Far Beyond the Stars ( episode ) Experiencing a vision from the Prophets , Sisko sees himself as Benny Russell , a science - fiction writer in the 1950s , who struggles with civil rights and inequality when he writes the story of Captain Benjamin Sisko , a black commander of a futuristic space station . Summary . Teaser . Joseph Sisko , Captain Benjamin Sisko ' s father , has left Earth for the first time to visit his son on Deep Space 9 , but his timing couldn ' t be worse . Although the Federation is in firm control of the station , the Cardassian border is still a risky place for Federation ships to patrol . In particular , the has recently been destroyed , and even a six - hour search by the failed to discover any survivors . That means Captain Quentin Swofford – a man Sisko knew well – is dead , and Sisko is distraught . He is beginning to despair of making any kind of difference in the war effort at all , and is seriously considering stepping down and letting someone else make the tough decisions . Joseph promises to support his son no matter what decision he makes , but warns him to think carefully before he does anything . As he discusses the news with his father , Sisko is distracted and puzzled when he sees a strange man walk past his office dressed in 1950s Earth clothing . Dax , standing right outside in ops , insists she didn ' t see anyone , which only makes it a greater puzzle . Later , when walking down a corridor with Kasidy Yates , Sisko is again confused when a baseball player walks past and calls , " " Hey , Benny ! Catch the game ? " " Again , Yates is sure she didn ' t see anyone . When Sisko follows the man through a door , he finds himself suddenly in the middle of a busy New York street and is immediately hit by a taxi . Doctor Bashir examines him and finds unusual synaptic potentials – his neural pattern s look like they did when Sisko was having visions the year before . When Sisko takes a PADD to examine the data for himself , he finds himself instead looking at a copy of " " at a New York newsstand . What ' s more , Sisko – or rather , Benny Russell – feels completely at home on this street , and when Albert Macklin comes around the corner they walk off together to the office . Act One . The people Russell knows at the office and meets on the street are similar to the people Sisko knows on the station . They sound the same , and look at least somewhat similar , but they are not the same people . The news vendor is not Nog , Macklin is not Miles O ' Brien , and Kay Eaton is not Kira Nerys . They are merely characters in a dream created from the likeness of his real - world friends . From this point until Sisko wakes up , the story is told from Benny Russell ' s perspective ( as though the 1950s setting is the " real " world ) . When Russell and Macklin arrive at " Incredible Tales " – the science fiction magazine for which they work – they find writer Herbert Rossoff ( Quark ) and editor Douglas Pabst ( Odo ) engaged in " The Battle of the Doughnuts , Round 28 " ( as Eaton describes it ) . Eaton herself has been experimenting with White Rose Redi - Tea ( " " A pitcher of plain water becomes a pitcher of iced tea " " ) – a concept her husband , Julius ( Julian Bashir ) , as a " self - respecting Englishman , " finds appalling . Macklin is , as always , looking for matches to light his pipe . When the bickering and general bustle ebbs enough , Pabst calls the meeting to order . The magazine ' s illustrator , Roy Ritterhouse ( Martok ) comes in bearing a stack of science fiction sketches to distribute to the pool of writers for the next month ' s stories . Russell is particularly taken with a drawing of a space station – basically a circle with pylons at 120 degree intervals , and " USAF DS / 9 " stenciled around the edge . He takes the sketch and offers to create an appropriate story to accompany it . Trouble starts , however , when Pabst announces that their publisher wants a group photo of the writing staff for the next issue , and Pabst " suggests " that Eaton and Russell " sleep late " the morning it is taken – the public needn ' t know that women and blacks are writing for " Incredible Tales " along with the white men . Rossoff sarcastically quips about the dangers of " a Negro with a typewriter " and Russell is angry , but Pabst holds firm . There will be no picture of Eaton and no picture of Russell . That evening , as Russell leaves the office ( " Incredible Tales " is located in the Arthur Trill Building ) , the space station sketch is caught in a breeze and lands under the shoe of Burt Ryan ( Dukat ) – an NYPD detective with an attitude . He and his partner , Kevin Mulkahey ( Weyoun ) are suspicious of a janitor ( as they perceive Russell ) dressed in a nice suit , but give back the drawing with " " This time you ' re getting off with a warning . Next time you won ' t be so lucky . " " Then , as he ' s almost home , Russell hears a preacher ( Joseph ) on a street corner who seems to be speaking directly to Benny . " " Write those words , Brother Benny ! " " the preacher advises – write the words of the " " God of the spirits of the prophets . " " With all these events fresh in his mind , Benny Russell sits down before his typewriter with the space station picture in front of him and begins to write . " " Captain Benjamin Sisko sat looking out the window . . . " " Even as he writes the words Benny sees his reflection in his own window – only he has on a curious uniform instead of a shirt and tie and his glasses are gone . He presses on with his story into the night . Act Two . When the story is finally finished some days later he shows it to his fiancee , Cassie ( Yates ) at the diner where she waits tables . While he is sipping coffee at the counter , famous baseball player Willie Hawkins ( Worf ) comes in and flirts , only half - jokingly , with Cassie while saying hello to Russell . Russell also encounters Jimmy ( Jake Sisko ) , a street kid . Fresh after hearing Hawkins tell how white people wouldn ' t want him living in their neighborhoods , Russell hears Jimmy ' s skepticism about the new story . What ' s more , Jimmy is trying to pawn a watch he " found " and Russell ' s cautions about him getting in trouble don ' t seem to do any good . On the other hand , the entire writing staff of " Incredible Tales " loves the story , which Russell has titled " Deep Space Nine . " In fact , it is the best thing Pabst ' s secretary Darlene Kursky ( Jadzia Dax ) has ever read . Russell , exhausted from lack of sleep , is worried that he ' s hallucinating – while Kay Eaton is complimenting the " strong female character " in his story , he takes off his glasses for a moment and sees her wearing a red uniform and strange ridges on her nose . Unfortunately , Pabst himself is unwilling to print the story . " " It ' s not believable , " " he insists , since it features a Negro space station captain for a hero . Pabst tells Russell to make the captain white , but he angrily tells him that ' s not what he wrote . Act Three . Russell is sitting at the restaurant telling about his story and Jimmy isn ' t remotely surprised , and Cassie suggests it may be a sign he should stop writing and go into the restaurant business with her – owning and running the diner . When Hawkins comes in and grabs Russell by the shoulder , he ' s surprised to see ridges on his forehead and strange clothing . He jumps off the stool in surprise , but when he looks up again it is just Hawkins , asking if Russell had seen the game . Russell leaves , troubled by the vision . That evening , he encounters the same preacher again . " " Walk with the prophets , brother Benny ! " " he insists . " " Write the words that will lead us out of the darkness and onto the path of righteousness . " " Russell rushes home and sits down before his typewriter once again , concentrating so hard he even forgets about his date with Cassie . She finds him sleeping with a stack of pages in his hand – a new Ben Sisko story – and tries to get him to relax by taking a " spin around the dance floor " in the living room . He ' s startled once again when he instead sees himself dancing in a strange room and to hear " Cassie " talking about " the Dominion . " He flashes back and forth between his living room and the space station – seeing things from his own story . Act Four . As Russell questions his own sanity , Pabst insists he ' s certifiable – he ' s written six sequels to the " Deep Space Nine " story Pabst already refused to publish . Macklin makes a suggestion that could salvage everything though : make the story ( at least the first story ) a dream . If a poor Negro were dreaming of such a future , the story might work , Pabst grudgingly admits , and Russell agrees that anything would be better than not publishing the story at all . Even as Russell and Cassie are celebrating getting the story published , however , another tragedy strikes . They encounter the preacher , who warns , " " the path of the Prophets sometimes leads into darkness and pain " " , just as gunshots ring through the air . Russell rushes forward and finds that Ryan and Mulkahey have shot and killed Jimmy . When Russell tries to fight his way to him , the two cops begin to beat him up , and Russell sees ridges on Ryan ' s neck and long thin ears on Mulkahey ' s face . Act Five . Russell has been badly beaten and is walking with a cane , but on the day his story is finally published he makes his way to the office anyway ( with Cassie ' s encouragement ) . The staff are happy to see Russell for the first time since his beating . They also reveal that Macklin has sold a novel , and Russell is very happy for his friend . Then Pabst arrives . . . but with no magazine . Pabst explains that there ' s not going to be an edition of " Incredible Tales " that month ; apparently the entire run was pulped because the publishers felt the issue didn ' t meet their " usual high standards " . Russell , already knowing the truth , asks what the publishers didn ' t like . The artwork ? The layout ? But Russell , already starting to break down , answers his own question : the magazine was pulped because the hero of " Deep Space Nine " is a colored man . Pabst tells Russell that he knows it isn ' t right , but he furiously defends the decision , saying that " " it ' s not about what ' s right , it ' s about what is . " " This leads into further bad news - the publishers have decided that Russell ' s services are no longer required . The rest of the staff recoil in shock , and even the normally unflappable Julius Eaton is horrified . Russell tells Pabst that he can ' t be fired , because he quits , before sweeping the contents of a nearby table on the floor in anger as he begins to have a nervous breakdown . He is devastated that everyone is attempting to deny both himself and Ben Sisko , that the publishers are attempting to destroy the story . But he says , sobbing , that they cannot destroy the idea . Ben Sisko , " Deep Space Nine " , and all the people from the story , they exist inside his head , and in the heads of everyone who read it . Russell finally collapses , sobbing and cradled by his former co - workers . As he ' s carted away in an ambulance , Benny Russell finds the preacher sitting beside him and sees himself in a strange uniform . " " Who am I ? " " he asks quietly . " " You ' re the dreamer , " " the preacher answers him , " " and the dream . " " Captain Benjamin Sisko wakes up in the infirmary with Kasidy , Jake , Joseph , and Dr . Bashir standing over him , happy to see him awake . He was unconscious for only a few minutes , and Bashir reports that his neural patterns are returning to normal . As Joseph gets ready to leave , Sisko says that his dream has encouraged him to stay on DS9 and keep fighting " the good fight . " He also confides to his father that he wonders whether their world really is " the real world , " or just a vision , and somewhere far beyond the stars Benny Russell really exists . He stares out the window , and sees a reflection of himself wearing Benny ' s clothes . Memorable quotes . " " Wishing never changed a damn thing . " " " " Oh ! She ' s got a worm in her belly ! . . . oh that ' s disgusting . It ' s interestin ' , but disgusting . " " " " Calm down , dear boy . We ' re writers , not Vikings . " " " " You are the dreamer , . . . and the dream . " " " " Hey ! You gonna buy that or not ? ! " " " " All right , friends and neighbors , let ' s see what Uncle Roy brought you today . " " " " Well I got news for you . . . today or a hundred years from now don ' t make a bit of difference – as far as they ' re concerned , we ' ll always be niggers . " " " " If the world ' s not ready for a woman writer – imagine what would happen if it learned about a Negro with a typewriter – run for the hills ! It ' s the end of civilization ! " " " " Herb ' s been angry ever since the day Joseph Stalin died . . . " " " " I like robots . " " " " Call anybody you want , they can ' t do anything to me , not any more , and nor can any of you . I am a Human being , dammit ! You can deny me all you want but you can ' t deny Ben Sisko – He exists ! That future , that space station , all those people – they exist in here ! " ( pointing to his head ) " In my mind . I created it . And everyone of you knew it , you read it . It ' s here . " ( pointing to his head again ) " Do you hear what I ' m telling you ? You can pulp a story but you cannot destroy an idea , don ' t you understand , that ' s ancient knowledge , you cannot destroy an idea . " ( becoming hysterical ) " That future – I created it , and it ' s real ! Don ' t you understand ? It is real . I created it . And it ' s real ! It ' s REAL ! Oh God ! " " ( he collapses , sobbing hysterically ) " " I have fought the good fight . I have finished the course . I have kept the faith . " " " " For all we know , at this very moment , somewhere far beyond all those distant stars , Benny Russell is dreaming of us . " " Links and references . References . " " ; 145th and Lennox ; 1953 ; Alpha Quadrant ; ambulance ; " Amsterdam News " ; art ; Arthur Trill Building ; ; " Assault on Planet 10 " ; " Astounding Science Fiction " ; " Atomic Adventure " ; " Attack on Planet Eminiar Seven " ; " Bad Day at Red Rock " ; Bajor ; ballfield ; ballplayer ; baseball ; ; Berman ; " Beyond the Rim of the Starlight " ; Bible ; bleacher ; blue plate special ; bongos ; boxing ; ; Braga ; Brooklyn Dodgers ; " Cage , The " ; cane ; Capitol Cab ; ; Cardassia ; Cardassian s ; Cardassian border ; Caucasian ; cent ; chalk ; cheerleader ; ; ; Communism ; " Corbomite Maneuver , The " ; ; ; " Court Martial " ; crowbar ; crusader ; cruller ; curve ball ; " Dad ' s Revenge " ; " Daily News " ; deafness ; " " ; ; delivery boy ; DeWaay ; dishwasher ; distributor ; " Dogs Themselves , The " ; Dominion ; doorstop ; doughnut ; ; ; editor ; Earth ; ; ; ; egg ; ; Englishman ; Eva ' s Kitchen ; " Everything I Have Is Yours " ; fantasy ; " Far Beyond the Stars " ; fascism ; " Federation and Empire " ; " First Contact " ; flying saucer ; ; frank ; fridge ; " From Here to Eternity " ; " From the Moon to the Earth " ; ' ; " Glow - Worm , The " ; Gnome Press ; God ; ; grand jury ; gun ; H - bomb ; Harlem ; " Hazardous Images " ; ; ; Honest Joe ' s Used Rockets ; " Honeymoon on Andoris " ; hot dog ; ; Hugo award ; ; iced tea ; " I Have No Voice So I Must Shout " ; " Incredible Tales " ; Interstellar Adventure Book Club ; " It Came From Outer Space " ; ; janitor ; Japanese Zero ; ; Jem ' Hadar ; Jem ' Hadar fighter ; ; " Journey to Babel " ; ; ; " Lectroid Attack ! " ; " Legends of the Ferengi " ; lemonade ; ; ; London ; " Loner in a Lonely World " ; " Lucifer ' s Chainsaw " ; machine gun ; make - believe ; Manhattan ; Men from Mars ; Mars ; " Me , Android " ; mechanical engineer ; medical tricorder ; " Metamorphosis " ; " Midnight at the Mill " ; mood - o - meter ; Moore ; " Most Fortunate Accident , A " ; Municipal Bus Lines ; " Native Son " ; Negro ; neural pattern ; New York City ; New York Giants ; ; New York Yankees ; newsstand ; nun ; outer space ; ; Pearl Harbor ; pedestrian ; ; Phineas Tarbolde and the Nightingale Women ; pie ; pinko ; " Please , Take Me With You " ( characters ) ; potato salad ; printer ; Prophet s ; publisher ; pulp magazine ; ' ; " Quantity of the Monster " ; " Questor " ; race riot ; red ; ; reporter ; robot ; rocket ship ; ; sauerkraut ; science fiction ; scrambled eggs ; ; " Selected Poems of Langston Hughes " ; sequel ; shoeshine boy ; sidewalk ; ; Sisko ' s ; Smith Corona ; ; " Solar Odyssey " ; soup ; " Space Mongoose " ; " Space Mutant " ; spaceship s ; " Space Voyager " ; squadron ; ; steak and eggs ; ; ; Stone Publications ; stop sign ; " Strange Martian " ; strike three ; sunbathing ; ; surgery ; ; tater ; tea ; television ; " Third Foundation " ; " This Island Mars " ; ; traffic accident ; transport ; " Trials and Tribble - ations " ; Tri - Borough Pest Control ; " True Story " ; typewriter ; United Nations ; US Air Force ; US Navy ; vampire ; vendor ; " Venusian Chronicles " ; Viking ; " Voyage into the Atom " ; war stories ; ; ; " Where No Man Has Gone Before " ; White Rose Redi - Tea ; wholesaler ; ; ; writer ; " Writer ' s Monthly " ; " Xhosa "