Critically injured by an explosion in engineering, Trip is left in a coma. The Enterprise becomes ensnared in a phenomenon that’s gradually covering the ship’s hull with energy-draining particles. Dr. Phlox is less than optimistic about the chief engineer’s chances of survival by conventional means, and offers the captain an unorthodox solution – growing a clone by using a mimetic creature that will grow to maturity in less than a week, and die in 15 days. Phlox hopes to replace a damaged portion of Trip’s brain with the identical tissue removed from his clone. But in the week it takes to raise and teach the clone, the crew becomes more attached to it than they expected – and when the critical moment arises, Trip’s clone would rather live out the few days left to him than serve as a source of donor organ tissue for Trip himself.
written by Manny Coto
directed by LeVar Burton
music by Velton Ray BunchGuest Cast: Shane Sweet (Sim-Trip, age 17), Adam Taylor Gordon (Sim-Trip, age 8 ), Maximillian Kesmodel (Sim-Trip, age 4)
Note: The music from this episode won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition For A Series in 2004.
LogBook entry by Earl Green
