Three Workmen

Three unnamed workmen appear as menacing figures in Lieutenant Commander Data's nightmare aboard the USS Enterprise-D. They huddle at a table in Ten Forward, ignore Data's questions, hand him a knife, and gesture insistently for him to cut into a cake modeled after Counselor Deanna Troi. Silent and coercive, they drive the dream's surreal horror, forcing Data into grotesque participation that distorts his perceptions and highlights subconscious vulnerabilities amid an interphasic threat.