“Emanations” is episode nine of season one of Star Trek: Voyager.
The captain is narrating her log, saying that there are 246 elements known to Federation science, and now they think they’ve found number 247 in the ring system of a Class D planet. Janeway, Chakotay, B’Elanna and Harry are clustered around a console. It’s a stable transuranic element in a natural environment – which would be a first. The element would have a number of uses; rather than beam it aboard, B’Elanna would like to examine it in its natural environment first. Many of the asteroids have M-class atmospheres, so the captain agrees.
Chakotay, B’Elanna and Harry beam down to an asteroid. Chakotay brushes against something that is apparently a biopolymer residue; it looks like spiderweb. Then B’Elanna finds a cocooned body. A class 5 humanoid that appears to be dead. Then they find more.
There are 18 bodies, ranging from several years old to just a few hours. Chakotay thinks it is a burial site. The element appears to be a by-product of the decomposition process. Chakotay wishes to leave the bodies as they are. Harry says it’s a first contact situation, but the captain agrees with Chakotay, and to his suggestion that they do a visual inspection only.
All B’Elanna can learn about the culture is that they like to leave their naked dead on asteroids. Chakotay explains that being naked and the lack of worldly suggests the race don’t believe in taking possessions into the afterlife. How the bodies are arranged and the ritual in disposing of the dead suggests a belief in some sort of afterlife. Klingon burial customs start getting brought up when there is a light formed by a dimensional distortion, a subspace vacuole.
Emergency beam out is requested, but there are problems. B’Elanna and Chakotay are beamed back, along with a new body, but Harry isn’t. Tuvok can’t find any sign of Harry in the entire asteroid field; he may have been pulled into the vacuole. B’Elanna says that the body that accompanied them is a new one, and only just died. They may be able to revive her. Chakotay doesn’t want to interfere, but this is a chance to find out what happened to Harry, so the body is transported to sickbay.
Elsewhere, a funeral ritual is being carried out around some sort of pod, when there is knocking from the inside and Harry asking to be let out. That isn’t what the people surrounding the pod expected. A man, Hatil, is being told by his wife that this is a generous, selfless act and she will see him in the next emanation. Then Harry arrives in the next room; the person who was carrying out the ritual thinks Harry came from the next emanation. Hatil speaks to Harry, who tells him he woke up inside a pod, after being at a place filled with dead bodies. Hatil is concerned by this statement. Dr. Neria (Jerry Hardin, Deep Throat from The X-Files), a thanatologist, speaks to Harry. Harry explains, and is told there are no rings around their planet. Hatil is listening. Neria says that Harry has come from the afterlife.
The Doctor has removed a tumour from the brainstem of the recently dead woman. He also says the biopolymer residue is part of the decomposition process; those webs where the remains of fully decomposed bodies. They were strolling through dead bodies. Chakotay, given his desire to show respect for the dead, does not seem happy to hear this. The woman is awoken and she wants to know where her brother is, this is supposed to be the afterlife, there is something wrong. It can’t be right. She needs to be sedated. Oops.
Harry is told by Neria that the woman was dying but didn’t die until the cenotaph was activated. It terminates the one inside on the appearance of the spectral rupture, to allow the body to be taken to the next emanation. Harry is the first person to return from the afterlife. Recounting the dead bodies he saw. Which means their bodies go to an asteroid and decompose. Oops again. Harry says that this is a first contact situation and they are very careful in such situations. He also wants to get back to his ship. Neria disagrees; Harry is the first glimpse of what lies beyond. More oops.
There are over 200,00 alien bodies in the ring system, and vacuoles open about every two hours, bringing a new body. The Doctor says their guest is a little calmer now. Her name is Ptera, and her people are supposed to evolve to a higher level of consciousness when they die. Even more oops; this first contact is actually going very badly wrong, as they are damaging the religious and cultural beliefs of the people encountered. Then a subspace vacuole opens in engineering, depositing a body on the ship. Yet more oops.
Hatil, from hearing what Harry said, is no longer sure he wishes to die. He is not sure what really happens when they die. What Harry said is also spreading to others; this has the potential to be very disruptive. He also wants to return back to the ship. Voyager herself is attracting more dead bodies.
First contact where simply stating what was seen has the potential to cause a lot of damage.