Making sense of 'Clues'

[JesterFace]

This is an interesting episode but everytime going through it there are few questions that raise questions, at least for me.

First the crew lost an entire day and later another one.
I wonder, how can it make sense when Data says it was only about 30 seconds.
The ship's computer was messed with to make it look like Data was telling the truth but did the Paxans also ”brainwash” the crew believe they were unconscious only for a moment?
Imagine someone having a birthday for example on one of the days the Paxans were creating their story where Enterprise never encountered them.
Might be weird if someone doesn't remember having a birthday, maybe?
For some reason it doesn't make sense to me, maybe it makes sense to someone else?

I want to like this episode, but it's hard....
Or is this one of those episodes where you should put your brain's analyzing department on pause and go with the flow?

Also, in the end when Data tells Picard it's better if they just send a probe to investigate Picard looks like he has a feeling he might remember something about what had happened.

 

[vulcancicada]

I think it was meant to be a commentary on exactly what your analysing brain is doing in response to the episode. They screwed up a few times by leaving clues. The clues made people investigate, eventually discovering the truth.

 

[NCC-73515]

One of my favorites! They probably rescheduled all meetings and events accordingly, and people only started finding out after contacting friends and families elsewhere about birthdays etc who then all said they're a few days late

 

[Oddish]

Picard was aware of the clues that had been left the first time around, and made all necessary arrangements to delete them from existence. Once Data convinced him to leave the Paxan home world alone, and was hopefully able to falsify the telemetry much more thoroughly, they went on their merry way completely unaware of the Paxans. Except for Data, who was under orders never to reveal them, and presumably never did.

 

[at Quark's]

One of my favorites! They probably rescheduled all meetings and events accordingly, and people only started finding out after contacting friends and families elsewhere about birthdays etc who then all said they're a few days late

Probably a lot sooner than that, as soon as they synchronize with a Federation time beacon or make contact with an off-ship Federation system (as they do at the end of Cause and Effect) the computer would notice that time stamps don't match and notify the crew. Then again, perhaps these kind of time distortions happen often enough that the crew doesn't get suspicious.

 

[drt]

Probably a lot sooner than that, as soon as they synchronize with a Federation time beacon or make contact with an off-ship Federation system (as they do at the end of Cause and Effect) the computer would notice that time stamps don't match and notify the crew. Then again, perhaps these kind of time distortions happen often enough that the crew doesn't get suspicious.

Maybe not entirely routine, but it seemed like micro-wormholes that cause a time displacement necessitating clock adjustments had been encountered by other ships previously.

 

[Iamnotspock]

First the crew lost an entire day and later another one.
I wonder, how can it make sense when Data says it was only about 30 seconds.
The ship's computer was messed with to make it look like Data was telling the truth but did the Paxans also ”brainwash” the crew believe they were unconscious only for a moment?

Let's break it down:

The "wormhole" the Enterprise encountered was a trap designed by the isolationist Paxans 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; the crew wakes up and thinks they've been through a wormhole, count their blessings and keep going.

This failed with the Enterprise because Data was immune to the stun field. He revived the crew immediately, and the Paxans communicated with them by possessing Troi, threatening the ship's destruction,

The Paxans, at Picard's suggestion, instead erased the crew's memories of encountering them, a process which took them a day. While waiting to have their memories erased, the crew set about resetting the ship's chronometer and so forth before again being stunned into unconsciousness, but were a little sloppy and evidence was left behind of a missing day. After they gradually uncovered the truth, Picard was able to convince the Paxans to try again, this time eliminating all evidence that would point to a missing 48 hours.

After the first attempt, the following exchange takes place:

RIKER: Point five four parsecs from our original position. Almost a day's travel in just thirty seconds?
DATA: Sir, I should re-align the ship's clock with Starbase four-ten's* subspace signal to adjust for the time distortion.

This implies that Data is hoping to fool the crew into thinking that the wormhole travel resulted in a day's (later, two days') journey through time as well as space, which appears to work on the second try.

So, they do the same thing they later do at the end of "Cause and Effect"; re-align the ship's chronometer with the nearest Federation timebase beacon.


*"Four-ten"??

 

[Ghrakh]

Or is this one of those episodes where you should put your brain's analyzing department on pause and go with the flow?

It's a great SF concept but there were too many details to put in a single episode, so they just focused on a few. Even after we know the mystery it's still a fun re-watch.

 

[shivkala]

Probably a lot sooner than that, as soon as they synchronize with a Federation time beacon or make contact with an off-ship Federation system (as they do at the end of Cause and Effect) the computer would notice that time stamps don't match and notify the crew. Then again, perhaps these kind of time distortions happen often enough that the crew doesn't get suspicious.

It's been a few months since I've seen it, but if I thought Data had manipulated the computer to deal with that.

I just remember the episode leaving me with a, "Okay, but how will you fix these problems this time?" feel, as if there are too many considerations like the time beacons, communication outside the ship, etc., to account for everything.

Maybe it would have been better if Picard told Data to tell them it was, "A Q thing."

 

[Silvercrest]

I just remember the episode leaving me with a, "Okay, but how will you fix these problems this time?" feel, as if there are too many considerations like the time beacons, communication outside the ship, etc., to account for everything.

I always thought (after Picard suggested that these events were just a dry run for the real thing) that a realistic Paxan response would be, "That's what you said the last three times. We're not dealing with this again. All weapons, fire!"

BA-BOOM, end of show.

 

[Oddish]

Also funny would be if the Paxans decided that Starfleet was so incredibly incompetent, they didn't pose a threat, and just let them leave with their memories intact.

 

[matthunter]

I always thought (after Picard suggested that these events were just a dry run for the real thing) that a realistic Paxan response would be, "That's what you said the last three times. We're not dealing with this again. All weapons, fire!"

BA-BOOM, end of show.

Tell me you just watched the Doctor Who eps The Zygon Invasion/Inversion without telling me.

 

[Silvercrest]

Sadly, no. My Hoovian exposure has been pretty lacking.

 

[at Quark's]

Also funny would be if the Paxans decided that Starfleet was so incredibly incompetent, they didn't pose a threat, and just let them leave with their memories intact.

Reminds me of some court case years ago in my country. Party A sued Party B for going under the same name as they did, and thereby damaging their reputation.

Judge denied claim of party A. His reason added insult to injury: 'Literally no one has even heard of you, so there's no reputation to damage in the first place'.

 

[shivkala]

I always thought (after Picard suggested that these events were just a dry run for the real thing) that a realistic Paxan response would be, "That's what you said the last three times. We're not dealing with this again. All weapons, fire!"

BA-BOOM, end of show.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Mojochi]

Wormholey goodness. Its basically counted as a time anomaly that caused them to "jump over" any time that they are off from Starfleet's clock

They're really gambling on quite a bit though, because all the "fixes" they undertook were merely intended to better dupe themselves, & keep them from becoming curious enough to begin an investigation, because once they begin looking deeper, there are too many unfixable factors, like Bev's biological clock dealio or the evidence of computer tampering. Those are just hard reality

There will never be zero evidence for them to track down. They just hope to prevent themselves from starting to look. This is why I think if there was going to be a lie, then it should be one they tell the Paxans instead of themselves. Play out everything the same way, but give Data a covert directive to reveal everything once they are in the clear

 

[Oddish]

There will never be zero evidence for them to track down. They just hope to prevent themselves from starting to look. This is why I think if there was going to be a lie, then it should be one they tell the Paxans instead of themselves. Play out everything the same way, but give Data a covert directive to reveal everything once they are in the clear

Wouldn't matter if that happened. If the Paxans want to be left alone, the Federation will do just that.

 

[Mojochi]

Wouldn't matter if that happened. If the Paxans want to be left alone, the Federation will do just that.

That's exactly my point. The Paxans refused to trust them to not interfere (Worse, they refuse to even be known of) & would only settle for two options, memory wipe or death, but WE know the UFP would leave them be & not only preserve their isolation, but likely even their anonymity, & just restrict the entire zone secretly. So, there's really no reason for Data, under command orders, to take a lie to the entirety of Starfleet to his grave, which is how this all played out. That's a pretty shitty request to ask of him, especially after how they just grilled him about the truth.

Frankly, WTF difference would it make to the Paxans if they never find out that Data DID divulge the truth to the crew, after the fact? They still get left alone, none the wiser, & Data, the crew, & Starfleet get the whole truth. It ultimately would work out better for everyone, by reducing the risk to future ships going near there. (Even though they did issue a hazard warning at the end)