Chrysalis ( episode ) Jack , Lauren , Patrick , and Sarina , the genetically - engineered Humans , return to the station , asking Bashir to help rouse Sarina from her cataleptic state . Summary . Teaser . Julian Bashir asks Miles O ' Brien to have a drink with him in Quark ' s . O ' Brien declines , being expected home for dinner with his wife Keiko O ' Brien and their children . Bashir turns away and sees Odo and Kira Nerys in formal dress , heading in the direction of the holosuites . He asks if they are going to Vic ' s lounge , which they affirm , and whether he might join them . They want to enjoy their date alone , however . Later , Bashir is in bed , working on curing a virus but making no real progress . He puts down his PADD and turns out the lights to go to sleep . He is immediately disturbed by a comm signal calling him to the infirmary . Ensign Nog informs him that a certain Admiral Patrick asks for him . The admiral is revealed to be one of the genetically - engineered savants Bashir had been introduced to the previous year . , Lauren , and they have disguised themselves as Starfleet officer s to bring Sarina to the station after learning of Bashir ' s plans to treat her disorder . When Bashir wonders how they managed the deception , the savants point out that Patrick ' s admiral ' s uniform and practice of answering every question with " That ' s a stupid question . " are remarkably effective . Act One . Bashir had been working on a way to cure Sarina ' s catalepsy , a side effect of the genetic modification to which she was subjected as a child . The genetic therapy succeeded in increasing the neuronal activity in Sarina ' s cerebral cortex , but the number of synaptic pathways connecting her cortex to the visual and auditory nerve centers were unaffected , leaving her unable to process the information collected by her senses and incapable of focusing on her environment . The surprise arrival of the genetically - engineered Human s at the station forces Bashir to rush ahead of schedule in modifying the experimental surgical equipment he planned to use to stimulate the growth of new synapses in Sarina ' s thalamus . Bashir must also persuade Captain Sisko to allow them to remain on Deep Space Nine , which isn ' t easy , since the last time they were on the station they attempted to give military secrets to the Dominion . Another problem is that Starfleet wants to press charges against the three for impersonating Starfleet officers . However Bashir explains , while they have come to the station masquerading as an admiral and his staff , they meant well . To send them away would be detrimental to Sarina ' s recovery , since her friends from the Institute are the only familiar faces she has known for fifteen years . Sisko agrees to talk to Starfleet about dropping the charges and arranges for them to be quartered in one of the station ' s cargo bays , like the last time they were on the station . Later , in the infirmary , Bashir and O ' Brien contemplate enhancing the neurocortical probe that Bashir planned to use in the operation . To affect the growth of new synapses in Sarina ' s thalamus , Bashir will need to manipulate her neural proteins at the subatomic level . O ' Brien explains that the probe is inadequate for this ; even though the probe is the most advanced model available , quantum fluctuations prohibit the desired accuracy at such a level of resolution . In the cargo bay , Bashir finds Jack , Patrick , and Lauren disassembling the neurocortical probe and tinkering with its components , trying to find a way to " bend " the laws of physics . After many hours , Bashir awakens to find that they have succeeded in recalibrating the imaging diodes of the device , making it more than accurate enough to , in Jack ' s words " " clip the wings of an angel dancing on the head of a pin , if you wanted to . " " Later in the operating room , Bashir performs the surgery while Sarina ' s companions await any news . Unfortunately , there are no immediate signs that the surgery has been successful . Sarina ' s condition does not improve as expected , and Bashir is sorely disheartened by his failure to help her . Five days later , he is sitting in Quark ' s with Ezri , lamenting his inability to help her , when Sarina appears on the Promenade outside Quark ' s , marvelling at the bustle of the station . Bashir rushes out to her . " What are you looking at ? " he asks her . To his astonishment , she answers him . " Everything . " Act Two . When Sarina realizes that Bashir and Ezri can hear her speech , she smiles for the first time , amazed that she can interact with the world again . In the infirmary , Bashir scans Sarina with a tricorder , noting that her norepinephrine levels are elevated , which Sarina quickly explains is due to limbic overcompensation for the new thalamic connections . Bashir quickly realizes that she is absolutely right , and Sarina thanks him for having cured her . Later in the cargo bay , Sarina is reintroduced to her fellow mutants , and after fawning over her , they lead her into singing scales to help her regain a normal speaking voice , which Sarina does quickly . In minutes , the four of them are singing complex harmonies . Looking on from a corner , Doctor Bashir marvels at the rapid transformation she has made from an uninteractive mute to a fully functional genetically - enhanced woman , as he later recounts to Miles at Quark ' s : " " Yesterday , she was silent as a stone . Today , she ' s laughing and singing " " . Returning to his quarters , Julian finds Sarina waiting inside on his couch ; having broken his six - digit access code , she is reviewing the diagram of the virus he has been researching for months . Sarina explains that she is unable to sleep as she fears awakening in her former cataleptic state . Julian assures her that this will not happen , that her life is different and now full of possibilities . Her fears put to rest , Sarina has quickly drifted off to sleep with her head on Julian ' s shoulder . Not wishing to disturb her , Bashir accepts this and he too ends up resting on the couch . Act Three . When he awakens in the morning , Julian finds that Sarina has already woken up . She is once again going over the PADD he had been working on and as she notices his waking , she explains to Julian that the key to understanding the mutation of this virus lies in targeting the L - II codon of its RNA transcriptor . Bashir is again stunned by her perception , and the two of them exchange thanks as Sarina brings him breakfast . When Bashir is suddenly called away to the infirmary , Sarina puts aside his suggestion that she tour the station with Ezri in favor of returning to the cargo bay , where she finds her friends formulating a plan to try to alter the cosmological constant by using many subspace field generator s to avert the big crunch , the hypothetical opposite of the big bang at the end of the universe ( when Patrick asks how much time they have , Jack replies " " sixty trillion years , seventy at most " " ) . Jack chastises Sarina ' s assertion of the implausibility of this plan : " " You know something , Sarina ? We ' re trying to save existence as we know it , and all you can do is criticize . " " This statement causes Sarina to reevaluate attempting to fit in with her old friends , their iron determination forcing her back to the role of a mute observer . When Bashir later returns to the cargo bay , he finds Sarina sitting blank - faced in a corner ; to his dismay , she explains that Jack and the others are accustomed to her silence . Countering this , Bashir invites her to join him and his friends in Quark ' s that night , to which Sarina joyfully accedes . The other mutants find themselves uninvited , and Lauren resolves to prepare Sarina for her night out . She returns in the appearance of an entirely new person , wearing new , less subdued , clothing and a new hairstyle . Accompanied by Bashir that night at Quark ' s , Sarina is introduced to O ' Brien , Kira , Odo , and Ezri , all of whom are charmed by her demeanor and social ability . Afterward , Sarina fascinates Bashir with her appraisals of him and his friends . Much more comfortable in their company than in that of her unpredictable companions , Sarina laments their inability to function within society ; upon learning that she will not be returning to the Institute with them , Sarina ponders where she will go and what she will do with herself apart from the only family she has ever known . Bashir responds that she needn ' t go anywhere , tenderly kissing Sarina and nearly overwhelming her . Act Four . Later , Bashir explains to Jack and the others that Sarina will not be returning to the Institute with them but will instead be staying in her own quarters on the station . Patrick implores Bashir to help the three of them the way he has helped Sarina , but Lauren and Jack quickly bring him to the realization that they are beyond help and that their already small group has now been further diminished . Dejected , they return to their efforts to save the universe . Learning of this , Sarina wishes to commiserate with her friends before their departure . However , Julian persuades her that there will be time for that the next morning , that her friends need time to grow accustomed to her absence , and that she should come with him to have some fun . At Quark ' s , Bashir shows Sarina off to the crowd of dabo players , eliciting her impressive computational skills to run the table , but the attention of the crowd and the boisterous and noisy atmosphere of Quark ' s begins to wear on her enjoyment of the experience . After Julian puts off Quark ' s suggestion that they sit down to a bottle of spring wine , Ezri notices that Sarina has had enough for one night . As they leave the table , Bashir nearly ignores Sarina when a disruptive accident in the bar causes her to seize up in panic . Walking her back to her quarters , Bashir suggests that the next night she join him for a quiet dinner in his quarters and that she later join him on a week ' s leave to Risa , which causes Sarina some consternation ; though confused , she agrees , not wishing to be ungrateful for his attention . The next morning in the Replimat , Bashir explains to O ' Brien that he has never before met anyone like her , reflecting on his luck in finally finding a woman with whom he can share attempting to fit into an ordinary life as a genetically - enhanced person . Though he is happy for Bashir , O ' Brien cautions him that he may be moving along too fast for Sarina . O ' Brien reminds him that she is Bashir ' s patient . Bashir responds that he has put her in the care of Doctor Girani , though this does little to relieve O ' Brien of his apprehension toward Bashir ' s rush forward . That night , Bashir waits in his quarters for her , but Sarina doesn ' t come to the romantic dinner he has arranged . After learning from the computer that Sarina is still in her quarters , he goes to talk to her . Having to override the security lock on her door when he arrives , he finds her unresponsive , in a state disturbingly similar to that before she received the treatment . Act Five . In the infirmary , Dr . Girani ' s scans indicate that the thalamic pathways Bashir repaired are functioning but lack any neural activity . Taking her from the Infirmary back to her quarters , Bashir unsuccessfully attempts to get a response from her at the place they first kissed days before . Bashir spends the night at Sarina ' s bedside before taking her , in the morning , back to the cargo bay , for whatever help the mutants can give him in bringing Sarina out of her shell . After Bashir returns to his quarters , saddened , Lauren and the others pursue him with their appraisal of Sarina ' s torpor . They explain to Bashir that Sarina has not reverted to being imprisoned in her mind ; rather , she is simply confused and afraid of all the new things happening around her , paramount of which is the romantic attention Julian has been showering upon her . Returning to the cargo bay alone , Julian reaches out to Sarina , trying to make her understand that he can put right whatever is wrong with her . After Bashir has professed his love for her , Sarina begins to cry , choking on the unfamiliar emotions he has provoked . Expressing her confusion to Bashir , she wants him to tell her what she should feel , says that she owes him everything , and laments that she doesn ' t know how to act as the woman that he wants her to be . Julian holds her closely and tries to comfort her . The next morning , Bashir meets O ' Brien in the Replimat and the two of them discuss Sarina ' s fate . While Jack , Lauren and Patrick have returned to the institute , Bashir has arranged an internship for Sarina her at the Corgal Research Center on Corgal II , where she will work and live with a scientist and his family as she tries to make some sense of her new life . Bashir reflects on his infatuation over the past few days , beating himself up over his carelessly smothering Sarina , nearly driving her back into catalepsy , as O ' Brien tries to cheer him up with an invitation to dinner with him and Keiko . Bashir declines , now preferring to be alone , and as O ' Brien returns to work Bashir makes his way to the airlock where Sarina ' s transport is boarding . At the airlock , Bashir and Sarina tearfully say goodbye to each other , Bashir pledging to Sarina that he will never forget her . Bashir watches from the Promenade as the and Sarina depart the station into space . Memorable quotes . " " That ' s a stupid question ! " " " " Sarina ? What are you looking at ? " " ( Speaking slowly ) " " Everything . " " " " Sarina , what are you doing here ? How did you get in ? " " " " It wasn ' t hard . Your access code only has six digits . " " " " Didn ' t " anybody " question you ? " " " " Of course , but when they did Patrick would say . . . " " " " That ' s a stupid . . . " " " " You ' d be surprised how well it works . " " " " I ' ll say ! " " " " Your friend was right . You can ' t break the laws of physics . . . " " " " . . . but you can bend them ! " " " " Julian , why don ' t you show everybody how much you love me and order the next round ? " " " " The fact is that the universe is going to stop expanding and it is going to collapse in on itself . We ' ve got to do something before it ' s too late . " " " " How much time do we have left ? " " " " Sixty trillion years , seventy at the most . " " " " Oh , no . " " " " I ' m sorry . Obviously you want to punish yourself . Do you want help ? I ' m really good at punishing myself . " " " " So what ' s a genetically enhanced girl supposed to do when she wakes up from a long sleep ? Point to one of those specks of light out there , pack a bag , and go make a life for herself ? " " " " You okay ? " " " " How could I have been so blind ? What was I thinking trying to move things along so fast ? She needed time , I didn ' t give it to her . I came this close to driving her back inside herself . I ' m supposed to be a doctor , I ' m supposed to put my patient ' s needs above my own . " " " " You didn ' t want to be lonely anymore . Nobody does . " " Links and references . References . angel ; Atlas ; Bajor ; Big Bang ; cerebral cortex ; coffee ; collapse of the universe ; Corgal II ; Corgal Research Center ; cosmological constant ; Dominion ; epinephrine ; ; ; Federation ; Ferengi ; genetic engineering ; holosuite ; impersonating a Starfleet officer ; kiss ; legal guardian ; limbic system ; ; molto allegro ; Morn ' s siblings ; ; neocortical probe ; norepinephrine ; ; ; ; poker face ; Promenade ; Quark ' s ; Risa ; scientist ; scone ; subspace field generator ; ; synapse ; tempura ; thalamus ; tone deafness ; universe ; wine Unreferenced material . Fulp