Death Wish ( episode ) A member of the Q Continuum comes aboard " Voyager " , seeking asylum so he can commit suicide . Q arrives onboard to stop him , leaving Captain Janeway to mediate a moral dilemma . Summary . Teaser . On " Voyager " s bridge , Commander Chakotay is informing Captain Janeway about an unusual spatial object the crew has detected , saying that – although it looks like a comet – it is moving too erratically to be one . Janeway considers the possibilities of the anomaly ' s nature . On her instruction , Lieutenant Torres heads from the bridge to transporter room two and tries to beam aboard a comet fragment for study , surrounding the transporter with a class three containment field . She energizes the transporter but , instead of the sample , she beams aboard a man , clothed in a Starfleet captain ' s uniform , who steps down from the transporter platform – walking directly through the containment field with little effort – and then greets Torres , announcing that his name is Q . Act One . Torres contacts Janeway , asking her to come to the transporter room and reporting Q ' s arrival . Janeway immediately initiates a red alert and starts to head to the transporter room . With a flash , however , Q appears beside Torres . He addresses the captain via Torres ' combadge , assuring Janeway not to bother ; he instead asks for her permission to take her to lunch . With more flashes , Q and Janeway materialize in " Voyager " s mess hall , wherein Q enthusiastically greets her and even causes a table to become laden with dishes , specifically Welsh rarebit . Janeway begins to formally introduce herself but Q interrupts , ending her sentence for her . Neelix is puzzled at the selection of food , remarking about rabbit s , and wonders whether their new arrival is a chef that Janeway is interviewing . While interestedly studying crew members clustered around the room , Q tries to persuade the officers to eat , referring to the food he has provided as a token of his appreciation at being released from captivity , a story that Janeway skeptically questions . Q seems stunned to encounter the crew of mortals and reveals an envy of Kes ' short lifespan as , more than any other desire , he wants to die . Janeway then confronts him , having assumed that he is the same Q who has repeatedly visited the but he tells her that he is not . Q again interrupts her and , muttering to himself , he starts to say that she has mistaken him for someone else but he breaks off mid - sentence . Mentioning a need for expediency before " others " discover where he is , Q makes a small speech that – apparently – he has spent three hundred years preparing . The speech culminates in him pronouncing the end of himself but , when he flicks his right wrist , the resultant flash instead causes all the male crew members to disappear ; a message from Torres confirms for Janeway that this mass disappearance is a ship - wide phenomenon . On Janeway ' s directive , Q tries to return the men but is so out of practice with his own abilities that he is unable to cause a flash that will bring them back . He flippantly apologizes to Janeway . With another flash , he returns her to the bridge . Janeway insists that he bring the crew back , but he admits that he doesn ' t know how to . As he ponders over the question of who would have more recent experience with Human s than he does , the " original " Q appears on the bridge in a flash . He sternly asks what the second Q has now done , before glancing over at Janeway . Act Two . Less than thrilled about " Voyager " s presence in the Delta Quadrant , Q remarks that Human s shouldn ' t be in this area of space for another one hundred years . Quinn denies responsibility for the Humans ' presence . When Janeway admits that she and her crew are responsible for Quinn ' s release from imprisonment , Q blames the captain ' s femininity and claims he was betting Riker would receive command of " Voyager " . Janeway mentions that she has heard of Q . He is thrilled and wants to know more but becomes distracted by the fact that there are only women on the bridge . When prompted to explain what happened to all the men , Quinn describes it as " a slight accident . " Q correctly guesses that he was attempting suicide and , in disgust , brings the male crew members back to their stations , after which he whimsically comments on Chakotay ' s tattoo . Although Q intends to leave immediately with the former prisoner , Quinn insists on a request for Janeway to grant him asylum from his brethren . As the pair of Q quarrel over the plea and Quinn tries to escape from Q , Quinn dangerously transports " Voyager " to the time of the Big Bang ( Q mentioning that the crew ' s atoms could end up being the origin of the humanoid form ) and then reduces the ship to subatomic proportions , causing the vessel to be battered by proton s . After Q found them every time , Quinn transforms the vessel into a Christmas tree ornament but Q picks the ornament up off the tree and peers into the vessel ' s viewscreen , warning Quinn that there is nowhere to hide . An angered Janeway , desperate to end their dispute and save her ship , agrees to hold a hearing between the troublesome pair to consider Quinn ' s request for asylum . Both accept , but each have their own conditions . If Q wins , Quinn will spend eternity in captivity . If Quinn wins , he will be granted mortality so that he may commit suicide . Janeway is therefore presented with a dilemma whose difficulty Q lengthily remarks on . Act Three . Quinn flashes into Tuvok ' s office to find him studying a PADD . Quinn requests that Tuvok act as his counsel during the hearing because Vulcan s approve of suicide . Tuvok protests , saying that even though Vulcans who are infirm do practice ritual suicide he has no legal expertise . Quinn persists with his request and Tuvok finally says he will speak to Janeway about it . Later , with Tuvok acting as Quinn ' s counsel , the hearing begins with Janeway asking the Qs to promise not to turn the hearing into a circus . They both agree and Janeway begins by asking Quinn one of the most pressing questions : Why does he want to commit suicide ? He tells her he doesn ' t agree with the fact that each individual of the Continuum is obligated to follow the path that his or her " life " will follow . He wants his path to lead to death and doesn ' t think that the Continuum should be able to interfere in his choices . Q calls himself to the stand as a witness , creating an identical him . Q the lawyer and Q the witness discuss the impact a suicide would have on the life of the as a whole species . It would be an interruption to society but neither part of Q ' s personality can specify how it will disrupt society , because they have never had to deal with a suicide before . Quinn accuses the Continuum of being afraid of the unknown but Q characterizes his remarks as that of a mentally unbalanced person and says that no one can justify the suicide of a mentally unbalanced person . Tuvok , however , challenges that statement , as the sole reasoning behind it is that Quinn wants to kill himself . Tuvok points out that the Continuum has , in the past , executed some of its members as punishment and inquires if their deaths also created interruption in the society . Q contradicts this statement , saying that their " crimes " created the interruption and their " deaths " ended it and even then the executions were only carried out as a last resort . He also says that Tuvok ' s argument is an unfair comparison because Tuvok is comparing the preservation of social order and anarchy . When Tuvok asks about Q ' s own record of being deemed mentally unstable , he hotly retorts that his record has been cleared , which Tuvok takes as an affirmation . The witness Q is dismissed from the stand . Q brings more witnesses to help his case : Isaac Newton , Maury Ginsberg , and William T . Riker . Upon seeing Q , Riker becomes agitated and demands to know what Q is up to . As much as Janeway wishes to have Riker return to Starfleet to inform them of " Voyager " s situation , the witnesses have to be mind - wiped afterward . The two former have a hard time believing that they are on a starship , so Janeway tells them to pretend they are having a very strange dream , in which they are seeing the same man they ' ve all met before . Q explains that Quinn helped shape the lives of all these men : he helped Newton discover gravity , helped Ginsberg make sure that the concert at Woodstock would go on as planned and introduced him to his future wife , and he saved the life of William Riker ' s ancestor , Colonel Thaddius Riker during the American Civil War therefore allowing Will Riker , as Q points out , to help save the Federation from assimilation by the Borg . Quinn takes himself , Q , Janeway and Tuvok to a replicated interior of the comet in an effort to help " his " case . Q tells him that it is his own fault that he has been held in captivity and he could be free if he didn ' t want to commit suicide . Back on " Voyager " , Janeway tells Quinn that she cannot take into account the circumstances of his confinement into her ruling , as he is only confined there due to his desire to kill himself . She tells Quinn that the only thing she has found that could possibly justify a ruling in Quinn ' s favor is the " double effect " principle , which justifies the release from suffering , age , or infirmity even if it also causes death . So far , Quinn has shown no sign of suffering or being in pain , and Janeway tells Quinn that he needs to prove he suffers in any manner other than the conditions of his confinement . Tuvok requests a recess so he and Quinn can consider their response . In the mess hall , the two men discuss their failure to prove their case . Quinn is grateful to Tuvok for believing in him , but Tuvok says that Quinn ' s position is not his own and that Quinn appears to only wish to commit suicide due to the fact he is bored by life as a Q and he doesn ' t believe that a life like his should be wasted . Quinn remarks that Tuvok has managed to surprise him , which is unusual ; he also says that if Tuvok lived the life of a Q , he would understand the logic behind his position . Tuvok then proposes visiting the Continuum itself . Act Four . In her ready room , Janeway asks Q if the Continuum would reconsider putting Quinn in captivity if she rules against him but instead try to reintegrate him into society . Q refuses , saying that Quinn is too dangerous but has been authorized to offer something else as an incentive for Janeway to make , in the Continuum ' s opinion , the correct decision : if Janeway rules in his favor , then the Continuum will return " Voyager " to Earth . The next day , Tuvok tells everyone at the hearing that he and Quinn wish to demonstrate life in the Continuum itself . Q objects saying that Humans would never understand , but Tuvok counters that Quinn has a right to display the living conditions that are responsible for his suffering . Janeway agrees , and Quinn whispers to Q how he will display life in the Continuum to Janeway and Tuvok . Q still isn ' t happy , but agrees . Quinn then takes everyone to the Continuum . . . . . . which appears as an endless road in the desert . Janeway is incredulous that " this " is the Continuum , and Quinn explains that this is simply a representation of the Continuum created so she could comprehend it . He then leads everyone to a small , run - down building by the side of the road . In the building are several people each doing various things . Some are reading newspapers and magazines ( called ' The Old ' and ' The New ' ) , another man is playing a pinball machine named " Galaxy " and a couple play croquet with balls that appear to be miniature planets . Quinn explains that the road represents the universe , and that it goes around in a large circle before ending up right back at the building . Quinn has traveled the road many , many times and has done everything he can in the building . Played the games , sat on the porch , been the dog and even took the place of the scarecrow once before . When Janeway asks why , he tells her that it was simply because he hadn ' t done it before . Janeway states that the people in the building don ' t seem to be suffering , and Quinn states that they don ' t dare feel sad because if they did then at least that would be some progress . Quinn then tells Janeway that when he was a respected philosopher he celebrated the purity the Q had reached and at the beginning of their era the Continuum was full of discussion on the discoveries and the issues that arose in the universe , but now everyone is silent because there is nothing left to say . Everything has already been said , and no - one has spoken to each other for ten millennia as a result . Q states that he doesn ' t mind the peace and quiet , causing Quinn to remark on the irony that Q would be arguing on behalf on the Continuum when it was Q who was once exiled from the Continuum and made mortal to pay for his crimes . Q simply states that he is a different person now , and Quinn tells Q what a pity that is because the person Q was before , the Q that was out of control and used his powers for his own amusement , inspired him . Q only acted that way because there was nothing left to do in the Continuum , and while he acted that way the Continuum had something to talk about . But then Q was snapped back into line by the Continuum and became just another fine , upstanding member of it , but Quinn misses the old Q that forced him to think . Although he tries not to show it , Q is clearly affected by Quinn ' s words . Quinn then picks up a copy of " The New " and shows one of its articles to Janeway . Titled " I ' m Ready to Die ; How About You ? " , it was written by Quinn and was the beginning of his fall from grace . Quinn explains that although the magazine was shut down after the article , Quinn continued to speak out in favor of his suicide and the Continuum was so scared of him that they locked him away in the comet , displaying that the Continuum only favors an individuals rights as long as they don ' t conflict with the state . Quinn feels his life ' s work is complete , yet the Continuum has forced immortality on him and as a result he feels his life is cheapening alongside that of the Continuum . Quinn then asks Janeway that , if there was no more space left to explore , no new discoveries left to be made and nothing else to do , would she really want to live forever under those circumstances ? In response to Janeway asking him to equate how he suffers in relation to pain or disease he tells her the disease is immortality and that when an immortal ' s life is futile and no longer endurable then it should be allowed to end . Everyone is transported back to the hearing room , and Tuvok declares that he and Quinn rest their case . Janeway calls a recess so she can consider her decision . Act Five . As Janeway tries to sleep , Q appears in her quarters and asks her if she had thought anymore about his offer to bring " Voyager " home if she rules in his favor . She dismisses it as a bribe and tells him it will play no part in her decision . However , Q has talked to the members of the Continuum and persuaded them into giving Janeway what she asked for : Quinn will not go back into his cell , someone will be assigned to look after him , to bring him back into the normal life of the Q . Q tells her that she has won and that he thinks the two of them should celebrate together . She , however , doesn ' t like that at all and orders him to leave . In the hearing room once again , Janeway begins to deliver her judgement . She tells Quinn that she has considered the implication that granting asylum would lead to a death , even if the death is self - inflicted . She has also considered the possible consequences that Quinn ' s suicide could have on the Q Continuum . The idea of making a decision that could affect an entire society , be for the better or for the worse , has troubled her . Despite all this , with the evidence that she has been presented she declares that Quinn is not mentally unbalanced and it is clear he is undergoing intolerable suffering . Janeway finishes that she won ' t support immortality that is forced on an individual by the state and that the possible consequences suffered by the Continuum aren ' t enough to justify Quinn ' s continued suffering and rules in his favor , granting Quinn asylum . Q is disappointed but he honors the agreement made at the beginning of the trial and turns Quinn mortal . Janeway then tells Quinn that , rather than committing suicide , maybe he could give mortality a try , as there are a great many sensations and feelings he could explore and he could explore his new existence . Quinn thinks about it and agrees to try . In her ready room , Janeway and Chakotay are trying to figure out a post for Quinn when The Doctor calls her down to sickbay : Quinn is dying . Janeway arrives in sickbay , where Tuvok and The Doctor are waiting for her , just before Quinn dies . The Doctor informs Janeway that Quinn ingested a form of Nogatch hemlock , for which there is no known cure . Quinn tells her that he would only be pretending to fit into mortal life , that his death is his final gift to his people and he was grateful to Janeway for making his death possible . The Doctor tells Janeway that he doesn ' t store the hemlock or any fatal poisons , and Tuvok points out that the replicator s won ' t produce it either . Janeway wonders how Quinn obtained the hemlock , just as Q shows up again . He informs the startled officer s that " he " was the one who assisted Quinn in his suicide . Q remarks that it was Quinn , not he , who was truly irrepressible . He hopes that he could be a worthy student of Quinn ' s ways and when Janeway remarks that the Continuum won ' t be happy with him , his only response is , " " I certainly hope not . " " He bids Janeway goodbye , promising that they will meet again . Memorable quotes . " " Hello . My name is Q . " " " " Welsh rabbit , just like your grandfather use to make . " " " " Rabbit ? She never told me she likes rabbits . What is a rabbit anyway ? Is this some new chef she ' s interviewing ? " " " " Captain , there are no stars outside . " " " " " " Well , that ' s partially accurate , actually there ' s no universe outside . " " - Harry Kim and Quinn " " This ship will not survive the formation of the cosmos ! " " " " Yes , but just think of the honor of having your DNA spread from one corner of the universe to the other . Why you could be the origin of the . . . humanoid form . " " " " What have you done now , Q ? Well now , isn ' t this just fine ? Humans aren ' t supposed to be in this quadrant for another hundred years ! " " " " I didn ' t bring them here . Nothing to do with me ! " " " " How did you get out , Q ? " " " " I ' m afraid we ' re responsible for that . " " " " Oh , well I guess that ' s what we get for having a woman in the captain ' s seat . " " " " You know , I was betting that Riker would get this command . " " " " May I assume that you ' re the Q that I ' ve heard so much about ? " " " " Have you heard about little me ? Oh , do tell . Has Jean - Luc been whispering about me behind my back ? " " " " Say , is this a ship of the Valkyries ? Or have you Human women finally done away with your men altogether ? " " " " Facial art . Ooh , how very wilderness of you . " " " " You can ' t hide from me , Q ! " " " " And you can ' t take me by force ! I ' ll stalemate you for eternity if I have to ! " " " " The hell you will ! The vaunted Q Continuum : " Self - anointed Guardians of The Universe " ! How dare you come aboard this ship and endanger this crew with your personal tug - of - war ! " " " " Did anyone ever tell you you ' re angry when you ' re beautiful ? " " " " How would you like to spend eternity as a Gorokian midwife toad ? " " " " Oh , " just try it ! " " " Will you send him to prison for eternity or will you assist in his suicide plan ? That ' s a toughie , but that ' s why they made you captain , isn ' t it ? To handle the real tough ones ? My , my . Now I guess we get to find out whether the pants . . . really fit . " " " " I am curious . Have the always had an absence of manners , or is it the result of some natural evolutionary process that comes with omnipotence ? " " " " You mustn ' t think of us as omnipotent , no matter what The Continuum would like you to believe . You and your ship seem incredibly powerful to lifeforms without your technological expertise ! It ' s no different with us ; we may appear omnipotent to you , but believe me , we ' re not ! " " " " Madame Captain , we are dealing here with an issue of the greatest importance to the Q Continuum . I can assure you that we take this matter very seriously . " " " " Thank you . And please don ' t call me Madame Captain . " " " " You could live a perfectly normal life if you were just willing to live a perfectly normal life ! " " " " With your permission , captain , I would like to call an expert on the Continuum to discuss the implications of the decision to be made . " " " " Proceed . " " " " I call myself to the stand . " " [ A copy of Q appears ] " " Ta - da ! " " " " Thank you for coming ! It ' s a rare honor to have someone of your reputation and accomplishment with us today . " " " " Thank you ! " " " " Ugh , Vulcans . " " " " Q ! What the hell is going on ? ! " " " " God , if you let me live through this , I promise I ' ll clean up my act , I swear . " " " " I demand an explanation ! Why are you dressed like " this " , young man ? " " " " Man , have " you " looked in a mirror lately ? " " " " Wait a minute . . . weren ' t you the guy in the Jeep ? " " " " Q has had a profound influence on these three lives . Without Q , Isaac Newton would ' ve died forgotten in a Liverpool debtor ' s prison , a suspect in several prostitute murders . Without Q , there would ' ve been no concert at , uh . . . " " ( meekly ) " Woodstock ! " " " Wherever – more importantly , Mr . Ginsberg would never have met his future wife – the ' groovy chick ' with the long red beads – and he would never have become a successful orthodontist , and settled in Scarsdale with four kids . " " " Far out ! " " " Yes . . . without Q , there would ' ve been no William T . Riker at all , and " I " would have lost at least a dozen really good opportunities to insult him over the years – and lest I forget , without Q , the Borg would ' ve assimilated The Federation . " " " " Based on my research , you have been many things . A rude , interfering , inconsiderate , sadistic . . . " " " " You ' ve made your point . " " " " . . . pest . And , oh yes , you introduced us to the Borg , thank you very much . But one thing you have never been is a liar . " " " " I think you have uncovered my one redeeming virtue . Am I blushing ? " " " " This is the Q Continuum ? A road in the desert ? " " " " I traveled the road many times , sat on the porch , played the games , been the dog , everything ! I was even the scarecrow for a while . " " " " Why ? " " " " Because I hadn ' t done it . " " " " Oh , we ' ve all done the scarecrow , big deal ! " " [ A restless Janeway suddenly finds Q in pajamas and a sleeping cap , lying next to her in bed ] " " Trouble sleeping ? " " " " Ooh ! " " [ Janeway bolts out of bed as Q sits up ] " " Did you ever try warm Kylerian goat ' s milk ? " " " Get out ! " " " Let ' s celebrate . Just you and me , the two of us ! " " " What ? ! " " " I ' ll take you home . Before you know it , you ' ll be scampering across the meadow with your little puppies , the grass beneath your bare feet , a man coming over the hill way in the distance waves to you , you run to be in his arms and as you get closer , you see that it ' s . . . me ! " " " You ? ! " " " Forget Mark ! I know how to show a girl a good time ! How would you like a ticker - tape parade down Sri Lanka Boulevard ; the captain that brought " Voyager " back a celebrated hero ? I never did anything like that for Jean - Luc ! But I feel very close to you ; I ' m not sure why . Maybe it ' s because you have such authority and manage to preserve your femininity so well . " " " " Leave . " " " " May I see you in your chambers , captain ? " " " " You ' ve been in my chambers enough for one visit , sir . " " [ Q takes away Quinn ' s powers and makes him Human ] " " Nothing happened . Nothing ! My powers are gone ! I ' m . . . mortal . " " " " Well , so much for ticker - tape parades . " " " " I ' m sorry to disappoint you , captain . But I would only have be pretending to fit into this mortal existence . This is my final gift to my people . Tell them those were my last words . I dearly thank you for making this poss . . . " " " " By demanding to end his life , he taught me a little something about my own . He was right when he said the Continuum " scared " me back in line . I didn ' t have his courage or his convictions . He called me irrepressible . This was a man who was " truly " irrepressible . I only hope I make a worthy student . " " " " I imagine the Continuum won ' t be very happy with you , Q . " " " " I certainly hope not . " Au revoir " , Madame Captain . We will meet again . " " Links and references . References . anarchy ; apple ; assisted suicide ; Atlanta ; baryonic particles ; Battle of Pine Mountain ; Big Bang ; Bolian s ; Borg ; boulevard ; Christmas tree ; colonel ; comet ; corruption ; croquet ; croquet ball ; debtor ' s prison ; Delta Quadrant ; Department of Investigation ; double effect principle ; Earth ; ; ethics ; extension cord ; Federation ; general ; gesture ; Ginsberg family ; God ; Gorokian midwife toad ; grass ; hide and seek ; Hundred Year war ; immortality ; Jeep ; ; Kylerian goat ; meadow ; milk ; Liverpool ; logic ; mayor ; merchant ; mile ; " My Corner of the Continuum " ; murder ; murdered prostitutes ; new era ; New York ; night cap ; Nogatch hemlock ; Ocampa ; orthodontist ; Picard , Jean - Luc ; poison ; porch ; Post Office Department ; proton ; prostitute s ; puppy ; Q Continuum ; Q species ; red alert ; replicator ; ritual suicide ; Romulan history ; Romulan - Vulcan War ; sadism ; sabbath law ; scarecrow ; Scarsdale ; Senate ; ; Sherman ' s March on Atlanta ; sound system ; spotlight ; spotlight operator ; Sri Lanka Boulevard ; stellar cartography ; suicide ; ticker tape parade ; Valkyrie ; Vulcan s ; Vulcan history ; Welsh rarebit ; Woodstock