“Asylum” is episode ten of season four of Sliders.
The Sliders are on a plane that’s under fire and Quinn says they won’t be on the ground before they slide. He isn’t sure what will happen if the vortex opens on the plane. Then the plane gets hit, they need to get parachutes but before they can an explosion takes out the parachutes and injures Quinn and Rembrandt. Maggie opens the vortex in mid-air and (amazingly) they manage to jump out of the plane and all hit it. On the other side, Quinn is injured quite badly.
Maggie asks Colin to go into town to find help. He comes across a horse drawn cart and speaks to the driver, who pulls out a gun. Colin says his friend is injured and the driver puts away his gun and tells Colin to get on.
In town, there are bikes, horses and horse-drawn vehicles on the streets, but also some stationary vehicles. And everyone looks to be armed. Colin heads inside Van Nuys Hospital, which is very busy, and finally gets a doctor to send help for Quinn.
Quinn and Rembrandt are brought in by ambulance. Which is drawn by horses. Someone is taking photos as they are taken off the ambulance.
The news inside the hospital is saying that Charlton Heston, the president of California, has said that citizens don’t have to carry firearms if they don’t want to. The doctor tells Maggie and Quinn that Rembrandt should be okay but Quinn is in more serious condition; there’s a haemorrhage in his skull and if they can’t stop it or relieve the pressure, it’s bad.
Rembrandt comes around to see the doctor, who introduces herself as Grace Venable. Maggie and Colin come in and Maggie tells Rembrandt a wagon came out of nowhere. Rembrandt says he remembers a plane and Maggie says he’s mixed up; they’ve not been on a plane since the war. Quinn is in ICU and they have to go to New York in three days. If he isn’t better, they may have to leave him. Grace thinks Rembrandt will be okay to leave in the morning and Maggie tells him the usual place. They check in on Quinn before they go.
Maggie and Colin are in the hotel. The war has been over for three years and California seceded and is neutral. The Kromaggs didn’t destroy the world like they usually do; this was a supply raid and they plundered the resources. The man who took the photos earlier is listening to them. Maggie explains the guns are for protection; the border is under siege from refugees from the war. Every citizen is a member of the militia. The man comes over and asks Maggie where her gun is. In her room. He introduces himself as Ralph Hackett. When he hears about Quinn being in the hospital, Hackett says he knows a few doctors in his line of work; if he can help, let him know. Would they like dinner? Maggie declines.
Grace checks on Rembrandt in the morning and chats as she removes his neck brace. He can leave, though Quinn hasn’t improved. She wants to know again about the accident, as his injuries aren’t consistent with what his friends said. Rembrandt claims not to remember much. Grace asks Rembrandt if he fought the Kromaggs. He did, though he doesn’t tell her where. Maggie calls and says she’s coming up and Rembrandt asks Grace to dinner. She agrees. At her place.
Back at the hotel, the Sliders are wondering what to do. Maggie says to do what Quinn always says; pull off a miracle. Quinn might not be healed for weeks and they can’t take his life support equipment with them. Maggie thinks she might be able to get Quinn better help, explaining Hackett. Rembrandt will speak to Grace. Maggie asks Colin to hit the libraries, to find out how things are, medical wise. Maggie says they depend on Quinn to get them out of trouble; now it’s up to them.
Hackett, meanwhile, is with two men. MI5 have borrowed a plane out of Vancouver which will land tomorrow morning. They need to complete the investigation by then. He knows they are supposed to bring the target back for trial, but this was a hard target mission from the beginning. And he hands them guns.
Quinn is in very bad shape, and consequently barely appears in the episode. Maggie and Rembrandt tell war stories, though not of this world. When Grace discovers Rembrandt is a slider, she wants to come with. Failing to explain why.