Odo returns from a conference with an unexpected guest: a Changeling who tracked and boarded his Runabout. Odo recognizes him as one of "the hundred" shapeshifters who were, like himself, sent out as infants into the galaxy to learn about other species. Back at the station, Sisko warily releases the visitor to Odo's custody. The Changeling, known as Laas, queries Odo about their unique species — with which Laas has made no contact since his infancy — and "the Link," a Changeling ritual that allows shapeshifters to meld with one another and thereby form a single, sentient collective entity.

Garman Hertzler (Laas)

• A chimera is: (1) an individual, organ, or part consisting of tissues of diverse genetic constitution; (2) an illusion or fabrication of the mind, especially an unrealizable dream; (3, capitalized) a fire-breathing she-monster in Greek mythology having a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail.