Tapestry ( episode ) After being attacked on an away mission , Picard dies and meets Q in the afterlife who offers him the chance to change a crucial moment in his history and prevent the mistakes he made in his youth . Summary . Teaser . In sickbay , Dr . Crusher orders the stasis unit s to be brought on - line and tells one of the medical staff that Dr . Selar can use Ward 3 for the ambulatory patients while she attends to the away team in the main area of sickbay . The away team , consisting of Commander Riker , Worf , Ensign Kellogg , and two security officer s are transport ed in . After Worf lays Picard on the biobed , she asks how he was injured . Riker tells her that they were attacked by the Lenarians just outside a conference room . Dr . Crusher quickly deduces that Captain Picard has essentially had a heart attack , due to his artificial heart . She and Martinez , along with other medical staff , try to save the captain , though it seems that they are unable to . Picard suddenly finds himself in a white void of dazzling brilliance seemingly uninjured , except for the large burn on his uniform from the weapon that he was attacked with . After looking around with confusion for a few second s , Picard sees a shining figure dressed in white holding out its hand . Picard walks towards the figure , who then holds out his hand . After Picard shakes hands with the figure , he is pulled into focus and turns out to be Q , who greets him " " Welcome to the afterlife , Jean - Luc . You ' re dead . " " Act One . Picard pulls his hand sharply out of Q ' s and asks what happened , to which Q replies " " I told you . You ' re dead , this is the afterlife , and I ' m God . " " Picard laughs in disbelief , but Q goes on to say that he had died approximately five minutes earlier . Picard still refuses to believe Q , on the basis of saying " " I refuse to believe that the afterlife is run by you . The universe is not so badly designed . " " Suddenly , Picard ' s father appears and starts lecturing him , telling Picard that joining Starfleet was destined to bring him to a bad end and then he hears all the people that had died because of things he did or failed to do . Picard refuses to respond to any of the people he hears , not wanting to play into Q ' s hand , though Q says he is doing this for Picard . Q then asks Picard if he has any regrets from his life , but Picard tells him that his only regret is " " dying and finding you here . " " In response , Q makes Picard ' s artificial heart appear in his hand . He asks why Picard needed it , and the story begins to play out , showing Picard as an ensign , fighting a Nausicaan , then getting stabbed through the heart and laughing . Picard admits that he did regret some things from earlier in his life . Suddenly , he is slapped by a woman and he finds himself in his living quarters as an ensign on Starbase Earhart . Act Two . The woman who slapped him is Corlina , one of two dates that Picard set up and she found out a while back . She leaves and he turns around to find his two closest friends , Cortan " Corey " Zweller and Marta Batanides . Q appears in the room after Corey and Marta have left and convinces him he is back in 2327 . Q explains it is two days before the fight with the Nausicaan , which Picard must choose whether to stop or not . Picard is adamant not to stop the fight in case he changes the timeline . Irritated , Q promises that nothing Picard does here will cause any major changes or affect anyone but himself . Frankly , he states , Picard is " not " that important . Satisfied , Picard accepts Q ' s terms and goes along in stopping the fight . By this time Picard realized that he is late for another date at the bar with an older woman named Penny . Later in the bar , Picard and Penny are seen talking to each other . Picard in his usual stiffness states that he just wants out . Penny , on the other hand wants Picard to make his advances . We learn from this exchange that Penny is from Rigel , her last name is Muroc , and she likes men in uniform . After the conversation Penny goes in for a kiss , but Picard meekly retreats from her advances . After the kiss , Picard goes on telling Penny that she is a " handsome woman " and he gets a drink splashed in his face for his comments . Q looks on as the bartender observing the conversation and Corey playing dom - jot . Picard goes over to Marta , who is watching Corey play his game . Marta asked what happened to his date and Picard tells her that she had to leave . At the same time , Corey is seen winning the game with one of the station ' s aliens . After some time , Corey wins the match and picks up his gambling tokens from the table . Marta states that Corey should give up Starfleet and play dom - jot professionally . Corey goes on saying that it was mostly math skills that helped him win that game . One of the Nausicaans interrupts the conversation and challenges Corey to a game . Act Three . Corey accepts the challenge and the game starts . Throughout the game the Nausicaan dominates Corey and wins . After the game the three friends go back to their quarters to discuss why Corey lost so badly . Corey realized that the only way the Nausicaan won was by using a device that controls the balls on the table . He also wants to get even by rigging the table so the device will backfire . Picard by this point tries to dissuade him from going through with the plan . Corey agrees with Picard ' s reason and walks out . Marta notes that usually Picard plans the revenge . Picard counters by saying that they are officers now and not cadets any longer – they need to set a different example . Picard and Marta are almost about to kiss when Q interrupts them as he delivers flowers to Picard , badly mangling his name as " John - Luck Pickerd " . Marta comments that the flowers are from another of Picard ' s conquests and she leaves . Q and Picard talk about Marta being friends with him . Q notices that Picard regrets not having a romantic relationship with Marta , and he points that out to Picard . Q also points out that Corey is still going through with his plan anyway . Picard leaves to confront Corey about what he is doing . Picard goes to see Corey at the Bonestell Facility . Corey is under the table rigging it so he can win against the Nausicaan . Corey bumps his head when he thinks Picard is the gaming foreman checking up on the tables . Corey is happy to see Picard and asks him to help rig the table . Picard on the other hand is trying to stop him from making a big mistake . Corey states that Picard is acting like his mother and he should go away if he is not going to help . Picard threatens Corey to stop or he will tell the gaming foreman about what he has done and the two walk off . Picard goes and talks to Marta in her room . They both talk about Corey ' s rashness . Picard goes on saying that Corey and he will stay friends for years after this incident and hopes that stopping him won ' t jeopardize that friendship . The conversation gravitates towards how much Picard ' s personality has changed after graduation . Marta confesses that she finds his new personality " attractive . " This causes both to reveal their feelings for each other and they passionately kiss . Act Four . The next morning Picard wakes up to a soft caress on his earlobe and turns in bed to Marta . He is shocked to see it isn ' t Marta at all , but Q , who begins taunting him about his relationship with Marta . Picard meets her again , who expresses regret over what they did , fearing that it could have irreparably damaged their friendship . Later , the three friends go to the bar for one last big night out before they get shipped off to their first assignments . During this time , the same three Nausicaans that were there before taunt Corey about the game of dom - jot they ' d played . Corey gets angry and tries to fight the Nausicaan , but Picard stops him before any real blows are exchanged , thus changing the timeline . In the original timeline , Picard helped Corey in the fight , and wound up getting stabbed in the heart . Now he makes the decision to walk away from the fight , protecting his heart but betraying his two friends . After the fight , Q states that Picard has changed history ; he has alienated his friends , but he is alive , and with his real heart . Picard is then returned to the present , where , much to his surprise , his life is incredibly different : he is an assistant astrophysics officer on board the , wearing a blue non - command uniform , a mere junior lieutenant with Worf as his immediate superior . Worf then asks him what is he doing on the bridge . Picard , disoriented , asks what is going on . Worf then looks at the PADD that he is holding and tells Picard that the PADD is for chief engineer Lieutenant Commander La Forge . Picard then asks who the captain of the ship is and Worf replies that it is Thomas Halloway . Picard goes to sickbay to talk with Dr . Crusher about his situation . When he enters sickbay , however , he finds Q in a 20th century doctor ' s uniform and speaking in a German accent . Q states that this is what happened to Picard ' s timeline per their agreement , after he stopped the fight with the Nausicaans . He now can live his life " in safety " running analyses , but not in command . Act Five . Picard , in disbelief , goes to Ten Forward to get a second opinion from Commander Riker and Counselor Troi sitting together at a table . Picard soon discovers that he won ' t be promoted any time soon because he " just doesn ' t take risks " and " doesn ' t stand out . " Picard then asks them if he is a good officer for command . They both agree that he is too timid and has never completed any big goals that he has attempted for himself . La Forge then summons Picard to deliver a report for which he has been waiting . Dejected by all this , Picard goes off to deliver the report and calls to Q from a turbolift about the situation . The doors open back to the white space . Q returns and explains that , although the injury nearly killed Picard , it also helped him realize how fragile life is , and thus made him more willing to take risks and make his mark on the universe . Picard asks him to let him reverse the changes he made , deciding that it would be better to die in the present with a satisfying life behind him rather than to continue living life as an average , dreary man bereft of passion and imagination . Q returns Picard back to the Bonestell Facility , moments before the fight with the Nausicaans , now three of them . One of the Nausicaans insults Picard , and the fight begins . As Picard is run through by one of the Nausicaans , he begins to laugh , knowing history has been set right , and is shown again in the present , lying on the biobed he was placed on after his injury , laughing as he comes to , his bionic heart reactivated . Picard and Riker speculate afterward in the observation lounge regarding Picard ' s experience , unsure if it was just a dream or another test by Q . Picard states that part of him can ' t believe that Q was willing to show compassion by giving him a second chance , but if it was Q then he is thankful for being allowed to see how important his decisions in life were – he ' s not proud of many things he did in his youth , but when he pulled on this " loose thread , " the tapestry of his whole life came apart . Riker wishes he could have known this young , cocky officer who went toe - to - toe with a massive Nausicaan , and Picard assures him that the stabbing was " not " his first unpleasant encounter with them , beginning the story from his sophomore year at the Academy on Morikin VII as the " Enterprise " continues on its way . Memorable quotes . " " Welcome to the afterlife , Jean - Luc . You ' re dead . " " " " Q , what is going on ? " " " " I told you . You ' re dead , this is the afterlife , and I ' m God . " " " " You are not God ! " " " " Blasphemy ! You ' re lucky I don ' t cast you out or smite you or something . " " " " I refuse to believe that the afterlife is run by " you " ; the universe is " not " so badly designed . " " " " After all these years , even now , you manage to disappoint me , Jean - Luc . " " " " I find it hard to believe that you are doing this for the benefit of my soul ! " " " " My only regret is dying and finding you here . " " " " Change them ? You mean change the past ? Q , even if you have been able to bring me back in time somehow , surely you must realize that any alteration in this timeline will have a profound impact on the future . " " " " Please ! Spare me your egotistical musings on your pivotal role in history . Nothing you do here will cause the Federation to collapse or galaxies to explode . To be blunt , you ' re not that important . " " " " You will go on with your life with a real heart . " " " " Then I won ' t die . " " " " Of course you ' ll die ! It ' ll just be at a later time . " " " " What if I don ' t avoid the fight ? What if I won ' t make the changes ? " " " " Then you die on the table , and we spend eternity together . " " " " Wonderful . . . " " " " I ' m glad you think so . " " " " I had no idea you were such a cad . I ' m impressed . " " " " Penny for your thoughts . " " " " . . . It ' s a beautiful story . It gets you right here , doesn ' t it ? " " " " Flowers ! Is there a John Luck Pickerd here ? " " " " Well , let ' s see . . . You ' ve managed to get slapped by one woman , get a drink thrown in your face by another and alienate your two best friends . Doing pretty well so far . The only thing left to avoid is being stabbed through the heart . " " " " Vell , vell , vell . Vhat seems to be de trouble , Leutnant Picard ? " " " " . . . You should be happy ! You have a real heart beating in your chest , and you get to live out the rest of your life in safety – running tests , making analyses , and carrying reports to your superiors . " " " " Your performance records have always been good . You ' re thorough . . . dedicated . . . " " " " Steady , reliable . . . punctual . " " " " If you want to get ahead , you have to take chances . . . stand out the crowd , get noticed ! " " " " You having a good laugh now , Q ? Does it amuse you to think of me living out the rest of my life as a dreary man in a tedious job ? " " " " I gave you something most mortals never experience – a second chance at life – and now all you can do is COMPLAIN ! ? " " " " I can ' t live out my days as that person ! That man is bereft of passion . . . and IMAGINATION ! That is not who I am ! " " " " The Jean - Luc Picard you wanted to be , the one who did NOT fight the Nausicaan , had quite a different career from the one you remember . That Picard never had a brush with death , never came face to face with his own mortality , never realized how fragile life is , or how important each moment must be . So his life never came into focus . He drifted through much of his career , with no plan or agenda . . . going from one assignment to the next , never seizing the opportunities that presented themselves . He never led the away - team on Milika III to save the ambassador , or take charge of the " Stargazer " ' s bridge when its captain was killed . And no one ever offered him a command . He learned to play it safe . . . and he never , " ever " got noticed by " anyone " . " " " " You ' re right , Q . You gave me the chance to change , and I took the opportunity . But I admit now – it was a mistake ! " " " " Are you asking me for something , Jean - Luc ? " " " " Give me a chance , to put things back the way they were before . " " " " Before , you died in sickbay . Is that what you want ? " " " " I would rather die as the man I " was " . . . than live the life I just saw . " " ( Q nods approvingly . ) " " Coward ! Like all Starfleet ! You talk and you talk , but you have no " guramba " . " " " " What did you say ? " " " " I said , " you " . . . are a COWARD ! " " " " That ' s what I thought you said . " " " " There are many parts of my youth that I ' m not proud of . . . there were loose threads . . . untidy parts of me that I would like to remove . But when I pulled on one of those threads . . . it unraveled the tapestry of my life . " " " " I was just trying to imagine a hell - bent for leather , young officer insulting a Nausicaan twice his size . I wish I would have had a chance to know that Jean - Luc Picard . " " Background information . Apocrypha . The novel " Q & A " shows a timeline where Lieutenant Picard , after being told by Riker and Troi that he needed to step up and be noticed , did just that and by the time of 2380 , had risen to Lieutenant Commander and was a bridge officer on the under Captain Thomas Halloway , as a " final parting gift " by Riker before he left for the , where another timeline shows that Picard also became first officer of the " Enterprise " - E under Captain Wesley Crusher . The novel " Q - Squared " also references the events of this episode . When Q tells Picard he owes him , Picard asks how . Q then puts one hand over his heart and flaps his fingers while making a " thump , thump , thump " sound and Picard instantly knows what Q was referring to . When he asks if it really happened , Q ' s answer is " yes and no " and he says it ' s the best answer he could provide and that Picard wouldn ' t understand any answer beyond that . Links and references . References . Deleted scenes references . Scobee Hall ; Silona