The Impossible Box (episode)

Picard and the crew track Soji to the Borg cube in Romulan space, resurfacing haunting memories for Picard. Meanwhile, Narek believes he finally found a way to safely exploit Soji for information.
== Summary ==
=== Teaser ===
On a dark and stormy night, a young Soji Asha walks down the hall, looking for her father. She looks in a lit room to find a laboratory with flowers growing, before the man inside angrily calls her name.
Back aboard the , Soji awakens in bed with Narek, telling him she was having the same dream. He asks her to tell him about it; when she wonders if he's concerned, or just wondering how her mind works, he asks her why it can't be both, wanting to know "every little thing" about her. She remarks that he thought she was an impostor, to which he backtracks and says she was "full of secrets." She remarks on the irony of this coming from a Romulan, and notes the things he keeps from her – like his name, for instance, showing her knowledge of Romulan culture by remarking on how they only shared their "true name" to the one they gave their heart to. Narek instead asks about the dream, wondering if it was a random creation of her brain or based on an actual memory; Soji is not sure. Narek suggests asking her mother about it, as he knows she talks to her every night, much to her surprise. As he leaves, she calls out to him by the name she knows, to which he mischievously reminds her that was not his actual name.
Aboard La Sirena, Agnes Jurati tells Jean-Luc Picard that the injuries that Bruce Maddox had sustained on Freecloud were substantial and that while the medication was enough to keep him stable, his heart "just couldn't take it." Picard can see that Maddox' death has been hard for her, to which she confirms it was harder than she could have ever imagined. She remembers Maddox had told him that Soji was on the Artifact. When Elnor asks about it (apologizing for "in-butting," as he puts it), Picard explains it was an abandoned Borg cube, and when the young warrior asks about Seven of Nine, Picard is emphatic the Borg were nothing like her at all. Jurati also remembers that Maddox said he had sent Soji and Dahj to find out the truth behind the ban on synthetics, wondering why he would send Soji there; Elnor also wonders how they knew she was alive. Picard admits they don't, which is why they have to find out. Elnor is quick to see that Picard is not looking forward to it, and he confirms he is not, as his last visit to a Borg cube was not voluntary. Jurati knows that he had been assimilated, becoming Locutus of Borg, as anything to do with the Borg was required reading in her line of work. She points out that the Borg in that cube were separated from the Collective and under the control of the Romulans, wondering if that changed them. Picard, with a hint of contempt in his voice, snaps that the Borg couldn't change, remarking how they "coolly" assimilate entire worlds, entire systems. "They don't change," he asserts, "they metastasize." After Picard abruptly excuses himself, Elnor tells Jurati that Picard can't see she was also haunted by something she would rather forget, and asks if he was "in-butting" again. "That time, yes," Jurati curtly replies, as she too leaves while Elnor reflects on what she said.
In his holodeck-study, Picard brings up the computer files on the Artifact, any treaty on the subject, and the Borg. As he scrolls through the images, he sees two images of Hugh, both before as he last remembered him and after his de-assimilation… before stopping on an image of himself as Locutus on the Enterprise-D's viewscreen, putting a hand to his face where the implants had once been, still haunted over the events of what happened more than thirty years earlier…
=== Act One ===
Late that evening, Cristóbal Rios kicks a soccer ball around the transporter room, as Jurati comes out of her quarters; he apologizes for waking her, before noticing she has not been sleeping. Jurati asks him why he likes it in space, which she calls cold and empty, and wanting to kill him. He offers her a drink from his flask, remarking on how close she had been with Maddox, and offers to talk about it. She kisses him, remarking she'd never slept with a captain before, before thinking on this "superpower" she has: sensing mistakes while she's making them. She admits she feels hollow, hopeless, lonely… afraid. She kisses him again, as Rios asks if it would help at all. Jurati admits it would help "for a few hours", as she leads him by the hand to his quarters.
Aboard the Artifact, Narek enters his own quarters to find his sister, Narissa, playing with his tan zhekran, telling her to hand it back before she breaks it. He refers to it not as a "toy" as she dismisses it to be, but as a tool to help him think, and remarks he is making progress with Soji. He explains about her recurring dream, wondering why Maddox programmed her to dream. Narissa mockingly asks if she dreams about growing old with him and making "freakish little android babies", and asks if he dreams of that too. To her disgust, she can see he has fallen in love with "it", and tells him she is taking over the operation. Narek explains that every piece of synthetic design serves a purpose, so why give her dreams? Narissa believes that it's simply a malfunction, but Narek believes it is intentional. Soji's neural pathways are auto-heuristic, always seeking and forming more efficient connections, which has somehow given her an unconscious mind; when she dreams, she's reconciling the two views of herself, Human and synthetic, "bits of truth" coming to the surface. If he can get her to tell him about her dreams, he believes he can reach her memory engrams without triggering her self-defense programming, as is what happened with Dahj on Earth, and that she could lead them to their homeworld. Narissa asks if Narek intends to keep sharing her bed, "fidgeting" with her like he does his "stupid box". Narek chides her for her impatience, saying that the key to opening a tan zhekran as he demonstrates with his, is to understand what keeps it closed, to move each piece ever so slightly, until the box reveals its contents. Narek holds the box up but it does not do anything initially. Narissa asks if she is supposed to be impressed with it, but just after she says this, the box opens, revealing a small statue rising up from the center.
Meanwhile, La Sirena is about to leave the former Romulan Neutral Zone and enter Romulan space, which is technically a breach of galactic treaty, but Rios sardonically says he has no problem with that, since Picard surely has a plan to get aboard a Romulan-controlled Borg cube crawling with Tal Shiar without authorization – or dying. When Jurati suggests using her scientific credentials, Picard tells her it won't work: If the Romulans don't recognize him the moment he steps off the ship, the Borg will. The way to do this, he explains, is the Qowat Milat way: being perfectly open. He explains that the Borg Reclamation Project maintains its independence by treaty, and if he can get Federation diplomatic credentials, the Romulans would be forced to let him meet with the project's director or risk a diplomatic incident. When Rios asks why the Federation would do this for him, Picard replies that they're not doing it for him.
A visibly-intoxicated Raffi Musiker, a bottle in her hand, enters the bridge, demanding a bit of space so she can "sweet-talk" the Federation, which Rios believes to be a bad idea. Inhaling a bit of snakeleaf, Musiker contacts her friend Emmy, a captain at Starfleet Command, and explains she needs diplomatic credentials for Picard to visit the Artifact. Emmy comments she wishes she could help, but the Artifact was restricted to scientists only, plus the "Romulan angle" makes it tricky. Musiker understands, but comments on how awkward it would be when they arrive at the Artifact in approximately three hours. Emmy worriedly tells her to turn around, as going into Romulan space without permission is an act of war. Musiker knows this, and also knows that even if the Federation denied it, Picard is "so Federation, his face is probably still on the damn brochures", which is why she was giving the warning, and asking to "do it proper", with an official letter of credence. After a moment, Emmy agrees, "twenty-four hours, in and out", before telling Musiker as a friend not to ever call her again before she cuts their communication. Picard and the crew applaud her, before Rios helps her to her quarters while she takes a swig of the bottle she is holding.
=== Act Two ===
Aboard the Artifact, Soji tells Narek she had the dream again, and meant to ask her mother about it, but fell asleep while talking to her. Narek asks if it happened often, to which Soji admits she is not sure. Narek, visibly uneasy, explains all communications from Romulan facilities are monitored, and all anomalies are flagged. He explains each call to her mother lasts exactly seventy seconds, which Soji believes to be impossible.
Back on La Sirena, as Rios helps Musiker into her quarters, she asks how long he's known her, and he says it has been "a while". She explains about her son Gabriel Hwang, who is grown up, married, and expecting a daughter, before lamenting she will never know her grandchild. Rios, showing a more tender side, tucks Musiker into bed, remarking that "no one gets all of it right" all of the time, before taking the bottle out of her quarters and returning to the bridge.
Soji contacts her mother, talking about her dream, and asks if her father was there; "Mom" says he is in his lab and asked not to be disturbed. Soji believes something is wrong with her, which "Mom" believes to be overwork, suggesting she should take it easy and lie down. Soji feels a sudden wave of exhaustion, and in an attempt to fight it, grabs a tool from her desk and stabs herself in the hand with it. The attempt is ineffective as the tool only bounces off her skin and her "Mom" once more tells her to lay down. Unable to fight it, Soji slips into unconsciousness. Shortly afterward, her call ends.
La Sirena approaches the Artifact, as Rios reads the letter certifying Picard as a Federation special envoy to the Borg Reclamation Project, limited only to meeting with the director, and only for Picard himself. As he sees the cube himself, Picard experiences flashbacks of his assimilation. Rios notes that they are not cleared to land, and that Picard is restricted to specific beam-in coordinates. Elnor is adamant that he should go with Picard, that his pledge overrules diplomatic credentials. While not looking forward to the trip at all, Picard insists that either he goes alone, or not at all. He tells Rios he will keep communications open, and makes clear to Elnor that he is to stay aboard the ship, no matter what. From his pocket he holds Dahj's pendant in his hand, as he looks back up at the Artifact.
Soji awakens, and suddenly begins rummaging through her personal belongings – pictures, diaries, childhood drawings, even the pendant she wears around her neck. Her scanner indicates that the probable age of all of these items is only thirty-seven months. After she finishes scanning the multiple objects in her room, she hurls her scanner against the wall in frustration and starts to cry.
Picard beams aboard the Artifact, finding himself alone, and overwhelmed by his memories of the Collective as he walks about, coming across a bridged, cavernous chasm typical of Borg design. As he suddenly begins to feel dizzy, he is grabbed by two Borg. He thrashes against them, demanding they release him, before a voice explains they don't want him to fall. Picard looks up to clearly see that it's not two drones grabbing him but two deassimilated former Borg hanging on to his upper arms, keeping him from falling into the chasm. He then looks ahead to see Hugh, who says he did not believe until now that Picard was there, and welcomes him to the Borg Reclamation Project; while he doesn't know why Picard is there, Hugh offers any help he can. Picard is relieved to see a "friendly face," and they warmly hug.
=== Act Three ===
As he accompanies Hugh through the corridors, a sound of Borg technology in the distance slightly spooks Picard. Hugh understands Picard's reluctance coming back to a Borg cube, the last place any former Borg ever wants to see. When Picard asks how he can stand it, Hugh explains that the project needed a director, and as a Federation citizen, he could leave at any time, unlike the other "xBs" (as they call themselves) on the cube. He remarks that a new name could be the first step to a new identity, having learned that lesson aboard the Enterprise long ago. Hugh emphasizes that it's the Artifact, not a Borg cube, and that Picard is not Locutus anymore and hasn't been for a long time. Picard explains he is looking for Soji; Hugh has a hunch that she is in danger, given his experience with her, that Picard had come all that way to find her, and that there was a "dashing young Romulan spy" who had arrived two weeks before "pretending not to ask questions about her." Picard asks Hugh to take him to her.
In her quarters, Soji explains to Narek that none of her possessions are more than three years old and she can't explain it. Narek suggests the possibility of false memories being implanted, someone looking for something on the cube, and concealing it from her. Soji confesses she is scared, and Narek comforts her, suggesting there was a way to help: a Romulan meditation method called Zhal Makh. Soji knows it's taboo for non-Romulans, but Narek believes it is the best way to uncover what was going on.
Hugh guides Picard through the Artifact, showing him where the xBs are brought to recover after the reclamation process. Picard marvels at the idea of undoing assimilation on such a scale, and the fact it was being done by the Romulans. He watches as a former drone, missing an eye, undergoes facial reconstruction with what appears to be a dermal regenerator to heal the surgical marks around the eye socket; the xB is brought to tears, seeing his nearly-restored face in a mirror. Hugh admits that the outcomes are far from ideal, but Picard believes he is doing good there, showing what the Borg are underneath – victims, not monsters. Nonetheless, Hugh explains, xBs remain the most despised people in the galaxy, just as enslaved as before, quietly remarking for Picard's ears only that except this time their queen is a Romulan. Picard sincerely thanks Hugh for showing him this; Hugh knows that no one understands the work better than Picard would, and that he would make an ideal advocate for free Borg. Consulting his computer records, Hugh sees that Soji has called in for today, and takes Picard in to try and find her.
Back on La Sirena, Rios wakes Musiker and offers a cup of coffee. He also remarks that Picard has checked in, revealing Soji is alive, and that Musiker owes him two strips of latinum because she had bet they would find her dead. Musiker wonders why the Tal Shiar kept her alive, given that they know what she would look like, after having killed Dahj and gone after Maddox on Freecloud. She suspects that they need something from her, and that gets her to thinking: "What would the Tal Shiar need from a synth?"
Narek leads Soji through the Artifact, twisting the tan zhekran in his hands, as they approach a meditation chamber. Narek asks a sub-commander if the room was free; the sub-commander replies in Romulan that Zhal Makh was not for "round-ears", to which Narek replies in the same tongue that a sub-commander's rank bars "were not for idiots", and that he risked losing them. As they enter, Narek tells Soji to remove her boots, explaining that he evaded her question on whether he cared for her or not because it was too dangerous outside to show her. In there, he felt safe enough to be "vulnerable", and reveals his true name to be Hrai Yan. He instructs her to begin at the yut makh; Soji is confused, as she thought that meant "closing" rather than "opening". Narek explains that the journey along the path of the Zhal Makh began with the closing of the eyes, "a journey into the center of the mind's most intimate space, where deepest truths were hidden" – her dreams.
=== Act Four ===
Soji explains the dream begins the same way; she hears the rain against the window, calling out for her father. When Narek asks why, she says she was scared, perhaps of the thunder. As she walks the path, Narissa watches through a security camera as he continues to ask questions: How did she feel when he didn't respond? She says she felt lonely, abandoned. She reaches the lu shiar, "lifting the eyes", and Narek asks what she sees out the window. She is unsure, as she never looked that way before. He encourages her to "ground herself in details", and tells her the key to the Zhal Makh is that she was in control of her mind. She says she sees darkness outside, perhaps trees. She turns to the qlam wath, the "unfolding". She enters her father's workshop, seeing him inside, but not what he's working on. She can never see past the orchids, and when she enters, her father calls her name, and she awakens. Through that door, Narek explains, is the truth. He tells her that the goal is Vri Glam, the center. Her unconscious holds the key to the truth, and he encourages her to take the steps.
Hugh and Picard enter Soji's quarters, finding the photos and other items scattered around the room; Picard realizes she is about to discover who she really is, and asks Hugh to find her. Hugh is puzzled when all indications are she is no longer aboard the cube, which should be impossible… unless, Picard points out, someone has concealed her.
Soji continues walking the path, saying she can see the orchids lit by a skylight, which her father cared for like his own children; Narek tells her that her father will shout at her, but tells her to keep moving, no matter what. Her father turns, but she can never see his face; behind the orchids, she can see who she believes to be herself, in pieces "like a doll". On a workbench, a partially assembled adult-sized mannequin of finished wood complete with ball joints is laid out and Soji's detailed features carved into the head. On Narek's instruction to look through the skylight, she can see two red moons, "dark as blood", and surrounded by lightning. In the security room, Narissa congratulates her brother for finding out the truth, and sets out to locate a planet with two red moons and constant electrical storms. Soji is confused as to why she was on a workbench, to which Narek directs her attention to the floor, showing that she had reached the end of the path in the center. He assures her that she doesn't need to worry anymore and kisses her, but then tells her that she was not real, and never was. The increasingly anguished Narek bids her goodbye; while she desperately calls his name, he gives his tan zhekran a final twist, and leaves the room with her locked inside with it, which opens to release a radioactive red cloud. Backing away from the expanding cloud, Soji begins desperately slamming her fists into the floor when she suddenly realizes that it's giving way to her strikes and begins smashing through and pulling up the wood flooring. The sub-commander calls Narek's attention to this and nearly opens the door with the intent to stop her, but Narek warns him of the cloud; as they watch, she finds the metal deck underneath, bends back the panels with her bare hands and opens up a hole. Standing up, she glances briefly up at them before looking down and jumping through it.
Soji suddenly reappears on Hugh's computer screen, showing her between two levels of the cube, and moving very fast; Picard realizes she has been activated and tells Hugh to take him to her immediately. Narek is also in pursuit, identifying Soji's employee number and saying she is hostile, "extremely dangerous". As Picard and Hugh search for her, an xB puzzled at Picard's presence identifies him as "Locutus", just as Soji crashes barefoot through the ceiling and lands in a crouch. Picard identifies himself to her as a friend of her father, and shows her Dahj's necklace, saying he knows what is happening to her. Hugh warns that a large number of Romulans are approaching, and Picard asks him to show them a way out. Soji hesitates to follow someone she just met but acquiesces when Picard begs her to. Aboard La Sirena, Musiker reports that they are in trouble and that Picard is not responding to comms. Hugh guides them through the cube to a dead end, then accesses hidden controls to lower the wall into a medium-sized room, which Picard recognizes as the "queencell"; even though he had never been inside one before, both he and Hugh know of it anyway from their time in the Collective. Hugh reveals a spatial trajector, a device the Borg obtained from the Sikarians in the Delta Quadrant after Picard's time in the Collective, for exclusive use by the Borg Queen in the event of an emergency. Soji suddenly recalls it has a range of forty thousand light years, something she wasn't aware that she knew. Picard contacts Musiker, and tells her to set a course to meet them at Nepenthe. Rios knows its location and wonders how Picard will get there without a ship but Picard just asks that he meet he and Soji there. As Rios turns around, he realizes Elnor is gone.
Elnor beams aboard the Artifact, quickly dispatching three Romulans holding Picard, Hugh, and Soji at gunpoint. Picard reminds him that he told him not to come, then thanks him for doing so. Soji can hear more guards coming. Hugh confirms this, and reports the device is nearly at full power; he tells them to go, and he would keep the Romulans from tracing them. Picard tells Elnor the trajector will take them to a safer place, but Elnor elects to remain behind to cover their escape. Picard protests, saying he would not leave Elnor behind again; while Elnor states he is very glad to hear Picard say that, he knows the Romulans will destroy Soji if he can't get her away. Picard and Soji step through the trajector. Hugh needs only a few minutes to shut the device down and seal the room, and asks if Elnor can hold them back that long. Elnor replies he does not need that much time, and tells Hugh to stay behind him. "Please, my friends, choose to live," Elnor tells the approaching guards, as the door to the queencell shuts.
== Memorable quotes ==
"Romulans love secrets. They think everyone's hiding something."
"Everyone is hiding something. Whether they know it or not."
:- Soji Asha and Narek
"This cube is cut off from the rest of the Collective. They're outcasts, stranded, and under Romulan control. Maybe they've changed."
"Changed? The Borg?! They coolly assimilate entire civilizations, entire systems in a matter of hours! They don't change, they metastasize!"
:- Agnes Jurati and Picard
"He can't see you're haunted by something you'd like to forget… was I in-butting?"
"That time, yes."
:- Elnor and Jurati
"I have a superpower. I can sense mistakes while I'm making them."
:- Agnes Jurati
"The key to opening the tan zhekran is taking the time to understand what's keeping it closed."
:- Narek
"The obvious tension between you makes me uneasy."
:- Elnor
"The Romulans are in a 250-year bad mood."
:- Emmy
"You know Picard. Every part of that guy that's not ego is rampaging id."
:- Raffi Musiker
"If you go out there without permission, it's technically an act of war!"
"I know! I know, and even if you guys deny involvement, the Romulans are never gonna buy it, right? I mean Picard is so Federation, his face is still probably on the damn brochures. Which is why I'm giving you this heads-up. Look, we do this proper. Diplomatic mission. Official letter of credence. I don't want to end up on the wrong side of a disruptor cannon, Emmy. Hey, I mean, I'm still planning on drinking myself to death."
:- Emmy and Musiker
"No one gets all of it right, Raf."
:- Cristóbal Rios
"Of course I'll come with you."
"You heard. Me only."
"The pledge I made to you is stronger than some diplomatic credential."
"You think I relish going alone? It's either alone, or not at all."
"I already hate this place."
:- Elnor and Picard, before Picard beams to the Artifact
"Hugh?"
"I didn't believe it until now. Welcome to the Borg Reclamation Project. I don't know what you're doing here, but I'll help you any way I can."
"Oh, I'll take a friendly face."
:- Picard and Hugh, being reunited with each other
"What you're doing is good, Hugh. There's no need for it to be perfect. After all these years, you're showing what the Borg are underneath. They're victims, not monsters."
"Still, we remain the most hated people in the galaxy. Just as helpless, and enslaved as before. Only now, our queen is a Romulan."
:- Picard and Hugh
"Locutus?"
:- Random xB, calling after a fleeing Picard
"Elnor, I told you to stay on the ship "
"Yes. I didn't listen."
"Thank you."
:- Picard and Elnor
"Elnor, come. This thing here can take us to a safer place."
"I'll stay behind and cover your escape. My blade is pledged to defend you."
"Then I release you of the pledge."
"I decline to be released."
:- Picard and Elnor
"Elnor, I will not leave you behind again."
"It fills me with joy to hear you say that."
:- Picard and Elnor
"It will take a few minutes to shut everything down and hide this room again. Can you hold them off that long?"
"I won't need a few minutes. Stay behind me."
:- Hugh and Elnor
"Please, my friends, choose to live."
:- Elnor
== Background information ==
=== Title ===
* : Title publicly revealed via StarTrek.com (Argentina) 
=== Production === 
* The hug between Jean-Luc Picard and Hugh was not in the script, but was devised between Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Del Arco just prior to filming. 
=== Continuity ===
* This episode marks the first time that Picard has set foot onto a Borg cube since , a fact alluded to in dialog.
* A line spoken by Hugh reveals that two weeks have passed since Narek arrived on the in .
* This is the first time that an android's dreams are realized on-screen since . In both cases, the dream is a crucial plot element, and both episodes feature an outsider entering and influencing the dream in order to manipulate it and extract important information.
* Archive images seen on the computer Picard uses to research the Artifact include:
** The engaging the Borg cube at the Battle of Sector 001 in 
** The Romulan Continuing Committee led by Praetor Neral in the episode 
** A Borg drone from First Contact
** Hugh in Picard's ready room in and aboard the Artifact in 
** Locutus of Borg as seen on the viewscreen of the in . It is this imagery that causes Picard to freeze and to involuntarily check his face for the Borg implants, removed over three decades earlier.
* Upon arriving aboard the Artifact, Picard recalls images of the Borg and assimilated Enterprise-E personnel, his own assimilation into Locutus and the Borg Queen as seen in First Contact, and himself as Locutus in "The Best of Both Worlds".
* The Artifact is equipped with a spatial trajector, a technology which the Borg acquired by assimilating Sikarians. Soji notes that the spatial trajector has a theoretical range of forty thousand light years, which was also the distance between Sikaris and Alastria, said to be at the trajector's uttermost range limit, in . The Sikarian trajector depended on Sikaris' thick tetrahedral quartz mantle to maximize its range; apparently the Borg version does not have this limitation. Writer/producer Kirsten Beyer had the idea to use the Sikarian trajector technology in this episode. 
* Emmy's remark that the Romulans are "in a 250-year bad mood" refers to the Romulans' first encounter with Earth, () which occurred in the year 2152, and the Earth-Romulan War.
* Soji keeps photographs and memorabilia from her (fictional) childhood in a lunchbox branded with The Adventures of Flotter. Kirsten Beyer suggested Flotter as a 24th-century children's pop culture figure. 
* This is the first episode since his introduction in where Santiago Cabrera doesn't play an emergency hologram aboard La Sirena.
=== Reception ===
* 
=== Video and DVD releases ===
* Released on PIC Season 1 Blu-ray and PIC Season 1 DVD.
== Links and references ==
=== Starring ===
* Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard / Locutus of Borg 
* Alison Pill as Agnes Jurati
* Isa Briones as Soji Asha / Dahj Asha 
* Evan Evagora as Elnor
* Michelle Hurd as Raffaela Musiker
;With
* Santiago Cabrera as Cristóbal Rios
;And
* Harry Treadaway as Narek
=== Guest starring ===
* Jonathan Del Arco as Hugh
* Peyton List as Narissa
* Barbara Eve Harris as Emmy Bosch
* Sumalee Montano as Mom AI
=== Co-starring ===
* Marti Matulis as xB Worker
* Ella McKenzie as Young Soji
* Rico McClinton as Older xB
* Charlie Newhart as Romulan Guard
=== Uncredited co-stars ===
* John Ales as Bruce Maddox 
* Keith Campbell as a Romulan guard
* Zeke Chabon as an Angry Romulan
* Slim Khezri as Kalal
* Alice Krige as the Borg Queen 
* Wallace Langham as Flotter 
* James MacKinnon as a Borg drone
* Ella McKenzie as young Dahj 
* Mircea Oprea as Human scientist
* Zachry Rogers as a Romulan guard0
* Mark Wagner as a Romulan guard
* Unknown performers as
** Age-gauging device 
** Dahj and Soji's father
** Dahj and Soji's friend 1 
** Dahj and Soji's friend 2 
=== Stunt doubles ===
* Tim Storms as stunt double for Patrick Stewart
=== Stand-ins ===
* John Funk as stand-in for Patrick Stewart
=== References ===
; age-gauging device; android; ; assimilated Sikarians; assimilation; ball; bars; Borg; Borg Collective; Borg cube; Borg drone; Borg Reclamation Project; brochures; ; captain; captain (title); chronometric activity; citizenship; coffee; cognitive dissonance; combadge (comm pin); commander; Commnet Four; cryptonym; disruptor cannon; disruptor pistol; doctor; doll; drawing; dream; dying; ego; electrical storm; employee badge; executive director; face; Federation; Freecloud; fur; gas; Greenwich Pensioner; hammer; heart; horgl; ID; id; lab; La Sirena; latinum; lay figure; LCARS; letter of credence; lightning; lightning storm; lunchbox; mannequin; monsters; months; moon; murder; name (true name); nanoprobe; Nepenthe; neural pathways; orchid; Personal Access Display Device; photograph; pledge; prize; qalankhkai; Qowat Milat; queen; queencell; radiation; replicator; Romulan; Romulan ale; Romulan language; Romulan Neutral Zone; Romulan space; scanner; ; Sikarians; sketchbook; skylight; sleep; soccer; spatial trajector; special envoy; Squoodgy; Starfleet; Starfleet insignia; ; strips; stuffed animal; sub-commander; sublimation; subspace relay; superpower; synth; synthetic homeworld; synthetic homeworld moons; taboo; Tal Shiar; tan qalanq; tan zhekran; tool; toy; trauma; treaty; whiskey; wood; xB; years; Zhal Makh
==== Meta references ====
intertitle; subtitle
=== External links ===
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de:Die geheimnisvolle Box
es:The Impossible Box
fr:The Impossible Box (épisode)
ja:不可能の箱（エピソード）
pl:The Impossible Box