| Ta: |
Security, urgent! Reapeating Enterprise from away team.
|
| Ge: |
Is the Enterprise, Lieutenant, we're recieving you now.
|
| Ta: |
This is an urgent call for Captain Picard.
|
| R: |
We may need you present here, Captain. We have a serious trouble with
a member of our away team. And their unusual law they have here.
|
| P: |
Captain to Riker, "Stand by." Any sign of his conciousness?
|
| Cr: |
Not yet. It could be minutes or hours. It's unclear what's happened to him.
|
| P: |
Take him to sick bay. Let me know the instant he's awake.
Anything new on that thing over there?
|
| Ge: |
Negative, sir.
|
| P: |
Captain to first officer. I'm beaming down.
|
| P: |
Would you care to comment privately on how you read any of this?
|
| De: |
Unnecessary, sir. These people are honest. Almost our fault.
They have great pride in their ways.
|
| EM1: |
You're the Captain. We're all ready, this way, please.
Welcome to our world, Captain.
|
| P: |
Thank you.
|
| EM1: |
We regret that our system of justice is troubling you.
|
| P: |
The boy, Wesley Crusher, where is he, please?
|
| R: |
In the code of the prime directive, I've allowed them to hold him
pending the outcome of this.
|
| EF1: |
He is safe and unharmed. We promise that. Captain Picard, I do not
know how you Earth people conduct law and justice even if you respect
such things.
|
| P: |
We do.
|
| EM1: |
Good! So do we. Our precepts've handed down for a long ago.
The tranquility you see and our lives has been made possible by our laws.
|
| EF1: |
We are a people of law. They do sometimes bring us sadness, but we have
learnt to adjust to that. Perhaps your laws work as well.
|
| P: |
They haven't always, but now they do.
|
| EM1: |
Do you excute criminals?
|
| P: |
No. Not any longer.
|
| EF1: |
But you did once.
|
| P: |
Unfortunately, yes, but since then...
|
| EF1: |
When you did was it believe necessary to do so?
|
| P: |
Some people felt that it was necessary. But we have learnt to
detect the seeds of criminal behavior. Capital punishment, in our world, is
no longer considered to justify the deterrent.
|
| EM1: |
So, we are not yet as advanced as they are. And since you are advanced
another way to us(?), I suggest you use your superior powers to rescue
the Wesley boy. We will record as our(?) convicted criminal out of our
reach, and an advanced person who luckily escape the barbarism of this
backward little world.
|
| P: |
Unfortunately, we have a law and on this there's(?) prime directive.
|
| EF1: |
Riker has explained it to us.
|
| P: |
Is the boy in any danger from you at this moment?
|
| EM1: |
Until sundown.
|
| EF1: |
Because you are strangers, we are delaying enforcement of the law.
But we must act by sundown.
|
| P: |
And I have another question. By orbiting, while circling high above
your world as we do. We have encountered a strange object. A vessel,
perhaps. Have you any idea what it is? It's not entirely real.
At least It's not completely solid.
|
| EF1: |
Do you mean God?
|
| P: |
God.
|
| EM1: |
God is said to be somewhere up there, protecting us.
|
| P: |
Exactly, exactly how do you describe God?
|
| EF1: |
As you just did(said?), as existing both here and in another place also.
|
| Em1: |
But when God wants to show its power, it can make itself felt most fully.
|
| P: |
I want to speak to her personaly about her son.
Ah, so you promise that Wesley Crusher is safe until sundown?
|
| EM1: |
You have our word.
|
| P: |
Then we want you to return with me to our ship.
|
| EF1: |
Of course. I'll go as a hostage for the boy's safity.
|
| P: |
No, no, no. That's not it(?). I want you to identify something
for me if you can.
Picard, tranporter room, three to beam up.
|
| EF1: |
I'm frightened.
|
| De: |
There's no reason to it(?).
|
| P: |
Transporter room, energize.
|