Quinn Quinn was a name chosen by Q , a member of the Q Continuum who decided that he wanted to commit suicide . Once a respected philosopher among the Q , he would claim later that Q ' s irresponsible and inappropriate behavior , which he believed originated from his need for amusement , gave the Continuum something to talk about , and forced Quinn to think . Q was later made mortal as a punishment , until he was again readmitted in the Continuum , however Q ' s " rebellion " against his existence became an inspiration for Quinn . Quinn caused quite a stir within the Continuum when he " published " his views . He claimed he wished to die rather than have immortality forced upon him . In one of his " self - destructive stunts " , he failed to terminate his existence , and instigated a hundred - year war between the Vulcan s and the Romulan s . In the 21st century he was imprisoned in a comet , purportedly for eternity , because his views could cause a disruption within the Continuum . The starship encountered Quinn and released him from his imprisonment . When he told them who he was , Captain Kathryn Janeway mistook him for the Q who had visited the . He then tried to commit suicide again but made all the men disappear instead . The " Enterprise " s Q turned up to apprehend him , and restored the men to " Voyager " but Quinn attempted to hide by whisking himself and " Voyager " to various places in the universe such as the beginning of the universe , subatomic proportions , even a Christmas tree . Q knew all the hiding places , but before he was able to re - imprison him , Quinn made a plea for political asylum to Captain Janeway . A courtroom hearing took place aboard " Voyager " to determine if asylum should be granted . Lieutenant Tuvok served as his defense . He stated that Quinn was sick of immortality . There was nothing left for him to explore and his life was pointless . Q tried to prove the worth of Quinn ' s life by calling witnesses such as Isaac Newton , Maury Ginsberg , and William T . Riker , pointing out how Quinn had affected their lives for the better . For Newton , he jostled the tree before the apple fell , leading to the discovery of gravity ; Maury so that he could get to Woodstock to save it and then live a successful life ; saving Riker ' s ancestor , Thaddius , so that his descendant would be born and save the Federation from the Borg ( and so that Q could insult him ) . Quinn attempted to prove his life was pointless and caused him unendurable boredom . He did this by taking Janeway to the Q Continuum , which was presented in the Human - comprehensible form of a house in the middle of a desert with a road running by it . The road , he told her , represented the universe ' s edge and there was nothing left for him to explore . None of the Q in the Continuum spoke anymore , because all things had been discussed and all things were known . Quinn told Janeway that his life ' s work was complete and that he had done everything there was possible to do , yet was forced by his people to continue to live . Captain Janeway ruled in favor of Quinn , despite Q ' s attempted bribe of whisking " Voyager " back to Earth . Reluctantly keeping his word , Q turned Quinn into a mortal , after the verdict . Janeway tried to convince Quinn not to commit suicide , since he now had a whole new mortal life to experience . As a mortal , Quinn briefly served as a crewman aboard " Voyager " . Janeway and Chakotay wondered whether he should be assigned to stellar cartography , noting that they might as well shut down that department given Quinn ' s vast knowledge . Knowing he would never truly fit in as a mortal , Quinn nevertheless committed suicide with a sample of Nogatch hemlock procured by Q , who was inspired by Quinn ' s " rebelliousness " . ( ) Quinn ' s death ultimately caused a disruption in the Continuum as predicted by Q . Many of his followers pushed for changes to the " status quo " . When the Continuum leadership refused , Q led the dissidents in a civil war . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Quinn was played by Gerrit Graham . While still a Q , Quinn was referred to as " Q " just like all other Q . He assumed the name " Quinn " only after becoming mortal . The script of consistently referred to this character as " Q2 " , even though he appears in the story before Q ( who was referred to in the script as " Q1 " ) . In his humanoid form , Quinn was also described in the script as " about forty . " In the first draft script of " Death Wish " , which would have featured Geordi La Forge and not William Riker , it was established that Quinn somehow caused Geordi ' s birth . In that case , Tuvok would have ended up as chief engineer aboard the . Hemlock , the poison Quinn was given by Q , was often used for public executions in ancient Greece . The most notable was Socrates , who was also convicted of heresy . Quinn would actually be the " third " known Q to die , as , according to Q , Amanda Rogers ' parents were Q killed by the Continuum while living on Earth in Topeka , Kansas as Humans ( ) ; Tuvok indirectly referenced this during the trial when noting that they were an example of Q practicing capital punishment , but Q justified the distinction on the grounds that they had already destabilized the Continuum by their actions in life and their deaths had restored stability . Even though Quinn inspired him , Quinn would cite the life of Q as his inspiration to rebel and argue for self termination because Q ' s antics forced him to think . Apocrypha . In the non - canon novels of Greg Cox , Quinn participated in the Continuum war against " 0 " . Q alluded to him being a mentor of sorts .