Okay, I have to admit I like this stupid episode even though I also have to admit that it really is kind of a stupid episode. It's another example of how they were starting to run out of ideas for the standard Star Trek format. But, it's funny to me, it put Spiner through the acting paces, the set designs were interesting, and by this time I'm just biased in favor of the cast. However, there were a lot of problems with this episode.
It begins with Troi overseeing a children's clay sculpture class. She's there to encourage everyone to stress feelings and imagination over technique. Data is also participating in the class and he's produced a precise scale replica of a computer PADD. Troi tries to get him to be more creative by suggesting that he sculpt music, or rather what the word "music" brings to his mind. The result is a perfect treble clef. Troi isn't impressed, but I'm not so sure I wouldn't have done the same thing; or at least eighth notes. He's then called away to the bridge where we learn that the Enterprise has encountered and is now following a rogue comet, meaning it doesn't belong to any solar system that they know of and it's unidentified on all the Federation charts. They calculate that it's been hurtling through space for millions of years and trace it's path back two sectors. How did it manage to miss getting caught in the gravitational pull of a star for all this time? Who knows. When they scan it they find that heavier elements make up the inner core. Then there's a flash of light on the ship. Data tells them it's a distortion that's originating from the inner core. They tweak their sensors accordingly, but now it'll take over three days to finish scanning the comet. Later, Crusher is in Troi's quarters meeting up with her to go to one of Worf's martial arts classes. She notices a stone obelisk with a round stone at the top sitting on her table and asks about it. Troi doesn't know where it came from and doesn't think that Riker brought it as a surprise since it's not his style. Beverly then suggests a secret admirer, but they don't waste any more time talking about it because they'll be late for class. Ah, the willing suspension of belief... neither one is concerned about someone sneaking into a person's quarters to leave strange gifts. After they leave the round stone on top begins to glow and a compass symbol appears on it.
Back in the sculpting class Troi wanders among the children and is amazed when she stops at Data's table again to see that he's made an intricate, decorative mask that covers only half the face. He's proud of the fact that he's used his imagination since the image of the mask was clear in his mind when he began sculpting. But then Troi sees that the mask has the same compass symbol on in the center as the statue in her room and asks Data if he's been to her quarters to see it. He denies it emphatically and she remains suspicious until one of the kids asks for her help with his computer console. It's displaying a bunch of alien hieroglyphics that he can't get off the screen. Now they know something is up. In engineering Geordi has noticed that that the ship's systems are being reconfigured and that alien information is being uploaded into the computer. He's traced it back through the sensor array into the core of the comet. He and Riker start discussing how to penetrate the comet to find out what's at the center. They ask Data for his opinion but he's staring transfixed at the hieroglyphs that are appearing on the screen. He believes that he understands them though he doesn't know how and promises to run a self diagnostic. Meanwhile Riker asks for an interpretation of the glyphs and Data obliges him, pointing to each one and reciting the meaning. When he gets to a large sun with a face he says that it means "death. On the bridge they use the phasers to burn off the outer gases of the comet and find a large alien object beneath it. They date it as being older than the comet and speculate as to what its purpose is. Data confidently answers that it's an information archive. He can't explain how he knows except that he seems to have an intuitive understanding of all the alien information being fed into the computer. They wonder if the device is in communication with him personally and Data willingly agrees to let Geordi run a more complete diagnostic on him. Picard decides to let the archive continue feeding information, since it's contact with an ancient alien race, but stresses caution in case the archive starts harming the ship. He's gathered an assortment of artifacts in his own ready room where he discusses the symbolism of the glyphs with Riker. He's fascinated that the symbols all seem to represent a journey with the sun/death symbol being the final journey. He also makes the shrewd observation of another symbol that appears almost as much as the sun only smaller and in the background. That of a semi-circle. It's all a mystery though.
While Geordi is preforming Data's diagnostic, Data begins to behave strangely. He claims to be feeling an impulse and asks Geordi what it feels like to lose one's mind. Geordi is disturbed by this and moves to disconnect him from the computer. When he does he notices that the circuitry in his head seems to have grown a skin over it. Before has a chance to take it in, Data turns with the compass symbol embossed on his forehead, another stone image on his chest, and a malevolent smile on his face. He warns him that Masaka is coming. They get Picard down there and we discover that Data's personality has been supplanted by someone called Ihat who is an impish man that gives them no straight answers about who he is or where Data is now. After calling for Troi, Picard manages to find out that Ihat is from Masaka's city and that Masaka is a cruel queen of some kind that brings only pain, suffering, and death. He claims to have escaped her and urges them to do the same. When Troi gets down there Ihat thinks she's Masaka and immediately falls to his knees to worship her. Confused, they take him to his quarters for confinement.
Geordi explains that the archive is using Data to recreate personalities the same way it 's using the replicators to reproduce artifacts and that Data's real personality is being suppressed beneath them. Picard tells him to find a way to access the archive while he goes to talk to the people living in Data. When he first enters, Data is sitting on the floor. He's clearly not Ihat and is in a calm state, almost desirous for Masaka to inflict pain on him. Picard asks for Ihat and Data changes as Ihat emerges. He decides that Troi's appearance was a dirty trick and that he won't be fooled again. Picard tries to get more information out of him about Masaka. He speaks cryptically of her but also telegraphs the meaning of the symbols. He says that she spends most of the time sleeping, but is deadly when she's awake. Picard asks her if they can keep her asleep and Ihat responds by questioning if one can stop the sun from rising. He says that Korgano is the only one that can control her but he's not here. Before Picard can find out what Korgano is, Data changes into a frightened child. He's frightened of Masaka, though he doesn't say her name. He grabs Picard's wrist nearly crushing it with android strength when the lights go out. Picard can only sit and listen to the reports from the bridge that the archive has locked in a tractor beam that they can't disengage. There's an energy pulse coming through the tractor beam and Worf is dispatched to look into an emergency call from Ten Forward. The child that Data is asks if Picard is hurting and says that "she'll" hurt us all. Then he lets go and Ihat returns to tell Picard ominously that he's awaken Masaka. We then see that the emergency in Ten Forward is that it's been transformed into a jungle city with larger versions of the smaller artifacts cluttered around. One in particular has a large sun symbol on it. Picard, still enamored with the archaeological aspect makes note of the appearance of the U-shaped symbol in the background as though it were an afterthought. Geordi reports that all of the foreign objects weren't beamed over but that matter in Ten Foward was being transformed to produce the jungle and the ancient ruins. Picard reluctantly orders them to destroy the archive lamenting that they won't be able to learn more. Geordi gets a torpedo ready but it doesn't fire. He lifts the casing to find snakes in the tube and Masaka's sun face on the wall monitors. Engineering begins to transform in real time and a fire springs up blocking Geordi and Worf inside and they need to be beamed out. On the bridge, it's dark and filled with the ancient city as well. They bring Crusher up for some more technical explanations. She says that the archive is using organic material to create the plants and the ship's alloys to create the ruins. Twenty percent of the ship has been changed, but life support is fine. They still wonder what the purpose of all this is, but Geordi at least has some good news. He's managed to access the archive by sending an energy pulse back along the tractor beam. He says that he'll try to find the transformation program and attempt to control it. Picard green lights his plan, but he thinks that the real answer lies in the symbolism of the glyphs and Masaka herself. He's determined to talk directly to her. This is a stretch and almost disappointing to watch because it's definitely not the rational thinking we're used to from Picard who isn't quite as offended as he should be that his ship is being transformed into an ancient civilization and doesn't seem even a little interested in the fact that Data is possessed. Yes, I and the rest of the audience can see that something is wrong with this episode. Geordi's plan makes more sense and any other time that's the route they'd be taking. But instead it focuses on Picard going back to Data's quarters. He arrives to find Data as an old man by a fire pit. He is Masaka's father but he's senile and lost in memories. He too confirms that only Korgano can talk to Masaka before Ihat emerges again.
Picard asks Ihat how to find Korgano but he doesn't know stating that Korgano isn't chasing her anymore. He continues to press him, but Ihat doesn't want to find Masaka and risk being sacrificed. Picard offers to be sacrificed in his place which makes him a little more receptive to telling him how to find her. It's a smart move since Picard knows he's talking to people that don't exist anymore. Ihat tells him that in order to get Masaka's attention he should build her temple. He'll need the sign for it and Ihat claims to know the sign. He says the old man knows it too but he'd have a harder time getting it out of him. After some more fearful hesitation he begins to draw the sign in the dirt but stops short sensing that Masaka has found him. His personality disappears and the old man returns. He refuses to help because Korgano is gone, but Picard takes his hand and helps him to finish the sign that Ihat began drawing. Data transforms once more into the frightened child to describe how the it will take days for the people that Masaka has sent away to die. All of the descriptions given of Masaka's cruelty correspond to the way the sun burns, dehydrates, and kills from exposure. It doesn't take a genius to put it together, but Picard and the others are still mystified somehow. On the bridge they find the symbol for Masaka's temple on the computer. Geordi has found a way to key symbols into the transformation program of the archive. I guess he didn't find a way to undo what's been done though... lol. They don't know what punching this in will do, but Picard claims that Ihat gave his life to show him that symbol so they owe it to him to try. Seriously? This is a good reason to risk the ship? And they're listening to it as sound reasoning? But the actors make it work with the flow of the show and it's hard to think of it like this while you're watching it. They clear out a corridor and initiate the transformation. The corridor turns into a large, beautiful temple with Masaka's sun symbol on all of the columns and decor surrounding the throne seat. Nobody is there yet, so they wait and examine the symbols. Picard notices the semi-circular symbol behind Masaka's sun. Worf supposes it's a horned animal of some kind pursuing the sun. Picard deduces that it represents Korgano who both Ihat and the old man said was chasing her and they look around for more of that symbol. While that's going on, Data, who appears to be asleep, awakes, puts on his face mask and leaves his quarters.
As they continue looking at the art they find one column with a large U-shaped sign on it. The biggest one they'd seen yet and Worf notices that Masaka's sun appears to be pursing it from behind. Picard makes the connection that it probably represents the sun and moon chasing each other around the globe and that only one can be prominent in the sky at any given time. While they're talking Data quietly slips in and takes his place on the throne. Picard tries to talk to him but Data sends him away with a shrill voice. He is now Masaka and she refuses to speak to them. So Picard suggests finding someone to whom she will speak to. They search the computer for Korganao's moon symbol as it appears alone. Will it bring up Korgano's temple or Korgano himself? They don't know but they've only got two hours until the whole ship is transformed, so they try it. What they get is another partial face mask. At this point Picard thinks they're over complicating matters and decides that since the culture thrived on symbolism he should go and pose as Korgano to talk to Masaka. This rationally alarms everyone else because they know nothing about this culture, but the captain plans to improvise based on other cultures he's studied. He walks into Masaka's temple. This time Masaka addresses him, Data's voice now with an effeminate lilt. Picard initiates a vague conversation about how they've chased each other through the sky throughout the ages, likening it to the hunter and the prey. He convinces Masaka to "take a break" as it were. To give into sleep so that she could take up the hunt for him once again. She relents and Data falls asleep.
When he does, everything that belonged to the alien civilization vanishes and the ship is reset to normal. Riker confirms over his com badge that it's normal everywhere else too. Data wakes up and asks if he's been dreaming again. They walk away as Picard tells him what happened. Later in his ready room, Data brings him the Masaka mask. He thought all of the artifacts were gone, but Data tells him that this is the original clay mask that he made and had since painted. He thinks of it as a keepsake since he's feeling rather empty without all of the people that were living inside of him which he estimates to have been in the thousands. Picard ends the show by telling Data that he may never be human but he's now been an entire civilization.
So, it's like a hodgepodge of previous episodes. Primarily it's like The Inner Light but in reverse - instead of bringing one person into a long dead civilization through a mind probe, the archive forces the civilization on the whole ship. We also have Picard's archeology skill saving the day like The Gambit, but it doesn't make any real sense to use it in this episode. They just kind of forgot about Geordi controlling the transformation program. If he could make Masaka's temple appear, couldn't he have made everything else disappear? But still, this episode is a guilty pleasure for me, like Sub Rosa. So why did I like it? My own running commentary wasn't overly flattering. I have to admit to some love-blindness where the cast is concerned. Their timing and delivery was so perfected by now that even though the concept is absurd, they make it entertaining anyway. You can't help but feel scared for Data when he asks how it feels to lose one's mind. You can't help but be amused at the looks on their faces as they watch the different rooms turning into jungle ruins. It's always fun to see Brent Spiner play characters that show emotions and he was given six to juggle in this episode. Data being possessed with another personality isn't anything new either, but this was better than The Schizoid Man. And of course, it makes a nice break from weightier episodes. I'll give it three and a half stars because I know it's technically lacking and not a good Star Trek story, but I'll always like it.
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