See Also: 'Similitude' Episode Guide

A simulacrum of 'Trip' Tucker will hold the key to the engineer's survival when he lies at death's door in an upcoming third-season outing.

Sources today revealed the first plot details for the "Similitude", the tenth episode scheduled to be filmed this season. When Enterprise is trapped by particulate matter agglomerating on the hull, the chief engineer falls ill through reasons that are as yet unknown.

The one hope to restore Trip back to health is a simulacrum of the engineer, who starts off as a little boy and grows throughout the episode, slowly becoming a member of the crew in his own right. The Sim-Trip, as he is known, retains some of the original's memories, including the name of his dog, Bedford, and that Zephram Cochrane invented the warp drive.

At age eight, Sim-Trip begins to question his identity and Archer takes him to sickbay to see the real Trip, who is lying in a bio-bed. Archer tells the little boy that he's there to help cure Trip, but he's not yet old enough to understand.

By the time he reaches the age of 17, Sim-Trip has fully integrated himself into the crew, and works with T'Pol in engineering to help free Enterprise. The adolescent Trip even awkwardly asks the Vulcan if she wants to have dinner or go to movie night with him. But T'Pol turns down his offer, saying that they should concentrate on repairing the engines and freeing Enterprise. Sim-Trip sadly replies that when the situation is over, there'll be no more need for him...

Please note that these plot details have not yet been confirmed by Paramount Pictures and until such time you should treat this information as you would any other rumour. These details are from an early draft of the script and aspects may change as the episode enters production.

"Similitude" will likely air in late 2003 or early 2004.

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