Fabula
S2E5 · Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Schizoid Man

Gruesome Materialization

The away team's transport to Gravesworld is immediately unsettling, with a prolonged and disorienting materialization process that leaves Troi feeling 'trapped inside that wall.' Pulaski's interrupted question about the transport anomalies underscores the crew's vulnerability, while Graves' sudden appearance and invasive examination of Data foreshadows his later attempt to hijack the android's body. Pulaski's grim diagnosis of Varnay's disease for Graves adds a layer of urgency and desperation to the scene, setting the stage for his reckless bid for immortality. The event serves as both a physical and thematic gateway into the episode's exploration of mortality, identity, and the ethical boundaries of scientific ambition.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

1

The away team materializes slowly on Gravesworld, Pulaski's interrupted warning crystallizes into a shared disorientation—Troi reports a surreal sensation of being 'trapped inside that wall'—signaling the planet's strange transporter effects.

routine arrival to unsettled bewilderment ['Living room on Gravesworld', 'planet visible …

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

10

Defiantly insecure about impending death

Domineering the room with erratic energy—alternately boasting, insulting Worf, making lecherous comments to Troi and Pulaski, and manhandling Data while dismissing terminal diagnosis with defiant bravado.

Goals in this moment
  • Assert intellectual superiority over visitors
  • Assess Data as potential vessel for consciousness transfer
Active beliefs
  • His genius justifies extraordinary measures to cheat death
  • Social conventions don't apply to someone of his intellect
Character traits
Intellectual narcissism Defensive mortality denial Manipulative charm
Follow Ira Graves's journey

Anxiously devoted

Appearing emotionally torn between concern for Graves and fear of his reaction to her secret distress call, displaying shy vulnerability when confronting Starfleet officers.

Goals in this moment
  • Ensure Graves receives proper medical attention
  • Mitigate Graves' anger over unauthorized intervention
Active beliefs
  • Graves' brilliance blinds him to his deteriorating health
  • Personal feelings justify disobeying his wishes
Character traits
Guilty protectiveness Romantic devotion Shy earnestness
Follow Kareen Brianon's journey

Professionally detached but morally outraged

Expertly conducting covert medical scan despite Graves' resistance, delivering terminal diagnosis with clinical professionalism while showing visible discomfort at his lecherous remarks.

Goals in this moment
  • Determine Graves' true medical condition
  • Maintain ethical standards despite patient's hostility
Active beliefs
  • Patient welfare supersedes individual preferences in terminal cases
  • Professional ethics demand truth regardless of consequences
Character traits
Medical stealth Blunt candor Suppressed indignation
Follow Katherine Pulaski's journey

Alert but unobtrusive

Silently assisting in transporter operations and standing by for potential medical emergencies, demonstrating disciplined readiness without direct engagement.

Goals in this moment
  • Maintain operational support readiness
  • Avoid interfering with senior officers' duties
Active beliefs
  • Emergency protocols require constant vigilance
  • Chain of command must be preserved in crisis situations
Character traits
Professional discretion Sensory attentiveness Subordinate reliability
Follow Unnamed Med-Tech's journey

Balanced urgency and caution

Communicating remotely via comlink to authorize investigation while prioritizing simultaneous rescue mission, demonstrating strategic command under pressure.

Goals in this moment
  • Simultaneously address Gravesworld and Mary Rogers crises
  • Ensure away team maintains investigative caution
Active beliefs
  • Scientific importance warrants Starfleet's attention despite risks
  • Multi-tasking remains essential during humanitarian crises
Character traits
Delegatory command Strategic prioritization Concerned authority
Follow Jean-Luc Picard's journey

Mildly offended but professionally engaged

Subjected to Graves' invasive physical examination while displaying visible discomfort at insults to his design. Demonstrates respectful curiosity about Graves' connection to Soong.

Goals in this moment
  • Understand Graves' knowledge of his creator
  • Maintain decorum despite physical violation
Active beliefs
  • Graves possesses valuable insights about his origins
  • Physical examination constitutes inappropriate behavior from a stranger
Character traits
Artificially polite Vulnerable to critique Intellectually curious
Follow Data's journey

Visibly offended but suppressing combat instincts

Maintaining tactical readiness with phaser drawn, reacting with barely-contained fury to Graves' insult about Klingons resembling Romulans.

Goals in this moment
  • Protect team from potential threats
  • Preserve Klingon dignity against slights
Active beliefs
  • Graves' ignorance constitutes an insult to Klingon honor
  • Threat assessment remains inconclusive despite medical context
Character traits
Instinctively defensive Cultural pride Disciplined restraint
Follow Worf's journey

Professionally composed but internally wary

Commanding the away team with disciplined calm while assessing Kareen's motives and Graves' erratic behavior. Maintains professional authority despite unsettling transport and Graves' provocations.

Goals in this moment
  • Ensure crew safety amid transport anomalies
  • Assess Graves' true medical condition despite his resistance
Active beliefs
  • Graves presents potential security risks requiring vigilance
  • Starfleet's scientific mission must be balanced with ethical considerations
Character traits
Situational awareness Diplomatic restraint Protective leadership
Follow William Riker's journey

Disturbed by transport experience but maintaining diplomatic calm

Experiencing profound transporter disorientation, then weathering Graves' inappropriate attention with practiced diplomatic grace.

Goals in this moment
  • Recover from alarming neural disturbance
  • Deflect Graves' advances without exacerbating tensions
Active beliefs
  • Graves' behavior reveals psychological instability
  • Team unity requires personal discomfort be tolerated temporarily
Character traits
Empathic sensitivity Professional composure Physical vulnerability
Follow Deanna Troi's journey

Professionally vigilant

Operating transporter with technical precision while warning crew about unusual long-range transport effects, demonstrating professional concern for team safety.

Goals in this moment
  • Ensure safe transport despite technical anomalies
  • Prepare team for unusual sensory experiences
Active beliefs
  • Gravesworld's spatial properties affect transporter function
  • Advanced warnings mitigate disorientation risks
Character traits
Technical expertise Preemptive caution Operational discipline
Follow Geordi La …'s journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

2
USS Enterprise Phasers

Worf's phaser remains drawn on stun setting throughout the tense arrival, symbolizing Starfleet's cautious approach despite the ostensibly medical nature of their mission—his grip tightening reflexively during Graves' insults.

Before: Holstered during transport
After: Ready in defensive position
Before: Holstered during transport
After: Ready in defensive position
Enterprise Transporter System

The transporter system causes abnormal materialization effects on Gravesworld, creating prolonged disorientation that leaves Troi feeling psychologically 'trapped inside that wall'—an ominous foreshadowing of consciousness transfer technology.

Before: Operational on Enterprise
After: Completed transport with anomalies
Before: Operational on Enterprise
After: Completed transport with anomalies

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

2
Enterprise Transporter Room (Transporter Platform)

The Enterprise transporter room functions as the departure point where Geordi warns about unusual transport effects—establishing unease before abrupt beam-out cuts off Pulaski's question mid-sentence.

Atmosphere Tense with pre-mission anticipation
Function Gateway between ship and planetary danger
Access Restricted to authorized personnel
Blue glow of active transporter pad Hum of matter-energy conversion systems
Gravesworld

Gravesworld's living quarters serve as the uneasy arrival point where spatial anomalies disrupt standard transport operations while providing confined staging for Graves' disturbing introduction and Pulaski's fateful diagnosis.

Atmosphere Claustrophobic intellectual enclave with lurking dread
Function Site of first contact and medical revelation
Symbolism Isolated domain where genius confronts mortality
Access Requires risky long-range transport
Cluttered with scientific paraphernalia Visible planetary rings through windows

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

No narrative connections mapped yet

This event is currently isolated in the narrative graph


Key Dialogue

"TROI: Ohh... I know this is crazy, but for a moment I felt like I was trapped inside that wall."
"GRAVES: Looks like Soong's work. [...] Which kinda makes me your grandfather, doesn't it sonny?"
"PULASKI: I'm sorry, Ira. You're dying, and there's nothing I can do about it."