Blink of an Eye ( episode ) Over time and generations , a world tries to uncover the mystery of a strange object in the sky . Summary . Teaser . The approaches a planet rotating 58 times per minute and , while investigating , the ship enters a gravimetric gradient pulling it into a geosynchronous orbit in which the crew becomes trapped . On the planet , a native is then seen preparing an altar . Just then , an earthquake occurs , and the native sees a new star in the sky , which is " Voyager " . Act One . The civilization , who had been worshiping a deity called Tahal , is confused at the situation . Another of the natives comes to interpret that there is a new deity wishing to be worshiped , orders a new altar to be made for it , and promises allegiance to the new one , calling it Ground Shaker . The tachyon core of the planet has created a differential in space - time , meaning that time passes much more quickly on the planet than in the rest of space . Within " moments " of " Voyager " s arrival and entrapment many years have passed on the surface . The initial entry into orbit coincides with an earthquake interpreted by the inhabitants as an act of a new deity , the " Voyager " ship appearing as a new bright star in the sky . Chakotay asks B ' Elanna Torres to reconfigure a class 5 probe to take pictures every ten milliseconds , and to take surveys of the planet to help try to get " Voyager " out of orbit . Chakotay goes on to say that this could be the best anthropological find ever ; it is one thing to dig and find the history , but to watch the civilization develop before your eyes is another thing entirely . After Torres tells Chakotay that it could take a few hours to reconfigure the probe , he says that they might miss the rise and fall of a civilization . Torres reassures him that they ' ll just have to watch the next one . As time passes , the planet ' s inhabitants quickly change to a pre - medieval level of technology . An old teacher climbs a hill to one of his former students who is now a protector . He believes the star is from another civilization like theirs , and the Ground Shaker their protector , like himself . He intends to send a letter via hot air balloon , and has the teacher write a note for him , asking him to stop shaking the ground . Act Two . Torres and Chakotay are fascinated as they observe scans from the probe indicating that the civilization has entered an industrial age , creating roads and more fortified buildings than normal for a civilization in that stage . Furthermore , they can tell the frequency of the earthquakes . The probe , however , soon decays and disintegrates in the atmosphere , as it ' s operating in the space - time of the planet , equivalent to over 200 years . Chakotay surmises that the civilization is advanced enough that it should be observing " Voyager " . On the planet , an astronomical observatory exists . A scientist there is able to observe " Voyager " through its telescope and is trying to contact it through radio transmissions , however , it is not responding , to both him and his tired assistant ' s dismay . They are trying one last time before calling it a day when the assistant suggests a personal message in addition to mathematical sequences and constants . In astrometrics , Seven of Nine detects the transmission and Chakotay recognizes they need to slow down the frequency to interpret it . Soon , they have a message from the planet . He explains the culture and mythology of the planet ' s people . In a senior staff briefing , the crew listens to the message . For centuries the society lives with the constant ground - shaking effect brought about by " Voyager " and its effects on the natural poles and rotation of the planet . Cautious about first contact with a pre - warp civilization and aware of the accelerated aging causing by the time differential , Captain Janeway employs The Doctor to beam to the planet on an undercover mission to gather data in an effort to find a way for " Voyager " to escape orbit . As Janeway and Torres prepare to beam him back , the signal is lost . Act Three . By the time The Doctor is successfully located and beamed back on board , three years have passed on the planet . Overjoyed to see them , he explains that " Voyager " has been a catalyst for invention and that a space race is in progress to make contact . " Voyager " is also used as a catalyst for religion , music , art , and even children ' s toys . He tells the captain that his roommate , with whom he shared an apartment , even composed an aria about " Voyager " . He said the apartment was destroyed by a rival state ' s cannon shells when they started a war with the one he was in . The Doctor goes on to explain that the war was finished in six months when a new treaty was signed . He also informs Janeway that he has committed to memory the last three hundred years of geological data from the planet . Using The Doctor ' s data , the crew attempts an escape , but after only fifty meter s of ascent , seismic activity increases and the exercise is aborted . In the meantime , a space capsule from the planet ' s surface reaches " Voyager " and its two - person crew find the crew in what appears to be some form of stasis ; the time differential causes them to observe only microseconds passing on board the ship while they experience several minutes . When they reach the bridge , they witness Neelix in the middle of pouring Janeway some coffee and realize it is not stasis they are witnessing , but a time differential . Right after , they enter " Voyager " s time - frame and collapse , to the surprise of the bridge crew . Janeway immediately calls for medical emergency . Act Four . In sickbay , The Doctor was able to save the pilot , Gotana - Retz , while the commander , Terrina , does not survive the transition . He notes that he is as good as Retz ' family doctor and is as familiar with Retz ' s physiology as hers due to the time he spent on the planet . Retz is revived in sickbay in the company of Janeway and The Doctor . After hearing the news of his fallen comrade , he informs Janeway that he is beginning to understand the time differential between his world and Voyager . Janeway explains the difference in time to Retz in greater detail , to which he asks , " " So you really haven ' t been watching us for centuries ? " " Captain Janeway replies " " Actually , we just got here . And we ' re hoping you can help us find a way to leave . " " Later , Gotana - Retz meets with Janeway in her ready room . Retz realizes that everyone he knew when he left his planet is long dead . He tells the Captain Janeway that although he is an accomplished pilot , he lacks the courage of his associates and they made a mistake choosing him . Janeway disagrees , telling Retz that for someone whose life has been turned upside down , he is handling it well . Retz reminisces and tells Janeway that when he was a child lying in his crib , his first memory was not of his mother ' s face , but of the sky ship toy hanging above , and now he is the only one of his kind to know its true name : " Voyager " . It is obvious that he , much like the rest of his species , has always fantasized about what the sky ship is really like . Retz then wonders if " Voyager " will be the last thing he will ever see . The captain informs him that she has no intention of keeping him aboard , but warns that the longer he stays , the harder it could become for him to return home . Retz takes a moment to think about this and begins to sing in nostalgic reflection , " " Star of the night , star of the day , come to take my tears away . Make my life always bright . " " As he trails off , he tells Janeway that it ' s a child ' s prayer to " Voyager " . The captain hopes that Retz is not too disappointed in discovering that " Voyager " is merely a starship . Retz replies , " " How often does your very first dream come true ? " " And although every minute spent aboard means that months and even years pass on the surface he agrees to help the crew interpret The Doctor ' s data and find a way to break orbit . As Seven scans the surface she detects warp experimentation . Soon after , " Voyager " is being attacked by antimatter torpedo es and a tricobalt device . Act Five . The weapons are soon causing major damage to " Voyager " s shields , so Janeway convinces Retz to go back to the planet to convince them they ' re not a threat . He agrees , and returns to his planet with " Voyager " s specifications , with Janeway hoping he can convince his planet ' s rulers to stop the attacks and help them leave orbit . Before the pilot leaves , The Doctor tells him that , when he was living on the planet , he had a son who was probably long dead by this point . He asks the pilot to contact the members of his son ' s family to tell them about him . The pilot asks how The Doctor could have a son , as he is a hologram , The Doctor just answers " " it ' s a long story . " " After more attacks and a planet ' s year since the pilot returned , two ships appear next to " Voyager " and deploy a tractor beam to pull it clear . Using a temporal compensator invented on his planet , Gotana - Retz returns one last time to say goodbye before the sky ship leaves forever . Finally , Gotana - Retz , now an old man , sits on a hillside and gazes wistfully into the sky as the star that is " Voyager " winks out and vanishes . The hillside now overlooks a vast technological metropolis . Memorable quotes . " " How does this sound ? ' The Weird Planet Where Time Moved Very Fast and So Did the People Who Lived There , ' by Naomi Wildman . . . " " " " " Your title is verbose . I suggest you try to condense it . " " " " The Weird Planet " " " " < nowiki > Better , but it lacks precision . ' The Weird Planet Displaced in Time ' < / nowiki > " " " " Perfect ! " " " " That ' s one planet that never showed up on the multiple choice exam . " " " " If there ' s an intelligent species down there , we ' ll be able to track their development , not just for days or weeks , but for centuries . " " " " We might miss the rise and fall of a civilization . " " " " So , we ' ll watch the next one . " " " " What should I say ? " " " " Oh . . . glad to meet you . Where are you from ? Please stop shaking our planet . " " " " What if they ' re big purple blobs of protoplasm ? " " " " Then you ' ll be the best - looking blob on the planet . " " " " Captain , isn ' t it time we returned fire ? " " " " We ' ve done enough damage to these people over the last thousand years . " " " " You ' re the best pilot we have , that ' s why you ' re on this mission . This is no different than flying your favorite . . . " " " " Oh , it ' s different ! " " " " I can ' t argue with that . " " " " Jason ? An unusual name . " " " " Yes . He was my . . . son . " " " " But you ' re a hologram . " " " " lt ' s a long story . " " " " If you ' ve ever wanted to report more than the weather , now is your chance . Tell them to clear Central Lake of all traffic : " Orbital 1 " is coming in for a landing . " " Links and references . References . almanac ; altar ; ammonium ; amplitude modulation ; anthropology ; antimatter torpedo ; aria ; astronomy ; Belief system ; cannon ; carbon monoxide ; carrier wave ; Central Protectorate ; class V planetary probe ; concert hall ; confinement beam ; crib ; Darek ; docking port ; doppler component ; display buffer ; dwarf star ; elemental constant ; epidermal ; exile ; fire - fruit ; god ; gravimetric gradient ; " Ground Shaker " / " Sky Ship " ; hemisphere ; holomatrix ; hot - air balloon ; internal combustion ; iron ; Jefferies tube ; Kelemane ' s planet ; Kelemane ' s planet sport ; Kelemane ' s species ; ; kilometer ; Klingon ; Lakeside ; Launch Control / Tactical Command Center ; logic ; Mareeza ; mathematics ; medical journal ; meter ; Milky Way Galaxy ; ; multiple - choice exam ; mythology ; numerical sequence ; observatory ; opera house ; orbit ; " Orbital 1 " ; pre - warp ; Prime Directive ; prime number ; Protector ; protoplasm ; quasar ; radio transmission ; Red River ; religion ; Sky Ship Friends ; Station 004 ; synchronous orbit ; tachyon ; Tactical Air Command ; Tahal ; ; technology ; telescope ; temporal compensator ; temporal field ; Torelius ; tricobalt device ; ultra - high frequency ; weather coordinator ; " " External link .