Commander Tucker is injured while shutting down the engines. He goes into a coma. Dr. Phlox suggets that he could grow a clone and then harvest the needed parts from the clone. The clone will only live for 15 days. In that time it will grow from an embryo to a full-size human. When it reaches the right age they can harvest the necessary brain matter and fix Commander Tucker. That's the plan which Captain Archer reluctantly agrees to.
Dr. Phlox cares for the clone as it grows. He calls it Sim. It has all of Trip's memories. Captain Archer decides to be honest with Sim and explains to him who he is while he is still very young, under 10 years in human terms.
In the matter of a week Sim is close to Trip's current age. The ship's engines still aren't functioning and foreign matter is starting to attach itself to the ship. Sim has an idea. Everyone doubts it but they give it a try and it works.
Dr. Phlox gives Captain Archer some bad news. His original calculations were wrong. Sim will not survive the operation. Sim suggests an alternate solution. There is an experimental drug which could prolong his life beyond the expected 15 days. He could take Tucker's place.
The only problem is that it will take at least 24 hours to synthesize the drug and by then he will have grown too old. The operation has to be done right away, not to mention the fact that the drug is just experimental. Sim considers taking one of the shuttles and escaping the ship but at the last minute decides to go through with the operation that kills him but saves Trip.
The episode opens with the funeral for Sim, which looks like a funeral for Commander Tucker. The rest of the episode is told in flashback. The episode ends with a return to the funeral as they launch Sim's body into space.
Sim shares a few interesting moments with T'Pol. He confesses that he can't stop thinking about her. She insists that she doesn't feel the same way as him, at first, but then she visits him just before the operation and kisses him.
Thoughts
This episode started a little slow. It got good when it became clear what Dr. Phlox and Captain Archer were asking of Sim. It affected him and it affected them. They felt like they had to go through with the operation despite what it meant doing. Ultimately they don't have to force Sim to go through with it. He acquiesces but Captain Archer at least seemed prepared to do what was necessary even if Sim didn't consent. Overall I would consider this to be an damn good but imperfect episode.
This episode was directed by LeVar Burton. He directed 9 episodes of this series and 20 other episodes across 3 other Star Trek series (Next Generation, Deep Space 9, Voyager, Enterprise).
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