"Masks" Line-by-Line

[ElimGarak.93-99]

LaForge: Aye, sir.

 

[Enterprise1981]

RIKER: Do you think it's just trying to make contact with us?

 

[ElimGarak.93-99]

PICARD: Yes, it's possible. But if that is a archive from an ancient civilization, we should allow it to do so. But we must be careful. Mr. Worf, will you you keep an eye on the sensors. If the ship is in any danger, I want you to sever the connection immediately.

 

[Enterprise1981]

WORF: Aye, sir.

 

[Orac]

[Ready room]

(there is a collection of new artefacts on Picard's desk)

Picard: Come.

 

[Gul Re'jal]

RIKER: Captain?

 

[ElimGarak.93-99]

PICARD: Yes come in, Number One.

 

[Gul Re'jal]

RIKER: We've confined the system corruption. It won't be spreading any further. But we still have alien symbols floating around on our computer. This is quite a collection you've assembled. I've seen these things all over the ship. They all look the same. Primitive and non-functional.

 

[ElimGarak.93-99]

PICARD: Ah, ceremonials and deceptively primitive. Only and advanced society could have built that object out there. These artefacts played a ritualistic role in that society, I think.

 

[Enterprise1981]

RIKER: Do you think Data could be right? Could we have stumbled across some sort of alien library?

 

[Orac]

Picard: Oh, yes, it's possible. And if so, this is a find of most enormous significance. That library seems designed to do so much more than simply store information. Who knows what we might learn from this?

 

[Enterprise1981]

RIKER: I keep seeing this design.

 

[Gul Re'jal]

PICARD: Yes, this symbol seems to be of particular significance.

 

[Enterprise1981]

RIKER: What do you think it means?

 

[Gul Re'jal]

PICARD: The concept of the four cardinal compass directions is quite common in many different cultures.

 

[Orac]

Riker: The words that Data recognised in the computer, boundary, border, road, they were all arranged in this design.

 

[LeadHead]

Picard: Well, perhaps the artifacts that all have this compass symbol belong to the same theme, movement. Finding a direction, traveling a path, crossing a boundary.

 

[Gul Re'jal]

RIKER: And death? One of the symbols was death.

 

[LeadHead]

Picard: 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.

 

[Leandar]

(a straight line with a hemisphere below it showing a semicircle with radiant lines - half a sun? )

Riker: What do you think it represents?