Ex Post Facto (Star Trek: Voyager)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Star Trek: Voyager episode
"Ex Post Facto"
The memory implanted into Paris
Episode no.	8
Prod. code	108
Airdate	February 27, 1995
Writer(s)	Evan Carlos Somers Michael Piller
Director	LeVar Burton
Guest star(s)	Robin McKee as Lidell Ren Henry Brown as Numiri Captain Ray Reinhardt as Tolen Ren Francis Guinan as Minister Kray Aaron Lustig as Doctor
Year	2371
Stardate	48610.1
Episode chronology
Previous	"Eye of the Needle"
Next	"Emanations"

"Ex Post Facto" is the eighth episode of Star Trek: Voyager. The episode's title is Latin for "from a thing done afterward", and refers to the concept of retrospective law.

[edit] Plot

Ensign Kim returns to Voyager from a visit to a planet occupied by a people known as the Banea with news that Lieutenant Paris, who was also on the trip, has been accused and convicted of the murder of the scientist, Tolen Ren, with whom they were working.

Voyager is flown in to investigate this conviction, and encounters a patrol ship governed by the Numiri, a race with which the Banea are at war. The patrol allows Voyager to enter the warzone with no resistance.

Paris denies the accusation of murder but the evidence, being the very last memories of Ren's life extracted from his mind, show otherwise. These memories have been implanted by a Banean doctor into Paris' mind, so that he regularly relives the murder through the eyes of his victim, as required by the Banean justice system. However, Paris becomes ill as a result and the Banean doctor permits Captain Janeway to take him to Voyager for evaluation, while Chief of Security Tuvok visits the planet to investigate for himself.

At this point, the Numiri launch an attack on Voyager, but fail.

Tuvok decides that he must see the memories for himself and performs a mind meld with Paris, during which he sees unusual scripture superimposed on the visions. When the mind meld is complete, Tuvok believes he has enough evidence to secure Paris' innocence, and can explain the Numiri attack.

It transpires that the Banean doctor is a spy for the Numiri, and altered the memories as they were extracted from Ren's mind, so that it appeared that Paris was the murderer. Then, when the memories were implanted into Paris, they were altered by the doctor further to incorporate sensitive technology information. By permitting Paris to leave the planet and return to Voyager, the doctor was providing the perfect opportunity for the Numiri to acquire Paris and with him the stolen information.

Paris is released, and the doctor arrested along with Ren's wife who was complicit in the murder of her husband. Voyager leaves the Banean homeworld and continues its journey.

[edit] Notes

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

The final key to Tuvok's successful examination is the fact that the dog does not bark at the doctor, but instead is very familiar with him. This device is first seen in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "Silver Blaze".
Features recycled city matte painting from Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "First Contact".
This episode reveals that Tuvok has been married for 67 years.
This episode is similar to the Star Trek:The Next Generation episode "A Matter of Perspective".
This episode is similar to the "Stargate SG-1" episode "Collateral Damage (Stargate SG-1)"
In this episode, Tom says to Harry, "You'll meet her and you'll know it's wrong from the first moment you see her and you'll know there's nothing you can do about it." This seems to foreshadow the episode "The Disease" in which Harry ends up having a secret relationship with someone from an alien crew.