Flare Sci-Fi Forums: Missing day in "Clues"

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Posted by The Talented Mr. Gurgeh (Member # 318) on :

I was watching the TNG episode "Clues" recently and started wondering about something. When Data resets the ships chronometer to make everyone think that only 30 seconds had passed when in fact more than a day had passed, he would also have had to change the stardate, otherwise people would see that there was a day missing.

However, changing the stardate according to the ships computer would lead to a problem when the Enterprise next came into contact with another Federation vessel/starbase. The crews of the vessels would quickly realise that the stardates were different on the Enterprise.

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Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :

Data's a pretty smart guy. He probably set the computer to slowly gain time over the next few weeks so that by the time anyone would realize it, the chronometer would be all caught up again. Noone's going to mis 30 seconds here and there...

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Posted by The Talented Mr. Gurgeh (Member # 318) on :

Yeah..... I suppose could live with that explanation. Still though..... to make up a day before the next rendezvous, and someone could still cop on to the fact that something was going on with the computer.

Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :

It would've made more sense for Data -- especially after the second memory wipe -- to tell the crew that they had been out for two days.

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Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :

It could be easily explained that the wormhole that they went through could be classified as a space/time distortion which sent the Enterprise 48 hours into the future.

One has to take note, however that LaForge was able to determine that the clock was tampered with the first time. So unless they came up with a sneaky way to adjust the clock, they would have returned to the same area, and the mystery would have continued over again......

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Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :

IIRC, they only got wise to the clock because they went looking for problems. If their suspicions never got going, they may not have ever found it.

Although, my guess is that, eventually, however good the deception had been, the tampering would be discovered. Even if it was years later while the Ent. was having a computer overhaul at a starbase.

I also still think that Picard was allowed to keep his memories, though and he's just never let on. Not even to Data.

Posted by The Talented Mr. Gurgeh (Member # 318) on :

Yeah, there was a moment there near the end where he took a while to make up his mind, it was looking dodgy.

Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :

I thought the whole point about stardates etc. was to compensate for things like time dilation etc. It's probably standard procedure to update the ship's clock from a beacon whenever possible, and just because they don't know they've lost two days doesn't mean they wouldn't be surprised if it happened occasionally. . .

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Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :

Well, they might not realize they lost two days by looking at the clock ...

But if Kyle Riker calls up Will and says, "You were supposed to call me on Monday Earth Time?!"

And Will replies, "it IS Monday Earth Time!"

And Kyle replied, "Nooo ... it's Wednesday..."

Well, people will figure it out.

Posted by The Talented Mr. Gurgeh (Member # 318) on :

Data: "Computer, release 5 parts per million Tetrahydracannabinol into the life-support system"

Then no-one would be in much of a state to figure anything out

Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :

Actually, there's something more disturbing in that episode.

When Data refuses to cooperate with Picard's investigation into what happened, Picard tells Data that he will be court-martialed and "stripped down, to find out what has gone wrong..."

What?

Did the Measure of a Man ruling get tossed out? Or is Starfleet in the habit of executing everybody found guilty in a court martial? (No wonder Picard hates Phillipa? so much! She was trying to get him killed!)

Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :

Books have also stated that as well, as this is not in Picard's Character.

The script was also fan-based. It's likely that the writer never saw "Measure of a man".

Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :

Eh ... I don't buy that explanation. Any fan who likes Trek to submit a script good enough to be bought probably isn't a "casual" fan. It's just sad that TPTB didn't catch the mistake ... ::shrug::

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Disassembling Data wouldn't necessarily mean he'd be dead. They could put him back together again.

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Posted by akb1979 (Member # 557) on :

They would probably one take Data apart to find out what made him soooo stubborn and disobey a direct order the way he did. Us Humans hate unsolved mysteries and Picard was probably trying to 'scare' Data into telling him what was going on. They could just switch him off and plug a cable into his brain and download the logs. Probably just an empty threat.

Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :

But, still ... the implication was clear. And, frankly, Starfleet "stripping" Data to his "barest essentials" doesn't sound like something which can be easily repaired ...

Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

You seem to remember a version of "Measure..." that wasn't aired in our reality. In this timeline, the episode did not end with Data being declared a person. It ended with the court finding that there was insufficient evidence to prove he was not. Those are hardly the same things.

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Posted by Teelie (Member # 280) on :

Can someone fill me in on what happened in the episode? All I can remember is that there were some aliens and Data told them he'd wipe the crew's memory, but I forget why he had to and all that mess.

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Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :

Sol -- but if he wasn't alive, then he wouldn't have been allowed to resign from Starfleet and would have been forced to undergo Maddox's experiments. Because of the ruling, Data was found sentient and allowed to refuse Maddox's experiments.

The Enterprise is going to explore a class-M world, when they suddenly find themselves flying into a wormhole. The crew is knocked out by the ride -- except for Data, who revives the crew and tells them they've been unconscious for a few seconds.

But one of Dr. Crusher's experiements has aged by a full day; Worf has a pain in his wrist, and examining it, Dr. Crusher discovers that she mis-set the bones in his wrist (but doesn't remember doing it); Deanna Troi looks into a mirror, and doesn't see "herself", scaring her so badly Worf nearly knocks down the doors to her quarters after she screams.

There are some other oddities which crop up. For one, the probe Data launched to investigate the planet is transmitting data of another planet on the other side of the Federation.

Doing some investigation, LaForge learns that someone has reset the ship's chronometer. This is bad news for Data, because only LaForge and Data can reset the chronometer.

Confronted by Picard, Data refuses to answer any of the captain's questions, but does his best to disuade Picard from returning to the Class-M world. Picard orders Data to reveal what happened during the missing day, and Data says he is under orders to not reveal what happened. Picard is, of course, amazed. Did Starfleet contact the Enterprise and give Data that order? No, Data replied. You did.

The Enterprise returns to the Class-M world, when Deanna Troi suddenly steps onto the bridge and coldly tells Data (in a very deep voice), that the plan has failed and the Enterprise will now be destroyed.

Data informs Picard of what happened: the Paxons are very territorial about their space. They don't like outsiders, so they've got a "booby-trap": they wipe the memories of intruders, and send the starships on their way. When the intruders wake up, they count themselves lucky for surviving a wormhole and keep going.

But, they didn't count on Data. The lead Paxon took control of Troi, and injured Worf when he tried to stop her. Data and Picard came up with the idea of wiping everyone's mind, and ordering Data not to reveal the existance of the Paxons. This was an okay deal with the Paxons, so it was done.

But now the Enterprise is back, and the Paxons aren't very thrilled. Picard explains that humans love a mystery, and asks the Paxons to consider the first time a "run-through", and says that now that they know what to look for, they can eliminate all the clues. The Paxons agree ...

And the crew revives. Data informs them they have just passed through a wormhole. Picard wants to return to the mysterious Class-M world, but Data says that wouldn't be a good idea (gotta love technobabble), and launches a probe instead ...