Future Imperfect ( episode ) After an away mission to Alpha Onias III interrupts Commander Riker ' s birthday party , the first officer suddenly awakens in sick - bay sixteen years in the future where he is the captain of the " Enterprise " and about to negotiate a peace treaty with the Romulan Star Empire . Summary . Teaser . Commander Riker is having his birthday party in Ten Forward . In front of everyone , he plays the trombone and fails to hit a high note . Everyone laughs as he wishes for music lessons when blowing out the candles . Captain Picard and Lieutenant commander Data are leaving to join the party on the bridge when Ensign detects some unusual subspace frequencies . They are coming from the M - Class but uninhabited planet Alpha Onias III near the Romulan Neutral Zone . Picard mentions a rumor about a secret Romulan base in the sector , and sends Riker to lead an away team and investigate whether the Romulan s are involved . Riker , Worf and La Forge beam down to the surface . The mission is aborted after the surface unexpectedly fills with methane gas . The away team falls unconscious and transporter chief Hubbell tries to have them beamed up . Riker awakens in sickbay to nurse Alyssa Ogawa . Doctor Beverly Crusher comes over , happy that Riker remembers her and asks him what else he remembers , calling him " captain . " In the mirror , Riker sees himself aged . Act One . Crusher gets some water to go through the explanation she clearly expected with Riker and tries to calm him . He explains the last thing he remembers was being on Alpha Onias III . She states that was sixteen years ago . She explains to him that he is recovering from Altarian encephalitis he picked up on that away mission all those years ago . This virus has caused a form of amnesia , destroying all his memories from the moment he became infected to the present . Riker tries to piece together what has happened in the sixteen years since that away mission . He is now captain of the " Enterprise " , a position he has held for the past nine years . Crusher suggests they try associational therapy to see if he can gain back those memories . Crusher leads Riker to his quarters , but he changes the destination to the bridge , saying that will be most likely to jog his memory . On the way , he notices a significant delay in the computer . Crusher explains that La Forge is running a diagnostic due to a malfunctioning processing attenuator . As he enters the bridge , he is surprised to see La Forge no longer needs his VISOR , Data is now his first officer with Worf in Data ' s old position , and his helm officer is a Ferengi ensign . Captain Riker temporarily places the " Enterprise " on red alert when a Romulan warbird decloak s . He is quickly informed by Data that the warbird was expected . The " Enterprise " opens communications , and Admiral Picard appears on screen with Deanna Troi to say hello , and they beam over . It turns out that the admiral and a Romulan ambassador have arrived to sign a peace treaty between the Romulan Empire and the Federation . Captain Riker has been a key figure in these negotiations after having saved some Romulans in a prior encounter . After the briefing , Troi goes with Riker to his quarters to talk more . He still does not remember anything . Suddenly , he hears a trombone in the next room . It is his son . Act Two . Riker ' s son , whose name is Jean - Luc after the admiral , starts talking about school , however , it ' s clear he doesn ' t remember him . Troi asks to talk to Riker alone . She explains she didn ' t tell Riker since shocking him might produce a better effect . He asks who the mother is . Troi calls her Min , an " excellent captain ' s wife and ship ' s counselor , " and says she died two years prior . After Troi leaves , Riker has a brief exchange with Jean - Luc on the trombone , and then tries to call up his service record , but the computer stalls again . Later , Riker goes with Troi and Picard to the transporter room to meet the ambassador and give him a tour of the ship . However , it is revealed that the ambassador is none other than Tomalak . Riker is surprised as the last time the ambassador encountered the " Enterprise " at Nelvana III , he stated he would take the " Enterprise " s hull back to Romulus as a trophy . Troi privately tells him that was a long time ago . When they reach the bridge , Riker asks to speak to Troi and Picard privately to express concerns with trusting Tomalak given all the previous events . Breaking the conversation , Crusher informs Riker that Jean - Luc is hurt in sickbay . Act Three . Jean - Luc was playing Parrises squares and broke his arm . Riker initially scolds him , but Crusher sets him straight . Riker starts taking to a fatherly role and tells Jean - Luc that he is the most important to him , and explains that his father wasn ' t there for him . He commits to building new memories with Jean - Luc , mentioning his Curtis Creek program . Back in his quarters , he calls up family records . However , he recognizes his wife in the video as really Minuet , a holodeck character who appeared to Riker three years prior . Thus , he immediately realizes that he is not in the future , and gets angry . La Forge calls him to the bridge . On the bridge , Riker interrogates Geordi La Forge on why he shut down the warp engines . La Forge responds he has discovered that the antimatter containment fields are fluctuating and he will have the warp core back online . Riker doesn ' t believe him , and questions him on the constant computer delay and the supposed diagnostic which he doesn ' t believe would " For 30 hours ? It would have never taken you four ( hours ) " . Next , he demands Worf to remember the time he received one of his battle scars in which Worf is unable to answer . Finally , he confronts his first officer , who cannot complete computations as fast as the real Data would . In fact , Riker catches Data saying " can ' t " instead of " cannot , " immediately calling him out for using a contraction when the real Data would not . When Picard arrives on the bridge and interrupts the Captain ' s tirade , Riker tells the Admiral to " shut up " . He then informs everyone that he has discovered the lie and demands to know the truth . Tomalak walks away from the others and agrees . The " Enterprise " and all itsrom people disappear as holograms . He appears now to be in a Romulan holodeck . Act Four . It seems that this has all been a holodeck fantasy put on by the Romulans for their own purposes in getting information from Riker . Tomalak asks how he figured it out , and he explains the time lag is due to the neural scanners . Riker informs him that Minuet is really a holodeck character . Tomalak is surprised , since , in Riker ' s mind , she is quite real . Riker is skeptical of the situation , asking why can ' t the neural scanners figure out the location of outpost 23 . Tomalak says they are calibrated for Romulan minds . Riker is unconvinced , given the incredible detail of the entire program , but Tomalak ends the conversation . He takes Riker to a cell while explaining La Forge and Worf were allowed to beam back to the " Enterprise " . In the cell , he sees the child whose image was used for Riker ' s son . He has apparently been abused in some way . Tomalak leaves him to " give careful thought " to his situation . The child identifies himself as Ethan , the son of researchers on Miridian VI which is close to the Neutral Zone . Riker is surprised that the " Enterprise " didn ' t know about this research station , but promises to help him escape . Suddenly , Tomalak comes in with a guard to question Riker again . Riker doesn ' t answer , but Ethan charges at the guard . Riker subdues them both and fires their disrupter at a few other Romulans on the way to Ethan ' s secret hiding place which Ethan had found earlier . Act Five . The chasing Romulans use their scanners to find them , but leave . Ethan says he heard them earlier say that the rock masks the scanners . Ethan takes Riker even further into the hiding place and shows him he has mapped the area and knows how many guards there are in different areas . Riker says the best plan is to try to send a message , but Ethan immediately says they are protected , requiring Tomalak ' s voice . However , Ethan slipped up by referring to him as " Ambassador Tomalak " when Tomalak in reality was only a Romulan captain . Riker realizes that he ' s still in a fantasy and orders the boy to end it . The Romulan base disappears , leaving Riker with Ethan in a large cave - like structure . At the same time , the " Enterprise " finds his signal and successfully contacts him . After confirming that La Forge and Worf are all right , Riker turns to the boy . He reveals that he was stranded here by his parents intentionally to save his life , and given technology up to the level of a sophisticated holodeck . He has lured Riker into this because of his desperate loneliness . Riker sympathizes and offers to take him back to the " Enterprise " . The boy then shows his true identity as an insectoid child named " Barash " . Just before the two transport up to the ship , Riker says , " " To me you will always be Jean - Luc . " " Memorable quotes . " " So , what did you wish for , Will ? " " " " Music lessons . " " " " Number One ? Happy birthday . " " " " Dr . Crusher ? He ' s awake . " " " " Beverly . " " " " Will , you remember me . That ' s good . What else do you remember , Captain ? " " " " We ' re on the edge of the Neutral Zone , at impulse power and you ' re not concerned ? ! " " " " I ' ll have the engines back online in no time . " " " " Like you tracked down that faulty processing accelerator . . . " " " " I ' m running a level 1 diagnostic ! " " " " For thirty hours ? That would never take you more than four . You ' re incapable of that level of incompetence , Mr . La Forge ! " " " " What ' s the matter , Data ? What happened to those millions of calculations per second ? " " " " Pardon sir , I am experiencing sub - space interference which limits my abilities , I can ' t operate as quickly as I . . . " " ( interrupting ) " " what did you say ? " " " " I said I cannot operate as . . . " " ( interrupting ) " " NO , That ' s not what you said . You said I CAN ' T . You used a contraction didn ' t you ? " " " " Sir , I can explain if you would just give me a moment " " " " No , you can ' t , don ' t even try ! " " " " Captain , I think it would be best if we discussed this . . . " " " " Shut up ! " " " " I beg your pardon ? " " " " I said shut up ! As in close your mouth and stop talking . " " " " Will , I sense how upset you are . You ' re angry and impatient . " " " " Deanna , back off . * pause * Well , would anyone else like to speak up ? Or shall we end this charade ? " " " " My name is Barash . " " " " To me , you ' ll always be Jean - Luc . " " Links and references . References . Alpha Onias III ; Alpha Onias system ; Altarian encephalitis ; Apollo spacecraft ; associational therapy ; Bailey ( hologram ) ; Barash ' s mother ; Barash ' s species ; Barash ' s species homeworld ; birthday ; birthday cake ; birthday party ; candle ; Celsius ; class M ; coma ; compression attenuator ; contraction ; Crusher , Beverly ( hologram ) ; Curtis Creek ; Curtis Creek program ; Data ( hologram ) ; ; " " ; delirium ; DNA ; Earth Outpost Station ; Ethan ' s parents ; Federation ; Ferengi ; fever ; fictional Starfleet uniform ; Fornax Disaster ; Gates ( hologram ) ; Greenburg ; gym ; holodeck ; home video ; hydrogen sulfide ; Forge , Geordi ( hologram ) ; Invaders of Barash ' s homeworld ; ; methane ; Miridian VI ; ; Nelvana III ; Number one ; Ogawa , Alyssa ( hologram ) ; Onias sector ; Outpost 23 ; Pacelli , Alfonse ( hologram ) ; Parrises squares ; Picard , Jean - Luc ( hologram ) ; ramp ; red alert ; retrovirus ; ; Romulan ; Romulan cruiser ; Romulan Neutral Zone ; Starfleet Command ; storeroom ; ; subspace frequency ; subspace interference ; sulfur dioxide ; " Three Blind Mice " ; Tomalak ( hologram ) ; tricorder ; Troi , Deanna ( hologram ) ; trombone ; turbolift ; VISOR ; Worf ( hologram )