The Enterprise picks up an automated distress signal from a shuttlecraft, which is without power. They pick it up, and are stunned to find it's a duplicate of an Enterprise shuttle, and contains a duplicate of Captain Picard!! Pulaski inspects Picard-2, and says the life signs are confusing-he's human, but his brainwaves are "out of phase". The unconscious Picard-2 is taken to sickbay, and Picard consults with Troi, who says that really is him. Data and Geordi begin working on extracting the shuttle logs, but have difficulty doing so, due to odd phase differences. When they finally extract what they can of the logs, they notice the stardate is from six hours in the future.

Pulaski wakes Picard-2, who seems terrified and is completely incoherent. Then, at the staff meeting, Geordi and Data play back the logs, which show the Enterprise destroyed in 3 hours, 19 minutes' time, with only Picard escaping in the shuttle. Not knowing precisely how to avoid their fate, or even if they can, they decide to continue on course. Pulaski, meanwhile, informs Picard that Picard-2 should become more coherent as they approach the time he left. A bit later, he's slightly more coherent, but is still lost to where and when he is. Picard gets angry and leaves.

A short time later, Riker suggests Picard restrain his "natural" tendency to immediately find an action appropriate to the problem-to "sit down, shut up and wait," as Picard puts it. Then, suddenly, a strange energy vortex appears below the Enterprise and starts sucking them in. Picard initially decides to investigate, but then changes his mind. However, even maximum power isn't enough to get them away, and it in fact becomes a problem, since they then need to cut power for an instant, tightening the vortex's grip. They launch a probe, which is quickly destroyed. Then, a beam of energy strikes both Picards, and after a second bolt hits, Troi senses the entity behind the vortex is centered entirely on Picard now. Picard realizes that Picard-2's idea was that if he left, it might distract the entity long enough for the Enterprise to get away.

He heads down to sickbay, and orders Picard freed and the evacuation of all personnel from shuttle bay 2. Both Picards go to the bay, but Picard-2, though coherent, is not listening to anything other than his own need to leave-he's locked into the path he's already taken. After talking to Picard-2 for a short time, Picard realize the "other choice" is to go forward, into the vortex. Saying that before this can happen, "the cycle must end", he kills Picard-2, and goes back to the bridge. He orders the ship forward, heading directly for the center of the void. As they travel, both Picard-2 and the duplicate shuttle vanish, as does the void a few seconds later. The crisis over, Picard goes to the observation deck to ponder the questions this incident has raised.

Highlight Listing:

"Time Squared" - The U.S.S. Enterprise discovers a Federation shuttle containing an exact double of Captain Picard from six hours in the future.

Advertising Headline:

PICARD IS TRAPPED IN THE FUTURE! Can the Captain and crew escape a deadly time warp?

TV log listing:

Crew caught in deadly time warp on STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION.

Technical design, graphic design, interactive features, HTML & CGI programming by Andrew Tong. || All materials Copyright © 1987-1995 by their respective authors. || Document created: January 28, 1995 || Last Modified: November 09, 2010