Future Imperfect (TNG episode)
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Future Imperfect is an episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Commander Riker, Geordi La Forge and Worf beam down to a planet filled with poisonous gases such as methane. After beaming directly into the gases, the three pass out before they can get beamed up. Riker then awakens in sickbay but fifteen years in the future and is shocked to see how gray his hair and beard have become. He discovers that he is Captain, that La Forge no longer needs his visor, that Data is his first officer, and that he has a son named Jean-Luc, named after the now Admiral Jean-Luc Picard.
As the show progresses inconsistencies arise forcing Riker to realise that it is all a charade. He announces that it is all fake, causing it to disappear, revealing an advanced holodeck. Riker goes on to meet a boy whose image was used as his son for the holodeck to use. However the boy makes the mistake of mentioning something that occurred in the original faux reality which leads Riker to realise that he is still in a faux reality. Everything disappears once more, revealing a cave which is barren except for Riker and the boy. It turns out the boy was creating the faux realities all along using sensors in the cave to read Riker's mind and create the reality.