Clues

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Bev's plants, once fixed

how would they fix this?

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

I think this could work if they replaced Picard with a robot. I mean sure they'd have to sacrifice Picard but what's one life to save a thousand?

 

[Leviathan]

Troi's altered voice was lame, indeed.

NOW IT ALL MAKES SENSE!

Troi was a goa'uld. That's who the alien species was. Explains why she crashed the ship later too...

 

[Mojochi]

Bev's plants, once fixed

how would they fix this?

Replicate the plants over again, maybe. Different plants, if not replicated, perhaps she had more ungrown samples to use & recreate the experiment. She said she had a dozen more back in the lab. It's likely she had others she hadn't maturated yet

They didn't seem to believe there'd be any issue in handling that problem. So I just figure it was a simple fix like that

The only thing about the episode that makes no sense is why Picard would opt for this elaborate ruse in the 1st place, given how easy it is for Data to dump memory logs

That part always seemed obvious to me - by feeding the Paxans all this BS about Data being unable to forget, and OTOH unable to report if ordered not to, Picard would ensure that Starfleet gets the full report after all!

Data is his own master, and if he feels ethically justified in ignoring Picard's direct orders, he will do so at the drop of a hat. As no doubt will happen in this case, once our heroes are clear of the Paxan influence.

Timo Saloniemi

That's not right. lol

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

Troi's altered voice was lame, indeed.

NOW IT ALL MAKES SENSE!

Troi was a goa'uld. That's who the alien species was. Explains why she crashed the ship later too...

But the Goa'ulds are physical beings, they look like eels, sort of. One would have needed to get on the ship and then crawl down her esophagus, plus it would die in a ship crash along with its host.

 

[trekshark]

should have just put a time delay message in Picard's computer explaining what happened and to never go back or they'd all die
Picard would probably abide by that, especially if he recorded it himself for his future self to watch

 

[Timo]

In "Time Squared", Picard seemed to be doubting himself a lot, especially when coming face to face with himself!

I think this recorded message would just make him doubly curious and more likely to investigate. Although if he were honest and detailed in that message, then he would also be prepared for what was coming when he headed back to the Paxans (even if doubting the veracity of these circumstances)... The result would probably be carnage.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

In "Time Squared", Picard seemed to be doubting himself a lot, especially when coming face to face with himself!

I think this recorded message would just make him doubly curious and more likely to investigate. Although if he were honest and detailed in that message, then he would also be prepared for what was coming when he headed back to the Paxans (even if doubting the veracity of these circumstances)... The result would probably be carnage.

Timo Saloniemi

He did more than doubting himself. He shot himself dead! Which was a really stupid thing to do beside being homicidal. I mean for all he new this could have made him disappear. If he didn't know how he got duplicated then tampering with it is like some idiot that enters a room with a lot of machinery he doesn't understand and starts pushing buttons at random...

 

[Makarov]

I say send a secret message back to Starfleet and have them send an entire invading force... put an end to this alien culture's mandatory brainwipes for every ship passing by

 

[Tam Elbrun]

I liked this episode. I don't think everything needs to be explained. Let's suffice it to say the aliens had the technology to cover every clue up.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

I say send a secret message back to Starfleet and have them send an entire invading force... put an end to this alien culture's mandatory brainwipes for every ship passing by

I find the premise to be a little strained, no evolved culture could be that paranoid.

 

[Timo]

I mean for all he new this could have made him disappear.

That's a bit unlikely, considering the duplicate was a "future" self and our heroes seem to have plenty of experience, historical if not personal, that the future is in flux and doesn't come back to bite the past.

Whether "our" Picard really intended to kill the other guy, we don't know. The duplicate was two steps away from the grave anyway, so a setting of light stun might have finished him off just as well.

That Picard calls CMO Pulaski to deal with the aftermath, rather than, say, CSO Worf, suggests he wasn't hell-bent on seeing the double dead. "Ending the cycle" could have been accomplished simply by stopping the shuttle from leaving, and stunning the duplicate would be a means to that end.

no evolved culture could be that paranoid

Why not? The more evolved, the more experienced it would be in how awful all other cultures are. Odds are that the Paxans really would be gone in a generation or two if they didn't deflect all intruders. The Borg would just do that a tad faster than the Federation or the Klingons.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Makarov]

How evolved can they really be if they are so frightened by the thought of interacting with other species... there's some other episodes involving isolationists IIRC and I don't think it ended well for them.

These guys are so evolved they don't care about peaceful relations with other beings, possibly not caring about other life at all... maybe almost as heartless as the borg.

This is one time I'd like to see Kirk get in there and just blow them up

 

[Tosk]

This is one time I'd like to see Kirk get in there and just blow them up

Destroy an entire race just because they want to be left alone?

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

This is one time I'd like to see Kirk get in there and just blow them up

Destroy an entire race just because they want to be left alone?

Because they either kill the people that come nearby or rape (I know how you people love throwing that term around) their minds.

 

[BeatleJWOL]

 

[Tosk]

This is one time I'd like to see Kirk get in there and just blow them up

Destroy an entire race just because they want to be left alone?

Because they either kill the people that come nearby or rape (I know how you people love throwing that term around) their minds.

They typically do neither of those things. Maybe you should refamiliarize yourself with the episode before commenting.

And keep your insults to yourself.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

Destroy an entire race just because they want to be left alone?

Because they either kill the people that come nearby or rape (I know how you people love throwing that term around) their minds.

They typically do neither of those things. Maybe you should refamiliarize yourself with the episode before commenting.

And keep your insults to yourself.

I didn't insult anyone and I know the episode very well, thank you. Maybe I am the one who should feel insulted. At any rate, I'll return the "compliment" and ask that you get yourself better acquainted with that which you're so adamantly wrong about.

 

[Tosk]

The threat of destruction and plan to erase the crew memories only came about due to Data remaining conscious. That is not their usual M.O.


DATA
They are xenophobes, sir. Isolationists. The Paxans terraformed a protoplanet in this system in order to better conceal their whereabouts. The apparent wormhole we experienced is actually a trap designed to keep out invaders. The energy field stuns everyone on board the invading vessel and places them in a state of biochemical stasis. [...] The Paxans then take the ship out of their territory.

RIKER
So the crew wakes up and thinks they've been through a wormhole, count their blessings and keep going.

DATA
Precisely.
​

 

[Timo]

Sounds like they are the gentlest creatures in the Trek universe... As opposed to cruel conquerors and killers like the Federation at least. So naturally the Feds would come and kill them, for setting such a threatening example.

Timo Saloniemi