tv is bad for you

[clear-horizons.livejournal.com]

Picard was sitting, watching television.

To be precise, he was watching episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. He remembered the Farpoint mission, remembered Q and his 'trial for humanity'. He only grew more sullen when he switched it ahead many episodes to First Contact with the Borg. He watched as a model of the Enterprise was bombarded with weapons fire, glaring when an actor dressed as him came on screen, pleading with Q to help him.

"It's entertainment to them," he said, his voice flat. "It's just entertainment to them."

Comments

[anoldtrickster.livejournal.com]

"Stories—and life—are worth nothing without conflict."

Wednesday takes a seat, grunting as he bends. It's strange, though—just how did he move so quietly before, if this effort is enough to pain him...?

"But the moral? Pride can be a dangerous thing, when all the chips are down."

[clear-horizons.livejournal.com]

"Pride goeth before a fall," the captain murmured, turning a glance toward Wednesday. "I suppose I can appreciate the moral. But this ... it happened. All of it. I can remember it as clearly as if I were still there, and here it's ... a television show."

[anoldtrickster.livejournal.com]

"And I can remember living through a few things they call stories, nowadays, but I manage to stand it," the old man says, straightening up and then slouching a little again. "It's a good television show—or so I've heard. And it resonates with people. Why in Hell do you think they all trust you so much?" He gestures broadly, as if to encompass the whole ship.

[clear-horizons.livejournal.com]

"After what happened in there, I'm not so sure about that trust," he quipped.

[anoldtrickster.livejournal.com]

Wednesday lets out an amused hfff. "I don't think you'll be rid of it that easily," he says optimistically. "There are people here who have been looking up to you since they were children—even if you were just a figure in a morality play then."

[clear-horizons.livejournal.com]

"Oh, that's cheering," Picard replied, only half-joking. "So I'm trusted by virtue of my life being on display for anyone to see."

[anoldtrickster.livejournal.com]

"You can't tell me you wouldn't feel the same, if one of your childhood heroes were to suddenly appear," Wednesday counteroffers.

[clear-horizons.livejournal.com]

"I suppose you're right," he replied. "I just hope this show hasn't blown up people's expectations of me."

[anoldtrickster.livejournal.com]

"Of course it has," Wednesday says amiably. "Really, you should think about how much you're willing to try and live up to it."

[clear-horizons.livejournal.com]

"Well. Living up to a fictionalized version of myself wasn't something I was expecting, but I suppose you're right."

[anoldtrickster.livejournal.com]

"You should keep in mind, it'll be more than you having that issue. You know that tall brown-haired fellow with the little curl, goes by 'Superman'—?" He gestures in a little spiral at his forehead.

[clear-horizons.livejournal.com]

"I'm somewhat familiar with him, as he's a more senior member of the crew than many others. What about him?"

[anoldtrickster.livejournal.com]

Wednesday stretches to his feet and shuffles over to fiddle with the media controls.

After a few moments, a particular movie trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twyYIPhSa3U) starts up, and he sidles over to sit back down.

[clear-horizons.livejournal.com]

"My word," Picard said. "To imagine such expectations on one man."

[anoldtrickster.livejournal.com]

"I haven't bothered to recognize many—" —he says it as if he could somehow retroactively choose what popular fiction he knows— "—but, still, I wouldn't doubt that there are very many onboard here that might have the same issue. It's curious, if you think about it... could it have been an intentional choice by the... recruiters?"

[clear-horizons.livejournal.com]

"I don't doubt it," Picard replied. "The question remains: What is their ultimate purpose?"

[anoldtrickster.livejournal.com]

"That is, indeed, the question," Wednesday says with a nod. "Perhaps some measure of... assumed predictability."

[clear-horizons.livejournal.com]

"Is it monitoring us and selecting us through our fictional portrayals, then?"

[anoldtrickster.livejournal.com]

"That would be my guess." Wednesday lets out a 'hnn'. "If there's an infinite set of possibilities, why not pick and choose from the ones you already know something about?"

[clear-horizons.livejournal.com]

"That would be logical, but I haven't seen any sort of fictional information in here regarding other crew members. So while this might be where they began, it certainly isn't their only resource."

[anoldtrickster.livejournal.com]

"I don't know..." Wednesday says a little dubiously. "It may be that we just don't know what to look for—if someone here is a side character—" (and he makes little airquotes) "—would it be so clear just what media they're involved in? You and I both know that most people aren't so easy to pigeonhole on sight..."