On the lifeless desert planet of Velara III, a small group of scientists are hard at work terraforming the planet. When a routine check-in by theEnterpriseleads to a testy dismissal from the head engineer, as well as bad vibes for Counselor Troi, the away team goes to investigate. Apologies are quickly made by the newly conciliatory terraformers, who explain that their manners tend to fade over the decades of isolation required to bring life to a dead world. (So what exactly happened toStar Trek II's Genesis Project?) But during the brief tour, one scientist is killed by an apparently malfunctioning laser, and suspicions are raised again. Data and Geordi investigate, and discover beyond question that an intelligent force in fact controlled the deadly beam. The three remaining scientists are brought up to the ship for questioning; also beamed aboard is a small crystal whose arrhythmic, "musical" light pulsations have intrigued Data. Despite some insistence from the ship's computer that, lacking organic structure, the crystal simply can't be life (why exactly aren't Starfleet medical programs informed of the silicon-based Horta encountered by the oldEnterprisecrew?), alive is exactly the right word. Alive, growing, and angry at the attempted extermination of its species by the terraformers. Not to mention able to control theEnterprise's computers, thus putting the entire crew at risk. Though the rapidly multiplying creature, eventually dubbed the microbrain, is one of the ...
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