Interface ( episode ) La Forge uses a virtual reality probe to explore a wrecked ship inside a gas giant , but he ' s preoccupied by the disappearance of his mother ' s ship . Summary . Teaser . Geordi La Forge , Data , and Beverly Crusher are testing an interface in a science lab on the which allows La Forge to use the VISOR circuitry in his brain , along with an interface suit , to control a probe by remote control . Via this connection , La Forge can use the probe to virtually enter areas that would be too dangerous for actual crew members to enter , and the probe transmits information directly into La Forge ' s cerebral cortex , providing the sensation that he is actually there . Act One . As the crew prepare to use the probe to investigate the wreckage of the , which became trapped in the atmosphere of Marijne VII , Captain Jean - Luc Picard learns from Admiral Marcus Holt of Deep Space 3 that the under the command of Geordi La Forge ' s mother , Silva La Forge , was lost during a routine courier run operating out of the station . A massive search mounted by the and the failed to discover any trace of the ship , and all hands were presumed lost . Picard interrupts the probe preparations in the science lab to tell La Forge . Act Two . Despite the apparent loss of his mother , La Forge intends to continue with the mission . He views the last message he received from his mother in his quarters when Commander Riker enters to try to talk La Forge out of performing the task , but La Forge insists he continue , as the interface has been specifically configured to his VISOR ' s inputs and there ' s little time if there are survivors on the " Raman " . After a brief period of adjustment in activating the interface , he travels through a corridor on the " Raman " , finding someone dead . He continues on and finds the rest of them in a magnetic storage bay . There is no one left alive on the ship . Suddenly , a fire breaks out and Crusher orders a disconnection . However , they see that La Forge ' s hands are severely burned . Act Three . It turns out the heat sensory inputs overloaded through a possible feedback loop . In sickbay , Crusher treats the wounds . Picard wants to get the information they were collecting , but not at the risk of La Forge ' s health . La Forge says they can modify the interface , so they can try again in a couple of hours once the entry point on the " Raman " can be created . In the meantime , La Forge learns from his father that a memorial service has already been planned for the crew on , as most of the " Hera " s personnel were native to the planet . La Forge ' s father wants to plan a private memorial along with his daughter and La Forge ' s sister Ariana , which seems premature to La Forge . Later , he " is just passing by " Data ' s quarters and stops in . Data is contemplating the emptiness of his computer screen in the style of the Doosodarian s . He initially asks if La Forge wants to talk about his mother , and he says no , however , La Forge gives in and asks if it ' s crazy to think she ' s still alive . Data factually replies he ' s not crazy , but statistics show this situation rarely come out well . La Forge is back in the interface , but , immediately , he inexplicably sees his mother on the " Raman " . Act Four . She states that she and the crew of the " Hera " are actually trapped on the planet ' s surface . Continued use of the probe soon exposes La Forge to unhealthy levels of neural stimulation , forcing his disconnection from the interface . La Forge becomes convinced that his mother was on the " Raman " , and wants to use the probe to communicate with his mother . Dr . Crusher and Picard refuse to allow him to use the interface suit again , and attempt to explain that it is highly improbable that he actually communicated with his mother who was last seen over three hundred light year s away . Picard orders him to talk to Counselor Troi while Data comes up with an alternate plan to salvage the " Raman " . There , La Forge admits to Troi that he regretted not responding to her last message , but he does not accept the treatment he ' s being given , as there ' s no evidence of her death , and he believes the image he saw on the ship . He abruptly leaves the room , since he has a theory of his own . In the observation lounge , Data presents his plan to bring the " Raman " out of orbit . La Forge agrees , but presents his theory about the " Hera " : in his mother ' s last message to him , she stated that the " Hera " s engineer was experimenting with the ship ' s warp drive . He believes the trionic initiator s , which are known to cause strange side effects on the warp coil s , had created a subspace funnel . He believes that this funnel sent the " Hera " from its last recorded position three hundred light years away all the way to Marijne VII . Data says that this theory is possible but upon being pressed by Captain Picard further , he reluctantly admits that it is almost impossible . Picard makes the decision on Data ' s plan over La Forge ' s objections . La Forge takes matters into his own hands and prepares the interface in the science lab . Data had predicted this behavior and arrives . Despite Data ' s insistence of having La Forge stop what he is doing or be confined to quarters , La Forge doesn ' t back down . Data then decides to ultimately help his friend . Act Five . With Data ' s assistance , La Forge returns to the " Raman " and again encounters the being who appears to be his mother . Prodding Data to continue increasing the sensory input at and beyond tolerance , La Forge takes the ship further down into lower orbit . However , when he eventually doesn ' t find the " Hera " , he eventually learns that the being is actually a subspace creature native to the gas giant ' s lower atmosphere who became trapped when the " Raman " entered , then left the atmosphere . These creatures inadvertently killed the crew of the " Raman " in their attempt to communicate , but were able to successfully read La Forge ' s mind via his interface with the probe . La Forge takes the ship closer to the planet so that she and others like her trapped on the ship can return home – almost at the cost of his life . By this time , Picard and Dr . Crusher had arrived . The creatures leave the ship , but the shields are about to fail soon . By simulating sensory information from his previous attempts in the suit , she and Data were able to disconnect La Forge from the interface safely . Afterwards , Picard sternly rebukes La Forge in his ready room for going against his orders and informs him that the incident is going to be noted on his service file , before offering his condolences that he never found his mother . La Forge responds that the entity appearing to be his mother seemed real , and that in a way his encounter with the creatures allowed him to say goodbye . Memorable quotes . " " Geordi . . . your mother ' s gone . " " " " Yeah , well , you can think that if you want , but until I see some hard evidence I ' m not going to give up hope . " " " " I decided I missed my favorite son . " " " " Your " only " son , Ma . " " " " Do you need to be comforted ? " " " " Mom , is it really you ? " " " " Yes , Geordi . It ' s Mom . " " " " Geordi , we ' re safe now . Goodbye . " " " " You disobeyed my direct order . You put yourself in grave danger . I am not happy . " " " " Geordi ? I ' m very sorry that you didn ' t find your mother . " " " " Thank you , sir . You know , it ' s funny . When I was down there , it was " so " real . I felt like I had a chance to say goodbye . " " Links and references . References . 47 ; ammonia ; Breen ; cerebral cortex ; chlorine ; confined to quarters ; cough ; counselor ' s office ; courier ; Deep Space 3 ; Doosodarian s ; ; Ferengi ; fire ; gas giant ; God ; ; interface probe ; interface suit ; inverse warp cascade ; Jefferies tube ; ; lacuna ; low stationary orbit ; magnetic storage bay ; Marijne VII ; Marijne VII subspace being ; methane ; " Midsummer Night ' s Dream , A " ; nervous system ; neural shock ; neural synapse ; ; palio ; permanent record ; poetry ; potassium chloride ; psychosomatic response , ; ; ; roller coaster ; Starfleet ; Starfleet Academy ; Starfleet Command ; subspace deformation ; subspace energy ; subspace funnel ; tractor beam ; trionic initiator ; troposphere ; VISOR ; Vulcan ; Vulcan ( planet ) ; warp bubble ; warp coil ; warp field ; warp funnel