Thine Own Self ( episode ) Data suffers amnesia in a primitive society while Troi applies for a promotion . Summary . Teaser . Dr . Beverly Crusher is in charge of the night shift on the . Counselor Deanna Troi arrives on the ship after having attended a class reunion at Starbase 231 . A conversation ensues between Crusher and Troi on the bridge in which the main subject is Crusher ' s past decision to apply for the rank of commander , a rank which she does not need for the post of chief medical officer . Lieutenant Commander Data is commonly in charge of the night shift , but he is out on an away mission . A deep space probe containing radioactive material has crashed on a planet , Barkon IV , hosting a preindustrial civilization . Due to Data ' s android nature , he is the one best suited for the mission . He is hail ed by the " Enterprise " s bridge by Ensign Rainer , but no response is received by them . Dr . Crusher is not overly concerned , as the radioactive nature of the fragments Data is supposed to collect on the planet are expected to disturb any received and sent messages , as Geordi La Forge had warned . Crusher says that Data can wait for a few days before being picked up by the " Enterprise " as the ship has to rendezvous with the to deliver medical supplies to the Taranko colony . In a village on Barkon IV , two Barkonian s , a middle - aged man Garvin and his young daughter , , are talking . They are interrupted when Data walks in , his appearance suggesting that he has been through some rough experiences ; his hair is tousled and his uniform is dirty and ripped in places . He stops when he sees them , but is only able to emit non - vocal sounds . Act One . Garvin tells his daughter to go home and tries to talk to Data , but he at first can only repeat what Garvin has said . It is a slow process talking to him , but Data eventually recovers enough to state that he can explain he has no idea who he is . His only memory is that he walked to the village from the mountain s outside it , which Garvin remarks is very far away , over 200 selton s . Garvin sees that Gia only hid behind a wooden wheel and again makes her leave for school . She is not afraid of Data . Garvin points to the box Data is carrying , asking what it is . Data is not sure , and hands him the box , the weight of which surprises Garvin . Garvin asks what the writings on it mean , and Data immediately replies " Radioactive " , though he cannot say what the word means , and suggests that it is his name . Garvin opens the box in the hopes of finding some clues as to Data ' s identity , but finds only several hunks of silver metal , one of which he holds in his bare hands and examines closely . It is obviously harmful , but neither of them know it . Act Two . On the " Enterprise " , Troi asks Commander Riker in his quarters if she is allowed to take the Bridge Officer ' s Test . Riker wonders why , and is told that she has considered it off and on for over two years , but was motivated by her class reunion , as well as being in charge of the bridge when the " Enterprise " - D struck a quantum filament two years before . Riker says she has his full support , though he will be involved in evaluating her . She is allowed to take the test and does so at the holodeck . Garvin and his daughter take care of Data because of his amnesia . Because they do not know his name , they call him Jayden , after initially having suggested that his name might be " Radioactive " since it was written on the case . Talur , a scientist and doctor , takes a look at Data and proclaims that he is not ill despite the amnesia , and that his pale appearance is because he is an Ice - man , a humanoid native to the mountains outside the village . Data is dressed in Garvin ' s old clothes and taken to the village ' s blacksmith , Skoran . Skoran shows interest in the metal fragments Data had collected and offers to buy half of them . There is also an incident at Skoran ' s and an anvil falls on a man ' s leg after the support gives way due to rotting wood . The villagers cannot lift it , but Data does so with ease , shocking everyone . At dinner , Talur posits that Data ' s strength is something he shares with all Icemen from the Vellorian Mountains , that they have to use their strength to fight off the wild beasts that roam the mountains . Data pushes that claim , saying she also said no one has ever seen one of these creatures . Then , Garvin finds himself feeling tired ; Talur tells him to take a walk and get some fresh air to feel better . When he ' s gone , Gia notes that Data didn ' t eat , asking if the food was not to his liking , which Data denies , commenting that he simply didn ' t have an appetite . Gia comments that her father ' s cooking isn ' t as good as her mother ' s , revealing she has died . She tells Data that her father says she went to a place where no one gets hurt or sick , and asks Data if he thinks a place like that truly exists . Data looks out the window towards the stars and states that he is certain it does . Act Three . In engineering on the " Enterprise " , Geordi La Forge and Worf are the senior officer s in Troi ' s test simulation , where the insulation of the antimatter storage pod chambers is breaking down . Troi has to make fast decisions , but fails to stop the inevitable warp core breach . Riker tells her that all parts of the test went well for her , except for that last and most important part of it , resulting in Troi failing the whole test . Troi asks what part she failed , but Riker says he cannot tell her ; not knowing is part of the test . On Barkon IV , Data follows Gia to Talur ' s school . Talur teaches the Barkonian children about the element s : sky , fire , rock , and water . She says that wood is combustible as it contains fire and , when exposed to a flame , the fire within the element comes to life . When the fire is put out , air is released as smoke . Data is not convinced that this philosophy is correct . He voices his opinion that he knows fire is not an element , and that wood is composed of many different chemical compounds of which none is fire . Talur shakes Data ' s words off , telling the children that his amnesia makes his reasoning unreliable . After Talur and the other students leave , Gia asks Data if he thinks Talur is correct . Data responds that , despite his amnesia , he is convinced that fire is not an element . Just then , they overhear Garvin arguing with Skoran about the price of the metal that changed hands . Skoran is trying to cheapen the deal , blaming Garvin ' s memory . Suddenly , Garvin begins to feel weak and ill , and has to go home . Talur examines him , but does not know how to handle Garvin ' s symptoms , involving hair loss and third - degree burns all over his body . She gives Gia some herbs , and hopes that they will help Garvin to recover . Data is not satisfied with the treatment Talur suggested , so he starts to investigate Garvin ' s illness more closely . He and Gia go to the market to get supplies to make equipment for his investigation , and there are confronted by Skoran and several others . They blame Data for bringing a sickness to the village , leading Data to realize that Garvin ' s sickness has spread . The townsfolk angrily tell Data to leave the village as he and Gia leave the market quickly . Act Four . Data constructs the equipment he needs , including a five - hundred power magnifying glass and a Geiger counter . He studies samples from both Garvin and Gia , who also has started to show symptoms of radiation sickness . Talur comes with suggestions , that maybe Data is the one to have brought the sickness to the village , but it is only after Data has examined a pendant of Gia ' s more closely that he comes up with the cause for the villagers ' sudden illness . The pendant was made by Skoran from the radioactive metal , and a large piece of the metal is the pendant itself . This also explains why the blacksmith has fallen ill as well . On board the " Enterprise " , Troi is intensely studying the ship ' s technical specifications when Riker enters her quarters . He tells her that she has failed the Bridge Officer ' s Test three times , and that she cannot take it again . She protests and says that she will take it as many times as she has to in order to pass it . She tells him there ' s more to being a bridge officer than studying technical manuals . Riker tells her that she shall not take the test again , that she does not possess the qualities expected from an officer on the bridge . He also says that no matter how much he likes her , his first duty is toward the ship . His last words before his exit make Troi think , and she rushes to the holodeck . After having entered the holodeck , Troi starts the test ' s simulation again . She is in engineering , and the antimatter is about to leak out of its container . She asks La Forge if he can repair the damaged parts from inside a crawl way . The Worf hologram explains that La Forge will not survive the radiation within , but Troi , well aware of this , orders the holographic La Forge to repair the damage anyway . As an anguished Troi watches him enter the crawl way , Riker , having known she would not give up so easily , enters and congratulates her on passing the test . She immediately deduces that the point of the test was to see if she could order someone to their death , which Riker confirms . Having known this was part of being in command , but having still hesitated when the time came , Troi admits that he may have been right about her being ill - suited for the job — to which Riker counters that she passed with flying colors ; she had tried " every " possible solution she could think of , and when nothing else worked , she made the painful but necessary decision required to save the ship and has therefore earned her promotion to Commander . On Barkon IV , Data places the metal before the indicator of radioactivity , and discovers that the metal is the cause of the sickness . The indicator consists of a wooden frame and a linen cloth . The cloth has been treated with a liquid Data took from a lamp in Garvin ' s house . When exposed to a candle , the cloth illuminates , and when the metal is present , the cloth is illuminated by green dots scattered over the surface . This tells Data that the metal emits invisible particles , which however can be blocked by the box he brought to the village . He tells Talur to collect all of the metal fragments in the box , while he tries to find a cure . Skoran enters the house later , together with another villager . They attack Data and tear off a piece of skin from his head , exposing his internal circuits and flashing lights . The two villagers become scared and ask him what he is , but Data cannot answer the question due to his amnesia . The villagers retreat , scared , and Data is left in a confused state . Act Five . Data has come up with a cure to the radiation sickness . He gives it to Gia , telling her that it worked on her father ' s cellular samples and that her father is recovering . Data says that he has to give it to the entire village , but that they never will trust him due to his exposed android nature . Gia offers to help , but is told that she will not be trusted either . As the village ' s well is the only water source , since the nearest river is two days away , Data decides to pour the cure into it . At night , Data exits Garvin ' s house and reaches the well . As he is about to pour the cure into the water , the villagers appear . They say that it was Data who made them sick , that he brought the plague to their village . Data pours the cure into the water , but is then stabbed in the back by Skoran with a long pole . The blacksmith is shocked with electricity and Data collapses onto the ground , the pole going through his torso . Sometime later , Gia stands before a tombstone with Barkonian letters . Cosmetically altered to appear Barkonian and dressed up in the local style of clothes , Crusher and Riker approach her , asking her if she has seen a friend of theirs , pale with yellow eyes . Gia nods and speaks about Jayden in past tense . Crusher wonders why , and is told that Data is dead , and that the tombstone is his . Gia says that she did not know his name , so they called him Jayden , and wonders what his real name was . Gia also says that Data was killed because he was different and the villagers were scared of him , despite his efforts to cure them of the sickness the strange metal fragments caused . Riker wonders where the fragments are and is told that they are buried in the woods . After Gia has left , Riker suggests that Data can be beamed up from his resting place directly onto the ship , together with the metal fragments . In the " Enterprise " s sickbay , Data is repaired and put on - line again . Captain Picard asks him if he remembers what happened , and Data says that he was recovering the information from the probe when he was shocked by it . He suggests that it overloaded his positronic net and that , as a result , he has no memory from that moment on . He says , though , that his clothes suggest that he had been through quite an adventure . Troi also tells Data that she will be his superior officer from that moment forward , as she was promoted during Data ' s absence . Memorable quotes . " " You know , this is a much better way of communicating for you . It ' s far less confusing than the way you normally speak . " " " " Did you come here for something in particular , or just general Riker - bashing ? " " " " Congratulations , you just destroyed the " Enterprise " . " " " " Mr . Radioactive ? " " " " Stay out of this , iceman ! " " " " The word " radioactive " may be a warning about the dangerous nature of the metal . " " " " What . . . what are you ? ! " " " " I do not know . " " " " We must find him and stop him before he kills us all . " " " " I don ' t . . . not Jayden . He wouldn ' t try to hurt us . " " " " Skoran said you ' re some kind of . . . creature . " " " " I do not know what I am . . . but I am " not " like you . " " " " Jayden . . . why are you wearing that hood ? " " " " I do not wish to frighten you . " " " " Where is your mother ? " " " " She died about a year ago . Father said she went to a beautiful place , where everything is peaceful and everyone loves each other and no one ever gets sick . Do you think there ' s really a place like that ? " " " " Yes . I do . " " " " Tell me one thing – " is " there a solution ? Or is this simply a test of my ability to handle a no - win situation ? " " " " There is a solution . . . " " " " Then give me time to find it ! " " " " I " can ' t – " as much as I care about you , my first duty is to the ship . I can not let any bridge officer serve who ' s not qualified – I ' m sorry . " " " " My first duty is . . . to the ship " . . . the ship ! " " " Congratulations , you passed . " " " " That ' s what this was all about , wasn ' t it – to see if I ' d order someone to their death ? " " " " That ' s right . . . " " " " I " knew " that was part of being in command , and I thought I ' d prepared for it – but when the moment came , I hesitated . . . Maybe you were right , maybe I ' m not cut out for this . . . " " " " You did " exactly " what you had to do . You considered all your options , you tried " every " alternative , and then you made the hard choice . " " " " It ' s a trick ! " " " " No . It is empirical data . " " " " What ' s the last thing you remember ? " " " " I was attempting to download the sensor logs from the probe ' s on - board computer . There was a power surge . . . I believe the surge overloaded my positronic matrix . After that , I have no memory until this moment . . . " ( seeing himself still in Barkonian clothing ) . . . " but it appears , I had an interesting time . " " " " Well . . . if you ' ll excuse me , um . . . I have the bridge this watch . " " " " Counselor , have you been promoted in my absence ? " " " " That ' s right . Which means from now on you can call me " sir . " " " " " Yes , sir . " " Links and references . References . 2362 ; 2368 ; achromatic objective lens ; anvil ; antimatter containment unit ; antimatter storage deck ; arithmetic ; authorization code ; auxiliary control ; Barkon IV ; Barkonian ; blacksmith ; bridge officer ; Bridge Officer ' s Test ; bridge operations ; broth ; butter ; cheese ; chief medical officer ; class reunion ; commander ; deep space probe ; demon ; diplomatic law ; dorak ; EM power inverter ; empirical data ; exposure ; Federation ; fever ; fire ; first contact procedure ; forge ; headache ; herb ; ice - man ; " imzadi " ; indigestion ; Jayden ; Jefferies tube ; jewelry ; lesion ; lever ; ; magnifying glass ; malnutrition ; meat ; memory loss ; microscope ; milling ; monster ; neodyne relay ; neuroelectrical system ; night shift ; no - win scenario ; ODN conduit ; palpitation ; phase inducer ; plasma conduit ; plasma vent ; positronic matrix ; positronic net ; quantum filament ; radiation ; radiation poisoning ; rank ; red alert ; rock ; scientific method ; selton ; sir ; sky ; spelling ; spirit ; Starbase 231 ; subprocessor relay ; Taranko colony ; technical manual ; tempering ; town magistrate ; town square ; transducer matrix ; trombone : Vellorian Mountains ; village elder ; warp - plasma shaft ; water ; well ; winter ; wood