the possibility of warp travel for their own entire quadrant of space?

Roxanne -- 16 Apr 1998, 1:22 AM

How about the Beta Directive? Fairly good tale. The timing was good; Seven acted more "Human" during this episode than usual. I liked the fact that she and Janeway seem to be coming to terms with one another.

Harry is getting better with each episode. Hopefully this will continue. Janeway was more of a captain in this episode than I have seen her for a while. Chakotay acted more like the first officer also. I'm glad they seem to have come to an agreement also. Maybe now that Mark is out of the picture, Janeway can realize that even though she is attracted to Chakotay, he's a better friend.

One minor nit pick that I have: The doctor is a computer and as a computer should be able to access all data in the computer. Why didn't he know about the Omega Directive. I know, he wasn't programmed to know.

I did like his comment to Janeway about his hope that it wouldn't be the last time he saw her, or something to that effect.

Martha -- 16 Apr 1998, 8:08 AM

The Doctor's lack of access to Omega I am not at all computer knowledgeable but it's my understanding that it would be fairly easy to limit the holodoc's access to something as confidential as Omega. He isn't actually a computer after all but a program, and programs have limits set in their parameters by their programmers.

I also liked your song Roxanne.

Roxanne -- 16 Apr 1998, 2:15 PM

The Doctor's lack of access to Omega. It seems that's the way it should be. However, the doctor has been able to access many of the other systems on the ship which are not related to medicine. If we are to assume he's sentient, which seems more and more likely, he probably could get into any computer system he wanted to. Maybe his integrity keeps him out of the places he isn't supposed to go. Also, in MIAB he couldn't gain access to parts of that ship without clearance. I just assumed it was because it wasn't his ship, but maybe it was his programming.

SuzyQ -- 16 Apr 1998, 2:31 PM

The way I understood the Omega Directive...is that it was sealed until the explosion's shock wave triggered the ship's computer to send it to the Captain of Voyager. Not even Janeway knew of its contents until the ship released the classified information. That's why she was in her ready room for so long. The file was on a need-to-know basis and triggered only in the event of an encounter with the Omega substance.

The Doctor may be part of the computer, true. But, you'll notice that there are still systems only Janeway can access with her password/command codes/security clearance/whatever. Not even Doc has access to those. I think his program is limited to normal ship's doctor's functions.

There has to be a "captain's access only" area on that computer for top-secret information sent or included by Starfleet.

I thought the AOTWs fired on Voyager...because they didn't know the danger of what they were doing. I think it was mentioned they were pre-warp, so not even knowing about warp/ using subspace/what subspace is/etc., they wouldn't have known how Omega could affect it.

Seven also mentioned that many pre-warp societies were aware of Omega's existence, but didn't know what to do with it. So, it's not unrealistic that the AOTW would be one of those, too.

O. Deus -- 16 Apr 1998, 12:30 PM

The Interstellar Equivalent of Martial Law. The Omega particles had the ability to end civilization as we know it so dealing with them would be the prime mission much as what would happen if there was a danger of nuclear war back in the 80's, the Prime Directive is still prime but this is the ultimate emergency and if it isn't dealt with not much is going to matter anymore including the Prime Directive.

The AOTW's were desperate, if they couldn't survive, than no one else should either...well this does give you as taste of what a ship run by Seven would look like.

kivi -- 16 Apr 1998, 10:27 PM

So, do you think they will rename it? I really liked Seven's log especially that she allocated 17 minutes for Harry's conversational digressions! loved it!!

As for these aliens wasn't it mentioned in the beginning of the episode that they were pre-warp? Or was I helping the writers make the story credible also why were they so desperate for this power source, we got like no information on how they could develop this atom and not have warp drive what did you all think of the concept that the Borg actually have a type of religion as it were in this omega molecule?

SuzyQ -- 17 Apr 1998, 10:10 AM

7 mentioned that many pre-warp societies were familiar with Omega, but didn't have the technology or understanding of it that the 24^th century does. That is in fact how the Borg were introduced to Omega - they assimilated some pre-warp societies.

As for how these societies could find or develop Omega without warp, warp is not essential to finding Omega. It would actually hinder the discovery of Omega since the two are not compatible. Omega is a molecule or particle, and any space flight society, pre-warp or warp, would have a basic level of technology to discover that.

According to Brannon Braga, the reason more info was not given on the AOTW was because their role to the story wasn't that important. They and their dilemma were not supposed to be the focus, religious obsession was. Whether the story did that successfully or not is debatable. I think it certainly conveyed an aspect of 7's personality that was new, but I disagree that the Borg have a "religion."

Ultimately, the Borg worship themselves and their lifestyle. They want Omega because they want to assimilate it and make themselves "perfect." They want to use it, adapt it and control it for their own purpose. That's quite a different view than most religions or people of faith have.

I would never presume that I could use God, adapt God or control God for my own purposes, much less *be* God. To me, the Borg are just hyper-perfectionists who don't understand that the "perfection" they seek is within every one of the beings they assimilate and destroy. Then again, I have a different view of perfection than a Borg.

Sue_B -- 16 Apr 1998, 7:15 AM

Omega in Delta. Did anyone else wonder why the Omega directive had to be followed in the Delta quadrant? I mean really, what is the threat to the Federation from the Delta quadrant? Why should the prime directive be ignored when no threat to anything but Voyager (which is just passing by) exists?

Interesting concept but I never felt compelled to see Omega wiped out. I kind of felt like all this would accomplish is to give the Alpha quadrant another bad rep.

Seven's spirituality never really resonated with me either. Do I have to like crystals and believe in reincarnation to get this plot???

Highlights:

1) Seven goes Alexander Haig. Chakotay saw it as harmless but personally I would have let her know that she may not win any friends over with "virtual assimilation" the first time she gets put in charge of a project.

2) Harry starting to dislike (yes, I think it is dislike) Seven. He's figured out there's more than a nice set of lungs to a person.

3) Tom actually complying without engaging in the debate. Looks like he knows when to shut up and follow orders.

4) Tuvok pointing out key issues but accepting the Captain's decision.

5) Brief, yet bright, visual effects.

6) Chakotay actually getting through to the Captain this time. Either he's learning to talk to her without immediately putting her off or she's softening. It's a better answer when they work together (oops, that was the point they were trying to make...sorry for being so obvious).

Well, those are my thoughts and highlights. In general, reasonably entertaining but not riveting.

SuzyQ -- 16 Apr 1998, 12:19 PM

Yeah, I did! I too wondered why Janeway didn't just steer clear of the entire area after Omega was detected.

Janeway herself said that she would have made contact with Starfleet and a containment crew would have been on their way if they were in the AQ. So, in their absence, she takes it on herself to clean up the DQ.

Um, did it ever occur to her Omega might be a natural phenomenon in the DQ? That eradicating it *might* be a bad thing for that area of space? Yeah, yeah, I know Klink wanted to write a different kind of conflict, but the way Janeway was written didn't allow for any reflection or speculation of other options. C'mon, the PD, as she so clearly showed, is only upheld when it's convenient for captains. Surely another directive would be treated in a similar fashion.

Other things you brought up:

- Seven's Collective - well, we all know Seven hasn't been concerned yet with making friends, just being efficient and making sure others around her are as well. Patience is definitely something she needs to learn, although I'm not sure that's something Doc is qualified to teach her. He can be rather impatient himself. (g)

Harry, Voice of the Masses - it's really eerie sometimes how our discussion here in the Nebula precede what happens in some episodes. Nice to see that the writers are aware of the same things we are!

Omega - I liked it, too; it was pretty when it stabilized. Looked kind of like Tuvok's Kalto game coming together. I can hear some of you more scientific-minded folks saying, "Pretty? You thought it was pretty?" What can I say? I was a liberal arts major. (g) On a side note, I liked 7's expression as she gazed at "perfection" for 3.7 seconds. It's interesting that the Borg think they can acquire, make or understand perfection while other cultures hold that ideal as unattainable.

O. Deus -- 16 Apr 1998, 12:33 PM

Omega in Delta. Well Omega could eventually threaten the AQ, a big enough explosion could wipe out space travel throughout the galaxy and even if warp drive capability was only destroyed in the DQ, this would still do incredible damage and keep 1/4th of the galaxy forever off limits to the Federation...also it's the ethical thing to do.

Of course an Omega detonation would stop the Borg too...or would it

O. Bleek -- 16 Apr 1998, 4:06 PM

Sue, you put it so well.

"Seven goes Alexander Haig" - that's clever.

"virtual assimilation" - exactly!

As far as bringing out Seven's "spirituality," I was also unmoved. Jeri Ryan did a good job with the lines she was given. But the whole scenario of the episode - bringing out Seven's humanity through this "spiritual" longing, it didn't work for me.

kivi -- 16 Apr 1998, 11:03 PM

Sue, you put it so well. I'm not sure that it wasn't that the Borg have a type of spirituality that the writers were after....I didn't get that 7 was having a spiritual experience as much as I was surprised to find out that the Borg hold something in such a high regard that "every drone" knows of it's existence and it is to be pursued at all costs.

seven wanted to see what "the Borg" hold as perfection, she wanted to see it but I don't think she sees herself as Borg any longer. she is in flux and saw a part of her past that was important, but she didn't identify herself as still Borg. she was Borg, she was assimilated....maybe her humanity is emerging, even with that virtual assimilation.

SuzyQ -- 16 Apr 1998, 11:40 AM

SuzyQ's OD Review -

Definitely stronger than last week's episode, VaV. What I liked most about this one was that the two main characters, Janeway and 7, had their views challenged, were forced to compromised, and still grew to understand each other better by the episode's end, instead of growing farther apart as has happened in the past. OK, here they are. You know the drill! ;-)

LIKES:

- Seven's personal log - hilarious! Now we know what her day looks like, which is actually more than we can say for the other characters. An hour of cardiovascular exercise followed by a scheduled reading of Dickens - LOL! That's quite a personal growth schedule Doc has her on. What's up next, rock climbing followed by Hemingway? And, yes, I agree, when does this woman clean or wash up? Those nanoprobes even manage to keep every hair in place! (g)

- J/C - not as in "relationship," but that each played a strong role in the situation and the episode. See it can be done! She doesn't have to walk all over him all the time. And, Janeway learned the crew is there to help her as much as help the ship get back home. How nice that Chakotay was shown to convince her of that.

- Doc - if anyone can match 7 in bluntness and arrogance, it's Doc. He's been there, done that, and it's good to see someone stand up to her. Not in Harry's Dad-she's-being-mean-to-us whiny way, but more an in your face, I'm-not-going-to-accept-this approach. But, then he can turn around and tell Janeway he cares without getting all mushy. Robert Picardo is fabulous!

- Voy's Grapevine - a nice, funny, unexpected touch that made it feel like our crew is part of tight, little society. It makes complete sense that after 4 years on the same ship, *nothing* is secret, no matter what the captain thinks. And, while she may have her logs encrypted, erased or whatever in relation to that event, you can bet every crewmember has their version of it recorded. I mean, really, how can she expect them not to know when select crewmembers are involved in rescuing survivors of a nuclear accident, neutralizing Omega, and evading the AOTWs? I give them less than 24 hours to get together and piece it all together.(g)

- Multilayered writing - the episode balanced a lot very well, although several issues do need to be explored in more depth in the future. While I agree with SueB that the strength of working together was a main theme, there were other equally important ones, like how applicable are Federation directives outside of the Federation and if there are boundaries to scientific knowledge, who should set them and how should they be enforced when other, non-Fed worlds are involved. I didn't see 7's need to understand Omega as a theme, contrary to Janeway's closing line. I thought of that as character development because for the first time, the crew sees her striving to understand something greater than herself or the Borg. They understand her motivation and althoughh the can't grant her request, they don't resent her for trying either.

DISLIKES:

- The Damn Omega Directive - what cacophony of close-minded, idiot Starfleet minds passed this? "If you ever come across the Omega molecule, it must be destroyed." Period. End of story. Talk about overreacting! That's totally contrary to the Enterprise's mission statement of going where no one has gone before, not to mention Janeway's constant mantra of "Voyager is primarily a scientific and exploratory vessel. It is human nature to investigate that which we do not understand." OK, so warp capability cannot be used when that molecule is around. Did Starfleet ever consider that warp may not be the only way to travel? So they just turn their backs, padlock the labs, destroy the evidence, and tell their scientists "Don't go there!" Yeah, that'll satisfy inquiring minds. Oh, BTW, did it ever occur to them that other non-Fed worlds might find a way to stabilize this thing? What happens then? Note to Lisa Klink: this directive make the Federation look very short-sighted as well as willing to foster ignorance. NOT a good thing in my book.

- Janeway & the PD: Like Martha said, the PD ain't P any more. At least not when Omega is around. IMO, the big deal about Omega was that the Federation couldn't control it and it destroys subspace. Janeway just sounded like she was overreacting when she said something like, "Some scientific boundaries should not be crossed, and I'm looking at one right now." What basis did she have for that? I can understand the safety of the crew and the quadrant taking priority. I don't understand this woman of great scientific knowledge and curiosity *not* wanting to know more about Omega, voluntarily putting her head in the sand as it were. That doesn't jive with her past actions or personality as previously depicted.

- Poor AOTW - Did they have a name? I can't remember. I sure hope Janeway gave that pre-warp alien society some info about warp seeing as how the PD was rescinded during this whole affair. If you're gonna interfere and steal the AOTWs experiment without telling them why, you might as well give them warp as a consolation prize! That way they'll be sure not to tamper w/Omega in the future. It's the least she could do. Maybe their society's survival depended upon a greater source of energy. Geez, she didn't even think to ask; she just went in and took the stuff! Didn't even attempt official diplomatic channels! Or, did that just take place off-screen? (g)

MISC COMMENTS:

- The Voy Collective - I don't know why, but the minute Seven said, "Your new designation is 3 of 10," I just burst out laughing. That entire scene just tickled me, *especially* Harry's demotion to 2 of 10 from 6 of 10. The woman does have her own way of doing things and getting results.

- Janeway's Hair - someone, anyone, *please* create a Jose Eber Salon holoprogram without safeties so something can be done with Janeway's hair! I thought it most unflattering this episode, parted on the side and tucked behind one ear. (sigh) Do we need to draw you guys in makeup a map? She looks best with her hair pulled back away from her face! And, she has a good face with great cheekbones! Remember the slogan - "As gravity wins, hair away from chins!" Or that other one, "As skin goes down, hair goes up!"

NEXT WEEK: Virginia Madsen guest stars. Hmmm...looks like Chakotay has a type now, too - vulnerable, buxom blondes! As she gets more human and emotional, Seven better watch out! ;-)

SuzyQ -- 16 Apr 1998, 2:43 PM

FYI, Braga comments on OD...Found this blurb in the latest issue of Transwarp. I don't know where it came from, but it is rather interesting. Enjoy! If BB meant for this episode to ultimately explore religious obsession, I think the other plot points and concern with the directive obscured that. And, the term "religion" in relation to this episode does bother me a little. There's a big difference between obsessing about achieving perfection and "religion." Religion encompasses and addresses quite a lot more about the human spirit than just perfection IMO.

Brannon Braga commented on this episode on AOL: "Hi. Just wanted to chime in (as I do every few months) and address your concerns about this episode. First of all, the Omega Directive fits in nicely with established Trek canon. In fact, it plays off it and uses it in a very dramatic fashion. The Directive is meant to be controversial. Janeway knows it and the crew knows it. That's what makes for an exciting hour of television.

Someone pointed out the parallels to a TNG show called "The Pegasus," and they are right in doing so: Starfleet does not always make the right decisions for the right reasons. It's up to our heroes to ultimately make the right moral choice.

Secondly, this is not a story, ultimately, about a substance. It's not about Janeway following a directive or not. It's not about science and the hackneyed concept of whether or not we should cross the line and explore what should not be explored. It is about, in the end, religion. Seven of Nine, we reveal, has an interest in Omega that borders on religious obsession. To her, Omega represents "Perfection." And in this way, we explore themes of religion in an unexpected way. I hope you enjoy it.

O. Bleek -- 16 Apr 1998, 3:50 PM

Harry Kim, 2 of 10, Hoo-hahhaha, hahahahah.. The best laugh I've had for a Voyager episode since I don't remember when. Harry gets demoted by Seven. Harry is chided by Tuvok. Harry is slapped down by Chakotay. Gosh, I needed that!

SuzyQ -- 16 Apr 1998, 5:57 PM

Oh, I agree with Janeway's decision...to destroy the particle due to it's unpredictability and instability. But, my beef is with the directive that says "It must be destroyed. It must be destroyed. It must be destroyed." Omega ain't a match. You wouldn't try and get rid of all the matches in your neighborhood, would you? That would be silly because they serve a useful function to adults who know better.

I thought the directive was completely contrary to all of Starfleet's principles because I had the impression they were trying to eradicate its existence from wherever Federation peoples or communities could be present. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Janeway say there are no longer attempts to study the particle? If all scientific endeavor about this little bugger has stopped, and the Federation wants to wipe out its existence because it's too much of a threat, the entire AQ will be *more* vulnerable to it due to self-imposed ignorance when another species (like the Borg) comes along and has learned more about it. All the Borg have to do is assimilate that little planet and they'll be closer than ever to harnessing incredible amounts of power.

But, to take one of your analogies, we still do research on Ebola, AIDS, etc. even though an unfortunate accident could be disastrous to the population. Scientific study is not outlawed just because of fear because we know that the more it is understood, the more it can be kept under control. That perspective seems to be lacking with this directive.

Yes, people died and space was destroyed. Well, Marie Curie died too of radium poisoning, but thank goodness she persevered and others continued her work, or we wouldn't have one of the basic tools of medicine today that prevents millions of others from dying too soon.

Jim C -- 17 Apr 1998, 10:58 AM

Star Fleet is stupid. Just because the directive says the Omega Particle must be destroyed does not mean that continuing scientific study isn't occurring. For all we know there are scientists conducting the same computer simulations that Seven did. In addition, Janeway said if they were in the AQ she wouldn't even be dealing with the problem, she would have sent a message to Star Fleet, they would have sent in a "clean-up" team, and she would have been on her way. It is possible that part of the clean-up protocol is to learn everything possible while destroying the particles. We've seen time and again episodes where sensor data is taken of some anomaly or another and the data is studied well after the phenomenon is over (most of the episodes I can think of were in TNG).

Going back to my analogy of the match and the gas main...No, Omega ain't a match and no, you wouldn't go around destroying all of the matches in the neighborhood, but you also wouldn't take the match from the child and then remain standing there with a lit match, just to see what's going to happen. If I were in Janeway's shoes I would have done exactly what she did...blow out the match.

I agree with you if Star Fleet has completely given up study of the particle they are idiots. On the other hand, like I said above, it is possible to study simulations and expand theory without actually creating the particle. We do the same thing today in all kinds of instances. Many scientists theorized the existence and developed possible behaviors of black holes long before there was any physical evidence that they actually existed.

I also think Janeway made a huge mistake (what? Janeway make a mistake? say it ain't so) by deleting all of the logs and data taken on the particles. It doesn't make sense to delete the information when it could have just been encrypted (like the directive itself) to avoid having it fall into the wrong hands. I have to believe Star Fleet would have been very interested in the whole harmonic containment field, or whatever it was that Seven found out about while interrogating the AOTW. There certainly is an inconsistency with Janeway deleting the information because she thought the directive required her to, but at the same time it took her 16 hours to get through all of the information Star Fleet had accumulated on the particle. Obviously Star Fleet hasn't completely destroyed all their information.

SuzyQ -- 17 Apr 1998, 11:36 AM

I also thought it could be interesting...if 7 discovered down the road her parents were researching Omega when they were assimilated. It would make sense that they felt they had to do that away from the Federation and the AQ. Then her interest in it would not only be grounded by her Borg background, but also a personal one. Just a tangent thought that popped up...

Yes, I think we agree on the directive. And, I also wish Janeway hadn't felt the need to erase all the info the collected. That could have given Starfleet the clue to stabilizing Omega once and for all. Of course, that doesn't preclude 7 from writing it all down via her identic (?) memory at a later date...oh, c'mon, what am I saying? They have to have kept *something* in the event Omega pops up again in their travels, right? That's just common sense...isn't there a motto tacked up above a Voyager doorway that says, "Be Prepared," somewhere on that ship?

At the very least Neelix should have a page for the Omega Event in the Voyager scrapbook. (g)

kivi -- 17 Apr 1998, 6:32 PM

Star Fleet is stupid. Jim I agree with you that this story line didn't make any scientific sense, but the whole religion theme makes me think we haven't seen the last of omega and especially Seven's pursuit of it. You can't tell me that Janeway managed to wipe Seven's memory of the event or has in anyway limited seven's ability to therorixe about the particle. Seven also seems to possess a photographic memory some of these things may come to light in other episodes, recurring themes are a favorite of blocked writers...

Carol -- 16 Apr 1998, 5:49 PM

Glad to see the consensus on this episode has bee pretty good so far, from a lot of quarters. Not many seem

to have been disappointed by it really.

Seems as if my girl Lisa Klink may finally be hitting her stride again (at least she's seem to have moved away from the childish hormonal stuff :-).

Jason -- 16 Apr 1998, 8:39 PM

Lisa Klink is your girl Someone mentioned this theory about Lisa Klink awhile ago, and thinking about the Omega Directive- I think it holds water -- that Klink is excellent at taking someone else's story and turning it in to an excellent script ("Resistance", "Message in a Bottle", "Warlord", "Omega") but when she develops her own ideas, the results aren't always impressive ("Favorite Son", "Innocence", etc.)

There are times when I really, really like Lisa Klink, but there are times when I really, really dislike her, too. I think she has a long way to go before paying penance for "Retrospect", though.

By the way, it's nice to have you back, Carol. :)

MEG -- 17 Apr 1998, 9:47 AM

Well, Omega Directive proved me wrong. By golly, our fearless writers were PERFECTLY willing to come right out and say that Seven is better than the rest of the crew. And I thought they would never do it!! (This is why I'm not a betting woman. . .)

Beyond that, I'm still shaking my head over this episode and saying "WHAT was that again?" I'm afraid it struck me as wanting to be profound but managing only to reach the level of fuzzy-brained. Maybe SueB is right about needing to like crystals and the rest of the New-Age trappings to get it.

Some observations:

I did NOT buy the idea of Seven pursuing the molecule as a religious obsession, because I couldn't for the life of me see the Borg as having any religious impulses. A quest for "perfection", sure, if they thought "perfection" was going to be useful. But "perfection" for its own sake? Nope, sorry. And since Seven's fascination with the molecule was portrayed as being related to her time in the Collective, it rang false. They'd have done better to portray it as springing from her emerging human nature and becoming confused with her Borg side.

The whole Omega storyline seemed to me to be either poorly thought out or distorted beyond recognition by the desire to focus on Seven's "religious experience." I haven't a clue whether to blame Lisa Klink for this or the story conference committee, but it got increasingly silly as the episode went on. Omega is too dangerous to live. Even one little molecule is a threat to the quadrant. FIVE molecules will destroy civilization as we know it. Now we have a whole vat of the stuff on Voyager. "It's dangerous! It's gonna blow!! Look out!!!. . .Oh, wait. It's. . .stable!!! It's . . . Looking Back At Me!!! It's. . .It's. . .ALIVE. . .!!!!" Sheesh, make up your minds, would you?

I won't even get into the Directive, since others have, except to say that if the molecule is a naturally occurring substance (as Janeway's comment about it being present at the Big Bang seemed to hint), completely eradicating it from the universe would seem to be not only arrogant but possibly dangerous. If you won't try to learn more about it, how could you be sure it didn't serve some vital purpose in the balance of the natural order of things?

Some lesser observations: the dialogue was okay, in a too-cute kind of way, but a lot of it seemed stiff. It didn't really sound like normal conversation, but then Klink has never written that well. Harry getting reprimanded by Janeway for gossiping was neat, though. Tom came off well in this one: carping and horseplay would be out of place in this kind of emergency and he obviously knows when to drop them in favor of complete professionalism.

And finally, while I liked the Janeway/Chakotay interaction and appreciated Chakotay's calling Janeway his closest friend, his "you're not alone" speech is becoming a standard in every episode. Kivi and Jules, I vote for adding it to the list of character-defining phrases, right up there with "do it" and "please state the nature of the medical emergency".

kivi -- 17 Apr 1998, 6:21 PM

Well, Omega Directive proved me wrong. Meg do you think they have time for Chakotay's speech in each episode?? Maybe they can just insert a frame that tells us his is engaging in his "you are not alone" speech while they go to commercial. that way we'll know it's happening and won't have to hear it every week... maybe the writers need to give the actors some lee way in the script and that way voyagers language could emerge naturally.

Jules -- 18 Apr 1998, 6:00 AM

"Do it." :-) Yes, Chakotay's "you're not alone" speech is definitely one of the staples of Voyager conversation. Although it's equally a given that Janeway opts not to hear the underlying meaning, or at least chooses to reinterpret it as friendship rather than something more. Still, why not? If she doesn't have the feelings for him to reciprocate at the level he might wish, at least she is clear sighted enough to see his value to her as a friend and confidante.

Riley -- 18 Apr 1998, 12:15 AM

This is one of the best recent episodes. It is a good original story, very well acted, and tight. There are few things that detract from this excellent episode. The first scenes are a bit corny, starting with an "interesting" log and "impressive" kal-toh play by the "most intelligent human alive." The Captain's hair is a bit limp--isn't there any conditioner in the Delta Quadrant? The destruction computer graphics of the M-class moon are a bit lame.

There is an interesting mix of the scientific and religious in this story. And the usual roles of the characters are all mixed up, keeping everything interesting right to the end. The religious aspect for the Borg. The creation of a small collective. Infinite powerful destructive and frightening threat by a single molecule. Aliens restating Seven's position and Seven defending the Captain's order. Seven making a spiritual argument to Chakotay. Seven retreating to Janeway's DaVinci simulation to study the religious aspects. It was just impressive!

The only mention of 47 that I caught we when species 8472 was mentioned by Kim to Tuvok.

Some interesting lines:

"Assemble the troops." - Janeway

"For the duration of this mission the prime directive is recinded." - Janeway

"When in the collective, Harry, adapt." - Chakotay

"Small-minded creatures. You destroy what you don't understand!" -Alien to Seven.

"The final frontier has some boundaries that shouldn't be crossed and we are looking at one." - Janeway

"Infinite parts functioning as one." - Seven

"I still need to understand that perfection. Without it, my existence will never be complete." - Seven

"This simulation contains many religious components. I was studying them." - Seven

"The data wasn't clear...but chances are it was a chaotic anomaly, nothing more." Janeway to Seven

"For 3.2 seconds, I saw perfection. When omega stabilized, I felt a curious sensation. As I was watching it, it seemed to be watching me." --Perhaps I was wrong about species that have mythologies that explain such moments of clarity. - Seven

"...you just had your first spiritual experience." - Janeway to Seven

kivi -- 16 Apr 1998, 10:46 PM

Regarding Janeway's hair…I thought they were trying to make her look like Gillian Anderson for some quite unfathomable reason.

Jason -- 17 Apr 1998, 7:39 AM

That was exactly my thought, but I didn't mind. :-) Actually, Janeway's hair usually looks so uncared for that a more stylistic modification of her current look was welcome.

Vickie T. -- 21 Apr 1998, 9:28 PM

I didn't get to see The Omega Directive until after I got back from Vegas, so I planned not to post any comments. But, there are two things that I just can't resist mentioning. First, I absolutely loved the Janeway/Chakotay interactions. *This* is the kind of relationship a Captain and First Officer should have. There is no doubt that the Captain is in charge. The First Officer does not challenge her authority and he follows orders. He does, however, think about the situation at hand and does not hesitate to speak his mind *in private* to the Captain. She, on the other hand, respects her First Officer enough to listen to what he has to say and modify her plans when he makes good suggestions. Why can't TPTB do this every week?

Second, I *hate* this "Seven of Nine is the most intelligent human in the universe" thing. I don't believe it and I refuse to accept it - and I have a pretty strong willingness to suspend my disbelief when the script calls for it. Yes, the collective possesses the knowledge of all of its drones, but it is simply not plausible, IMO, that an individual drone has the mental capacity to remember everything known by the collective. I know I'm retreading old ground here, since we've touched on this before, but it still bugs me...and I'm not going to get over it.

BTW, I really liked Omega Directive. I agree with Carol - I like Lisa Klink stories.

Andy -- 22 Apr 1998, 1:54 AM

I pretty much agree with you, Vickie. I tend to think of the Borg hive as a bunch of PC's (drones) kind of networked together. Seven would appear to be some sort of main frame (but what a frame--whoops, sorry). No chance one human brain could know all of that.

Wasn't there some statement by Seven in this episode that individual drones only possessed knowledge that they needed to know? If so, why would she know about "First Contact", for instance, as revealed in YoH?

I can buy that she would be about the smartest (most knowledgable) human around, but not to the extent she has been portrayed. Perhaps when she develops her emotions, they will scramble some of that fine-tuned circuitry and she will forget a thing or two.

O. Deus -- 22 Apr 1998, 2:05 AM

And then there were the drama complaints and 7's brains which I've allready seen on the PsiPhi Voyager board where people are complaining the episode had no real drama because Seven didn't disobey the Captain and Chakotay and Janeway never really collided on the issue.

As for Seven's inteligence, keep in mind it's Harry Kim making the evaluation. Probably IMHO not the right man for the job.