Interphase Spatial interphase , also known as interspace or an interphasic rift , was a phenomenon in which the fabric of space began to break up , allowing an overlap of parallel universe s on different dimension al planes . The rift itself also contained a completely empty realm , devoid of life , between the dimensional planes . Overview . In the mirror universe , 2155 , the Tholian s detonated a tricobalt warhead inside the gravity well of a dead star , creating an interphasic rift to the year 2268 of the prime universe . Unwilling to explore the rift themselves due to the dangers , the Tholians transmitted a distress call into the rift in an attempt to lure a ship from the other side . The distress call was detected by the which subsequently became trapped in the rift . As a result of being exposed to interphase , the crew began to suffer from a distortion of the brain tissue in their central nervous system s , which manifested itself as violent and paranoid behavior which ultimately led the crew to murder one another . Three weeks later , the arrived to investigate the " Defiant " s disappearance , and found it as it was fading out of the universe . Leading an away team to investigate , Captain Kirk ultimately became trapped aboard the " Defiant " as the " Enterprise " crew attempted to beam him back as the " Defiant " disappeared . Awaiting the next period of interphase , at which time they would be able to retrieve the captain , the " Enterprise " was forced to do battle with a . As the " Enterprise " fired phaser s at the Tholians , the energy discharge caused the " Defiant " to be completely ejected from the rift into the mirror universe , but as Captain Kirk had been caught in the " Enterprise " s transporter beam , he was spared the shock of transition and remained trapped in the empty void of the rift between the dimensional planes in his own universe . As the Tholians began construction of a tractor field , the " Enterprise " crew began to succumb to the same deteriorating mental effects of interphase as did the crew of the " Defiant " . Eventually , Doctor McCoy was able to counter the effects with a derivative of the Klingon nerve gas theragen . In the meantime , Commander Spock was able to successfully determine the next period of interphase , at which point they beamed Captain Kirk aboard and utilized full power to enter the rift . This had the effect of throwing the " Enterprise " free of the Tholians , allowing them to escape . Kirk described the rift he had entered as " a whole universe to myself , with nobody else [ in it ] . " ( ; ) Interphase as cloak . In 2368 , the Romulan s were experimenting with an interphase generator , a device combining a molecular phase inverter and a cloaking device to create an interphase cloak . Cloaked objects would , however , leave behind chroniton fields when they interacted with normal matter ; high - intensity anyon emissions eliminated the chronitons and de - phased and de - cloaked the interphase effect . The experiment failed due to a forced chamber explosion in the test ship ' s warp core resonator coil . Radiation was , however , successfully used to cloak individual crewmen . The Klingons had also experimented with a similar interphase generator cloaking technology in the early 2360s , but abandoned their research because of several accidents . ( ) In 2373 , the Voth used a form of interphase as a cloaking technology on themselves and their ships . This allowed Forra Gegen and Veer to covertly observe the and her crew . The technology was more advanced than anything Tuvok had seen before . When cloaked , the Voth only appeared as localized spatial fluctuations with a modulating phase variance that could be detected with sensor s . When the two Voth were isolated from their subspace frequency by analyzing the scans of the spatial phase variance , it was possible to disrupt their cloaking devices with a hand phaser set for a dispersion frequency of 1 . 85 gigahertz . ( )