07x17 - Masks

[bunniefuu]

That's very good.

Well, that's very nice.

No, it isn't.
I just can't get it right.

- Do you think the wings are too big?
- No, not at all.

Birds have wings of all sizes, Eric.

You shouldn't worry
about making it perfect.

Mrs Narsu said
we should make our sculptures

as realistic as possible.

She's right.

It is important to make the clay
take the shape you want it to have.

But you're not to concentrate
on technique today.

I'm here to help you focus
on the feelings you want to convey.

For instance, what do you
think about when you see a bird?

- Flying?
- Fine.

So, make your sculpture
make me think of flying, too.

- How's it going, Data?
- I have finished.

The dimensions are accurate
to within 1.3 percent.

I'm sure they are.

Data, you don't have a problem
with realism.

But you're here to work
on your imagination.

Maybe you should try
something a little more abstract.

Here.

I want you to start a new piece.

I'd like you to sculpt...

...music.

Counsellor, music is a collection
of acoustic vibrations.

How can I reproduce a sound
with clay?

Think of the effects
that sounds have on people,

the images that music
brings to your mind,

and then give it a form.

It's a start.

Riker to Data.
Please report to the bridge.

Acknowledged, sir. On my way.

Captain's log, stardate 47615.2.

We have encountered
a rogue comet in Sector 1156.

It is not native to this region

and there is no record of this
object on Federation charts.

Based on its trajectory,

the comet appears to have originated
in the D'Arsay system.

- That's over two sectors away.
- Correct, sir.

This object has been en route
for 87 million years.

That's a long time,
alone in the dark.

Begin a full sensor analysis,
Mr Data,

and log the findings with the
Federation Astrophysical Survey.

Aye, sir.

The outer shell is composed primarily
of gaseous hydrogen and helium

surrounding an icy mantle.

The inner core
consists of heavier elements...

- What was that?
- There is a distortion in the core.

I believe we experienced
an intense sensor echo.

- Can you correct for it?
- I am attempting to do so.

I have compensated for the effect.
Sensors are reconfigured.

We are picking up interference
but the distortion is manageable.

At these settings, the scan
will be complete in 39 hours.

Worf says he'll teach us
Mok'bara throwing techniques today.

More like falling techniques.

Last time, I was sore for a week.

- What's this?
- I have no idea.

- I've never seen it before.
- Maybe Will left it.

- It's not quite his style.
- Maybe it's a secret admirer.

That's an interesting thought.

Figure it out later.
Come on, we're gonna be late.

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 civilisations...

...to boldly go
where no one has gone before.

That's nice.

Data, this is amazing.
How did you come up with this?

I followed your advice, Counsellor.
I used my imagination.

That's an understatement.

For some reason,
as I was shaping the clay,

the image of the mask
was exceptionally clear in my mind.

The design seemed to flow naturally.

Have you been in my quarters?

No, Counsellor.

Someone left an object in my room.
Some kind of artefact.

It has something very similar
to this.

You don't know anything?

I do not.

Excuse me, Counsellor.

Can you help me with my terminal?
It's not working right.

Perhaps we should investigate
this matter further.

The symbols don't match anything
in the linguistics banks.

Some alien information has been
downloaded into our computer core.

I don't know how,
but it's reconfiguring our systems.

- How did it get in?
- I traced it to the sensor array.

The sensors?

They've been scanning
that comet for 18 hours.

Those energy readings from the comet.
That sensor echo.

- We don't know what's inside.
- It's time we found out.

Could we use phasers to melt down
the shell of the comet?

A dispersed wide-field beam
might do the trick.

We'll work out the f*ring parameters.
What do you think, Data?

What's wrong?

I believe I recognise these symbols.

- How?
- I do not know.

You think your systems
have been affected?

It is a possibility.

I do not believe my systems
are impaired.

But I will run a full diagnostic
to make certain.

What do you think they mean?

Boundary.

Border.

Road.

Companion.

Message.

Messenger.

What's that one?

Death.

Captain, phasers are set for wide
dispersal. Ten percent maximum power.

The beam will terminate
once the core is reached.

Very well, Mr Worf.

Fire.

Phasers have terminated.

Mr Data, what are we looking at?
Is it a ship?

I do not know, sir.

The object is nearly solid.

It is composed primarily of fortanium
and several unknown materials.

It is over 87 million years old.

That's older than the comet.

Could someone
from the system have built it?

There are no technologically
advanced cultures in that system now.

But perhaps,
87 million years ago, there were.

Why would they hide something
like that inside a comet?

Possibly, it accumulated
those frozen gases

over time
as it travelled through space.

In any case, it's responsible
for our system anomalies.

They're using our sensor beam

to transmit information
into our computers and replicators.

But the question remains,
what is its purpose?

Captain, I believe this object
is an informational archive.

- Why do you say that?
- I do not know.

However, I seem to have an intuitive
understanding of its function.

Data, the internal structure
is pretty complex.

Its repetitive node configuration
might suggest a database.

But it could be anything.

I don't see how you can know
for sure what it is.

Do you believe you are
in communication with that object?

It is a possibility, sir.

I recommend a level-one
diagnostic of my positronic net

to determine if that is the case.

Very well.
Mr La Forge, give him a hand.

Do you think
it's just making contact?

It's possible. But if that is an
archive from an ancient civilisation,

we should allow it to do so.
But we must be careful.

Mr Worf, keep an eye on the sensors.
Any danger, sever the connection.

Aye, sir.

Come.

- Captain?
- Come in, Number One.

We've confined the system corruption.
It won't spread any further.

But we still have alien symbols
floating around on our computer.

This is quite a collection.
I've seen these all over the ship.

They all look the same.
Primitive and non-functional.

Ceremonial
and deceptively primitive.

Only an advanced society could have
built that object out there.

These artefacts played a ritualistic
role in that society, I think.

Do you think Data could be right?

Could this be some alien library?

It's possible. If so, it's a find
of enormous significance.

That library seems designed to do
so much more than store information.

Who knows
what we might learn from this?

I keep seeing this design.

It is of particular significance.

What could it mean?

The concept of compass directions
is common in many cultures.

The words that Data recognised,
boundary, border, road,

they were arranged in this design.

Perhaps the artefacts
that have this compass symbol

belong to the same theme, movement.

Finding a direction, travelling
a path, crossing a boundary.

And death?
One of the symbols was death.

The ultimate boundary.

I've seen this symbol everywhere,
too,

but much less prominently displayed.

It's always in the background,
smaller than the others.

- What does it represent?
- I have no idea.

Lower synaptic functions
are completely normal.

Autonomous systems all check out.

Examine my memory subsystem next.

Alright.

Data, what's wrong?

I am not certain.

I am experiencing
a curious sensation.

What is it?

- An impulse.
- Impulse? What kind of impulse?

I do not know.

I'll check your higher functions.

Geordi.

What does it feel like
when a person is losing his mind?

Come on, you're scaring me.
What's going on?

I do not know.

I am different.

Well, you're gonna be alright.
You're with me, OK?

OK.

Listen. I'm gonna disconnect you.

What's going on?

Masaka is waking.

- Captain...
- Captain.

I've been waiting for you.

You should feel honoured.
I don't usually wait for anyone.

- What is it you want?
- Masaka is waking.

- Are you Masaka?
- I am not Masaka!

I am lhat.

- What have you done to Cmdr Data?
- Cmdr Data?

- You mean the one who was here?
- Yes.

He's gone. Who can say where?

Picard to Counsellor Troi.
Report to Main Engineering.

"Picard to Counsellor Troi.
Report to Main Engineering."

lhat, this place you come from,

is it a cultural archive
of your species?

- I come from Masaka City.
- Are there others like you there?

There are no others like me.

Who is Masaka?

You will find out.

I would like to know Masaka,
speak with her.

Do you understand pain?

Death?

That is all you need to know
of Masaka. It is what she is.

Go. Leave this place
before she finds you.

It can be done.

I did it.

Masaka.

I am yours.

Every part of me is yours.

We should confine him to quarters.

This is a micrograph of what's
happened to Data's positronic net.

As near as I can tell, these are
behavioural nodes. I counted 14.

The archive is using Data to create
different people within its culture,

as it used our replicators
to create artefacts.

Data's real personality
has been completely buried.

In a sense, Data has the android
equivalent of multiple personalities.

The archive hasn't stopped yet.

Data's net
is still being transformed.

There's no telling how many more
personalities might emerge.

Continue to scan the archive.

See if you can find some way
to access it.

In the meantime,

I'll see what I can learn
from these people inside Data.

- I'm not going to hurt you.
- Only Masaka can hurt me.

I am for her alone.

I need to speak with lhat.

Do you understand?

lhat.

Captain.

That was a cruel joke
you played on me.

For a moment, a brief moment...

...I actually thought
that woman was Masaka.

Whoever took your place wasn't
afraid. He seemed eager for his fate.

Pitiful, isn't it?

You won't catch me humiliating myself
for a woman, even a queen.

Then Masaka is your queen.

She's a lazy creature. She spends
most of her time sleeping.

The problem is, what she does
when she's awake.

Then we should keep her asleep.

Try to stop the sun
from climbing the sky?

Only Korgano can do that,
and he's not here.

Where is he?

Help me. Please.

- What's wrong?
- I'm afraid.

- Of what?
- Her.

- Masaka?
- Her!

Picard to bridge. Report.

The archive activated a tractor beam.
We can't disengage it.

Has there been any damage?

There was an emergency
in ten-forward.

Captain, there's an energy pulse
in the tractor beam.

- It's overriding our systems.
- I'll be there.

- Don't leave me.
- I won't leave.

- Please, let go of me.
- Does it hurt?

Yes.

She's gonna hurt us all.

Now you've done it, Captain.

Masaka is awake.

Who's this?

I'd say that that is Masaka.
lhat referred to her as queen.

It's not unusual
in ceremonial cultures

to find royalty
symbolised by a sun.

You said the personalities
were in awe of her, even terrified.

According to Data, the sun image
is also a symbol for death.

There it is again.

The same U-shaped symbol,
small and insignificant.

- Almost as if it's an afterthought.
- Captain.

This is incredible. These weren't
beamed here from the archives.

The matter here in ten-forward
has been transformed.

- Into living plants. How?
- I'm not sure.

But bit by bit,
this ship is being transformed.

We have been receiving reports
from the rest of the ship.

Part of deck 12 is now an aqueduct.

What are we being transformed into?

I'm not sure I want to find out.

I don't think we have any choice.
We must destroy that archive.

Our weapons' control systems
are inoperative.

However, we could reconfigure
a photon torpedo for a manual launch.

Make it so.

There's so much
we could have learned.

I really regret
losing that opportunity.

I've locked in the parameters.
What's the phase alignment now?

- Less than 0.7 percent.
- Good, that will do it.

- I'm sending...
- Sir.

The onboard power systems
are not functioning.

Let's see what's going on here.

Something tells me
we'd better get out of here.

Engineering to bridge.
Emergency transport, two to beam out.

We'd better talk here.

The observation lounge
has turned into a swamp.

So, what's our status?

So far, the archive has transformed
20 percent of the ship.

We've lost propulsion
and w*apon systems.

Communications,
sensors, life-support?

We have communications
and sensors.

Life-support is unaffected.

I've analysed the alien plant forms.

They've developed
from biological matter on the ship.

The stone artefacts
are made in much the same way,

extrapolating from the ship's alloys.

The archive can transform
molecular structure,

including DNA,
into anything it wants.

So it's using our ship,
our alloys, our DNA,

to create elements
of its own culture.

But why? What does
the archive hope to accomplish?

Whatever the intent
that lies behind its process,

I won't permit this ship
to become an alien city.

Mr La Forge, any ideas?

We still haven't cut off that beam,

but I have accessed the archive
with an energy pulse.

If I locate the transformation
program, I could control it.

That's a good idea, but I feel
that the answer lies there.

With Masaka.

We must find her, access her.

Talk to her.

Hello.

Difficult to stay warm.

It's not warm enough,
not for an old man.

Tell me about Masaka.

My daughter.

Tell me, can I talk to her?

Children grow.

Forget their parents.

No.

Only Korgano can talk to Masaka.

Korgano? Who is that?

Well, aren't we the persistent one?

lhat.

- Is anyone else so charming?
- Masaka is taking over my ship.

- I told you she would.
- I want to talk with her.

But I understand that Korgano
is the only one who can do that.

Who told you that?

An old man. Masaka's father.

Yes.

Legend has it she chopped him up
and used his bones to make the world.

Any wonder he won't talk about her?

- How can I find Korgano?
- I don't know.

He's not chasing her any more.

- Where has he gone?
- Stop asking me questions.

I got away from her once.

I don't want her to find me.
I'll wind up on her sacrificial slab.

lhat, if she's looking
for a sacrifice, she can take me.

Perhaps then,
she'll stop looking for you.

Well, there's an idea.
Better you than me.

Very well. What do we do?

You must build Masaka's temple.

The Queen's temple.
That will get her attention.

- Very well. How?
- You need the sign.

I could give it to you,
so could the old man.

- But just try getting it from him.
- Give me the sign.

If she finds out...

...you can't imagine her rage.

She lets people die of thirst.

A terrible death.

Sometimes, she burns them alive.

She is glorious.

lhat, the sign. Give it to me.

If she comes,
you will take my place?

- Yes.
- Quickly. Give me your hand.

A line as the unending horizon.

A curve as...

She has found me.

Masaka.

Show yourself. I will go with you.

It seems I was not fast enough.

So hard to stay warm.

Are you one of my children?

- I can't remember any more.
- I need your help.

I need the sign for Masaka's temple.

It won't help you.

Korgano no longer pursues her.

Only he can stop her.

A line as the unending horizon.

A curve as...

A line as the unending horizon.

A curve...

...as the rolling hillside.

A point as a distant bird.

A ray as the rising sun.

Thank you.

Now...

Come sit with me.

Tend the fire.

I'm alone.

No one left to help me.

She's coming.

Are all the others dead?

- Did Masaka k*ll them?
- No.

She sent them away.
It will take them days to die.

Any progress, Mr La Forge?

I think I've found
the transformation program.

Will it accept the symbol?

I think so.
I've isolated the input pathways.

They're keyed to accept symbols.

If I input this one,
it should initiate the program.

- And create the temple?
- I hope so.

If this is the wrong symbol, it
might turn us into a chunk of rock.

The question is,
can we trust a personality

from an alien archive
that seems bent on taking us over?

lhat risked his life
to show me that symbol.

Masaka k*lled him for doing it.
I think we have to risk it.

The deck has been cleared
of personnel. We may proceed.

- Cmdr Riker, we're ready.
- Understood.

- Initiate transformation.
- Inputting the symbol now.

It would seem
that this is Masaka's temple.

There is no one else here.

lhat said
that if we created the temple,

then it would get her attention.

It may be some time
before she shows herself.

- How will she do that?
- I don't know.

Captain.

Take a look at this.

This is the first time I've seen
these two symbols paired.

That could be significant.

Look, there it is again.

And again.

And there again.

This is obviously
an important pairing.

"He isn't chasing her any more."

Sir?

lhat said that someone called Korgano
isn't chasing Masaka any more.

And the old man said,
"He pursues her no longer."

In a sense, the small symbol
might be seen to be chasing Masaka.

The symbol suggests antlers
of some kind. Horns.

Maybe it is meant
to represent an animal.

Animals are worshipped
in many cultures.

That smaller symbol
could represent Korgano.

lhat and the old man
said Korgano was the only one

who could control Masaka.

Many ritualistic cultures
incorporate the idea of balance

into their belief systems.

Now, Masaka is a queen.

A powerful, godlike figure.

It's not unrealistic to believe

that she might have a counterpart,
a consort.

Look around, see if you can see
that horn-like symbol anywhere else.

This is the most prominent
instance of the horn symbol.

Now it appears as though
Masaka's sun is chasing it.

- The sun chasing an animal?
- Maybe it's simpler.

Maybe their relationship
is more like the sun and the moon.

I see.

Masaka and Korgano,
switching positions.

The sun setting, the moon rising.

Exactly. Like two powerful rulers
changing places in a continual cycle.

And like the sun and the moon,
only one can be in ascendance.

If we can find Korgano in the archive
and bring him out,

then perhaps he could force
Masaka to leave.

But would we be better off
with him?

lhat and the others didn't
seem to be frightened of Korgano.

Sir.

Masaka.

I am Capt Picard of the Federation...

Go away!

Please, hear us.

- Your archive is destroying...
- I do not hear you.

She will not even listen to us.

Then we will find someone
to whom she will listen.

I've found it, Captain.

This is the only place
where Korgano's moon symbol

appears by itself,
not linked with Masaka's.

I want you to access
the transformation program.

When you're ready, input the symbol.

- Isn't that risky?
- What will the result be?

The symbol might generate
Korgano's temple or Korgano himself.

In one sense,
Korgano is Masaka's nemesis.

Whatever this symbol represents,
it could be a means to control her.

If anyone has a better idea,
I will entertain it.

- I've accessed the program.
- Initiate the transformation.

Another mask.

You know, we could be
going about this the wrong way.

This is a ritualistic culture
based on symbol and myth.

Perhaps we should try
to confront them on those terms.

If I could incorporate myself
in their ritual...

...then perhaps
Masaka would listen to me.

You're going to pose as Korgano?

We know so little about this culture,
and even less about Korgano.

How would you convince Masaka
that you're him?

I'm really not certain.

But there are similarities between
this culture and others I've studied.

I would imagine I'll improvise.
What's our status?

We have less than two hours before
there is nothing left of the ship.

At least, nothing we can recognise.

Masaka.

Korgano.

- Are you surprised to see me?
- I thought I had escaped you.

You should know that is impossible.

You are a fine hunter.

But I am a powerful prey.

You will never catch me.

Do you want to be the prey forever?

I thought I was alone.

I thought I would not
have to share the sky with you.

But without me, you are not complete.

I know you so well.

You live for the chase, as do I.

Will you not miss being the hunter,
pursuing me,

forcing me from the sky,
so that you can rise again?

You know me well, Korgano.

I think
that you are beginning to tire.

It is difficult,
brightening the sky forever.

I am getting sleepy.

You always do that to me.

So that you can wake
with the dawn...

...and begin the hunt again.

Let the hunt begin again.

I am eager for that.

As am I.

Riker to Picard. It looks
like everything's back to normal.

Acknowledged.

Mr Data, are you alright?

I believe so, sir.
I am not certain what has happened.

Have I been dreaming again?

I'm afraid that would take
some time to explain.

Captain's log, stardate 47618.4.

Cmdr La Forge has disabled
the alien transformation program.

Starfleet has dispatched
archaeologists to study the archive.

I don't understand.

All the alien artefacts disappeared.

That one was not created
by the archive, sir.

That is the mask I originally made.
I have painted it.

- A memento.
- Yes, sir.

Although I am relieved to be rid
of those alien personalities,

in a sense, I am now empty.

I can imagine. Dr Crusher told me

that there were possibly
dozens of personalities inside you.

I suspect the number was much greater.

My impression was of thousands,
of all ages and walks of life.

It was a remarkable experience.

Well, Data, you never
may become fully human,

but you've had an experience
that transcends the human condition.

You've been an entire civilisation.