Sad Stories of The Deaths of Gods

 

PICARD: 
Well, he's always had a certain 

fascination with Humanity, 

with myself in particular….
I think he has more than a passing interest
 in What Happens to Me.

DATA: 

That is True — Q's Interest in You has always been very similar to that of a Master and His Beloved Pet. 

…..That was only an analogy, Captain. 

Let Us Lie, Dreaming all Across 
The Vastness of The Terrestrial Sphere 
and Lament Mournful Elegies 
to The Deaths of Gods

Q. :

I am moving on. 

In your parlance, 

I am dying…

A. :

…Yes, I know —

Q. :

…alone. I am dying alone. 
I Do Not Want That for You. 

Humans... 

Your Griefs, Your Pains 

fix you to moments 

in The Past long gone. 

You're like butterflies 
with your wings pinned. 

My Old Friend, 

forever The Boy who, 

with an errant turn 

of A Skeleton Key, 

Broke The Universe, 

and His Own Heart -- 

No More. 

You are now unshackled 
from The Past. 
As I leave, I leave You Free. 

A. :
But... why does all this matter? 

Is something going to happen 

for which I will be required? 

Q. :

Must it always have galactic import? 

Universal stakes, celestial upheaval? 

Isn't one Life enough? 

You ask Me Why it Matters : 
It matters to Me. 
You matter to me. 

Even gods have favourites, Jean-Luc. 
And You've always been one of mine. 

Q. : 

Welcome to The Afterlife, Jean-Luc --

You're Dead.

A. : 

Q, What is Going on?

Q. : 

I Told You. You're Dead. 

This is The Afterlife, and I'm God.

A. : 

You are Not God.

Q. : 

Blasphemy! You're Lucky I Don't Cast You out, 

or Smite You or something. 

The Bottom Line is, Your Life ended 

about five minutes ago, 

under the inept ministrations 

of Doctor Beverly Crusher.

A. : 

No. I am Not Dead. 

Because I refuse to Believe 

that The Afterlife is run by You.

The Universe is not so badly designed.

Q. : 

Very well. If you really require more evidence 

of your post-mortem status, I guess 

I'll just have to provide you some.

MAURICE: 

Jean-Luc, I told you not to go running off to that Academy.

A. : 

...Father --

MAURICE: 

I Told You that Starfleet would bring you to a bad end, 

but you wouldn't listen. 

Now look at You : Dead before Your Time.

A. : 

Q, enough of this.

Q. : 

Enough what?

MAURICE: 

Why couldn't you have listened? 

Didn't you know that I was working 

for your best interests?

A. : Q, stop this.

MAURICE: 

After all these years, even now, 

You manage to Disappoint Me, Jean-Luc.

Q. : 

He's not the only one 

who'd like to have a word with you.

WOMAN [OC]: 

Why, Jean-Luc? 

Why did you do it?

CREWWOMAN [OC]: 

Captain, there are still people down there. 

You can't abandon them.

CREWMAN [OC]: 

There must be some other way, Captain. 

Some other choice than firing on them.

MAN [OC]: 

If you continue on this course.....

CREWMAN [OC]: 

A direct hit, sir. 

The Ship is Destroyed.

Q. : 

These are The Voices of all the people 

you've killed throughout the years.

A. : 

Whom I've killed? 

What do you mean?

Q. : 

Death has made you a little dim, Jean-Luc. 

These are the voices of all the people 

who have died through your actions 

or your inactions. 

Now, if you have any words 

of apology or regret, 

I believe they're all listening. 

They're a surly bunch, actually, 

so don't drag this out too long.

A. : 

I've no intention of performing for your amusement.

Q. : 

This is not for me. 

This is for you, Jean-Luc. 

This is your opportunity 

to make peace 

with your sordid past.

A. : 

I find it hard to believe that 

you are doing this 

for the benefit of my soul.

Q. : 

Well, now that you've shuffled off the mortal coil, 

we're free to spend a little time together.

A. : 

'A little time together?' 

How much?

Q. : 

Eternity. Now, you're sure you have 

no regrets or feelings of guilt 

about your former life? 

I can't have you whining 

and complaining throughout Time.

A. : 

If I'm really Dead, then my only regret 

is dying and finding you here.

Q. : 

You wound me, Jean-Luc. 

After all, I was not the cause of your death. This was.

He holds up the contraption Kate Pulaski 

put in him all those seasons ago

A. : 

Is that...?

Q. : 

Your Artificial Heart. 

You might have lived if you had a real one 

instead of this unreliable piece of Technology. 

By the way, how did you lose yours anyway?

A. : 

A Mistake.

Q. : 

Is that a regret I hear?

A. : 

I regret a great many things 

from those days.

Q. : 

Really?

(A Nausicaan and a young man in old-style uniform are fighting. Then a second Nausicaan joins in, and a third stabs the man through the back. The blade sticks out of his chest. The young man falls to his knees, looks at the knife point and laughs, then falls to the floor.)

Q. : 

It wasn't very smart of you to take on 

three Nausicaans, was it?

A. : 

No, it wasn't.

Q. : 

And did I hear a laugh? 

It's so unlike You, Jean-Luc, to have a Sense of Humour, especially about getting stabbed through the back.

A. : 

I was a different person in those days. 

Arrogant, undisciplined, 

with far too much ego and too little wisdom. 

I was more Like You.

Q. : 

Then you must have been far more interesting. 

Pity you had to change.

A. : The pity is that I had to be impaled through the back before I learned that lesson. I started that fight with those Nausicaans. I started it because, because I was young and cocky. If I'd been more responsible in those days, I wouldn't have needed this heart, and I wouldn't have died from a random energy surge thirty years later.

Q. : So, if you had it to do all over again?

A. : Things would be different.