The ship is trapped in a two-dimensional wake. The solution requires Troi to use her human intuition rather than her Betazoid powers to realize the beings are acting on instinct, moving toward the string like "moths to a flame".
This episode features the first mention of the Breen , an alien race later made famous in Deep Space Nine . [S1E4] The Loss
In this episode, the Enterprise is ensnared by a swarm of two-dimensional lifeforms pulling the ship toward a lethal cosmic string. Simultaneously, Counselor Deanna Troi suffers a sudden "short circuit" of her empathic abilities, leaving her feeling effectively disabled and "blind" to the emotions around her. The ship is trapped in a two-dimensional wake