Playing God ( episode ) While hosting her first Trill initiate Dax discovers a tiny , expanding protouniverse that threatens to destroy the Bajoran system . Summary . Teaser . Arjin , a Trill initiate looking to get joined with a symbiont , arrives on Deep Space 9 on the from Starbase 41 . Jadzia Dax was assigned to be his field docent , and he ' s been nervous about meeting the famous Dax . In the past , Dax has eliminated 57 host candidates from the program . Before arriving on the station , he found himself sitting next to Dr . Julian Bashir , who managed to put him at ease about meeting Dax . When Arjin first meets Dax , she ' s in Quark ' s winning a game of tongo and exposing the Ferengi ' s weaknesses . Act One . The next morning , Arjin arrives at Dax ' s quarters early . A rather intimidating male alien named Trajok answers asking what he wants , but Jadzia interrupts wearing nothing but a towel . Jadzia and the alien exchange pleasantries while Arjin watches uncomfortably . The alien leaves and while Jadzia gets dressed , she asks Arjin to get her a . The two talk briefly before heading to Ops , and Arjin feels like he can ' t say anything right to impress Jadzia . When they arrive at Ops , O ' Brien and Kira are hunting Cardassian vole s . The voles are becoming a problem because they are chewing through wires . Jadzia jumps in to help them in their hunt and ends up stunning a vole and handing it to Arjin who again looks uncomfortable and has no idea what to do with it . Jadzia takes Arjin in the runabout to a trip through the wormhole and back . On the way , the two Trills discuss training , past experiences , and flight experience . Arjin had recently obtained his fifth level flight training , which shocked Jadzia because she only obtained her third level in her last year of training . Jadzia assures her first trill initiate that he doesn ' t have to impress her . During the flight , the runabout runs through a subspace interphase pocket . The " Mekong " s starboard nacelle snagged a piece of " subspace seaweed " and is no longer functioning . Act Two . Meanwhile , O ' Brien has come up with a directional sonic generator which can produce a sound at a frequency uncomfortable to the vole ' s ears and drive them out of hiding . Quark bursts into Ops carrying a dead vole that had run across a dabo table and demands they take care of the vermin problem . When O ' Brien tries to demonstrate the sonic generator to Quark to show they are working on it , Quark falls to the ground screaming – the sonic generator works , at least on Ferengi . Jadzia and Arjin return to the station , and Jadzia wants to study this " subspace seaweed " further . She asks O ' Brien to setup a containment chamber in the science lab , and O ' Brien informs her it ' ll take a while . While waiting , Jadzia takes Arjin to a Klingon restaurant on the Promenade where they discuss his past and eat racht . Arjin is less than thrilled with his Klingon meal , and reveals he ' s only in the initiate program because it was his father ' s dying wish and has no plans for the future . Back in Ops , O ' Brien is getting desperate to handle this vole problem and contacts Cardassia looking for a solution . They provide no solution and " kindly " remind O ' Brien that the vole mating season is fast approaching . After dinner , Jadzia and Arjin part ways and Jadzia heads to Ops to talk to Benjamin Sisko about the " subspace seaweed " and Arjin . Jadzia admits she doesn ' t see Arjin being much of a host to a symbiont , but doesn ' t feel it ' s her place to confront him about it as it ' s very clear in the guidelines as to what she ' s supposed to do . Sisko disagrees and reminds Jadzia of the things Curzon Dax did to her . In the science lab , a pair of voles manage to take down the security field that was surrounding the subspace sample . Act Three . O ' Brien has discovered the voles have eaten through the security fields energy lines , and Sisko tells him it ' s time to take the phasers off stun – to better handle the vole problem . Jadzia and Arjin continue their analysis on the sample , but Jadzia ' s attitude toward Arjin has changed – she ' s become more harsh and critical and accuses him of telling her what she wants to hear . Arjin feels betrayed because of their conversation in the runabout earlier , and begins to insult Jadzia , saying she is far below the standards of a host . He leaves the science lab and heads to Quark ' s to " drown himself " in synthehol . Quark has a disheartening talk with Arjin , explaining how he once missed his big opportunity and never recovered and welcomed Arjin to " the club " . Jadzia has discovered the subspace sample is highly structured and doesn ' t conform to any physical laws . Further analysis reveals the electromagnetic flux are high plasma concentrations in a rapidly expanding mass . The mass is expanding in a very specific way that the computer recognized as the expansion patterns of a universe . Their " subspace seaweed " is actually a protouniverse in its early stages of formation . As it grows , it will displace their own universe . Returning it to the wormhole could prove devastating to the whole system if it came in contact with any of the wormhole ' s verteron nodes , and not doing anything would be just as bad . They decide to try to contain it using the universe ' s own feedback pressure to create an implosive wave destroying the protouniverse – and the science lab – in the process . Jadzia continues to study the protouniverse , and discovers local entropy readings in the protouniverse have decreased 12 % in the last hour . This shows indications of life in the protouniverse and these readings have been confirmed by the computer . Act Four . They agree to cancel the containment field and let the protouniverse expand and destroy level 22 section 14 of the station , causing multiple hull breach es . Kira can ' t understand why they won ' t destroy the protouniverse , comparing it to stepping on ant s to which Odo replies , " I don ' t step on ants , Major . " When Kira presses them for another solution , Sisko says he ' ll have a decision in an hour . While thinking things over , Sisko drops by his quarters to visit Jake . While talking , Sisko finds out Jake is in love with a dabo girl named Mardah – the one Jake has been tutoring in entomology . Jake asks if she can come over for dinner tonight , and Sisko says not tonight but soon , he " does " want to meet her after all . Jadzia and Arjin are in Quark ' s talking more about the initiate program . Arjin is convinced it ' s over , but Jadzia says otherwise and explains her past and how she changed after meeting Curzon Dax . Sisko interrupts the two saying he ' s decided to take the protouniverse back through the wormhole . Act Five . After preparing a containment field aboard the runabout that will block out the verteron node radiation , the protouniverse is beamed over and the journey through the wormhole begins . While traveling through the wormhole , the containment field slowly starts to collapse . Every time they pass through a verteron node , the field gets weaker . They bring the runabout to a stop and decide to let the containment field fail and fly the runabout through the wormhole without touching any verteron nodes . This type of precision flying has never been done before , and Arjin is reluctant to try . Jadzia convinces him that he can do it , and he manages to get them to the Gamma Quadrant safely so they can return the protouniverse to where they found it . Jadzia tells Arjin this will look very good on his initiate record . After the mission , Arjin apologizes to Jadzia for the things he said . Jadzia says she wouldn ' t recommend the process of being joined with a symbiont for everyone , but with time , she might recommend it for Arjin – when he ' s ready . Memorable quotes . " " Female ! " " " " Phasers on stun , Mister O ' Brien . I want those voles taken alive . " " " " You haven ' t touched your " racht " . " " " " No , I have . It ' s interesting . " " " " No , you ' ve moved it around your plate to make it look like you ' ve touched it . " " " " I didn ' t have to move it . It moved itself . " " " " Take those phasers off stun , Chief . No more Mister Nice Guy . " " " " I should have known this . I should have realized this . You ' re Dax ! Standards for Trill hosts ? That is really incredible coming from " you " . I have never seen any host in my life who is so far below those standards as you are , " ma ' am " ! No wonder Curzon Dax tried to terminate your training . " " " " There isn ' t a problem in the world that can ' t be fixed by the right holosuite program . " " " " It ' s like stepping on ants , Odo ! " " " " I don ' t step on ants , Major . " " " " Personal log . Supplemental . One hour . One hour to make a decision that could mean the life or death of a civilization . Or the end to our own . My mind keeps going back to the Borg . . . how I despised their . . . indifference as they tried to exterminate us . And I have to ask myself . . . would I be any different if I destroyed another universe to preserve my own ? " " Links and references . References . 2370 ; accordion ; " " Ak ' la bella doo " " ; Arjin ' s family ; Arjin ' s sister ' s spouse ; ant ; Bajor ; Bajoran system ; Bajoran wormhole ; ; Calondia IV ; Cardassia ; Cardassian s ; Cardassian vole ; chess ; citrus blend ; dabo ; dabo girl ; Dax ( symbiont ) ; ; ; directional sonic generator ; district ; docent ; dynametric array ; EM flux ; EM pathway ; entomology ; entropy ; exile ; Federation ; Ferengi ; field docent ; Frenchotte ; Galeo - Manada ; Gamma Quadrant ; Gedana post ; gravimetric microprobe ; Hamlin ; holosuite ; inertial dampener ; joined ; Klingon restaurant ; Klingonese ; landlord ; latinum stairway ; Mardah ; ; meter ; microdyne ; ; nausea ; " Old Man " ; Papa ; Promenade ; Prophet s ; protouniverse ; quantometer probe ; Quark ' s ; " racht " ; redlining ; replicator ; ; Romulan ; Rules of Acquisition ; runabout ; sonic indicator ; spectral - line profile analysis ; sponsor ; Starbase 41 ; sub - nagus ; subspace phenomenon ; ; synthale ; " tongo " ; tour of duty ; towel ; tricorder ; Trill s ; ; Trill initiate ; Trill initiates ; verteron ; " vole " ; Wormhole Junction ; wrestling