appear to be connected to
the holodeck's main power coupling.
Depolarise the entire power grid.
It is located below this deck, sir.
Get away from there.
Would you gentlemen
show me your tickets?
I believe we left our tickets
in our compartments.
- Mr Worf, I told you to bring them.
- I forgot.
I don't think you folks
belong on this train.
Hold it.
You leave these people alone.
They're only trying to help.
You go back to the engine.
This doesn't concern you.
They're all trying
to hijack the train.
If you're the engineer,
who's doing the driving?
I am.
Easy, sir. Easy. I've got you.
I'm alright. Thanks.
It looks like the navigational relay
has overloaded.
Geordi, what's going on?
We just went into warp.
We've lost
engine and helm control again.
This time,
they're completely burnt out.
I don't know
if we can stop the ship.
I believe we have changed direction.
Now we're on the right track.
Ladies and gentlemen,
we are on our way.
I was right. He was trying
to make off with my brick.
Take good care of that.
We can't afford to lose it.
Now, are you people gonna leave,
or do we have to throw you off?
Commander.
My tricorder says the holodeck
safeties have been disengaged.
His weapon could be lethal.
Alright. Let's get out of here.
The number of systems affected by
the nodes has increased considerably.
Sensors, engines,
replicators, propulsion,
they're working together,
almost independently of the computer.
And the nodes link them
all through the holodeck.
Why the holodeck?
It doesn't make sense.
I believe what happens on the
holodeck directly affects the ship.
When we tried to destroy the nodes,
the characters on the train
responded immediately to stop us.
When the engineer tried to protect
us, one of the characters shot him.
Then the conductor signalled
the train to change direction
- And at the same time...
- The Enterprise changed direction.
The ship is under
the control of the holodeck?
Not precisely.
Geordi, does the configuration
of connection nodes look familiar?
Yeah! It looks a little like the
structure of your positronic brain.
Correct.
The nodes are in the process of
creating a rudimentary neural net.
Data, what are you suggesting?
Unlikely as it may sound,
I believe the Enterprise
may be forming an intelligence.
This is a synaptic map
of the human neo-cortex,
this is a cross section
of my positronic net.
This is a schematic of the connection
nodes linking the ship's systems.
I believe some sort of neural matrix
is forming on the ship.
It is relatively primitive,
but still an intelligence.
How could that happen?
- It is an emergent property.
- Explain.
Complex systems can behave in ways
that are entirely unpredictable.
The human brain,
for example, might be described
in terms of cellular functions
and neurochemical interactions.
But that description does not
explain human consciousness,
a capacity that far exceeds
simple neural functions.
Consciousness
is an emergent property.
Something that's more
than the sum of its parts.
Exactly.
How does that explain
what's happening?
The Enterprise contains
a vast database of information
managed by a sophisticated computer.
This complex system
gives the ship many characteristics
of a biological organism.
True. It sees with sensors and talks
with communications systems.
In a sense it almost reproduces
with the replicators.
And you think the ship
is developing a new capacity?
Yes, sir. I think a self-determining
intelligence is emerging.
If that is so, what does the ship
want? Where is it taking us?
The key to understanding the
ship's behaviour is in the holodeck.
All the nodes intersect there.
It is clearly the processing centre.
- Processing centre?
- Yes, sir.
A focal point where the ideas
and instincts of this intelligence
are first expressed in some form.
Almost like an imagination. Captain,
I'd like to go to the holodeck.
I could interact