The Loss ( episode ) Counselor Troi loses her empathic powers ; the " Enterprise " is slowly pulled off course by an unknown force existing in two - dimensional form into a deadly cosmic string . Summary . Teaser . The is heading to T ' lli Beta , and won ' t arrive for several days . On the bridge , Lieutenant Worf temporarily sees strange readings . After being unable to pinpoint the source of the strange patterns ( initially thought to be sensor " ghosts " ) , Data suddenly detects an aggregate field of plane - polarized objects , but disappears . Picard orders a full stop to confirm the readings . Meanwhile , Counselor Deanna Troi is conducting a session with Ensign Janet Brooks , who recently lost her husband Marc and has buried herself in work to avoid grieving . A typical session , she handles it like she always does . As Troi sees Brooks out of her office , however , Troi comes under an intense pain . Reaching her quarters , it becomes increasingly painful and she loses consciousness . Act One . Picard decides to resume their course . Ensign Allenby tries to reengage warp drive but the ship lurches due to a collapse of the warp field . Allenby then finds the ship is being dragged along at one - tenth impulse with no way to break free . Picard orders the ship moving in several different directions and speeds , with no success . La Forge in engineering reports the engines are working normally , so it must be an external effect . During this initial encounter , several crew members , including Deanna Troi , report potent headaches . Troi calls Dr . Crusher in the midst of this , but she can ' t get to her right away . However , Troi says she feels a bit better once she arrives , but then suddenly gets a strange feeling . Her examination of Troi is cut short as Captain Picard calls a staff meeting to discuss the ship ' s predicament . With Worf , La Forge and Data all giving uncertain answers , Picard asks Troi in the observation lounge if she senses intelligence . She responds no , not because she is certain the beings lack intelligence but because she has lost her empath ic abilities and cannot get readings on the beings or any of the " Enterprise " s crew members . Act Two . Dr . Crusher conducts a more thorough scan of Troi , including an inner nuncial series , but says all she can find are unresponsive neural cells . It ' s brain damage , but she eliminates a concussion as the cause . She ' ll need to review Betazoid physiology . Troi insists she may be fine tomorrow , and that the Betazoid brain heals itself naturally , but Crusher cautions that she is only half - Betazoid , and there is potential cause for concern . She advises Troi to seek a therapist , and Troi reluctantly agrees to consider it , but prefers to return to duty for now . Concerned , Riker goes to Troi in her office later and attempts to talk . Troi is irritated , and lectures about how people treat a person differently when a disability occurs . Riker leaves her alone . Troi continues her session with Ensign Brooks . Feeling like a new woman , Brooks is happy to tell Troi about getting over her husband ' s death overnight . Troi is frank about losing her empathic sense , but suggests that one night of crying can ' t be the end resolution for months of denial . Brooks says she is wrong , and Troi drops it . Data presents the findings from La Forge ' s and his study in engineering earlier . They found a large number of particles that only exist in two dimensions , explaining why the " Enterprise " , explaining why the crew was unable to consistently see the beings when they first approached . Due to the non - naturally occurring motion , Data suggests they are alive . They are able to polarize the graviton field , catching the ship in its wake . La Forge suggests a controlled overload of the warp engine to jump directly to warp 6 , but it ' s not obvious it will work in the presence of a two - dimensional universe . While first exhibiting signs of denial and believing that the loss of her abilities is only temporary , Troi becomes increasingly angry at her situation , including launching into a tirade after Crusher admits she cannot tell if the brain damage revealed by medical scans is a temporary phenomenon . Act Three . Deciding that she can no longer effectively serve as ship ' s counselor without her empathic abilities , Troi tenders her resignation to Picard . She later confesses to Riker that she feels trapped in a two - dimensional world of her own , as everyone around her is like flat holodeck projections because she cannot share their emotions ; although concerned for his Imzadi , Riker points out that her empathy gave her a sense of comfort and control that let her " aristocratic " Betazoid half dominate and effectively shunt her Human half to the side . Riker leaves to the bridge to observe the direct warp jump . Allenby reports no change in their location . After a shaky few seconds , Picard orders to discontinue the engines . La Forge reports that the energy needed for warp was absorbed into the graviton wake instead , creating a torsional wave that rebounded to the ship . Data , though , notices a temporary change in the movement of the two - dimensional beings . Picard tells him to follow up on it , hoping it ' s an attempt at communication . Troi winds up alone in Ten Forward , when Guinan approaches and reveals that she will be applying to the position of ship ' s counselor , given the job ' s similarities with her bartending duties . Troi , relying on her Human intuition , instinctively knows that Guinan really had no interest in the job and realizes that she could still serve the ship with only her Human abilities . Meanwhile , Data discovers that the two - dimensional beings are dragging the ship towards a cosmic string , a one - dimensional version of a black hole , spelling certain destruction for the " Enterprise " . Act Four . Faced with greater urgency , Worf fires photon torpedo es in front of and into the two - dimensional beings , but the weapons are ineffective . The beings still move toward the string , and their path is not altered . Left with few alternatives , Picard calls Troi to his ready room to work with Data on efforts to communicate with the beings . Meanwhile , Troi is packing up her things when Brooks comes in for her next appointment . Saying she has resigned as counselor and meant to cancel , as she is no longer effective , Brooks disagrees and says she has discovered Troi was right to question her believing in a newfound self . She was still avoiding the grief , and admitted that Troi perfectly read her true emotions about the death of her husband Marc even without her empathic abilities . Troi comes to Picard ' s ready room . Picard asks her to communicate with Data , saying that , despite what ' s happened to her , she is still the most qualified person to communicate . There ' s little time and they need her . Act Five . Still uncertain of how she can contribute , Troi realizes that the " Enterprise " needs to think two - dimensionally and speculates that the two - dimensional beings are moving toward the cosmic string by instinct . With this in mind , Data proposes imitating the vibrations of the cosmic string , which might cause enough of a response in the beings to allow the ship to break free . Moments before the ship is drawn into the string , La Forge and Data successfully mimic the vibrations of the string , which causes the beings to pause , disabling the graviton field , which gives the " Enterprise " the opportunity to move away from the string . Now on the bridge as the " Enterprise " accelerates away from the two - dimensional beings , Troi experiences another apparent headache ; this one , however , heralds the return of her empathic abilities , reflected in her revelation that the beings were intentionally heading " home " toward the cosmic string , which wouldn ' t cause any harm to them . She realizes that the high number of two - dimensional beings sharing the emotion of happiness at approaching their home had briefly overwhelmed her empathic abilities . Now fully restored , Troi informs Guinan in Ten Forward that the position of ship ' s counselor has been filled and resumes her post . Memorable quotes . " " Death is a normal part of life . Maybe some of us are better at facing that than others . " " " " Therapists are always the worst patients . Except for doctors , of course . " " " " They say when one loses a sense , the other senses become stronger to compensate . Uh , a blind man develops better hearing . . . " " " " With all due respect captain , you don ' t know what you ' re talking about . " " " " A resumption of our present course at warp six will place us in the T ' lli Beta system in six days , thirteen hours forty - seven minutes . " " " " What , no seconds ? " " " " I have discovered , sir , a certain level of impatience when I calculate a lengthy time interval to the nearest second . However , if you wish . . . " " " " No , no . Minutes is fine . " " " " Do you want to talk about it ? " " " " No . " " " " Good . I get so tired of people coming in with their problems . " " " " You have no idea ! No idea what this is like ! How can you know what it ' s like to lose something you never had ? ! " " " " I don ' t claim to . " " " " And yet you ' re telling me I ' m supposed to get used to it ! " " " " If our positions were reversed , what would you tell me ? " " " " If our positions were reversed , I wouldn ' t have been in here treating skinned elbows while you were lying passed out on your office floor ! I ' d have been there a lot sooner , perhaps in time to prevent this from ever happening ! ! " " " " Is this how you handle all of your personnel problems ? " " " " Sure . You ' d be surprised how far a hug goes with Geordi , or Worf . " " " " With all due respect , captain , you don ' t know what you ' re talking about . That is a common belief with no scientific basis , no doubt created by normal people who felt uncomfortable around the disabled . I am disabled , and I ' m telling you I cannot perform my duties . " " " " You were right though : there is something to be learned when you are not in control of every situation . " " " " Welcome to the Human race . " " " " By the way , the next time you call me aristocratic . . . " " " " We have to get two dimensional . " " " " Pardon me ? " " " " Now , is that counselor position still open aboard ship ? " " " " It ' s been taken . " " " " I just thought I ' d ask . Better hours . " " Links and references . References . 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