Mortal Coil ( episode ) After being killed on an away mission and then revived by Seven ' s Borg nanoprobes , Neelix finds himself in a deep existential and spiritual crisis , questioning his faith and the meaning of his existence . Summary . Teaser . Neelix is very busy in the mess hall , offering Ensign Harry Kim strong coffee to finish his ops report and Seven of Nine some nutritional supplements made with Talaxian spice s , which she complains are pungent . Commander Chakotay offers Neelix the opportunity to survey a class 1 nebula containing protomatter , which Neelix is very intrigued about . After putting Naomi Wildman to bed with vivid and entertaining stories of the Great Forest , where Talaxians go to when they die , Neelix joins the away team of Chakotay and Thomas Paris . While in the nebula , the protomatter transport goes awry and a beam of energy strikes Neelix , killing him . Act One . Paris continues to examine Neelix , and , disappointed , decides that some of the usual measures of keeping someone alive won ' t work . He ' s suffered too much brain damage . Chakotay must call him back to the chair so they can pilot out of the nebula . The Doctor pronounces Neelix dead , shocking and saddening the crew . Janeway vows that he will be mourned according to Talaxian customs , but Seven suddenly enters the room , bluntly asking if his neural pathways are intact . With everyone confused , she proposes a revival procedure using nanoprobe s from her blood stream . After discussing it with The Doctor and Captain Janeway , the Captain orders The Doctor to proceed , even though Neelix has been dead for 18 hour s . Seven quickly modifies and administers the nanoprobes , they proceed , and , after some touch and go , Neelix is revived . He has no recollection of what happened and where he has been and wonders why he is in sickbay . Act Two . Neelix is incredulous at his revival , and is taken aback by the Borg nanoprobes in his system . Janeway informs him the protomatter mission was a failure , and despite his protests , orders him to take some time off . As Janeway walks Neelix to his quarters , he insists on continuing preparations for his planned celebration of the Talaxian festival of Prixin , and she relents . In his quarters , Neelix takes a moment to himself , then kneels before the tree statuette from the Great Forest and wonders why his sister Alixia wasn ' t there when he was dead . Meanwhile , Tuvok and Seven discuss perceptions of mortality in the hallway . Seven sees death as a natural biological function , though she also muses that , since her memories are still part of the Borg Collective , part of her will always exist . Chakotay , Tom Paris , and B ' Elanna Torres work on investigating the accident , and Chakotay and Neelix proceed to the holodeck to simulate the events . Neelix observes his own death in the simulation . Freezing the program , he reveals to Chakotay he saw no afterlife , that is , the Great Forest , as he was taught and believed his whole life . Chakotay tries to console him , telling him he was probably pulled back before any of that could happen , but Neelix feels that he should have experienced something in the eighteen hours he was dead . He didn ' t , and now he feels that his beliefs were myths . Act Three . Tuvok addresses a bustling celebration in the mess hall with the traditional salutation . Paris and the party toast Neelix , who is still distressed but puts up a brave front , telling Chakotay he ' s fine now . Janeway entreats Seven to join the festivities by chiming into a discussion . Hearing Ensign Samantha Wildman discussing children with The Doctor , Seven informs them that Borg children develop in maturation chambers . Somewhat taken aback , Wildman excuses herself and talks with Neelix telling him that Naomi has missed him for the last few days . Desperate to leave the party , Neelix decides to pay her a visit and tuck her into bed . Naomi again insists on a tale of the Great Forest as she dreamed about it the previous night , and Neelix tells her of its beauty but does do dishearteningly now that he no longer believes in it . Later , Seven meets Neelix in the mess hall for a blood scan . Neelix blows up at Seven , insisting he hadn ' t asked to be revived , but almost immediately his body begins to necrotize again , and Seven escorts him to sickbay . Act Four . The Doctor reports that Neelix ' s body was rejecting the nanoprobes , and reports more extensive medical care will be needed . Neelix requests Chakotay aid him in a vision quest . Neelix prepares a medicine bundle , and meets Chakotay in his quarters . Neelix ' s vision shows him in the mess hall , trying to get to his dead sister , who keeps running away from him . He chases her down the hall and into the Great Forest , where she talks with him . She tells him it is a lie , created from a fear of death . His sister mocks him , and dies as in the metreon cascade . The Forest goes dark , and Neelix finds himself dead on a slab . Before he awakens , all the characters in the vision insist on the pointlessness of his existence , and that he knows what he has to do . Act Five . Neelix goes to astrometrics and long - windedly apologizes to Seven , implying he may be leaving . Later , Chakotay finds Neelix in the mess hall cleaning , and reminds Neelix that vision quests are not a one - time event , and are subject to interpretation . Neelix closes up the mess hall . Neelix then attempts to beam himself into the nebula . Harry Kim stops his initial attempt , but Neelix holds up a tricorder and states he has an unblockable site - to - site transport rigged up . Chakotay faces Neelix in the transporter room . Neelix reveals what really happened in his Vision Quest , and Chakotay tries to convince him the vision is open to interpretation and shouldn ' t be taken at face value . Neelix tells Chakotay that when he lost his family in the war , all that kept him going was knowing that he would see them again in the afterlife and now he ' s lost that hope he doesn ' t know how he can go on . Chakotay tells Neelix that there ' s no way of knowing what awaits him after death , and that the crew of " Voyager " are his family now . Ensign Wildman then coms Neelix , and while Neelix tries to ignore it Chakotay tells him that his life is trying to call him back . He tells him that even Seven of Nine understands how important he is to the crew , and that he isn ' t only valued for his skills , talents , or knowledge , but for the way his compassion and kindness makes the crew aboard " Voyager " seem connected like a family and that is something worth living for . Ensign Wildman then arrives ( having used the computer to locate him ) unaware of what Neelix was about to do , asking him to tuck in Naomi again . Neelix finally accepts that he still has things worth living for and hands Chakotay the tricorder . Neelix then tucks in Naomi , who sleeps with happy dreams of the Great Forest . Memorable quotes . " " How ' s Neelix ? " " " " He ' s dead . " " " " Dead ? " " " " For 18 hours , 49 minutes 13 seconds . Congratulations , Mr . Neelix . You ' ve just set a new world record . " " " " You mean I lost consciousness , I was in a coma ? " " " " No , you were dead . " " " I ' m stunned , I ' m amazed , I ' m grateful , thank you , Doctor . " " " " You can thank Seven of Nine , the procedure was her idea . " " " " Yours ? " " " " The Borg assimilated the technique from species 149 , I simply modified it , but you are welcome . " " " " Duty calls . " " " " Neelix , you ' ve just returned from the dead . Go easy on yourself . " " " " I didn ' t ask to be brought back ! " " " " You were dead at the time . " " " " You will be assimilated . " " " " No time for that now , maybe later . " " " " As long as I don ' t start assimilating the crew or sprouting Borg implants , I guess I can live with it . " " " " Suffice it to say the list is extensive . " " " " Having fun ? " " " " No . " " " " Children assimilated by the Borg are placed in maturation chamber s for seventeen cycles . " " " " Interesting . . . well , if you ' ll excuse me , I need to go talk to Neelix . " " " " In these . . . maturation chambers , the development of conversational skills is , I suppose , a low priority ? " " " " You are a peculiar creature , Neelix . " " " " Thanks . " " " " Potent stuff ! " " " " Even our Borg understands how important you are on this ship . " " Links and references . References . acetylcholine ; akoonah ; alveoli ; AMU ; assimilation ; autonomic bypass ; bedside manner ; blood viscosity ; Borg Collective ; bread ; cadaver ; class 1 nebula ; centimeter ; cerebral cortex ; cheese ; coffee ; containment cylinder ; containment field ; cortical stimulator ; curd ; death ; Delta Quadrant ; Dunes of Talmouth ; fermentation ; firenut blend ; fruit compote ; Gand sector ; ; Grid 6920 ; Guiding Tree ; hematological scan ; holodeck ; Kazon ; Kes ; Ktarian ; maturation chamber ; medicine bundle ; microgram ; milk ; mitochondria ; monster ; motor neuron ; nacelle ; nanoprobe ; necrosis ; neuroelectric isopulse ; neurotransmitter ; nutritional supplement ; pattern buffer ; phase variance ; pizza ; postmortem analysis ; Prixin ; protomatter ; root nectar ; Shirk ; shock ; Species 149 ; Species 329 ; suicide ; Talaxian ; Talaxian - Haakonian War ; Talaxian spice ; taste bud ; Thursday ; toast ; tomato ; vision quest ; whey .