Second Sight (episode)

Sisko falls in love with a woman visiting the station, but she is not what she appears to be.

Summary

 * "Personal log, stardate 47329.4. I finally realize why I've had trouble sleeping the last few nights. Yesterday was the 4th anniversary of the massacre at Wolf 359, the fourth anniversary of Jennifer's death. I'm not sure what bothers me more: the date itself, or the fact that it almost passed unnoticed."

Up late, Jake Sisko can't sleep either. He had a nightmare about running around the corridors of the station, unable to find his father. Once he feels better, he returns to sleep, adding as a footnote he misses his mother.

Commander Sisko, however, still can't sleep. He wanders around the empty Promenade, looking out the window, and counting the stars. A mysterious woman comes up behind him, and talks to him about the stars for a while. She introduces herself as Fenna, and seems to take an interest in him. They talk for a while, about the station. She doesn't say much about herself, but that she can't stay here long. As he is offering to show her around the station, she disappears.

The next morning, Commander Sisko seems to feel more alive than he did last night, even ordering a different drink, chiraltan tea (with a double twist of lemon), instead the raktajino he usually takes to start every day for the last year. Major Kira Nerys notices this, and is surprised. Lieutenant Jadzia Dax calls on the com, and asks him to meet Professor Gideon Seyetik, a terraformer who is an extreme egomaniac, but charming. He arrived to the station in the USS Prometheus (NCC-71201), for an experiment attempt in reigniting a dead sun, Epsilon 119. Dax reminds him it is just a theory, but he brushes it off.

Soon, while Commander Sisko is gazing out of the window again, Fenna reappears, and asks if his invitation is still open. He says it is, and shows her around. In one of the upper pylons, looking at the view of the station, she always seems to say exactly the right thing. When he asks about her, she can't say much, and she runs off right away. Once she gets to the turbolift, she's gone.

At dinner, when Sisko is unable to concentrate on Jake's anecdote, he concludes his father is in love. As he points out, he's showing all three of the signs according to Nog: loss of appetite, daydreaming, smiling all the time. When Jake asks about her, Sisko can't really describe her.

Sisko next goes to see Odo. He asks the constable to find Fenna. He tries to describe her again, and the description is vague at best.

Later, when Dax takes him aside, she wants to know what's going on. She saw the two of them on the Promenade.


 * "Personal log, supplemental. Odo continues to search for new information about Fenna. In the mean time, Professor Seyetik has invited me and the senior staff to dinner aboard the Prometheus."

The professor is charming as always, and explains the process of how the star will be reignited in addition to his projects, works of art, and nine-volume autobiography. When dinner arrives, they meet his wife, Nidell. She looks just like Fenna. Over dinner, Sisko whispers to Dax that she is pretending not to recognize him. When he asks her about talking to him, she knows nothing about what he's talking about. She doesn't know who Fenna is, either, but she is quite defensive.

When Sisko and Dax return to the station, Odo informs him that he couldn't find her after checking all of the logs. Sisko tells him not to bother, saying he did, aboard the Prometheus. Odo is perplexed; he says that no one has left the Prometheus except for the professor.

She also doesn't show up the next day. Sisko is puzzled. Quark offers to talk to him, recognizing the "I've been stood up" look, but Sisko declines. When he enters his quarters, she suddenly appears, and embraces him. He asks her about Nidell, but she has never heard of her either. She doesn't have a twin sister, and she is still hesitant to know where she came from, who she really is. Her only reply is that she thought she was looking for a place, but she was really looking for him. After he kisses her, she suddenly fades out of existence, as if she were non-corporeal.

After Chief Miles O'Brien and Dax reconfigure the warp drive, Sisko sets out on the ship with Seyetik's team – and his wife. He believes the answer must be there.

Professor Seyetik talks about himself on the way there, but also talks about how he met Nidell. She was the daughter of a dignitary, and she was infatuated with him from the moment she met him. He was the first one to take her off-world, and he would give up the entire universe for her.

When the Prometheus arrives at the dead star, Sisko suddenly sees Fenna in his quarters. He immediately calls for Dax. When Dax scans, there is no matter there, just energy. They all go to Nidell's quarters, and find Seyetik frantic over her condition. She won't wake up. Dax finds she is in shock. When Seyetik sees Fenna, he knows exactly what happened. Fenna is surprised. The professor explains Fenna is an illusion created by Nidell's unconscious mind. She is a telepath, and according to Dax's scans, she can't survive more than an hour or two.

Sisko has Dax take Fenna outside, and talks to Seyetik. All of the charm fades from him as he explains what's going on. Nidell doesn't know what's happening; she is unconscious, and this happens when her species have strong emotions. All of his wives, he says, have trouble with him after a while; they hate him in the end as much as they love him in the beginning. Nidell can never leave him, because her species mates for life.

Sisko talks to Fenna, and explains this to her. She can't believe it, and doesn't want to die. Sisko promises to remember her, and that it's a dream. Dax then calls from the bridge, and says that Seyetik has launched the shuttlepod – with himself on it.

Sisko is unable to convince him to turn around, as he is freeing Nidell forever, and has even written his own obituary. Sisko promises to send it off, and the star is reignited.


 * "Station log, supplemental. Epsilon 119 continues to burn brightly, a fitting memorial to a brilliant man. Meanwhile, I am happy to report that Nidell has made a complete recovery. Unfortunately, she has no memory of Fenna's experiences."

Nidell says goodbye, and thanks Sisko. She says she will probably stay on her homeworld the rest of her life, and wishes she could remember Fenna, but she can't. Before she leaves, she asks Sisko what Fenna was like, and is told, "She was just like you."

Memorable Quotes
"Admit it, Chief, if you were on a station where everything worked, you'd be miserable."

"''You may be right, sir." [sparks fly from the panel he's working on] "But I'd be willing to give it a try!''"
 * - Benjamin Sisko and Miles O'Brien

"Something wrong?"

"No, nothing."

"If something's bothering you, Major, I want to hear it."

"It's just that... every morning for the last year, I've seen you walk in here and start your day with a raktajino."

"I love raktajino."

"I know, you never even talk to anyone until you've had your first cup."

"Because I'm not awake until I've had my first cup."

"So... how come you're drinking Chiraltan tea?"

[pause] "I, uh... I just felt like having something different.  That is all right with you, isn't it, Major?"

"Of course, you can drink whatever you like."

"''Why thank you Major, I appreciate your support." [drinks]
 * - Benjamin Sisko and Kira Nerys

"Do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

"Say exactly the right thing."
 * - Sisko and Fenna

"Of course it'll work: I never fail! Well, I did once, but I found it didn't agree with me, so I swore never to do it again, and I never break my word."
 * - Seyetik

"The last time I saw her, she was wearing a... she was wearing red."
 * - Benjamin Sisko, describing Fenna

"Commander, do you think he'd notice if we weren't here when he got back?"

"Don't even think about it, Major. I've had dinner with about two dozen Bajoran ministers, I think you owe me this one.  Besides, Seyetik is one of the Federation's greatest minds."

"I know, he told me."
 * - Kira Nerys and Benjamin Sisko

"Commander, obviously you have mistaken me for someone else."

"Seems that way... doesn't it?"
 * - Nidell and Benjamin Sisko

"So honor the valiant who died 'neath your sword",

"But pity the warrior who slays all his foes."
 * - Seyetik and Sisko, citing a fragment of G'Trok's Fall of Kang

"Keep your eye on the viewscreen, Commander, you'll never see anything like this again. Let there be light!"
 * - Seyetik, last words

"I wish that I could remember Fenna. What she did, how she felt.  But I can't, I'm sorry."

"It's all right. I can remember for both of us."

"Tell me one thing."

"If I can."

"What was she like?"

"Fenna? She was just... like you."
 * - Nidell and Benjamin Sisko

Story and script

 * Mark Gehred-O'Connell's original pitch for this episode involved Bashir meeting a mysterious woman who keeps disappearing. He goes to his colleagues for aid in tracking her down but he discovers that no one aboard the station has ever seen her except himself, and as such, he has to unravel the mystery alone, as his crewmates begin to think he's imagining the whole thing. Bashir ultimately discovers that the woman is in fact a projection by a woman who is abused by her husband. This original version of the story was more of an adventure/mystery than a romance. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
 * Changing the story to focus on Sisko rather than Bashir was Michael Piller's idea, because he felt that the Sisko character had become far too aloof, and he saw this episode as a way to humanize him. According to Ira Steven Behr, "During the second season, Michael kept saying 'Let's define Sisko.' That's when he and I had conversations about making Sisko the builder, on establishing the difference between him and Picard, the explorer. Sisko is a builder, he stays with a project until the finish. That helped us to see Sisko in a whole lot of different ways. He's a guy who's solid and real and human." The writers felt that giving Sisko a romance would help them to better define the character, and would help the audience to better connect with him on an emotional level. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
 * Seyetik was based on director John Huston. (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p 65)
 * According to Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Seyetik's terraforming technology is based upon the Genesis Device as seen in ; "It was established Federation terraforming technology. Of course, the Genesis device didn't work, but obviously Seyetik's work is built upon the research of previous scientists. And it was a nice way to reference the movie." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)

Reception

 * This episode is not a favorite of Ira Steven Behr. He commented "For the show to work, Sisko had to respect Seyetik, and for whatever reason, there was never any current of understanding between Sisko and him. And for me, the show fell apart. The audience had to like Seyetik. He kills himself. How many times do we see a guy commit suicide on Star Trek? It was a great ending, an ending worthy of, but it just seemed like some other wacky thing this character was doing. You didn't feel the sorrow." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
 * Michael Piller commented "It had a great premise. It's the old  idea where a mysterious woman keeps disappearing in front of your eyes, and we should have made it work". (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p 66)

Trivia

 * This episode marks the first appearance in Deep Space Nine of the Nebula-class starship, and also the first appearance of a USS Prometheus in Star Trek. Although the exterior of the ship clearly shows it incorporates components from the Galaxy-class, not a single piece of any standing set from The Next Generation appeared—the wall outside Seyetik's quarters is a single length of stock Starfleet wall built specifically for DS9 scenes, Seyetik's quarters are a brand new set built from the remains of the runabout aft section seen in, and the bridge is a re-dress of the USS Excelsior bridge set from , combining its forward and aft walls. This smaller starship bridge would continue to be seen throughout the series as the bridge of various ships, both Federation and not; it would later appear in  as the bridge of the USS Odyssey.
 * This is the first episode of the series to be directed by Alexander Singer.
 * This episode takes place on the fourth anniversary of the Battle of Wolf 359, although the stardate of the episode does not correspond to the anniversary.
 * The poem referenced by both Seyetik and Sisko is referred to as The Fall of Kang, and it is implied that the poem is about Kang's last great battle. However, ten episodes later, in, Kang turns up on DS9 alive and well. The Kang in the poem is apparently a different Kang.
 * Seyetik's last words, "Let There Be Light," comes from Genesis 1:3 of the Bible.
 * The dress worn by Fenna is reused and worn by Antonia in and Leosa, Barclay's seducer in.

Video and DVD releases

 * UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 15,.
 * As part of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Second Season Vol. 1 LaserDisc (Japan only)
 * As part of the DS9 Season 2 DVD collection.

Starring

 * Avery Brooks as Commander Benjamin Sisko

Also Starring

 * Rene Auberjonois as Constable Odo
 * Siddig El Fadil as Doctor Julian Bashir
 * Terry Farrell as Lieutenant Jadzia Dax
 * Cirroc Lofton as Jake Sisko
 * Colm Meaney as Chief Miles O'Brien
 * Armin Shimerman as Quark
 * Nana Visitor as Major Kira Nerys

Guest Star

 * Salli Elise Richardson as Fenna/Nidell

Special Guest Star

 * Richard Kiley as Gideon Seyetik

Co-Star

 * Mark Erickson as Piersall

Uncredited Co-Stars

 * Bill Hagy as Prometheus ops ensign
 * Unknown performers as
 * Prometheus command division officer
 * Prometheus science division officer