05x04 - Silicon Avatar

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Star Trek: The Next Generation". Aired: September 28, 1987 – May 23, 1994.*
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Series is set 78 years after the original series -- in the 24th century.
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05x04 - Silicon Avatar

Post by bunniefuu »

The hospital facility
will be located there,

facing north in that grove of trees.

And the school and the art center
will be standing there,

centrally located
among the residential pods.

Very good.

At this rate, we can bring
the next wave of colonists in

in about six months.

I've gotta tell you, I envy you.

This is a beautiful place
to put down roots.

Somehow, Riker, you don't strike me
as the kind that puts down roots.

- No? How do I strike you?
- As a free spirit.

- As an adventurer.
- An adventurer?

Aren't you pioneers
all adventurers at heart?

Of course.

But we also have
this nesting instinct.

It's exciting to find a new world,
but the joy comes in making it a home.

Building houses, having children.

Very interesting.

I'd love to discuss this further
with you.

Dinner tonight?

If you wanna share camp rations
in my tent, I'd be delighted.

Haven't we gotten you
a replicator yet?

No, we haven't.

But I've been saving up my ration
of dried chicken curry.

It should go very nicely
with that bottle of wine

I happen to know
you brought with you.

This is sounding better all the time.

And as you know,

I provide
the most memorable desserts.

My favorite part of dinner.

Will, Carmen.

We've been going over the schematics
for the hospital.

The location seems fine.

When the Enterprise comes back,
we'll get a crew started on that.

Carmen, have you got construction
started I didn't know about?

No. What is that?

- Data?
- I do not recognize the sound.

I believe it is coming from above.

Will, What is it?

Data? What's our best bet for cover?

Subterranean caverns
to the east, sir.

Doctor.

- Will...
- Start gathering everyone together.

We've seen this before.
We know what it is.

Now get moving.

Subs corrected by awaqeded.

Space, the final frontier.

These are the voyages
of the starship Enterprise.

Its continuing mission:
to explore strange new worlds,

to seek out new life
and new civilizations,

to boldly go where no one
has gone before.

Follow him. Let's go.

- Come on, come on, come on.
- Hurry up, come on.

Follow him!

Go! Stay together! Stay together!

This way! This way! This way!

I've got him.

Unh!

Will!

Help us!

Data!

Oh, no. Get back.

Carmen!

Captain, sensors indicate
a disturbance

near the outpost on Melona IV.

What kind of disturbance?

I cannot tell. We are still too far away.
It could be an electrical storm.

- See if you can contact the colony.
- Aye, sir.

Captain, there is no response
from Melona colony.

But the disturbance in the atmosphere
is increasing.

- How far are we?
- At current speed, 27 hours.

- Bridge to La Forge.
- La Forge here, Captain.

Are you picking up any readings
from Melona?

Yes, sir.
Something strange is going on.

There are violent disruptions
in the atmosphere.

Ensign, increase to warp 8.

Come on.

Get moving.

Watch your step, but keep moving.

Let's go. Let's go. Keep moving.

Deep into the cave. Come on.
Be careful.

Deep into the cave. Keep moving.

How much protection
will this cave give us?

The refractory metal
in the rock formation

may act as an effective barrier.

Let's seal off this entrance.

Let's hope there's enough air
in here.

There's gotta be
a ventilation source somewhere.

We need some light.

How are the others?

Just scrapes and bruises, I think.
I'll check further. Where's Carmen?

She didn't make it.

She was trying to save an old man
who had fallen.

I'm sorry.

I think we're gonna be all right
in here.

I'm not sure about the air supply,
so stay put, don't move around.

Don't expend
any unnecessary energy.

With any luck,
we'll be able to wait this thing out.

Riker to Enterprise.

Riker to Enterprise.

Commander.

The refractory metal
in the rock strata

may also interfere
with communication.

Data, we've only seen
the crystalline entity once before.

How do you know
these metals will protect us?

I am not entirely certain they will, sir.

I was afraid you were going to
say something like that.

Sir, the disturbance on Melona
is becoming more intense.

Keep hailing them.
All channels, Mr. Worf.

Captain, the fact
that they're not responding

doesn't necessarily mean
there's anything wrong.

The atmospheric disturbance
could be jamming the signal.

I know, counselor.

Still no response, sir.

Increase to warp 9.

- How long, Mr. Worf?
- Six hours.

I've got one man unconscious.

We can't stay in here much longer.

If we open that entrance
and it's still out there, we're dead.

If we all stay in here, we're dead.

It has been over an hour
since we heard the entity, sir.

It may be gone.

Or it may be waiting out there for us.

Everybody, stay here.

Commander.
Commander Riker, are you there?

Lieutenant Worf, I don't think
I've ever seen a more beautiful sight.

It's good to see you're all right,
Commander.

What happened here?

The crystalline entity paid us a visit.

We lost two colonists,
but we got the rest in here.

Captain's log, stardate 45122.3.

We have notified Starfleet Command
of our intention to pursue

and investigate the crystalline entity.

To that end, we have been joined
by Dr. Kila Marr,

a Xenologist who has made
studying the entity her life's work.

Welcome to the Enterprise.
I'm Commander William Riker.

- Commander. Dr. Kila Marr.
- We're glad you're here.

You were on the surface
during the att*ck?

- That's right.
- Remarkable.

You and your group
are the only known beings

ever to survive an as*ault
by the crystalline entity.

- We were lucky.
- I should say.

And your android,
he was there too?

Lieutenant Commander Data
was there, yes.

Well, shall we get started?

I'd be glad to show you
to your quarters.

Commander, a chance to talk
to survivors so soon after an att*ck?

I've been waiting years for this.
I don't wanna waste a moment more.

And when we came out of the cave,
there was nothing left.

Everywhere we looked
there was complete devastation.

Trees gone, nothing.

That's typical. It could take years
for anything to grow again.

Doctor, I ran
a full spectrographic analysis,

section by section.

Trace elements confirm
it is the same entity

which destroyed the colony
at Omicron Theta.

The crystalline entity
seems to function

like a gigantic
electromagnetic collector.

It needs a lot of power
to keep going,

so it strips every form of life
from the worlds it encounters

and converts it all into energy.

There was no vegetation, no insects.
Not even soil bacteria. It left nothing.

Except witnesses, for the first time
in 11 recorded att*cks.

Now, why, I wonder,
did it spare your group?

It didn't spare everyone, doctor.
If you'll check your records,

you'll find that two of the colonists
did not survive.

My point is that until now,
there have never been any survivors.

Doctor, the cave in which we hid
was made of rock

which contained heavy concentrations
of kelbonite and fistrium.

We surmise that the entity
was unable to penetrate that barrier.

I would like to do interviews
with each of the survivors.

Collect as much specific detail as I can
from their observations.

Of course.

And I'd like to inspect the remains
of Melona colony as soon as possible.

Commander Data, you will accompany
the doctor to the surface.

- Yes, sir.
- If you don't mind, Captain,

I'd prefer to choose my own team.

There's no one on this ship
with more knowledge

of the crystalline entity
than Commander Data.

- He originated on Omicron Theta.
- I am aware of his origins.

I'm very much aware
that his brother, Lore,

worked with the crystalline entity.

Led it to Omicron Theta,
where it k*lled every living thing.

I don't think it's unreasonable that I
should prefer to make another choice.

You may request
additional team members,

but in the best interest
of this investigation,

I think you should work
with Commander Data.

As you wish, Captain.

Well?

I don't think you need an empath
to sense that woman's feelings.

There's hostility that she seems
to have transferred from Lore to Data.

Perhaps you shouldn't have
forced them together so soon.

If her discomfort is going to affect
her judgment or her objectivity,

I need to know now.

Doctor, there is evidence
of residual bitrious matter in the soil.

It was not present
before the entity's att*ck.

Doctor?

Dr. Marr, you have made it clear
that my presence disturbs you.

However, I do not see
how we can achieve our task

if you continue to ignore me.

Commander, I can hear everything
you say to me.

If there's anything worth my response,
you can be sure I will not be silent.

Then I do not understand
your lack of interest

in the bitrious filament I mentioned.

It's old news to me.

I found evidence of bitrium
on the last three att*ck sites.

It seems to be a residual
that the entity produces

after it absorbs living matter.

I'm actually more interested
in this cave.

It still amazes me

that your group was spared.

As I have speculated,
the presence of refractory metals...

Refractory metals, yes, I know.

On two separate occasions,
settlers sought refuge in caves.

Some of them deeper than this one.

They perished anyway.

Were those caves
laced with kelbonite or fistrium?

The tunnels on Forlat III
had strong deposits of kelbonite, yes.

Hm. Then perhaps the combination
of the two metals

- prevented the entity from...
- Perhaps it was you.

I do not understand.

Maybe it was your presence

that made the entity
pass over the people in this cave.

Did that occur to you?

I cannot see what effect
my being here would have had...

If you had been in contact
with the entity,

if that's the reason
Melona was att*cked,

it surely wouldn't have k*lled its ally.

You believe
that I lured the entity here?

- Did you?
- No, doctor.

Because Lore betrayed the colonists
on Omicron Theta,

you believe that I am capable
of the same behavior.

You are mistaken, doctor.

My programming is distinctly different
from Lore's.

You don't understand. I am accusing
you of collaborating with that monster.

I do understand.

And I am attempting to explain to you
it is impossible.

It's amazing.

You can't feel anything, can you?
Nothing I say to you hurts you.

That is true, doctor.

I'm getting a slight elevation

on monocaladium particulates
in this cave wall.

- Are you making note of it?
- Yes, doctor.

My son d*ed on Omicron Theta.

He was 16
when the colony was att*cked.

That is the reason I have become
an expert on the crystalline entity.

I have spent my life studying it,

tracking it,
and hoping one day to find it.

And if I learn you have been helping
that thing in any way whatsoever,

I will see to it that
you are disassembled piece by piece.

Okay, doctor, we've input all the data
you collected on the surface.

Just a minute. I have some
cellulose readings from soil samples

that weren't included.

You handle that unit like a veteran,
doctor.

One thing about spending your life
gathering information,

you learn your way
around computers.

Hydrocarbons slightly elevated.

Bitrious filaments in trace amounts.

Lanthanides, nitrates, all normal.

Nothing different.

Everything falls within the parameters
I established at the other att*ck sites.

Were you expecting a different result
this time, doctor?

I've never surveyed a site
so soon after an att*ck.

I thought
maybe I'd find something new,

something that would
make a difference.

Doctor,

have you ever scanned your samples
for gamma radiation?

Why would I do that?

We are seeing high-energy reactions
that may show up in a gamma scan.

And if they do, we might find a pattern,
a kind of marker

left behind by the entity.
It's a good idea, Data.

Frankly, I just don't see
what that would get us.

If the entity left a residual trace
of antiproton

in the samples we collected,

a gamma-radiation scan
would reveal that.

Getting that readout now, Data.

If we try a logarithmic scale,
we will have better resolution.

- There it is. See it?
- Yes.

Doctor?

A sharp spike at 10 keV.

Another.

A pattern.

So we know the entity
leaves antiprotons behind.

If it also deposits antiprotons in space
as it travels, can we detect them?

Sure, we can set the ship's
lateral sensors for gamma radiation.

Well, let's get to it, shall we?

It seems I owe you thanks,
Commander.

The thanks actually go to
a Dr. Clendenning of Omicron Theta,

who did the first experiments
with gamma scans.

I never read that.
It wasn't in any of his records.

That is correct.
But I possess much of his knowledge.

He was working on new detectors

at the time of the att*ck
on Omicron Theta.

I'd heard you'd been programmed
with the experiences of the colonists,

but, frankly, I find it hard to believe.

Bridge.

It is true, doctor.

The contents of their logs and journals
were transferred into my memory cells.

The man who created me
also experimented

with scanning the synaptic patterns
of the colonists' temporal lobes

and programming them
into my neural nets.

- You possess their thoughts?
- To some degree.

Dr. Soong hoped to provide me with an
amalgam of the colonists' memories.

Interesting.

There. A spike at 10 keV.

And again. It's the same pattern
we saw in Engineering.

Mr. Data, can you project a course
from it?

Yes, sir.
There are two possible destinations.

The Brechtian Cluster
and the Argos system.

- ls either populated?
- Yes, sir.

The Brechtian Cluster
has two inhabited planets.

Ensign, set a course
for the Brechtian Cluster.

Captain, I've done
some preliminary estimates

on a f*ring pattern we need
in order to destroy the entity.

The photon torpedoes will require
some reprogramming.

But with your permission, I'll give
the calculations to Lieutenant Worf.

Reprogram the torpedoes, Mr. Worf.

But let's hope
we don't have to use them.

I beg your pardon?

If we can possibly avoid f*ring on it,
then I would hope...

Aren't you going to k*ll it?

Perhaps you should join me
in my Ready Room.

I don't understand.

Why are we pursuing the entity
if not to destroy it?

We're not hunters, doctor,
nor is it our role to exact revenge.

What do you propose?
We track it down, greet it warmly,

and ask it if it would mind terribly
not ravaging any more planets?

I don't deny that it may be necessary
to fire on it,

but I look on that as a last resort.

Why? Why not just k*ll it?

I want to try to communicate with it.

What?

We know from our own experience
that our shields will protect us.

So long as we're in no danger, I will
make every effort to communicate.

To what end?

If we can determine
what its needs are,

we might find other sources
to supply it.

Its needs are to slaughter people
by the thousands.

It is nothing
but a giant k*lling machine.

Doctor, the sperm whale on Earth
devours millions of cuttlefish

as it roams the oceans.
It is not evil, it is feeding.

The same may be true of the entity.

That would be small comfort
for those who have d*ed to feed it.

We're not talking about Cuttlefish,
we're talking about people.

I would argue
that the crystalline entity

has as much right to be here
as we do.

Now, Commander Data
has some theories

on how we might communicate.

Please confer with him.

Come in.

- Am I disturbing you?
- Not at all, doctor.

Commander, there's something
I want to say.

You have been helpful to me
and kind.

And I repaid you with accusations.

And I realize I may have been wrong.

That is very gracious of you to say,
doctor,

but I have not been injured by you.

Captain Picard has told me

you've done work in trying to establish
communication with the entity.

That is true.

I have experimented
with producing vibrations in crystals

by means of graviton pulses.

- Like tapping on a crystal goblet.
- Exactly.

I will call up the results I have achieved
thus far for you to study.

All right.

Commander,

just what kind of memories
do you retain of the colonists?

I do not possess the minute-to-minute
remembrances of each person.

Although
the more intense recollections

are contained in my memory banks.

Do you have
any of my son's memories?

Marr. Raymond.

Called Renny. Yes, I do.

I see.

And his journals?

Yes.

I was wondering, uh...

Do you know...?

Did he blame me?

Blame you?

For... For going away.
For leaving him on Omicron Theta.

There are no records
of any blame against you.

I left him with friends.

I chose to pursue my own career.

I planned to go back,
but things kept interfering.

And I kept thinking,
"I'll go next month."

But there weren't any more
"next months."

There are no records
of any negative thoughts about you.

His personal journals indicated
that he was proud

that you were such a fine scientist.

He was?

What else do you know?

Commander Data, Dr. Marr,
report to the Bridge immediately.

We are being
chased by an unidentified entity

traveling at warp speed.

A distress call
from a ship called the Kallisko.

It's being pursued
by an unknown object.

Sensors indicate a crystalline
structure of indeterminate matter.

How strong are your shields,
Captain?

We are a transport ship.
Our shields are minimal.

- Do you carry weapons?
- Only low-level particle phasers.

Do you know what this being is?

Kallisko, change course.
Take evasive action.

- Do whatever you can to outrun it.
- We are under att*ck!

Captain,
notify our people on Boreal III.

Mr. Worf, try to reestablish.

I cannot, sir. There is no response.

The crystalline entity
is moving away, sir.

Ensign, set a course for the Kallisko.

Mr. Riker, prepare an away team.

Captain's log, stardate 45125. 7.

An away team,
led by Commander Riker,

has conducted a thorough survey
of the alien ship Kallisko

and has returned to the Enterprise
to report.

Pretty much as we expected, sir.
No survivors.

Not a trace of anything
that was ever alive.

Not even a seed
in their greenery storage.

Warp and impulse engines are down,
sir, but they can be restarted.

A skeleton crew could take the ship
to a starbase.

No, we don't have time for that now.

Mr. Worf, send a message
to the nearest starbase.

- Ask them to dispatch a crew.
- Aye.

Mr. La Forge,
make certain that we're still picking up

the gamma-radiation patterns
of the entity.

- Aye, sir.
- Have you and Commander Data

made any progress
in finding a means of communication?

I believe so.
There are some things to iron out.

Please, keep working at it.
We may need it soon.

Deck 17.

Doctor,

you have seemed preoccupied
since we surveyed the Kallisko.

I've found it easy...

...to talk to you, commander.

- Do you mind if I tell you something?
- Not at all.

After hearing the screams
of those men,

I found it hard
not to think about my son.

About what happened to him.

I've read stories, uh,

about soldiers in the b*ttlefield,
you know, wounded, dying,

and they call out for their mothers.

And I've often wondered
if my son called out for me.

If he d*ed wondering
why I didn't come to him.

Come.

It's still headed
for the Brechtian Cluster.

- We've reestablished our course.
- Very well.

Oh, one thing, Number One.

Starfleet will be notifying
Carmen Davila's parents of her death

and returning her personal effects.
Would you care to enclose a letter?

Yes, sir. I'd like that very much.

ls there something more,
Number One?

- Permission to speak freely, sir?
- Of course.

I've been thinking
maybe Dr. Marr is right.

Maybe we should destroy the entity.

- Why do you think that?
- It's already k*lled thousands.

It will undoubtedly continue to k*ll
unless we stop it.

I don't want those deaths
on my conscience.

Are you sure that that's it,
Number One?

Or are you being influenced
by personal feelings?

With all due respect, sir,
I'm not a raw cadet.

I've lost people on missions before.

If we take time to try to communicate
with this thing,

we may lose our chance
to destroy it.

And I don't think we can risk that.

I think I'll go write that letter
to Carmen's family.

We should program
the Bridge science station

to vary the emissions
we direct toward the entity.

I'll write a subroutine

that will allow us to change
the frequency of the graviton beam.

Data,

you told me you carried
some of my son's memories.

That is correct, doctor.

What can you tell me about Renny?
What were those thoughts?

Was he happy at all
on Omicron Theta?

I have some vivid memories
of sporting events.

He played Parrises Squares
with a group of his schoolmates.

Renny started Parrises Squares
when he was young. Too young, really.

But the older children
kept asking him to play,

and I couldn't keep him away.

- He had this natural gift.
- Yes.

He was pleased to have won
a championship emblem.

He wrote me about that.
He was so proud.

I'm characterizing pulse widths
in nanoseconds.

- Sound right to you?
- Yes, doctor.

Your son's most intense memories

revolve around a young woman
named Janina.

A girlfriend?

I never knew about that.

Of course, the last person
he would tell would be his mother.

What was she like?

He enjoyed her kindness,

her gentleness,
her physical attributes.

There.

Now we can vary all the parameters
directly from the Bridge.

Yes, doctor.

Could you do something for me?

It would mean a lot.

I would be happy to be of help.

You see, all I have left of Renny,

the only connection I have of him,
is there, inside your head.

I was wondering if you would
talk to me in his voice.

I know you have the ability to sound
like other people, isn't that right?

That is true, doctor,
but what would you have me say?

Maybe something from his journals.

Many of his journal entries

took the form of letters
to family and friends.

I could access one of those.

I took my last exam today.

I think I did all right on everything
except cellular biology. Heh.

I know you think it's important, Mom,

but I don't see
how I'm ever gonna use that stuff.

In a couple of weeks,

a bunch of us are going on
an archaeological dig in the mountains.

The Wallaces said it would be all right
as long as we had adult supervision.

So don't worry, Mom,

they're looking out for me.

They're really great people,
and I like them a lot,

but they're kind of serious.

They don't have your sense of humor,
Mom.

Mom...

...l miss you.

Captain's log, stardate 45129.2.

We are still in pursuit
of the crystalline entity.

Data and Dr. Marr are prepared
to attempt communication

with the being when we intercept it.

I will admit to some uncertainty
about the prospect.

It could prove to be
a scientific triumph,

or a catastrophe.

Commander, the Brechtian Cluster
is now five light-years away.

Are we still picking up
the entity's pattern?

Yes, commander.

But sensors have not yet locked on
to its exact whereabouts.

Captain, we are reasonably sure

it's between here
and the Brechtian Cluster.

If I start emitting
the graviton beam now,

it may serve as a lure,
a kind of beacon.

Make it so.

We'll start with a pulse width
of five nanoseconds.

Frequency, one pulse per second.

Commencing graviton emissions...

...now.

- No change in sensor readings.
- Let's ramp the frequency.

Emissions now
at ten pulses per second.

Sir.

What is it? Do you have something?

A large mass,
approaching at warp speed.

- Full stop.
- Aye, sir.

Doctor, continue emitting the signals.
Mr. Worf, on-screen.

Shields up.

Magnify.

It's beautiful.

What's it doing? Checking us out?

Possibly.
Just as we're checking it out.

Dr. Marr, do you wish
to change the frequency?

Dr. Marr?

Yes, yes, proceed, commander.

Changing to 20 pulses per second.

- Is it responding to us?
- Let's test that.

Ramp the frequency again,
commander.

Emissions now
at 30 pulses per second.

Captain, I'm reading a transmission
from the entity.

A series of graviton pulses.

It's working.
That's a response to our signal.

Remarkable.

Captain, there is a pattern emerging
from the signals.

It's trying to communicate with us.

I believe so, sir.

But it will take some time
to decipher the patterns.

Then it's possible.

Communication.

Understanding.

Let me try something else.
A continuous graviton beam.

All graviton pulses from the entity
have stopped.

Maybe it doesn't like
what we're doing.

Doctor,
return to the intermittent signal.

Doctor? Dr. Marr?

Dr. Marr, we must return
to the intermittent signal.

- Counselor?
- Something's very wrong, Captain.

The entity is beginning
to resonate. Vibrations are increasing.

Dr. Marr, stop the transmission.
That is an order.

Dr. Marr, do you hear me?

It's for you, Renny.

I did it for you.

Mr. Data,
shut down the transmission.

Vibration amplitude is increasing.
It can't last much longer.

I cannot stop
the graviton signal, Captain.

Dr. Marr has isolated
the access code.

Maybe I can create an override
sequence, shut it down from here.

The amplitude is still rising, Captain.

Resonance is approaching critical.

I can override her program,
but it's gonna take some time.

Mr. Worf, will you escort the doctor
to her quarters?

Yes, sir.

It will never hurt anyone again.

Perhaps I should escort the doctor,
sir.

- Fine. But don't leave her unattended.
- Please come with me, doctor.

Of course.

I will stay with you, doctor.

How long will you live, Data?

There has been no predetermined limit
placed on my existence, doctor.

I'm glad.

As long as you're alive, he'll be alive.

I need your help, Data.

In what way, doctor?

Like you did before.

Tell me

that you understand, Renny. Yes.

That you know I did it for you

because I love you.

Because I wanted to give you peace
at last.

I do not find such a file
in your son's journals, doctor.

However, from what I know of him,

by his memories and his writing,

I do not believe he would be happy.

He was proud of your career
as a scientist.

And now you have destroyed that.

You say you did it for him,

but I do not believe
he would have wanted that.

Yes.

I believe your son
would be very sad now.

I am sorry, doctor,
but I cannot help you.
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