Chosen Realm

"Chosen Realm" is the title of an episode from the third season of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise. Its episode number is 064, and it first aired on 14 January 2004 (Paramount Pictures, n.d.).

Plot

The episode begins with Trip and Mayweather in a shuttlepod. Unbeknownst to any of the Enterprise crew, they catch the attention of a nearby group of Triannons. These Triannons, who are on one side of a civil war surrounding a religious disagreement over the number of days their deities, called the "Makers," used in their acts of creation, hijack the Enterprise to gain a tactical advantage over their adversaries. (One side posits that the Makers took nine days, while the other believes they took ten.) (Coto & Dawson, 2004)

Once these Triannons determine that the Enterprise would be an asset to their cause, they reveal themselves to Enterprise by pretending to be in a dire situation and in grave need of assistance. Archer obliges them, and has them transported, by docking, aboard the Enterprise (Coto & Dawson, 2004).

The commander and spiritual leader of these people is a man named D'Jamat (Paramount Pictures, n.d.). One of the finer moments of the episode is a dinner for D'Jamat hosted by Archer and T'Pol. In this scene, the Triannons' religious beliefs are made known: principally, what Starfleet calls the Delphic Expanse, the Triannons call the "chosen realm," a holy place. A conversation with T'Pol on the subject of religion and doubt nearly escalates into an argument. "Doubt is the basis of scientific progress," says T'Pol, to which D'Jamat counters: "Scientific progress has led people astray." At this point, Archer diplomatically cuts off the discussion (Coto & Dawson, 2004).

References

Coto, M. (Writer), & Dawson, R. (Director). (2004). Chosen Realm. [Television series episode]. In Berman, R. (Producer), & Braga, B. (Producer), Star Trek: Enterprise. Hollywood: Paramount Pictures.
Paramount Pictures. (n.d.). Chosen realm. In Series & movies. Retrieved January 19, 2004 from http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/ENT/episode/3394.html