|
Voyager picks up an automated
message from the Kohl settlement, whose members survived an
environmental catastrophe by going into artificial hibernation.
The crew beams their hibernation pods on board and finds two
humanoids dead and three in deep stasis, their minds connected
to a sensory system controlled by a computer. The Doctor reveals
that the two victims died from heart failure, brought on by
mental stress — or extreme fear.
Hoping to learn how to revive
the survivors, Kim and Torres enter two pods and are attached to
the computer, which allows them to enter the colonists' dream
state. They're thrown into an environment that resembles a
bizarre carnival run by a malevolent Clown, whose followers
quickly drag Kim to a guillotine.
Although the Clown spares Kim, the pair suddenly understand how
the Kohl could literally be frightened to death. Because the
Clown's survival depends on the colonists' minds remaining
linked to the sensory system, the Kohl — and now Kim and Torres
— can't awaken because the Clown won't allow it. The computer
has manifested the worst fears of their subconscious minds into
the persona of the Clown; they are now prisoners to that fear.
The Clown allows Torres to leave so she can warn the Captain
that if the hibernation pods are deactivated, everyone will die.
While Janeway contemplates how to negotiate, the Clown torments
Kim mercilessly. The Doctor is sent to discuss the release of
the hostages but the Clown refuses to cooperate, so Janeway
decides to mount a rescue mission to free Kim and the Kohl
settlers.
Her first plan fails when the Clown catches on to Torres'
attempts to disable his program. Infuriated, he puts a colonist
in the guillotine, where the frightened man succumbs to heart
failure. To prevent more deaths, Janeway orders Torres to stop.
The Captain comes up with a final offer for the Clown: trade the
current captives for Janeway herself. The Clown agrees, only to
discover that his prize is only a holographic image. With no one
alive left to torment, "Fear" is conquered and he disappears
forever.
|
