We leave behind a being of extraordinary power... and conscience. I am not certain if he should be praised or condemned... only that he should be left alone.
All S1
S1 E15Unfinished Business
Millennia ago, they abandoned their belief in the supernatural. Now you are asking me to sabotage that achievement, to send them back into the dark ages of superstition and ignorance and fear? NO!
That is my home?
Seen from far, far above.
Yet we do not fall. I never imagined I would see the clouds from the other side. Your powers are truly boundless.
Nuria, your people live in huts. Was it always so?
No. We have found remnants of tools in caves. Our ancestors must have lived there.
So why do you now live in huts?
Nuria (matter-of-factly): Huts are better. Caves are dark and wet.
If huts are better, why did you once live in caves?
The most reasonable explanation would be that at one time we didn't know how to make huts.
Just as at one time you did not know how to weave cloth, how to make a bow.
That would be reasonable.
Someone invented a hut. Someone invented a bow, who taught others, who taught their children, who built a stronger hut, built a better bow, who taught their children. Now, Nuria, suppose one of your cave dwelling ancestors could see you as you are today. What would she think?
I don't know.
Put yourself in her place. You see, she cannot kill a hornbuck at a great distance. You can. You have a power she lacks.
Only because I have a bow.
She's never seen a bow. It doesn't exist in her world. To you, it's a simple tool. To her, it's magic.
I suppose she might think so.
Now, how would she react to you?
I think she would fear me.
Just as you fear me.
I do not fear you any longer.
Good. That's good. You see, my people once lived in caves. And then we learned to build huts and, in time, to build ships like this one.
Perhaps one day, my people will travel above the skies.
Picard (softly, but with utter conviction and admiration): Of that, I have absolutely no doubt.
CCrusher
Crusher to Picard. I think we're going to lose Warren.
Picard [OC]: On my way.
BBarron
I'm here, Mary.
(Picard and Nuria enter)
CCrusher
Prepare two cc's of norep.
(But Mary Warren gives up the struggle to breathe)
CCrusher
I'm sorry.
(Crusher and Barron leave, and Nuria approaches the death bed)
Picard, you could not save her?
No.
You do have limits. You are not masters of life and death.
No, we are not. We can cure many diseases and we can repair injuries, we can even extend life. (bleakly) But for all our knowledge, all our advances, we are just as mortal as you are. We're just as powerless to prevent the inevitable.
You are a remarkable people, but you are not superior beings. My people must be made to understand that.
(Picard's arm is in a sling)
Now, Mister LaForge.
LaForge [OC]: Aye, sir.
(The holographic camouflage comes down)
What is that?
A place where we can watch your people.
FFento
But why?
To study you. To understand your ways. Discontinue, Mister LaForge.
(The window vanishes again)
Picard, why should a people so advanced want to learn about us?
We were once as you are now. To study you is to understand ourselves.
FFento
But why did you have to hide yourself from us?
LLiko
Because their presence would affect us, just as it affected me.
It is our highest law that we shall not interfere with other cultures.
OOji
Then revealing yourselves was an accident.
Oh, yes, and now we must leave you.
OOji
Why? There's so much you can teach us.
But that, too, would be interference. You must progress in your own way.
So we will. You have taught us there is nothing beyond our reach.
Picard (with a smile in his voice): Not even the stars.
Pah'kee.
(A little boy gives Picard a woven belt or some such memento)
I wish you good journeys, Picard. Remember my people.
Always.
Maybe if we felt any human loss as keenly as we feel one of those close to us, human history would be far less bloody.
I cannot seek revenge against an enemy that has turned to dust centuries ago. Her death was senseless! The last victim of a forgotten war!
Jeremy, Wesley's father died on a Starfleet mission, when he was younger than you are.
Wes, your mother told me you were finding it difficult to talk to Jeremy. Why is that?
I don't know. I just don't want to think about it any more. All this has reminded me so much of that day.
The day I told you your father had been killed. As I recall, Wesley, you took it very well.
My parents had told me about the dangers of Starfleet missions. I knew it could happen.
So, you were prepared?
No! I wasn't prepared at all. How can anyone be prepared to hear that a parent is never coming home again? I tried to be what everyone expected of me. Brave and mature.
Wesley, are you saying you didn't want anybody to see what you were really feeling? [Wesley nods] What were you really feeling?
Like... somebody had licked me in the head.
"Somebody?"
Go on. You've wanted to tell him for a long time.
I was angry at you.
Why me? Why were you angry at me, Wesley? Were you angry at me because I was the one who told you your father was dead?
No.
Then, why?
Because you led the mission. You came home, and my father didn't.
How long were you angry with the captain, Wes?
For a long time. But not any more.
It is exactly as they left it, Number One. In the bottle. [seeing his confusion]... The ship in the bottle. [further confusion] Good Lord, didn't anybody here build ships in bottles when they were boys?
I did not play with toys.
I was never a boy.
OBO'Brien
[brightly] I did, sir.
[The others all look at O'Brien for a moment]
Thank you, Mister O'Brien. Proceed.
[O'Brien beams Picard, Worf, and Data to the alien vessel. After the sequence is complete, he notices Riker, still staring at him.]
OBO'Brien
[defensively] I did! I really did! Ships in bottles? Great fun!
Lieutenant, I understand your feelings about the Romulans, but this is not the time or the place.
If you had seen them kill your parents, you would understand, Doctor. It is always the time and the place for those feelings.
This Romulan didn't murder your parents. And you are the only one who can save his life.
Then he will die.
[referring to Geordi's blindness] How did this happen?
I was born that way.
And your parents let you live?
What kind of question is that! Of course they let me live.
No wonder your race is weak. You waste time and resources on defective children.
I have no more wish to die than you do.
Bochra, there are times when it is necessary to die for one's ideals... do you believe this is one of those times?
[Bochra thinks, then lowers his disruptor.]
Let's go find that beacon.
Do all humans give up so easily?
Bochra, we're lost. Unless you've got something that can smell neutrinos.
We have the sensor device you are carrying.
Tricorder? It's not designed to detect neutrinos.
Your eye device does. Connect them.
That's crazy. The devices aren't compatible, it would be impossible to get an accurate reading... wait a minute. Wait a minute. I wouldn't need to get an accurate reading. I'd just need it to point us in the right direction, a neutrino geiger counter...! [sighs] It's still impossible.
Why?
Because I can't see! Adapting the devices is delicate work, you can't do it by hand.
Then I will be your eyes.
DGDaiMon Goss
My name is DaiMon Goss and these are my counsels, Kol and Dr Aridor. We'll need chairs.
I'm Captain Picard of the Enterprise. I am serving as host for these proceedings.
DGDaiMon Goss
Good. Then see to it we get some chairs.
Let me explain.
DGDaiMon Goss
Fine, fine, just have your Klingon servant get us some chairs.
I am in charge of security!
DGDaiMon Goss
Then who gets the chairs?
You know, if this doesn't work, the thought of spending the rest of my life in here is none too appealing.
There is a bright side, Geordi. You will have me to talk to.
These quotes come from Wikiquote's Star Trek: The Next Generation pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.