I, Children of Tamar

RIKER: 

I would prefer to find a peaceful solution. 

If We could TALK Our Way out of 

this one, that much The Better. 


TROI: 

Unfortunately, it may not be that simple. 


RIKER: 

What did you find out? 


DATA: 

The Tamarian Ego-structure does not seem to allow

what We normally Think of as ‘SELF-Identity’. 

Their ability to abstract is highly unusual -- 

They seem to communicate 

through Narrative-Imagery 

by reference to The Individuals and Places 

which appear in their Mytho-Historical accounts. 


TROI: 

It's as if I were to say to you, 

“Juliet, on her balcony. 


CRUSHER: 

An Image of Romance. 


TROI: 

Exactly. 

Imagery is EVERYTHING to The Tamarians. 

It embodies Their emotional states, 

Their very THOUGHT Processes —

It's HOW They Communicate, and 

it's How They THINK. 


RIKER: 

If We know How They Think, shouldn't We 

be able to get something across to Them? 


DATA: 

No, sir. 

The situation is analogous to 

understanding the GRAMMAR 

of a language but none 

of the vocabulary. 


CRUSHER: 

If I didn't know WHO Juliet WAS 

or WHAT she was DOING on that balcony, 

The Image alone wouldn't have any Meaning. 


TROI: 

That's correct. For instance, 

We know that Darmok was A Great Hero, 

A Hunter, and that Tanagra 

was An Island, but that's it. 

Without the DETAILS, there's 

no Understanding. 


DATA: 

It is necessary for Us to 

LEARN The Narrative from 

which The Tamarians are 

drawing Their Imagery — 

Given our current relations, 

that does not appear likely. 


“By creating A Character in a piece of Fiction,

You can allow A Reader to leap over the 

Wall of Self  and to imagine himself 

being  not just somewhere else, 

but someone else …

because people, I think, are essentially 

lonely and alone and frightened 

of being alone”

— Foster.