False Profits ( episode ) " Voyager " discovers a pair of Ferengi who control the economy of a primitive world ; nearby is an unstable wormhole that leads back home . Summary . Teaser . The crew of find evidence of a wormhole having recently appeared and disappeared in a nearby solar system , and reason that , since it has been there at least twice , the other end could be fixed . Events take a mysterious turn when Tuvok detects evidence that a nearby primitive planet , whose civilization is still in the Bronze Age , contains an energy discharge consistent with those that come from Alpha Quadrant replicator s . Act One . Commander Chakotay and Lieutenant jg Tom Paris are sent to the planet to investigate . When they get to the town , they are soon accosted by people asking them to either buy or sell things . These people also reference " seers " and the " Sages " as they speak to them . Chakotay detects the energy signature coming from a nearby temple of sorts , but a merchant tells them they need to wear a set of ' ears ' ( a necklace with ear - shaped charms ) and manages to get them to sell their shoes . Meanwhile , on " Voyager " , Ensign Kim and Lieutenant Torres confirm to Captain Janeway that the wormhole does , in fact , lead to the Alpha Quadrant , and they are working on a way to attract the entrance back to their position . Chakotay and Paris continue to explore the town , now wearing ' ears ' around their neck . Suddenly , a commotion begins when it is announced that the two Great Sages are about to emerge . Chakotay and Paris are shocked to recognize them : the two Sages are Ferengi ! The Sages lead the townspeople in chanting " " Greed is Eternal " " , which is one of the Rules of Acquisition . Act Two . The Ferengi then accept pleas from the crowd . It is soon clear that the Ferengi use the replicator they possess to rule over the townspeople , keeping themselves in obscene luxury , while everyone else is destitute and struggling to even feed themselves or keep a roof over their heads . The two Ferengi listen as a man , a sandal maker , begs for food and medicine to help him care for his wife ' s ill mother and young children . Instead of helping , the Ferengi rebuke him for not putting them to work and provide him with a copy of the written Rules of Acquisition , forcing him to pay for it . After that , the two swindlers decide to retire for the day . Chakotay and Paris report this to the rest of the " Voyager " crew , explaining how the Ferengi have exploited the local myth , which foretold that Great Sages were prophesied to come from the sky in a ball of fire , using their advanced technology . Tuvok has solved the mystery of how the Ferengi arrived in the Delta Quadrant : several years earlier , while the was hosting negotiations for the rights to the Barzan wormhole ( which collapsed when it was discovered that one of the points wasn ' t fixed ) the two Ferengi , Arridor and , who were minor functionaries , became trapped in the Delta Quadrant during an ill - thought out attempt to secure it for themselves . Janeway decides that they ' re not going to just leave the innocent Takarian s to be used and exploited any longer , feeling that the Federation is partially responsible for what has happened , since they were the ones to have hosted the negotiations in the first place . The plan is to take Arridor and Kol back to the Alpha Quadrant and turn them over to the Ferengi authorities . As Arridor and Kol celebrate another good day ' s lack of work , they are beamed up by " Voyager " , and Captain Janeway explains that they ' re trying to attract the Barzan Wormhole back , but even if they don ' t succeed the Ferengi are leaving the Takarians for good . Arridor and Kol , obviously unhappy at being snatched from their opulence , explain that they could easily actually be the Great Sages . . . their burning ship provided the ball of fire , their replicator provides ' miracles ' , and for the Takarians , if their gods were to just vanish , it could lead to disaster for the people . Realizing that just removing the Ferengi could completely destroy the Takarian ' s religious beliefs , Janeway orders them beamed back down . Act Three . The crew discuss the situation , agreeing they can ' t kidnap the two Ferengi but can ' t leave them behind either . Janeway suggests thinking of a way to get them to leave voluntarily ; not only would the Takarians be prepared for it but they might also think it ' s part of the legend about the sages . Begging the question of how to get the Ferengi to voluntarily leave behind a planet which they ' ve completely monopolized , the Voyager officers come to the conclusion that since a Ferengi is driven by profit , they need to make it profitable for them to leave , or at least less profitable to stay . Neelix then attempts to imitate the Grand Proxy , representative of the Grand Nagus , telling Arridor and Kol that Zek has recalled them . They are shocked , but their servant , Kafar , is pleased . The Ferengi are told the Grand Nagus wants to appropriate their holdings and replace them on the planet . The two try to argue they are themselves required for their endeavor , and they will give the Nagus a cut of their profits , but the Proxy has his orders . He orders them to give a speech in which they intend to leave , so as to not upset the local population . Arridor is determined to use the Rules and all its commentary to find a loophole , but to no avail . Arridor decides to invoke the ' unwritten rule ' – if no rules apply , make one up . In this case , he wants to kill the messenger . Outside , Neelix is giving out part of the profits to the local people , then comes back in to approve their speech . Shockingly , he finds that the two now are trying to kill him with sword s . Neelix immediately drops his cover and admits he is a Talaxian on " Voyager " . The Ferengi let him go instead , then announce happily that they ' ve won again . Act Four . Neelix leaves the temple and informs Chakotay and Paris of his failure . However , his Ferengi disguise would still pay off , as he was believed to be a " holy one " , or " Greater Sage " by the Takarian bard they met earlier . He recites the songs to them , hoping for payment , however , Chakotay suspects this could help them . Once Chakotay paid off the bard , they realize there ' s a verse about the Sages ' departure from the planet . The bard excitedly points to Neelix and knows who he is , and this gives them a plan . Later , the three get ready and Neelix steps up to the temple entrance . Posing as the Holy Pilgrim , Neelix drew on myth in the Song of the Sages about their departure . The Ferengi hear the commotion and come out , though , fortunately , they don ' t know the whole song . Arridor tries to convince the people Neelix is a false Pilgrim , but then " Voyager " utilizes three photon burst s to further fulfill the part about the appearance of three new stars in the sky . Arridor then appeals to Kafar , however , Kafar has had it with how we ' s been treated and starts ringing the gong , as per the song . The plan goes awry , soon , though , when Kafar also recites the part when the Sages will go " riding on the wings of fire " . The Takarians attempt to burn Arridor , Kol , and Neelix at the stake . Unfortunately , the Ferengi ' s dampening field is preventing them from being able to beam out . Act Five . Chakotay and Paris hurriedly ask where the field is being generated from , and the successfully find it and destroy it . They are all promptly beamed out , and Kafar announces they ' ve left , fulfilling the Takarian prophecies about the Sages returning to the skies . " Voyager " is now ready to pass through the wormhole and return in the Alpha Quadrant , but Arridor and Kol manage to overwhelm two security guards and to escape from the ship with their shuttle . " Voyager " tries to beam them back , but they emit a graviton impulse in order to avoid transport . As the two Ferengi are pulled into the wormhole , " Voyager " tries to pursue them , but soon discovers that the graviton impulse has further destabilized the wormhole , knocking it off its axis , so that it begins jumping erratically on both ends . This not only allows the Ferengi to flee , but also leaves " Voyager " and its crew stranded in the Delta Quadrant . Memorable quotes . " " My sandal shop is failing . I can no longer feed my family . " " " " Same old song . " " " " My wife and her mother , my five children , the baby . " " " " That ' s seven employees – eight , if you count the infant . How can your shop be failing ? " " " " You ' re not paying them , are you ? " " " " What " are " we going to do ? " " " " What a Ferengi always does in a situation this grave . " " " " Panic ? " " " " No , you idiot ! He goes to the Rules of Acquisition . Unabridged and fully annotated with all 47 commentaries , all 900 major and minor judgments , all 10 , 000 considered opinions . There ' s a rule for " every " conceivable situation . " " " " Grand proxy , avoidance of . . . Mm - mm . " " " " Grand proxy , censure by . . . " " " " Grand proxy , encounters with . . . " " " " < nowiki > See . . . ' hopeless situation . ' < / nowiki > " " " " I told you there was no rule . " " " " Then it ' s time to invoke the unwritten rule . " " " " The unwritten rule ? " " " " When no appropriate rule applies . . . make one up . " " " " That ' s a very good rule . " " " " Who ' s to say we aren ' t their sages , captain ? " " " " Don ' t be ridiculous . " " " " You mean . . . we really are the sages ? " " " " We won . We won ! " " " " No , my friend . Not exactly . To be precise . . . we won again . " " " " But how do we get two Ferengi to just walk away from a monopoly on an entire economy ? " " " " What motivates a Ferengi ? " " " " Profit . " " " " Then we must find a way to make it more profitable for them to leave . " " " " Or less profitable to stay . " " " " How do we do that ? " " " " We have to out - Ferengi . . . the Ferengi . " " " " And may I say gentlemen , you both have very fine shoes . " " " " Excuse me ? " " " " Well , the sages say you can tell a great deal about a man from his shoes , and I can tell from your shoes , you ' re men of refinement . " " " " Arridor ? " " " " What is it now ? " " " " We had " seven years " of pure profit . " " ( laughing ) " " We did , didn ' t we ? " " Links and references . References . 47 ; Alpha Quadrant ; annular confinement beam ; Barzan wormhole ; binding ; Bronze Age ; child labor ; class M ; concussion ; containment field ; dampening field ; Delta Quadrant ; discount ; Divine Treasury ; Ear ( fetish ) ; Eastern lights ; ; epic poem ; eyepatch ; Federation ; Ferengi ; Fetish ; Rules of Acquisition ; Ferengi shuttle ; frang ; Ga ' nah Province ; Grand Nagus ; Grand Nagus ' staff ; Grand Proxy ; gravimetric shift ; gravitational eddy ; graviton ; Great Sages ; Greater Sage ; Holy icon ; Holy Pilgrim ; impulse burst ; ionic disruption field ; lawsuit ; lobe rub ; logic ; messenger ; metallurgical analysis ; Milky Way Galaxy ; mining ; mother - in - law ; ointment ; phase profile ; photon burst ; plasma ; pre - warp ; quadruple lobe rub ; reconnaissance probe ; replicator ; sandal maker ; seer ; solar flare ; " Song of the Sages " ; subspace axis ; subspace carrier wave ; subspace frequency ; subspace instability ; ; Takarian ; Talaxian ; verteron ; wormhole ; Zek