Classics: DS9 3:13 - Life Support

Plot Synopsis:

A-plot: When a lethal explosion rocks a Bajoran transport, the damaged ship pulls into port at DS9; there, it is discovered that Vedek Bareil was the accident's primary casualty. Bashir makes a valiant attempt to repair Bareil's injuries, but despite the good doctor's efforts, Bareil suffers complete synaptic failure. Translation? He's dead -- or so it seems.

Also on board the transport was Kai Winn. She informs Sisko that she and Bareil were on their way to a secret meeting with a Cardassian representative. Since her election as Kai, Winn explains, Bareil has been helping her work out a final peace settlement between Bajor and Cardassia. With Bareil gone, though, Winn doubts that the peace talks will be successful.

In the infirmary, Bashir starts to conduct an autopsy on Bareil's body -- but he discovers while performing a brain scan that some neurons in Barel's cerebral cortex are still active. Excited, Bashir pumps Bareil full of neurogenic radiation and hits him with several bursts of electricity. Bareil gasps, and his eyes snap open. Bashir has successfully reanimated his patient.

This miraculous medical event is not without its cost, however, for the neurogenic radiation Bareil received during Bashir's resuscitation causes vaso-constriction in the arteries leading to Bareil's internal organs. Bashir recommends that Bareil be put in stasis until a solution to this new issue can be found, but Bareil refuses this course of action; he wants to remain conscious for the talks between Winn and Legate Turrel. Bashir reluctantly gives Bareil a dangerous experimental drug to increase the blood flow to Bareil's organs. Eventually, though, this drug causes damage of its own, and Bashir is forced to replace Bareil's key organs with artificial implants.

By this point, Bashir has come to question whether the extraordinary measures that are being used to keep Bareil alive are worth it. He goes to Winn and pleads with her to free Bareil from his perceived obligation to her, but Winn refuses to interfere, citing Bareil's autonomy.

When parts of Bareil's brain ultimately begin to die, Bashir is ready to stop all life support, but Winn requests that said dead brain tissue be replaced by positronic implants. Kira, interestingly, joins her in this appeal. She points out that Bashir's last expressed wishes were to be kept alive for the peace talks with the Cardassians, but it's evident that Kira is also motivated by fear of Bareil's impending death.

Bashir successfully revives Bareil by implanting the aforementioned positronic matrices, but we can see at once that the procedure has changed Bareil irrevocably. Kira's touch, he observes, just doesn't feel the same. Bareil still remembers the details of the agreement he and Winn have been hammering out with Legate Turrel, however, and in his last few hours of life, he helps Winn acquire Turrel's signature.

The Bajoran-Cardassian peace accomplished, Bareil loses consciousness for the final time. Kira begs Bashir to revive Bareil with more positronic implants, but Bashir gently informs Kira that he must stop all life saving interventions, as further treatment would destroy Bareil's humanity completely. For once, Winn agrees with Bashir; the Kai is now ready to let Bareil go.

B-plot: When Jake cancels a dom-jot game with Nog to go out to dinner with an old friend, Nog insists that he be provided with his own date. This double date is a total fiasco, however, as Nog behaves - well - like a Ferengi and manages to offend both Jake's date and his own. Jake and Nog have a temporary falling out, but after a talk with his father, Jake manages to arrange for a faux arrest so he can talk to Nog alone in the brig. In the end, Jake and Nog mutually agree not to allow their cultural differences to damage their friendship.

Overall: 6.8

The plot here is very far-fetched, but it's not otherwise objectionable.

Writing: 6.0

I agree with the writers' own assessment: the two plots in this episode aren't too bad individually, but they do not mesh well together. There's also a little too much "tech-the-tech" in the Bareil plot for me to suspend my disbelief with 100% success.

Acting: 7.5

Nana Visitor does a nice job with the final scenes, and Philip Anglim is surprisingly animated (when he's conscious, at least), so overall, I consider this episode pretty solid on the acting front. Louise Fletcher seems to be a little off her usual game, but Memory Alpha informs me that she was sick during the shoot, so I'm not going to blame her.

Message: 7.0

It took me a while at first to decide what I felt about this episode's main plot. Upon reflection, though, I think I'm okay with it - at least philosophically. Here, the writers don't accept a fully mechanistic explanation of man; if they did, Bashir would've had no trouble duplicating Bareil's personality with a positronic matrix - and he certainly would not have spoken of our mysterious "spark of life". On the other hand, the writers also avoid Cartesian dualism - the belief that the human mind is somehow separate from the body - a "ghost in the machine" that is not in any way affected by the weaknesses and failures of the machine itself. Instead, I think the writers come very close to acknowledging the true - and unitary - nature of the human person - that we are body and soul together. The former does not imprison the latter; the former is part of the latter.

I do know for sure, though, that I like the Jake and Nog subplot on a philosophical level. Why? Because it is honest. These days, with political correctness despotically governing the way in which we interact with each other across cultural boundaries, it is absolutely taboo to say what we really think about someone else's customs. But here, Jake and Nog openly proclaim their disgust with the other's traditions - and, significantly, it is this refreshing candor that allows them to genuinely tolerate each other (as opposed to the phony sort of tolerance that merely papers over all of those elephants in the living room). If only more people were permitted to follow this model of cultural congress!

Highlights:

NOG: My Dad said that you were looking for me.
JAKE: Yeah. It's about tomorrow night...
NOG: Don't worry, I've already taken care of that. I met these three Terrellians who were bragging about how great they are at dom-jot. So I arranged a game, us against them.
JAKE: Nog, we have a little problem.
NOG: No, we don't. I guarantee we'll beat them!
JAKE: It's not that. I just can't make it tomorrow night.
NOG: But it has to be tomorrow night. They're leaving the next day!
JAKE: I, I made other plans.
NOG: What could be more important than dom-jot?
JAKE: I have a date.
NOG: Oh. Well, that's different.
JAKE: It is?
NOG: Yeah. Money is money, but women are better.
JAKE: Is that a Rule of Acquisition?
NOG: It's a personal rule. So, who is she?
JAKE: Leanne.
NOG: Leanne! Way to go, Jake! So, what is the name of my date? I hope she's as cute as Leanne.
JAKE: Your date?
NOG: She has a friend, right?
JAKE: I'm sure she does.
NOG: Then tell her to bring her along.
JAKE: Nog, that's not what I had in mind.
NOG: That's because you were confused. Would you rather the three of us go out?
JAKE: When you put it that way...
NOG: Exactly. Just one thing, Jake. You're still pretty new at this dating business. Just promise me you won't do anything to embarrass me.
JAKE: I'll do my best. (LOL!)

NOG: Boy, Jake, she talks a lot for a female.
LEANNE: Excuse me?
JAKE: Riska, weren't you telling me your uncle runs a bar on Osinar Six? You know, Nog's uncle runs this bar.
RISKA: Is that right?
NOG: Let's not make foolish conversation. Just sit there and look beautiful.
JAKE: Nog, what do you think you're doing?
NOG: I think I know how to handle females. Jake, you know, I've been thinking... after we're done eating, we could take the females to the holosuites. I borrowed one of my uncle's private programs: The Massacre on Ferris Six. We could spend an hour pillaging and looting the frightened townspeople.
RISKA: I don't think so.
NOG: No one's asking you to think, my dear. Here - (Nog gives Riska his plate) - make yourself useful. Cut up my food for me.
RISKA: You must be joking.
(Nog starts to laugh. Eventually, everyone else joins in.)
NOG: She's so dumb! She's perfect!
RISKA: That's it.
(Riska gets up and Leanne follows.)
JAKE: Wait, you're not leaving?
LEANNE: I suppose you want me to sit here and cut your food for you, too?
JAKE: I never said anything about cutting...
LEANNE: I hope you and your friend enjoy your holosuite. Come on.
(Leanne and Riska leave.)
JAKE: Nog!
NOG: Don't say another word, Jake. I think you've done enough damage for one night.
JAKE: Me?
NOG: Yeah, you. You were treating my female as if she was an equal!
JAKE: And you were behaving like an idiot. This is the last time I'll ever do a favour for you. From now on you get your own dates! (Oops! Darn cultural differences!)

WINN: Are you going to call security and have me removed from this room now, Doctor?
BASHIR: It hadn't occurred to me. Yet.
WINN: How is Bareil?
BASHIR: The organ replacement surgery went well. He's still unconscious, but he should be awake within the hour.
WINN: Oh, good. There are still several points I have to discuss with him before the next negotiating session.
BASHIR: That's why I'm here. When you see Bareil, I want you to tell him that you don't need him - that you can complete these negotiations without him.
WINN: But I do need him, Doctor.
BASHIR: I realize that. But I want you to tell him that you don't.
WINN: You seem to be asking me to lie.
BASHIR: I'm asking you to free Bareil of his obligations to you. The only way he'll accept that is if you tell him he's no longer needed - that you can go on without him. Now, if that's a lie, then so be it.
WINN: That doesn't sound like a Starfleet officer.
BASHIR: I'm a doctor first. And right now, I'm trying to give my patient his best chance to live. The only way to do that is to put him in stasis. Bareil knows that, but his desire to complete these negotiations is so strong that he's forcing me to keep him conscious and mentally alert, even though it may kill him.
WINN: None of us wants that to happen, Doctor. But if I'm not mistaken, the decision regarding Bareil's treatment is up to him.
BASHIR: Yes. As the patient, it is his right to make that choice. But I'm asking you to help me change his mind. Eminence, you're the Kai. These are your negotiations. Let this be your moment in history. Finish the talks on your own, and you won't have to share the credit with anyone. (Rather clever there, Doctor.)
WINN: You say that as though success is guaranteed, Doctor.
BASHIR: Of course, if the talks fail, you'll need someone to accept the blame. A scapegoat. (This seems to hit home.) You're a coward. You're afraid to stand alone. (Meow!)

SISKO: Will he regain consciousness?
BASHIR: Not in his present condition.
WINN: You were able to replace some of his internal organs with artificial implants. Could you do something similar with the damaged parts of his brain?
BASHIR: It's hard to say with any certainty. There's still a great deal about the way the brain operates we don't understand. One of my professors at medical school used to say that the brain had a spark of life that can't be replicated. If we begin to replace parts of Bareil's brain with artificial implants, that spark may be lost. (This is actually an unusual moment of humility for the Trek franchise.)

JAKE: I wanted to say I'm sorry. I guess I just forgot you're a Ferengi.
NOG: You forgot? To most people, the lobes are a dead giveaway!
JAKE: What I mean is, we spend so much time together - and we seem so much alike - I sometimes forget we're different.
NOG: I know we're different. I mean, anyone who talks to a female with fawning respect is no Ferengi. It made me sick.
JAKE: You want to talk about sick? Sick is making Riska cut up your food for you.
NOG: At least I didn't have her chew it.
JAKE: Chew it?
NOG: That's right. In traditional Ferengi homes, the females soften the food with their teeth before they give it to the males.
JAKE: That's disgusting!
NOG: I knew you would react that way, which is why I didn't have her do it.
JAKE: Well, do you have any other disgusting Ferengi customs I should know about?
NOG: Plenty. And I know plenty of human customs that disgust me.
JAKE: Great. So we both disgust each other. (A beat.) You know, as we get older, this is just going to get worse. But I know one thing: I don't want to lose you as a friend.
NOG: Well, in that case, double-dating is definitely out.
JAKE: Agreed. And I guess we'll just have to deal with the rest of our disgusting habits as they come up. (Awww. Very cute!)