Trekipedia

Barash

A humanoid child who was forced to leave his home planet when it was attacked in the late 2350s or early 2360s. Fearing for his safety, Barash’s mother hid him in a cavern on Alpha Onias III. The cavern was equipped for his survival and included specialized neural scanners that were able to transform matter into any form imagined, so that he could live his life in safety. In 2367, Barash used this equipment to lure Commander William T. Riker into a fantasy world, in which Barash hoped Riker would remain as a playmate. In this virtual reality, some sixteen years had passed, during which Riker had been promoted to captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D, Jean-Luc Picard had become an admiral, and there was some rapproachment with the Romulans. Also in this fantasy, Riker had married Minuet, and they had a ten-year-old son named Jean-Luc Riker. This “son” was actually Barash, who hoped Riker would play with him in this artificial environment. Riker eventually saw through the pretense, as well as a second simulation involving the Romulans, with Barash, still in Human guise and calling himself Ethan, and Barash revealed the true nature of the cavern and his true form as well. Unwilling to leave the child behind alone, Riker returned with him to the Enterprise.^[1] Portrayed by Chris Demetral (Barash as Jean-Luc Riker/Ethan) and Dana Tjowander.

References

• ¹TNG-182: Future Imperfect