7

In the ST: Voyager 'Alice' episode, Tom Paris is ensnared by a derelict ship through the use of a neurogenic interface. The ship wants to bond with Paris so that he will fly her to a specific place that she refers to as "home". This is a spatial anomaly called a particle fountain. The junk trader, Abbadon, says that according to the Haakonian pilot he acquired it from, the ship is 'haunted', but B'Elanna Torres refers to it repeatedly as a computer program while trying to convince Paris to resist its control. Is 'Alice' a spirit that once originated in the particle fountain or is it a program? Why does she call the particle fountain home?

enter image description here

1 Answer 1

9

Alice was the AI computer core of the ship and while it's never explicitly stated, I always got the impression that she was calling the particle fountain "the way home" and the fountain was something akin to a wormhole only extremely difficult to navigate and possibly not going through space but through dimensions.

Since it's never explained it's really only speculation but there is some evidence in the episode for the hypothesis.

The ship's technology is unlike anything they have seen any species use, the trader told them the ship was looking for a pilot with "the ability to unlock her full potential", and the ship did want to fly into an anomaly that by all accounts destroys ships.

1
  • 1
    That also explains why in Abbadon's vision, Alice says that Abbadon didn't have the reflexes to pilot the ship. The flight from the junkyard to the particle fountain seemed fairly mundane, but once inside the fountain the difficult flight may have required a good pilot. Commented Nov 12, 2014 at 13:12

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.