In the Star Trek pilot episode The Cage, Captain Christopher Pike has been kidnapped. In an effort to get him to stay willingly, the Talosians capture Number One and his yeoman. He must now choose a mate: either Vena, or one of his two crewmembers. But the Talosians make one mistake: each of the women they plucked from the Enterprise wears a phaser on her utility belt.
When a Talosian opens a hidden panel and reaches for the discarded phasers, Pike, only feigning rest, hauls the alien into the cell. The Talosians are a sedentary people; the Enterprise crew are hardened by the dangers of space travel and away missions. The Talosian uses illusion to transform into one fearsome beast after another. But Pike has grown tired of such trickery, so the alien must use the remaining arrow in his quiver. “Your ship,” he gasps. “Release me, or I will destroy it.”
With their starships and the discovery of warp drive, more star systems can be visited than humanity can ever explore. The Talosians have accomplished this and more, including mental powers such as telepathy, telekinesis, and their ability to generate convincing illusions. A meeting between two such accomplished races should have been harmonious and constructive. Instead, these two end up on the floor of a cell, one threatening murder, the other to a ship with a crew of two hundred.
The Talosians believe their cause is noble, yet assume that Pike would never willingly give up Starfleet for Vena. So they never scan the Enterprise records to better understand humanity. (At least not until this point). Instead, they imprison Pike, and employ illusion, punishment, and manipulation to shape him into the person they wish him to be.
At the beginning of The Cage, Pike confided in Dr. Phil that he was tired of commanding a starship. He wondered if he might be destined for another type of life. Perhaps, had the Talosians tried to get to know him, dealt with him honestly and fairly, and given him the freedom to make his own choice, he would have willingly pledged his life to them (and to Vena). Sadly, we will never know.
Can great good be accomplished through deception and manipulation? Machiavelli might have said yes. Events in The Cage suggest otherwise.
When a Talosian opens a hidden panel and reaches for the discarded phasers, Pike, only feigning rest, hauls the alien into the cell. The Talosians are a sedentary people; the Enterprise crew are hardened by the dangers of space travel and away missions. The Talosian uses illusion to transform into one fearsome beast after another. But Pike has grown tired of such trickery, so the alien must use the remaining arrow in his quiver. “Your ship,” he gasps. “Release me, or I will destroy it.”
With their starships and the discovery of warp drive, more star systems can be visited than humanity can ever explore. The Talosians have accomplished this and more, including mental powers such as telepathy, telekinesis, and their ability to generate convincing illusions. A meeting between two such accomplished races should have been harmonious and constructive. Instead, these two end up on the floor of a cell, one threatening murder, the other to a ship with a crew of two hundred.
The Talosians believe their cause is noble, yet assume that Pike would never willingly give up Starfleet for Vena. So they never scan the Enterprise records to better understand humanity. (At least not until this point). Instead, they imprison Pike, and employ illusion, punishment, and manipulation to shape him into the person they wish him to be.
At the beginning of The Cage, Pike confided in Dr. Phil that he was tired of commanding a starship. He wondered if he might be destined for another type of life. Perhaps, had the Talosians tried to get to know him, dealt with him honestly and fairly, and given him the freedom to make his own choice, he would have willingly pledged his life to them (and to Vena). Sadly, we will never know.
Can great good be accomplished through deception and manipulation? Machiavelli might have said yes. Events in The Cage suggest otherwise.
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