Two plots. One, the near death experience of Jean-Luc Picard as he has a malfunctioning device replaced that causes his heart to beat properly. In the process, he bonds (as much as is possible) with Wesley Crusher who joins him on a long shuttlecraft ride. Picard has been hiding his condition from the crew because his ego can't handle needing others to look after him. The other, occurring during this time as a pack of strange aliens who seem mentally deficient, make a grab for weaponry on the Enterprise. Number One must confront these characters since the Captain is incapacitated. These guys are portrayed as such idiots it's hard to imagine how they could tie their shoes, let alone build and pilot a space ship. They are formidable, nevertheless, but reactive. This is what is used against them. When Picard takes a turn for the worse, Pulaski is pulled in. There are numerous lessons learned by various crew members, Picard included. The fear of vulnerability is something that has to be accepted because not everything requires unilateral thinking. So one half of the episode is intriguing; the other is suspect.