Pike Going *Back* to the Talosians

[Valenti]

The Talosians were the evil network executives of course.

 

[Emperor Norton]

This thread and everyone in it are just Talosian illusions.

 

[AmokVaper]

A friend of mine, Xaa, who was in a devilishly cynical mood one day suggested something that would rationalize every inconsistency, every element of bad science, every instance of weak character development across the entire freakin' franchise...

It's ALL illusion!

No, I don't mean, "It's only a show, I really should just relax," to quote the MST3K mantra.

No, I mean every event depicted in every episode, every series, every book, every comic, etc from the moment Pike and the rescue team beamed upon Talos IV has been illusions generated by the Talosians. They never escaped. They were all captured! The telepathic couch potatoes merely planted the "lie" that only Pike was caught and the others brought the "ship's power" (the BFG) to try blasting him out. The notion that strong emeotions could block their powers? A deception by the aliens themselves, simply in order to give Pike false hope, thus upping the "drama". The rest of the crew were fooled into beaming down.and that was pretty much that. Elsewhere, the Enterprise would be listed as "lost".

Kirk's adventures? He may have really been some sad lil' ensign on the lower decks working with the waste reclamation systems before the Enterprise reached the Talos system. But, having a strongly developed "Walter Mitty" complex, the Talosians found him found him a prime candidate for their entertainment. Really, how likely would one ship have experienced so many wild encounters in so short a time and come out (relatively) untouched? Nope, Wimpy ol' Jimmy Kirk merely saw himself as the kind of captain no one could ever really be.

Spock? Nah, he only wished he could be as logical and stoic as "Number One". So, the Talosians played upon that desire, tossing in various emotional obstacles just to keep it "interesting".

Characters from later (or "in universe" even earlier) series? They were really the crew we never actually saw but were on the ship. Or, some of them may have been the offspring the Talosians wanted to breed. Chris Pine's version of Kirk may have been the Talosians calling upon "older material" and "rewriting" it a bit for a new generation of slaves.

The bogus science presented in each series or technical achievements that were inconsistent? Hey, the Talosians may be power telepaths, but don't know everything. Or, they simply didn't care that it didn't make sense as they were screwing with the crew's minds anyway.

Yup, Star Trek was actually a horribly failed mission, the tale of a ship captured by bored aliens and its crew deceived for cheap thrills.

As I said, Xaa was feeling quite devilishly cynical that day.

Thread answered! He didn't go back because he never left, and neither will we... BRILLIANT!

 

[Commishsleer]

This thread and everyone in it are just Talosian illusions.

Actually the Star Trek universe actually exists and we live in it and the Talosians are just making us think its a TV show.

 

[johnnybear]

Could be! I've always wondered that what if when we die we wake up inside a tube with wires attached to our heads and then find a group of trained attendees coming to release us from our 'life' within the illusion machine!
JB

 

[Timo]

Even this possibility does not make me rush to the suicide booth, tho - waking up to a world without Star Trek the television show franchise would be fairly distant from my idea of paradise!

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Herbert]

This thread and everyone in it are just Talosian illusions.

Not me man. I swallowed the red pill

 

[Emperor Norton]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truman_Show_delusion

 

[Commishsleer]

I watched the end of the Menagerie Part 2 yesterday and it was pretty convincing that the Talosians were genuinely contrite and just wanted to help Pike.
Unless of course that was an illusion too...

 

[Valenti]

I posited once that Talosians are all Humans in the future, so, but for now it's back! back to work, you animals! Pike is now a future full Ambassador and learning to fly.

 

[Marsden]

I always thought the General Order w/the death penalty was more to protect the Talosians from the Federation, such as Captain Ron Tracey thinking immortality is a good idea to kill thousands of Yangs. Also a captain like Garth would have used the power against them.

So Captain Pike, being a scrupulous character wouldn't be a threat to return.

 

[johnnybear]

Even this possibility does not make me rush to the suicide booth, tho - waking up to a world without Star Trek the television show franchise would be fairly distant from my idea of paradise!

Timo Saloniemi

Maybe we retain those memories of the series and can revisit whenever we wish? Hope so, for if not what was the whole point of life in the first place?
JB

 

[MAGolding]

I just saw "Menagerie Part 1" today (05-13-2018) and I wondered for the umpteenth time how Pike was removed from his room just when Miss Piper was watching away from the screen where she was observing Captain Pike's room, distracted by Kirk and Mendez talking about Talos IV. That always seemed like a big coincidence unless Spock knew when Piper was distracted.

And today I thought that just as the Talosians made Kirk think that Mendez got on the shuttlecraft with him, they made Piper think that she saw Pike in his room, turn away from the screen for a moment, and then look back to see that Pike was gone.

So that makes two illusions that the Talosians could create at Starbase 11, an unspecified number of light years from Talos IV.

And since the Talosians apparently created at least two illusions at Starbase 11 during the episode, everything else that happened in the episode could be a Talosian illusion.

 

[Valenti]

Life is an illusion, albeit a persistent one.

 

[johnnybear]

The Talosians had abandoned their plans for a slave colony on Talos IV and after having experienced Pike's pain across the stars only wanted to free him from his damaged body! Maybe they weren't so much evil but misguided!
JB

 

[Kor]

But they found it's a trap. Like a narcotic. Because when dreams become more important than reality, you give up travel, building, creating. You even forget how to repair the machines left behind by your ancestors. You just sit, living and reliving other lives left behind in the thought record.

Of Course the Talosians couldn't fix Vina correctly. They couldn't do anything scientific or technical to any degree of competency. They didn't even know how to repair their own machinery anymore. All they could do was dream all day long.

Kor

 

[Marsden]

I just saw "Menagerie Part 1" today (05-13-2018) and I wondered for the umpteenth time how Pike was removed from his room just when Miss Piper was watching away from the screen where she was observing Captain Pike's room, distracted by Kirk and Mendez talking about Talos IV. That always seemed like a big coincidence unless Spock knew when Piper was distracted.

And today I thought that just as the Talosians made Kirk think that Mendez got on the shuttlecraft with him, they made Piper think that she saw Pike in his room, turn away from the screen for a moment, and then look back to see that Pike was gone.

So that makes two illusions that the Talosians could create at Starbase 11, an unspecified number of light years from Talos IV.

And since the Talosians apparently created at least two illusions at Starbase 11 during the episode, everything else that happened in the episode could be a Talosian illusion.

Or maybe Spock hit her with his Kung Fu and suggested to her she didn't see anything, like some guards and observers have found out. Ok, not really but it was fun to think it.

 

[Shawnster]

Of Course the Talosians couldn't fix Vina correctly. They couldn't do anything scientific or technical to any degree of competency. They didn't even know how to repair their own machinery anymore. All they could do was dream all day long.

Kor

I'll accept this. Good point.

 

[Push The Button]

I hope that Spock sent down a box of spare parts and some extra batteries for Pike's chair, along with the phone number for Starfleet tech support.

 

[Kor]

I remember DC Comics did a follow-up story, I think in the early 90s. It was set in the TOS movie era, and had Spock visit Talos IV. And Pike and Vina had a son, who at first seems to be possibly illusory. The details are a little vague now.

Kor