"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 firing 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."" "Ihat, 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?" "Ihat." "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." "Ihat 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 weapon 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?" "Ihat." " 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." "Ihat, 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." "Ihat, 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 kill 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?" "Ihat risked his life to show me that symbol." "Masaka killed 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." "Ihat 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?" "Ihat 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." "Ihat 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?" "Ihat 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 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."