Secrets & Lies

" ....And so She has undergone The Transformation, and what is her initiation? 

Typically, it is to sit, in a little hut 

for a certain number of days, 

and realise What She Is.

She Sits There.

 

St. Bethany of Shermer :

Why?!?

What the fuck do You want from me..?!

I fucking hate You..!!

I hate You..!!

The Voice :

He can't Hear You, you know --

That's Why We Needed You.

St. Bethany of Shermer :

Why didn't you tell me?

The Voice :

Would you...

Could you have believed me?

It was something you had to come to gradually.

Only after Everything You've Seen...

Everything You've Heard... 

Could you possibly be able to accept 

The Truth.

BETHNAY :

I don't want This.

It's too big.

The Voice :

That's what Jesus said --

I had to tell Him.

And you can imagine how that hurt The Father,

not to be able to tell The Son Himself 

because one word from His lips 

would destroy the boy's frail Human form.

So I had to deliver the news 

to a scared child 

who wanted nothing more than 

to play with other children.

I had to tell this little boy, that 

He was God's Only Son...

and it meant a Life of Persecution and eventual crucifixion 

at the hands of the very people 

He'd come to enlighten and redeem.

He begged me to take it all back.

As if I could.

He begged me to

"make it all Not-True."

I'll let you in on something, Bethany, 

something I've never told anyone before.

If I had The Power...

I would have.

It's unfair.

It's unfair to ask a child to shoulder that responsibility 

and it's unfair to ask you to do the same now.

I sympathise. I do.

I wish I could take it all back.

But I can't.

This... is 

Who You Are.

BETHNAY :

Everything I am has been A Lie?

The Voice :

No! Knowing What You Now Know 

doesn’t mean you're not 

Who You Were -

You are Bethany Sloane.

No one can take that away from you, not even God.

All this means is a redefinition of that identity.

The incorporation of this new data into Who You Are.

Be Who You’ve Always Been.

Just... be this as well — from time to time.

She’s now a Woman. 

And what is a Woman? 

A Woman is a Vehicle of Life, and Life has overtaken her. She is a Vehicle now of Life. 

A Woman’s What It is All About; the giving of birth and the giving of nourishment. 

She’s identical with The Earth Goddess in her powers, and she’s got to realize that about herself.”

[Ready room]

PICARD:
Come.

TROI:
Captain, I just wondered if there's anything you wanted to talk about.

PICARD:
I don't think so, Counsellor.

TROI:
I would have thought having a Borg on the ship would stir some feelings.

PICARD:
I'm quite recovered from my experience, thank you.

TROI:
Sometimes even when a victim has dealt with his assault there are residual effects of the event that linger.
You were treated violently by the Borg.
Kidnapped, assaulted, mutilated.
PICARD:
Counsellor. Counsellor, I very much appreciate your concern for me, but I can assure you it is quite misplaced.
I have carefully considered the implications of having a Borg on this ship.
I have weighed the possible risks, and I am convinced that we are doing the right thing.
Now, I am quite comfortable with my decision.


TROI:
I see. Well, if at any point you want to talk more.

PICARD:
I shall certainly avail myself of your help. 

ROBERT PICARD: 

I was always Your Brother, 

watching you receive the cheers, 

watching you Break Every Rule 

Our Father made 

and 

get away with it.

JEAN-LUC PICARD: 

Why didn't you break a few rules?

ROBERT PICARD: 

Because I was The Elder Brother, 

The Responsible One. 

It was My Job to look after you.

PICARD: 

Look after me? You? 

You were a bully.

ROBERT: 

Sometimes. Maybe. 

Sometimes I even enjoyed bullying you.

PICARD: 

All right. Try it now.

ROBERT: 

Did you come back, Jean-Luc? 

Did you come back because 

you wanted me to look after you again?

PICARD: 

Damn you!

(And he punches his brother, sending him flying over some barrels into the vineyard proper. There they fight in the muddy irrigation ditches, through the vines until they finally fall back laughing)

PICARD: 

You were asking for it, you know.

ROBERT: 

Yes, but you needed it. 

You have been terribly hard on yourself.

PICARD: 

You don't know, Robert!You don't know!

They took Everything I Was. 

They used me to Kill and to Destroy, 

and 

I couldn't stop Them. 

I should have been able to stop Them!

 

I tried. I tried so hard, 

but I wasn't strong enough. 

I wasn't good enough. 

I should have been able to stop them. 

I should! I should!

 BORG QUEEN :  

What's wrong Locutus? 

Isn't this familiar?
Organic minds are such fragile things. 

How could you forget me so quickly? 

We were very close, 

You and I --

You can still hear Our Song
.
PICARD: 

Yes, ...I remember You. 

You were there all the time. 

But that ship and all The Borg on it were destroyed.

BORG QUEEN: 

You think in such three-dimensional terms. 

How small you've become. 

Data understands me. 

Don't you, Data?

(Data is standing in a Borg cubicle)

PICARD: 

What have you done to him?

BORG QUEEN: 

Given him what he always wanted, 

Flesh and Blood.

PICARD: 

Let him go. 

He's not the one you want.

BORG QUEEN:

Are you offering yourself to us?

PICARD:

Offering myself....? 

...That's it. I remember now. 

It wasn't enough that you assimilate me. 

I had to give myself freely to the Borg, ...to you.


BORG QUEEN:
You flatter yourself.
I've overseen the assimilation of countless millions.
You were no different.

PICARD:
You're lying. You wanted more than just another Borg drone. 

You wanted a human being with a mind of his own, who could bridge the gulf between humanity and the Borg.
You wanted a counterpart, but I resisted. 

I fought you.

BORG QUEEN:
You can't begin to imagine the life you denied yourself.

PICARD:
It's not too late.
Locutus could still be with you, just in the way you wanted. An equal. 

Let Data go and I will take my place at your side, willingly without any resistance.

BORG QUEEN:
Such a noble creature.
A quality we sometimes lack.
We will add your distinctiveness to our own.
Welcome home, ...Locutus.

ROBERT: 

So, my brother is a human being after all. 

This is going to be with you a long time, Jean-Luc. A long time. 

You have to learn to live with it. You have a simple choice now. 

Live with it below the sea with Louis, or above the clouds with the Enterprise.

PICARD: 

You know, I think you were right after all. 

I think I did come back so that you could help me.

ROBERT:

You know what? 

I still don't like you, Jean-Luc.