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Who Watches the Watchers

Captain's log, stardate 43173.5

We are en route to Mintaka 3

where a three-man Federation anthropological field team

has been studying the inhabitants.

Our mission is to resupply the outpost

and repair their malfunctioning reactor.

Mr. La Forge, report.

Well, we finished replicating the parts they'll need.

But what I don't understand is why a three-man station would need a reactor capable of producing 4.2 gigawatts.

RIKER: Enough to power a small phaser bank or a subspace relay station or...

Or a hologram generator.

Oh, a "duck blind."

Right, they're anthropologists.

Mm-hmm, who are studying an extended family of Mintakans at close range, from a camouflaged observation post.

According to Dr. Barron's preliminary reports, the Mintakans are proto-Vulcan humanoids at the Bronze Age level.

Quite peaceful, and highly rational.

Which is not surprising, considering how closely their evolution parallels Vulcan.

Captain, incoming transmission from Mintaka 3.

Thank you, Lieutenant. On screen.

Barron to Enterprise.

Our temporary repairs have failed.

The reactor is now inoperative.

PICARD: Do you have battery backup?

Three hours at best.

Captain, if we increase to warp 7, we can be there in 23 minutes.

PICARD: Make it so.

We're on our way.

( explosion, woman groaning )

We've lost contact, sir.

Increase to warp 9.

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.

GEORDI: The framework's still charged, so watch it.

Why did we have to come so early?

When the sun reaches its zenith,

I have to be ready to take the measurements.

You'll be ready. You've read the sundial hundreds of times.

Yes, Father, but never as the appointed record keeper.

You're taking your duties quite seriously.

Your mother would have been very proud of you.

What is that?

Up there, Father. What is it?

I don't know.

Keep work-- Palmer?

BEVERLY: It's all right, it's all right.

The holographic generator is now functioning, sir.

All we need now is power.

Almost there.

You wait here, Oji.

BEVERLY: Enterprise, beam Martinez and his patient directly to sick bay.

( gasps )

DATA: Commander...

( screaming )

( screaming )

RIKER: Doctor, be careful.

BEVERLY: I've got to get down there.

Crusher to Enterprise.

Medical emergency.

Two to beam directly to sick bay.

SICK BAY: Aye, Doctor.

That should do it.

You increased the levels of tricortisine?

PICARD: Dr. Crusher.

Before you start quoting me the prime directive, he'd already seen us. The damage was done.

It was either bring him aboard or let him die.

Then why didn't you let him die?

Because we were responsible for his injuries.

I'm not sure that I concur with that reasoning, Doctor.

But now that he's here, you must remove all memory of his encounter with the away team.

By erasing short-term recall?

It has been accomplished before.

I am familiar with Dr. Pulaski's technique.

But I can't guarantee it'll be effective on Mintakan brain chemistry.

Their lysosome levels are much lower.

BARRON: Wait, no, no! We must evacuate.

Dr. Barron, you're on the Enterprise.

You're safe.

The others?

Dr. Warren is here. We are doing all we can.

BARRON: And Palmer, where is Palmer?

PICARD: He's still on Mintaka 3.

BARRON: Picard, you have to find him.

PICARD: We will. BARRON: He may be hurt.

Rest assured, we shall not leave until he is located.

Thank you, Picard.

Picard to bridge. Report.

WORF: Scans of the planet detect no humans, Captain.

Very well, put us in a close orbit.

WORF: Sir, the close orbit will increase sensor efficiency by only four percent.

I want that four percent, Lieutenant.

WORF: Aye, sir.

Picard out.

Picard.

Damn.

Well, Doctor, your next task is clear.

Oji?

Oji!

Oji!

Oji!

Father?

Here.

Oji.

Father!

I thought I'd... Oji!

...never see you again.

When you and the woman vanished,

I was sure you were dead.

I think I was.

But I was brought back to life.

Oji, I awoke in an incredible place and my wounds were gone.

I had been healed.

How is that possible?

Long ago, our people believed in beings with great powers.

And those beings made the rains come.

They told the sun when to rise.

They caused all life to be born, to grow, to die.

But those are just tales, Father, old superstitions.

But perhaps the beliefs of our ancestors are true.

Nothing else can explain what's happened.

Everything has changed now, Oji.

We must tell the others.

Barron is stable, but Warren is still critical.

Palmer is missing.

Scan of the planet shows Mintakan life-forms only.

No humans, however...

The area around the duck blind exhibits karst topography-- sinkholes, underground rivers and caverns.

And the rock strata contains a high concentration of thallium compound, which may be obstructing our sensor beams.

So, if Palmer, in his delirium, fled into a cave, we may be unable to detect his life signs.

Correct, sir.

Captain, if he is still alive, he needs medical attention.

We must send an away team to locate him.

TROI: But our presence must not interfere with the cultural development of the Mintakans.

Agreed. Further contamination must be prevented.

I have a suggestion.

RIKER: First Officer's log, stardate 43174.2.

Counselor Troi and I are beaming down

to Mintaka 3 to locate Dr. Palmer,

and to determine the extent of the cultural contamination.

Dr. Crusher has temporarily altered

our features and skin color.

She's also implanted subcutaneous communicators,

so that any transmissions we receive

will be inaudible to the Mintakans.

Riker to Enterprise. Do you hear me?

DATA: Perfectly, Commander.

I will be monitoring you continuously.

Mintakan emotions are quite interesting.

Like the Vulcans, they have highly ordered minds.

A very sensible people.

For example, Mintakan women precede their mates.

It's a signal to other women.

"This man's taken. Get your own"?

Not precisely.

More like, "If you want his services,

I'm the one you have to negotiate with."

What kind of "services"?

All kinds.

They are a sensible race.

FATHER: I understand your skepticism.

If it hadn't happened to me,

I would find it difficult to accept as well.

OJI: But it did happen, just as we've said.

FATHER: Fento, you know the legends better than anyone.

Do they not speak of beings like the kind I've seen...

Who could vanish like smoke?

There are the stories of the overseer, who could appear and disappear at will.

And couldn't this overseer heal the dead?

FENTO: He had supreme power, or so our ancestors believed.

I believe I have seen the overseer.

He is called... the Picard.

Uh-oh. His memory is intact.

The procedure didn't work.

Liko, all this talk of supernatural beings, no one has believed that for countless generations.

Just as we no longer believe that the stars control our fates or the spirits of the dead haunt the living.

Nuria, I'm not saying that all the old beliefs are true.

But I did see the Picard.

And I was restored back to life.

We are visitors.

We've come to trade our cloth.

May we speak?

Please do.

We welcome outsiders.

I am Nuria.

I am Troi, and this is Riker.

You had a very interesting dream.

Dream?

It was real.

My father and I both witnessed these beings.

If you are father and daughter, you may well have shared the same dream.

That is not reasonable.

Is that any less reasonable than being magically transformed to another place by the Picard?

MAN: Nuria!

LIKO: It has to be Palmer.

The one the Picard wished to find.

Remarkable-- you were speaking the truth.

The Picard will be pleased.

( overlapping chatter )

Riker to Picard.

PICARD: Go ahead, Number One.

We have a problem.

The contamination?

RIKER: It's worse than we suspected.

The Mintakans are beginning to believe in a god.

RIKER: And the one they've chosen is you.

Picard, you must beam Palmer aboard immediately.

Without medical attention-- It's not simple as that.

He is surrounded by Mintakans.

If he should dematerialize before their eyes--

It will slightly increase the cultural contamination which already exists.

A small price for saving Palmer's life.

Number One, is there any chance of freeing Palmer and transporting up unseen?

We can try.

PICARD: Try hard.

Picard out. Picard, I must protest.

You're endangering Palmer with this delay.

I am aware of that.

But each of us, including Dr. Palmer, took an oath that we would uphold the prime directive-- if necessary, with our lives.

HALI: Rego and I were hunting off the third ridge.

We followed a hornbuck into a cave.

The stranger was there asleep.

This Palmer is one of the overseer's servants?

Yes, the Picard has many servants.

Isn't that true, Fento?

According to legend.

But if this Palmer is a servant of the overseer, what was he doing in the cave?

Perhaps he ran away.

Or he failed the Picard somehow and was hiding from him.

Then we should bind him, in case he wakes and tries to escape.

It's senseless for this stranger to be held captive.

All this talk of the overseer-- it's old superstitions.

NURIA: I disagree.

All the evidence indicates that the overseer exists.

And I heard the Picard say he wanted to find Palmer.

( group muttering )

Then by keeping Palmer safe, we will please the Picard.

And he will grant us favors in return.

Favors?

It is said that the overseer is all-powerful.

He can provide gentle winters, plentiful hunting, fertile crops, anything.

He could even bring back those who have died.

NURIA: It's agreed.

We will save Palmer for the Picard.

( group agreeing )

I've seen another one like Palmer.

LIKO: Another servant of the Picard?

He's headed towards the caves.

Fento, stay and bind Palmer.

( group chattering )

Over there.

Well, that knot won't hold. If I may?

Please do.

You need a knot that'll tighten under pressure.

Let me show you.

Father, the sun's reaching its zenith.

If I don't go to measure--

Go.

Forgive me, friend, but the stranger must be set free.

Riker?

Riker to Enterprise.

Lock on and prepare to beam us directly to sick bay, but hang on for my signal.

DATA: Acknowledged, Commander.

Riker, stop!

Riker!

Oji?!

It's Riker. He's taking Palmer!

Hali! Yari! Don't let her escape!

I'm clear. Energize.

Data, has Counselor Troi beamed up?

DATA: Negative, Commander.

Sensors show she is in the midst of a group of Mintakans.

Damn.

NURIA: He is all right.

Hali, find Riker and Palmer.

Why did you and Riker take Palmer from us?

We did not take Palmer.

TROI: We set him free.

Riker and I do not believe in these fables about an overseer.

LIKO: Don't you realize what you've done?

You have angered the Picard, and we may all suffer for it.

I know. I've seen him.

He is all-powerful.

Fento, weren't there stories about the overseer destroying those who offended him?

Stories, nothing more.

Liko, we'll get Palmer back.

Riker was carrying him. They can't have gone far.

Still, the Picard may blame us for letting Palmer escape.

Perhaps we should punish her.

Let the overseer know that she and Riker acted alone.

We will keep Troi captive.

That's not enough.

You would have us harm her?

If it will hold off the Picard's anger, yes.

I've seen how powerful he is.

I am unwilling to hurt her needlessly.

We will wait for Hali to return.

And if they don't find Palmer?

Then we may do as Liko suggests.

Doctor, you believe the Mintakans are capable of harming Counselor Troi?

They are not normally a violent people, but these are extraordinary circumstances.

They're trying to comprehend what they believe to be a god.

( sighs )

Recommendations?

The Mintakans wish to please the overseer, but they can only guess what he wants.

They need a sign.

Are you suggesting...?

You must go down to Mintaka 3.

Masquerading as a god?!

Absolutely out of the question. The prime directive--

BARRON: Has already been violated.

The damage is done.

All we can do now is minimize it.

By sanctioning their false beliefs?

By giving them guidelines.

Letting them know what the overseer expects of them.

Dr. Barron, I cannot.

I will not impose a set of commandments on these people.

To do so violates the very essence of the prime directive.

Like it or not, we have rekindled the Mintakans belief in the overseer.

RIKER: And are you saying that this belief will eventually become a religion?

It's inevitable.

And without guidance, that religion could degenerate into inquisitions, holy wars, chaos.

Horrifying.

Dr. Barron... your report describes how rational these people are.

Millennia ago, they abandoned their belief in the supernatural.

Now, you are asking me to sabotage that achievement.

To send them back into the dark ages of superstition and ignorance and fear.

No!

We will find some way to undo the damage we've caused.

Number One, tell me about this group's leader.

Nuria-- exceptionally clear-minded, sensible.

The Mintakans trust her judgment.

If we could convince her that you are not a god...

She might be able to persuade the others.

And how do you propose to convince her?

She believes that Picard is a magical figure.

I'm gonna show her how the magic works.

I'm gonna bring her aboard.

DATA: Counselor, sensors indicate five Mintakans in your immediate vicinity.

Four are motionless.

The fifth is eight meters away, proceeding south.

Is Nuria one of these five?

Mm-hmm.

Was that intended as an affirmative?

Yes, Data, it was.

Is Nuria the closest of the five?

TROI: Mm-mm.

Negative.

DATA: Is Nuria the one in motion?

( clears throat ) Mm-hmm.

Lock sensors on Nuria.

Locked on.

We can beam Nuria aboard at will.

Data, when sensors indicate that she's alone, beam her directly to Transporter Room One.

Aye, sir.

Ensign Hoy.

DATA: Captain, Nuria is alone.

I'll handle this.

Nuria.

Don't be afraid.

No one is going to harm you.

Who...?

I am Jean-Luc...

Picard.

( gasps )

Please, get up.

Get up. You must not kneel to me.

You do not wish it?

I do not deserve it.

Look at me.

Look at me.

Feel the warmth of my hand.

The rhythm of my pulse.

I'm not a supreme being.

I'm flesh and blood, like you.

Not like me--

Like you.

Different in appearance, yes.

But we are both living beings.

We are born, we grow, we live... and we die.

In all the ways that matter, we are alike.

But you are the Picard.

There is something I want you to see.

( gasps )

Oh, what a wondrous place.

Even the walls obey your command.

Wondrous, yes, but not miraculous.

The... doors... merely work differently from the ones you know.

( gasps )

That is my home?

Seen from far, far above.

Yet we do not fall.

I never imagined I would see the clouds from the other side.

Your powers are truly boundless.

Nuria...

Your people live in huts.

Was it always so?

No.

We have found remnants of tools in caves.

Our ancestors must have lived there.

So, why do you now live in huts?

Huts are better.

Caves are dark and wet.

So, if huts are better, why did you once live in caves?

The most reasonable explanation would be that at one time, we did not know how to make huts.

Just as at one time, you did not know how to weave cloth, how to make a bow.

That would be reasonable.

Someone invented a hut.

Someone invented a bow, who taught others, who taught their children, who built a stronger hut, who built a better bow, who taught their children.

Now, Nuria, suppose one of your cave-dwelling ancestors were to see you as you are today.

What would she think?

I don't know.

Well, put yourself in her place.

You see, she cannot kill a hornbuck at a great distance.

You can. You have a power she lacks.

Only because I have a bow.

She has never seen a bow.

It doesn't exist in her world.

To you, it's a simple tool.

To her... it's magic.

I suppose she might think so.

Now, how would she react to you?

I think she would fear me.

Just as you fear me.

I do not fear you any longer.

Good. That's good.

You see... my people once lived in caves.

And we then learned to build huts, and in time, to build ships like this one.

Perhaps one day, my people will travel above the skies.

Of that, I have absolutely no doubt.

( thunderclap )

It's not the season for lightning.

It must be a warning.

We've had storms like this before.

( thunderclap )

Not like this one.

It must mean something.

The Picard is angry with us.

He blames us for letting Palmer escape.

Liko, we don't know that the overseer is responsible for this storm.

LIKO: Will he also send floods?

My wife died in last year's floods.

Will we all die now?

( thunderclap )

We must find Nuria.

Picard, you've shown me wonders

I could never have imagined.

And I am grateful to you beyond words.

Might I request something for my people?

You are indeed a leader.

You've shown me such generosity.

I wish my people could share in it.

Six Mintakans died in a flood last winter.

Four of them, children.

Would you bring them back to life?

That is not in my power.

Why?

You restored Liko's life.

Did the six who were killed offend you in some way?

Did I offend you?

Should I have ordered the death of Troi?

Please, you must tell me if there's anything I can do to change your mind.

I've failed to get through to you, haven't I?

Despite all my efforts.

( thunderclap )

Nuria can't be found.

No one knows where she's gone.

Hali, any sign of Palmer or Riker?

They have escaped us. We searched everywhere.

( thunderclap )

What do we do now, Father?

We must do as the Picard wishes.

Punish those responsible.

Nuria would not allow us to do that--

Nuria isn't here.

We can't wait.

( gasping )

Crusher to Picard.

I think we're going to lose Warren.

PICARD: On my way.

I'm here, Mary.

( gasping )

BEVERLY: Prepare two C.C.s of norep.

I'm sorry.

Picard, you could not save her?

No.

You do have limits.

You are not masters of life and death.

No, we're not.

We can cure many diseases.

We can repair injuries. We can even extend life.

But for all our knowledge, all our advances, we are just as mortal as you are.

We are just as powerless to prevent the inevitable.

You are a remarkable people, but you are not superior beings.

My people must be made to understand that.

Liko, you don't want to kill me.

I have no choice.

I must do as the Picard wishes.

Are you sure you know what he wants?

That's the problem with believing in a supernatural being-- trying to determine what he wants.

We must do something.

But what if it's the wrong thing, Father?

Picard, we need your guidance.

Is it your wish that this woman should die?

Answer us.

Speak.

Liko.

The Picard!

The overseer has come.

No, Liko.

Liko, I am a man.

I am not the overseer.

I am a traveller from a faraway land.

Nothing more.

But you have restored my life.

I am your servant.

You are nobody's servant, Liko.

I neither desire your obedience nor your worship.

Picard speaks the truth.

I have visited his people. I have seen how they live and how they die.

When death takes one of their loved ones, they are as helpless as we are.

Then... how was I brought back to life?

Liko, you were not dead.

Picard's people have a knowledge that we lack.

They are able to heal wounds that we cannot.

No, no, he can bring back the dead.

Show them, Picard.

You can bring back my wife to me.

I cannot.

Why?

Why won't you do this for me?

Have I failed you in some way?

Are you angry with me? I'm not angry with you.

Well, then I beg you, bring her back to me.

I will give you my life in exchange.

Please!

Take back what you gave me.

Give it to her. Let her live.

It is beyond my power.

Nothing is beyond your power.

You are the overseer. I will prove it.

Liko!

If you believe I am all-powerful, then you cannot hurt me.

If, however, I am telling the truth... and I am mortal... you will kill me.

But if the only proof you will believe is my death... then shoot.

Liko, don't do it!

Father, no!

( whimpering )

Captain's log, supplemental.

Dr. Crusher has repaired my injury

with her usual skill.

Mr. La Forge will supervise

the dismantling of the observation post

after I make one last visit to Mintaka 3.

Now, Mr. La Forge.

LA FORGE: Aye, sir.

What is that?

It is a place where we can watch your people.

But why?

To study you, to understand your ways.

Discontinue, Mr. La Forge.

Picard, why would a people so advanced want to learn about us?

We were once as you are now.

To study you is to understand ourselves.

But why do you have to hide yourself from us?

Because their presence would affect us just as it affected me.

It is our highest law, that we shall not interfere with other cultures.

Then revealing yourselves was an accident.

Oh, yes.

And now, we must leave you.

Why? There's so much you can teach us.

But that, too, would be interference.

You must progress in your own way.

So, we will.

You have taught us there is nothing beyond our reach.

Not even the stars.

Paki?

I wish you good journeys, Picard.

Remember my people.

Always.