In the Star Trek pilot episode The Cage, Captain Christopher Pike was transported back to Rigel 7. This time, in place of his crew, he fights the Kaylar warrior to protect Vena. When he is returned to his cell, he finds her standing beside him. Out in the corridor, a group of observing Talosians notice his glare and leave.
Pike knows he was not really back to Rigel 7. Instead, while his body was trapped in this cage, his mind was manipulated by the Talosians. But is this a real woman standing beside him, or another illusion like the other crash survivors he met on the surface? And why is she wearing clothing similar to that of his captors?
Vena insists that her purpose in being here is benign: she merely wishes to please him. Pike declares he’s never dreamed of or imagined her; she suggests maybe he has, but has since forgotten. But speaking of dreams, does he have any dream that he would like to share with her? He can live out any dream he wishes, no matter how fantastic!
Unfortunately for her, Pike is still traumatized by the deaths and injuries his crew suffered on Rigel 7, and in the first dream the Talosians made him relive, they forced him to again kill the Kaylar warrior. He can hardly feel grateful to them, or her, for that experience. Nor does he have any framework from which to judge whether she is real or not: she won’t even give him a definitive answer on that subject. Even if he supposes that she isn’t an illusion, even if he could judge that she is as real as the Talosians, the question remains: why should he trust her? And why should he share his intimate thoughts and dreams with her, when she played a part in the deception that led to his imprisonment?
Vena cannot comprehend Pike’s reaction. She has offered to live out any dream he desires, regardless of how much emotional or physical pain she might suffer during the experience. She is willing to transform herself physically, or alter her personality in any way that will please him. Yet Pike stands aloof; he refuses to share his thoughts or feelings with her. The Talosians can give him anything in the universe, yet his only wish is to block them from reaching into his mind!
When someone we care for turns away from us, we wonder how they could reject our friendship and love. A child or dependent parent grows aloof and uncommunicative. A close friend drifts away. A special friend or spouse finds less joy in your presence than in the past. You cannot relive the circumstances that brought the relationship to this point. You cannot buy another’s love with presents, or by regenerate it by subsuming your unique personality. But if you can wait patiently, and if you can restrain yourself from trying to trap them inside a cage with you, perhaps one day they’ll return to your side. To stay.
Pike knows he was not really back to Rigel 7. Instead, while his body was trapped in this cage, his mind was manipulated by the Talosians. But is this a real woman standing beside him, or another illusion like the other crash survivors he met on the surface? And why is she wearing clothing similar to that of his captors?
Vena insists that her purpose in being here is benign: she merely wishes to please him. Pike declares he’s never dreamed of or imagined her; she suggests maybe he has, but has since forgotten. But speaking of dreams, does he have any dream that he would like to share with her? He can live out any dream he wishes, no matter how fantastic!
Unfortunately for her, Pike is still traumatized by the deaths and injuries his crew suffered on Rigel 7, and in the first dream the Talosians made him relive, they forced him to again kill the Kaylar warrior. He can hardly feel grateful to them, or her, for that experience. Nor does he have any framework from which to judge whether she is real or not: she won’t even give him a definitive answer on that subject. Even if he supposes that she isn’t an illusion, even if he could judge that she is as real as the Talosians, the question remains: why should he trust her? And why should he share his intimate thoughts and dreams with her, when she played a part in the deception that led to his imprisonment?
Vena cannot comprehend Pike’s reaction. She has offered to live out any dream he desires, regardless of how much emotional or physical pain she might suffer during the experience. She is willing to transform herself physically, or alter her personality in any way that will please him. Yet Pike stands aloof; he refuses to share his thoughts or feelings with her. The Talosians can give him anything in the universe, yet his only wish is to block them from reaching into his mind!
When someone we care for turns away from us, we wonder how they could reject our friendship and love. A child or dependent parent grows aloof and uncommunicative. A close friend drifts away. A special friend or spouse finds less joy in your presence than in the past. You cannot relive the circumstances that brought the relationship to this point. You cannot buy another’s love with presents, or by regenerate it by subsuming your unique personality. But if you can wait patiently, and if you can restrain yourself from trying to trap them inside a cage with you, perhaps one day they’ll return to your side. To stay.
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