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Archer finds Sim in Trip’s quarters. He tells him: “These are Trip’s quarters.” Sim replies: “Which is where I belong. I have his memories; I have his feelings; I have his body. How am I not Trip?” Archer replies: “Commander Tucker is lying in Sick Bay.” Sim replies: “Then what am I? Just something you grew in a lab? Does that make it easier for you to condemn me to death?” Archer, obviously upset: “If you refuse to go through with this, you’ll be condemning Trip to death.” Sim replies: “I didn’t put him in a coma.” Archer: “No, but you can save him.” Sim answers: “In a way I will…by saving myself. Archer: “Phlox says there’s almost no chance that the enzyme will work.” Sim: “My life is at stake. Any chance is worth taking.” Archer: “But at what cost? It’ll take a day to synthesize the enzyme. By that time your neural tissue won’t be compatible with Trip’s anymore. He’ll die.” Sim: “I know.” Archer: “I can’t let that happen.” Sim: “So what are you gonna do?” Drag me down to Sick Bay? Force me onto a bio-bed at gunpoint?” Archer: “If you truly have all of Trip’s memories…you know the answer to that. I don’t have to tell you what’s at stake. I must complete this mission and to do that I need Trip. Trip! I’ll take whatever steps necessary to save him.” Sim: Even if it means killing me? Archer: Even if it means killing you.” Sim: You’re not a murderer.” Archer: “Don’t make me one.”

Back in engineering, Sim offers to help with the repairs. He reroutes the launch bay controls instead. Reed informs Archer of this. Hoshi tells Archer there is one person in the launch bay. Archer goes there and finds Sim leaning against one of the shuttlepods. Sim tells Archer that he thought about spending his old age in a shuttlepod with no toilet facilities and didn’t like the idea. He can’t think of a worse thing except being stuck in one with Malcolm. Sim tells Archer: “A lifetime in eight days. It’s not that I’m scared of dying. It’s just that…I can’t imagine not being here tomorrow.” He continues and tells Archer that it is his memory of his sister that stopped him. He doesn’t want what happened to her to happen to anyone else. Archer replies: “That’s why I gave the order to create you.”

Later we see Trip in his room with Porthos. Phlox calls to tell him they are ready. T’Pol comes to him in his room and tells him how much his absence will affect the crew and her. She kisses him. He thanks her and tells her: “I coudn’t have asked for a better going away present.” He goes to Sick Bay. He thanks Phlox for being a good father. He tells Archer: “You said to me once that commanding a starship was what you were meant to do. I guess this is what I was meant to do.” He lies down on the bio-bed and Phlox injects him. Back in the present, Archer continues the eulogy and they jettison the body of Sim off into space.

Review: 
This is possibly one of the most controversial episodes of Star Trek since Voyager’s “Tuvix” where Janeway must make a difficult decision to end the life of the merged Tuvok and Neelix or let Tuvix live or DS9’s “In the Pale Moonlight” where Sisko must deal with the guilt of having people die in order to get the Romulans into the war against the Dominion as the only way to defeat the enemy. Both had the captains make decisions that were in some ways