Daedalus ( episode ) The inventor of Earth ' s transporter comes aboard " Enterprise " for an experiment . Summary . Teaser . is in orbit of Earth . Captain Archer and Commander Tucker walk down a corridor towards the ship ' s transporter . Tucker admits to the captain that he has more than a few butterflies in his stomach , as Emory Erickson , the inventor of the transporter , is coming aboard . Tucker tells the captain that as a seven year old , his mother bought him " " and he had her read it to him every night for a month and the book is the reason why he became an engineer . Upon handling the transporter console , Tucker makes some last minute adjustments to his Starfleet uniform much to Archer ' s amusement before beaming up the legendary inventor , along with his daughter , Danica . " " Nothing seems to be missing " " , the elder Erickson quips upon materializing , sitting in his wheelchair . Archer warmly greets the two Ericksons , his old friends , and introduces Tucker to the both of them . While being wheeled down the corridor by his daughter , Emory hopes that Archer won ' t mind his " borrowing " the ship for a test that may make " Enterprise " and indeed all of Starfleet obsolete . " " Sounds like you ' re trying to put me out of a job " " , Archer says while Emory laughs . Act One . In " Enterprise " s mess hall , Commander T ' Pol is reading a PADD . Tucker asks if she wants some company . She gestures for him to sit and he notes that they have not talked to each other too much since she returned from . He notes that she has spent much time alone and she tells him she has been reading the " Kir ' Shara " , which she finds " " Interesting . . . extremely " " . Tucker tries to get T ' Pol to open up to him about the recent death of her mother , T ' Les . T ' Pol would rather not and Tucker brings up the loss of his sister Elizabeth as well , telling her that losing a family member is the worst thing that can happen to a person . T ' Pol sees no point in discussing her situation further and Tucker decides to leave her to her reading . Later , in the captain ' s dining room , Archer , T ' Pol , and Tucker have dinner with the Ericksons . Emory discusses his new invention : sub - quantum teleportation . He explains the process as stepping onto a transporter pad on Earth , a few seconds later , the person materializes on Vulcan . Tucker remarks that that is over sixteen light year s . Emory states that , theoretically , there is no limits to the distance , which is one of the things he is on the ship to test . After Emory repeats that starships may soon be a thing of the past , Archer suggests he " really " does want to put him out of a job , to which Danica slightly admonishes her father . Emory believes Starfleet will look quite different after his invention reaches widespread use . Archer recalls Emory and his father having discussions over the future being in either warp drive or the transporter pad . Emory admits he misses having those talks as well as Henry Archer himself . He raises a toast to his late friend . When Tucker admits that it is hard to imagine beaming anyone that far , Erickson reminds him that " all " breakthroughs seem hard to imagine before they actually happen . Emory recalls when he developed the first transporter , most people could not grasp it and some still cannot . He remembers when the transporter was first approved for use on bio - matter , people gave off a litany of unsafe terms about the device and how he had to fight all " " that nonsense " " , as he puts it but notes that he eventually won out . Tucker then raises his glass and toasts to a successful experiment . As Tucker makes the necessary modifications to " Enterprise " s transporter for the test , Emory recalls the early days of the transporter and how he was the first person to go through it . He remembers it taking a full minute and a half to cycle through and that he could actually feel himself being taken apart and put back together again . He lost his lunch the first time he materialized , then promptly got stone drunk , something he learned from Zefram Cochrane . Tucker notes that the experiment is going to require more power that he thought . Tucker asks Emory if he can take a look at his power converter so the test will not require as much energy . Emory evades giving Tucker the converter and insists he can handle a simple power upgrade himself . Meanwhile , in engineering , Archer gives Danica a tour . He is surprised that she seems to know as much about his ship as a member of her crew . Danica admits she has read everything she could about " Enterprise " and could describe all of her missions . When he wonders why she has not yet signed on to the vessel , she admits she cannot leave her father alone , especially as he still has not gotten over the loss of his son , Quinn Erickson , even after losing him fifteen years prior . Later , in the Erickson ' s quarters , Danica arrives to inject a needle into Emory ' s deformed back . He asks if she liked her tour and she says she did . He notices that she is upset . She admits she is at having to lie to the crew and tells her father that they could talk to Archer and he might be able to help them , since he is a longtime family friend . Emory insists they cannot , as Archer ' s first duty is to his ship and he would not understand . Meanwhile , in " Enterprise " s armory , the lights flicker and go out . Lieutenant Malcolm Reed and Ensign Burrows notice something in the room with them . Reed takes the upstairs part of the armory and orders Burrows to take downstairs . Burrows looks around and does not see a deformed shapeless matter head toward him until it is too late . He screams and Reed contacts sickbay through his communicator for medical assistance . Reed turns Burrows ' body over and sees his face has been completely deformed . Act Two . Near the transporter , T ' Pol and Archer ask Emory if he had ever encountered anything like the anomaly that killed Ensign Burrows out here in the Barrens . Emory replies that he did not and wishes he had an explanation for Captain Archer . He shifts in his wheelchair in discomfort and notes that it is time for his treatment . Danica wheels him away to their quarters . Alone together in their quarters , Danica yells at her father , telling him that they are responsible for Burrows ' death . Emory tries to make her calm down but she says that they must come forward with the truth . Emory tells her he only needs a couple of days to complete his work and bring Quinn back . Later , Tucker and Emory begin work on the " test " by beaming a probe to the target coordinates , under the supervision of the bridge . The probe was beamed 40 , 000 kilometers away from " Enterprise " . According to Tucker , nothing has ever been beamed that far before . To celebrate , he offers to take Emory to the mess hall to eat . Emory refuses , opting instead to view the data as it comes in . Tucker offers to bring something back but again Emory turns him down and asks him politely to stop distracting him . In Archer ' s quarters , Tucker enters , now suspicious of Emory ' s true motives . He tells Archer that all the things Emory had him do – such as tapping into the warp core and re - routing the plasma flow was " not " necessary for the test . His sub - quantum version of the transporter should use " less " energy , which is one of the reasons why it is so brilliant . Tucker suspects that Emory ' s sub - quantum transporter may be a smokescreen for something else . Archer admits that he now too has suspicions about his old friend . Emory ' s earlier claim that he never encountered the anomaly earlier in the Barrens was not the truth . Five years prior , a crewmember on his research vessel had seen something similar to the form that appeared on " Enterprise " . Just then , T ' Pol calls Archer and tells him they are picking up another anomaly on the ship . Archer meets up with T ' Pol on C deck with two MACO s . The MACOs split up and Archer warns them to not let the anomaly touch them . Archer and T ' Pol go into the decontamination chamber and are cornered by the anomaly . It passes through a door through T ' Pol who yells in agony . Later , T ' Pol is being treated in sickbay . Dr . Phlox notes that she is fortunate she did not sustain prolonged contact . T ' Pol tells Archer that she managed to take visual readings of the anomaly with her Vulcan scanner . Upon being projected onto the main sickbay monitor and visually enhanced , Archer recognizes the anomaly as being Quinn – Emory ' s son . Act Three . Archer confronts Emory with this new information in his assigned quarters . Emory admits to lying to Starfleet and the captain . He has not come aboard to test a new transporter , he is on " Enterprise " to bring his son back . He explains that he was conducting first trials fifteen years ago and Quinn wanted to be the first one to go through the transporter . Emory admits that the sub - quantum transporter is a fundamentally flawed concept . It will not work in the 22nd century nor even a thousand years from 2154 . Archer is incredulous that Emory would let Quinn go through with the test but Emory said that after inventing the first transporter , there was nowhere to go but down and he saw his new invention as a way to try to recapture past glory . Archer tells Emory he should have trusted him . Emory says all he needs is one more scan and he can bring Quinn home . He begs Archer to let him try . In Archer ' s ready room , he orders Tucker and T ' Pol to help Emory with whatever he needs . Tucker angrily chastises Archer , telling him that had Emory alerted them to the dangerous anomaly in the Barrens , Burrows might still be alive . Archer says all they need is one more day to get Quinn back . If they do not attempt it now , Quinn ' s signal will be irretrievable , as it has been decaying for the past fifteen years . Archer orders Tucker to get started . Back in the transporter , Tucker is grudgingly helping Emory to complete the modifications . Emory tells Tucker that he liked it better when he worshipped his shadow , like he did when Emory came aboard . Tucker looks back at him and Emory tells him " " It ' s an honest answer . " " When Tucker suggests he may be out of practice with the " honest " part , Emory asks him to reserve judgment on his actions when the engineer loses a son . Tucker tells him forcefully that he has indeed lost someone close to him , his sister , and he would do almost anything to get her back , but he would not put others in danger . He eventually heads to engineering , leaving Emory alone . In the captain ' s quarters , Danica asks Archer if she can come in . After meeting Porthos , Danica apologizes to Archer for lying and inadvertently causing an " Enterprise " crewman ' s death . Archer accepts it and states that while they can ' t get Burrows back , some good may still come out of this with Quinn ' s rescue . Danica tells Archer that getting Quinn back is all her father has thought about for the last fifteen years . Archer hopes that with Quinn coming back to his father and sister , Emory and Danica can finally think about something else . In engineering , T ' Pol hands Tucker some power conversion tables to help with the transporter modifications . Tucker tells her he is trying to decide what to show on movie night , either a horror film or a musical . T ' Pol tells him she doesn ' t think she ' ll have time for either . Tucker tells her she can ' t stay in her quarters all the time reading the " Kir ' Shara " and that she joined Starfleet to be able to interact more with Humans . She tells him she may have found some new priorities and leaves for the bridge . In launch bay 1 , Archer is pushing Emory around in his wheelchair , looking for Quinn with a scanner . T ' Pol tells the captain that she had picked up something his area but it had disappeared . Suddenly , the lights in the bay flicker and Quinn appears . His father tries to speak to him , but the anomaly goes into a wall and causes a massive explosion in front of Emory . Archer pushes him out of the way , saving his life . Act Four . Tucker tells the captain that the anomaly knocked out an EPS junction and he cannot believe Archer is still going through with the plan . Archer angrily tells him that they will not be arguing about this subject again . Tucker tells the captain that Quinn just barely missed a stack of torpedo es which would have destroyed the ship . Archer maintains that when they retrieve Quinn , these distortions will stop . Tucker suggests that Archer is putting his personal feelings before the safety of " Enterprise " to which Archer tells his chief engineer he is very close to insubordination and angrily orders him to do his job . In Emory ' s quarters , he tells the captain he got what he needed of Quinn on his scanner , so they should be able to get a solid transporter lock on him when he reppears . Emory apologizes for putting so much onto Archer and that he does not deserve it . Archer tells him to make this worthwhile , they need to get Quinn back . Emory admits he is very scared about bringing his son back , as he has waited so many years for this moment and worries about something going wrong . Archer recalls a piece of advice his father gave him the day he entered flight training when Archer asked him basically the same questions . " " Don ' t fail " " was his response . Standing at the transporter console , Archer , Danica , Emory , Tucker , and Dr . Phlox are standing by , waiting for Quinn to turn up somewhere on " Enterprise " . T ' Pol reports nothing initially , then finds a distortion on B deck . Locking on , Emory and Tucker beam the shapeless mass into the transporter chamber . Something goes wrong , however . Tucker does not have a strong enough signal so Emory has him recalibrate the confinement beam . Phlox is reading massive cellular deterioration in Quinn . He is losing cohesion and if he is materialized , he will die within seconds . Emory tries a few technical solutions but Archer , Phlox , and Danica try to persuade him to let his son go , as there is nothing he can do to save him . Emory cannot bring himself to do it but finally beams him aboard , apologizing to his son . Quinn materializes and promptly collapses . Emory goes to his son ' s side and begs him to forgive his father . Quinn asks " " What is it ? What . . . " " and dies . Emory closes his son ' s eyes with his hand and breaks down in tears . Afterward , Archer visits Emory in his quarters . Emory has come to terms with the loss of his son , stating that he could not leave Quinn in between life and death . He supposes he accomplished his goal of bringing his son home . However , Emory will have to answer to Starfleet for his actions . Archer believes , with all of Emory ' s accomplishments , Starfleet will take that into consideration when determining his punishment . Emory also realizes that , as he let go of Quinn , he will have to let go of Danica , as well . He considers becoming a teacher , something Archer thinks he ' d be good at . In sickbay , Dr . Phlox can find absolutely no traces of Pa ' nar Syndrome , which was cured by T ' Pau on Vulcan by the use of a mind meld . Dr . Phlox notes that she was diagnosed with an incurable disease and now it is gone . Vulcans all over their homeworld with Pa ' nar Syndrome are coming forward because of the " Kir ' Shara " , no longer afraid of the stigma that was attached with it . Phlox notes that T ' Pol and her people are reexamining their core beliefs , which is something most individuals never do . T ' Pol comes to engineering to speak to Tucker . She tells him that she is going through some very complicated issues and that she is learning , for the first time , what it truly means to be a Vulcan . With this profound realization , she tells him they will not have time to pursue a relationship . Tucker tells her he understands . " " At least my warp engines still need me . " " Emory and Danica bid Archer and the " Enterprise " crew farewell . Before beaming to the " Sarajevo " , Emory hands Tucker a PADD containing information about boosting the transporter ' s range a few hundred kilometers . Archer wishes the Ericksons good luck and Tucker beams them away . Archer , Tucker , T ' Pol , and Phlox walk away from the transporter and down the corridor . Memorable quotes . " " You want a mirror ? " " " " You got a mean streak in you , you know that ? " " " " Nothing seems to be missing . " " " " The Vulcan Science Academy has been studying sub - quantum transporting for some time , with little result . " " " " I ' ve been trying to get my hands on some of that research for years . In hindsight , it ' s probably just as well that I couldn ' t . Might ' ve sent me down the wrong path . " " " " Truth is , the sub - quantum transporter is a fundamentally flawed concept . It ' ll never work – not now , not a thousand years from now . " " " " I ' ve waited so long for this moment . Planned for it . What if something goes wrong ? What if I fail ? " " " " On the day before I entered flight training , I asked my father pretty much the same thing . " " " " What did he say ? " " " " Don ' t fail . " " " " Quinn and I used to argue all the time . . . It wasn ' t till I lost him that I realized that those arguments were some of the happiest moments of my life " " " " The " Kir ' Shara " is having an enormous impact . " " " " It ' s clearly had an impact on you . You , uh , seem more certain of yourself . " " " " I ' ve never felt less certain . " " " " You ' re re - examining your core beliefs , something most people never do . " " " " At least my Warp engine still needs me . " " Links and references . References . alcohol ; ; ; Bible ; brain cancer ; butterfly ; ; delta radiation ; " " ; Emory ' s research ship ; engineer ; kilometer ; " Kir ' Shara " ; laser pistol ; liquid courage ; metaphysics ; mirror ; movie night ; musical ; Pa ' nar Syndrome ; plasma feed ; protest ; " Sarajevo " ; ; ; " " ; sleep disorder ; sub - quantum transporter ; subspace node ; T ' Les ; toast ; transporter ; ; Tucker ' s mother ; Vulcan ; Vulcan ( planet ) ; Vulcan Science Academy ; wheelchair