In the Star Trek pilot episode The Cage, Captain Christopher Pike has been kidnapped. When the Talosians find him uncooperative, they kidnap Number One as well. This leaves Mr. Spock in command of the Enterprise. Due to the aliens’ immense mental powers, he believes that once they have no more use for the ship, they will swat it like a fly. Therefore, he opts to flee, hoping to escape their grasp and thus save the hundreds of lives aboard.
Instead, the Talosians drain all power from the ship. Spock and the crew tear into the ship’s circuitry, but can find no way of restoring power. “If not for the batteries, we’d lose gravitation, oxygen--” His assessment is interrupted by the lights coming on, followed swiftly by the computers. The crew race to the controls, only to realize that the Talosians are running through the ship’s library, and they cannot block the aliens’ access. “They’re collecting all the information we can supply,” he concludes. “They’ve decided to swat us.”
Despite how the Talosians deceived the crew and kidnapped Pike, Mr. Spock previously suggested in the briefing room that the Talosians might only wish to study them. Although he feared that any attempt to rescue Pike might prompt a violent response, the Talosians harmed no one when Number One set up a laser cannon on the surface and blasted the disguised elevator with all the ship’s power. Yet when the Talosians snatch the women from the transporter room, prevent the Enterprise from leaving orbit, and begin reading their records, Spock concludes that the Talosians intend mass murder. He overlooks the fact that the Talosians have left them sufficient battery power to keep them alive and comfortable. Instead of being buoyed by this knowledge, he assumes the worst of this alien race whom he does not understand.
Caught up in their own problems, others sometimes fail to realize how they are imposing on us. When inconvenienced, it is natural to believe that your self-respect (or more) is on the line. But even friends will injury us occasionally. To see malice in a stranger is easy, but not always accurate.
Instead, the Talosians drain all power from the ship. Spock and the crew tear into the ship’s circuitry, but can find no way of restoring power. “If not for the batteries, we’d lose gravitation, oxygen--” His assessment is interrupted by the lights coming on, followed swiftly by the computers. The crew race to the controls, only to realize that the Talosians are running through the ship’s library, and they cannot block the aliens’ access. “They’re collecting all the information we can supply,” he concludes. “They’ve decided to swat us.”
Despite how the Talosians deceived the crew and kidnapped Pike, Mr. Spock previously suggested in the briefing room that the Talosians might only wish to study them. Although he feared that any attempt to rescue Pike might prompt a violent response, the Talosians harmed no one when Number One set up a laser cannon on the surface and blasted the disguised elevator with all the ship’s power. Yet when the Talosians snatch the women from the transporter room, prevent the Enterprise from leaving orbit, and begin reading their records, Spock concludes that the Talosians intend mass murder. He overlooks the fact that the Talosians have left them sufficient battery power to keep them alive and comfortable. Instead of being buoyed by this knowledge, he assumes the worst of this alien race whom he does not understand.
Caught up in their own problems, others sometimes fail to realize how they are imposing on us. When inconvenienced, it is natural to believe that your self-respect (or more) is on the line. But even friends will injury us occasionally. To see malice in a stranger is easy, but not always accurate.
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