Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994): Season 2, Episode 3 - Elementary, Dear Data - full transcript

Captain's log, stardate 42286.3.

We have arrived on station
at coordinates 3629 by 584,

three days early for our rendezvous
with the USS Victory.

There is nothing to do now
but hold this position and wait.

Computer command systems.

Yes, Commander?

Is there a problem? Chief Engineer
La Forge called, "urgent".

Of course. He's over there...
with the Victory.

Geordi, I just had a strange
conversation with your assistant.

Although it is three days until
we rendezvous with the Victory...

She believes it has already arrived?



Not the starship, my friend.
The original.

This is my gift to the Victory's
Captain Zimbata.

Most unusual.

I served with him. Sure wish he'd
been in command of this Victory.

Wind and sail, that's the proper way
to move a ship.

But your speciality is antimatter
power, dilithium regulators.

That's exactly why
this fascinates me, Data.

It's human nature
to love what we don't have.

Simpler days, huh?

Anyway, stringing this rigging has
made me dream of handling sails...

This is not a computer simulation?

The point in doing something
like this is to make it by hand.

Geordi,...
your message said "urgent".

So it is.



While we're waiting,
we have time for me to be Watson.

More properly, your Watson.

My Watson?

I've shown you one of my dreams.
Let's go and share in one of yours.

That does seem only fair.

- Let no one touch this.
- Aye, sir. Where can I reach you?

He can be reached
at 221B Baker Street.

Sir?

Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.

Space, the final frontier.

These are the voyages
of the Starship Enterprise.

Its continuing mission,
to explore strange new worlds,...

..to seek out new life
and new civilisations,...

..to boldly go
where no one has gone before.

Computer, select at random
a mystery by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

in which I will play Sherlock Holmes
and Lt La Forge, Dr John Watson.

Program complete. You may enter.

Excellent.

Look at all the detail.

So you say everything in here
has some significance?

Holmes collected nothing,
no trinkets, no thoughts

which were not
specifically significant to him.

This?

The emerald tie-pin.
Presented to Holmes by Queen Victoria

after he solved the theft
of the Bruce-Partington Plans.

Whitaker's Almanack, which gave
Holmes the key to the secret code

in The Valley of Fear.

The snuffbox of Wilhelm Gottslieg
Siegesmann Van der Romstein.

Alright, Data. You solve the cases
and get all the gifts. What do I do?

Primarily as Dr Watson, you will
keep a record of all I say and do.

For later publication.

And the famous Holmes violin,

bought in a pawn shop in Tottenham
Court Road for 55 shillings.

Which he considered to be
a very good investment.

In the hands of some,
the violin is a wondrous thing,

equally capable of stirring the soul
to the heights of bliss

as to the depths of despair.

But...

Data, that's incredible.
How can you play it like that?

Merely throwing myself
into the part, Watson.

But... in the hands of my friend,
Mr. Sherlock Holmes,

the violin ceases to be a musical
instrument at all and becomes...

Watson, we are about to have guests.

How could you...?

Please answer that.
Mustn't keep the Inspector waiting.

- Inspector? Who?
- Lestrade, of course.

Holmes, are you there, man?

Thank the Almighty you're available.
I'm in a deuce of a dilemma.

May I say your perturbation
becomes you, Lestrade,

and also affords me the opportunity
to yet again serve Queen and country.

- Holmes really talked like that?
- Absolutely.

We need your help, Holmes.

This gentleman here,
the emissary of a foreign government,

has been the victim of
a most accidentally wicked crime.

Damn. Haven't they invented
the electric light by now?

What, dear fellow?

Pray continue, Inspector.

To put the matter simply,
this man was accosted by gypsies

intent on depriving him
of his most valuable possessions.

In the process
of picking his pockets,

they also bagged
a photograph this man was carrying.

Great Scott, the photograph!

You will find that this emissary

works not for, but against
the King of Bohemia.

That photograph
of the King and his mistress

is to be used for blackmail.

Further, upon deeper reflection,
you will deduce, as did l...

Computer, freeze program.

Exit.

Geordi? Where are you going, Geordi?

I'm done.

But...

I was about to reveal that
the "sir" is in fact...

What was the point
in going to the holodeck?

- To solve a Holmes mystery.
- Exactly.

But you've memorised them.

Once anyone speaks, you've got it
solved so there's no mystery.

If there's no mystery,
there's no game. No game, no fun.

I'm not upset with you.

It's just we arrange the time to go
to the holodeck, get the wardrobe,

then boom, before we get started
you jump to the end.

I was looking forward
to the mystery.

I should have extended
the sequence of events.

Oh, I'm not getting through.

The fun in the program, Data, was
in the attempt to solve a mystery.

Is that not what we were doing?

You're wasting
your breath, Lieutenant.

Saying that to Data
is asking a computer not to compute.

Am I so different from you, Doctor?
Can you cease thinking on command?

In medicine, I often face puzzles
I do not know the answer to.

She's right.
You always know the answer.

To feel the thrill of victory,
there must be possible failure.

Where's the victory
if you can't possibly lose?

Are you suggesting
there is value in losing?

Yes, that's the great teacher.

We humans learn more often
from a failure or a mistake

than we do from an easy success.

Not you. You learn by rote.
All is memorisation and recitation.

Deductive reasoning
is also one of Data's strengths.

Yes, and Holmes's, too.

But Holmes understood
the human soul,

the dark flecks that drive us, that
turn the innocent into the evil.

That understanding is beyond Data.

Now you're just being unfair,
Doctor.

I don't think so, Lieutenant.

Your artificial friend hasn't a
prayer of solving a Holmes mystery

he hasn't read.

- I have read them all.
- See?

Maybe the computer could create one
where you wouldn't know the outcome.

- As I said, he hasn't a prayer.
- I accept your challenge, Doctor.

Good for you.

We shall return to the holodeck.
I shall dare it to defeat me.

And you, madam,
are invited to be a witness.

I wouldn't miss it.

Come, Watson.

There. I've instructed the computer
to give us a Holmes-type problem,

but not one written specifically
by Conan Doyle.

So this will be something new?

Exactly. Will that be sufficient,
Doctor?

We'll see.

Program complete. You may enter.

Pies, pies.
Some are meat and some are sweet.

Very impressive.

- Your first visit to a holodeck?
- With this level of sophistication.

How does it work? London was
hundreds of square kilometres large.

This is no larger than the holodeck,

so the computer places images of more
distant perspective on the walls.

But you'd have to touch the wall
to know it was there.

And it fools you in other ways.

I say, Holmes, where shall we head?
The theatre? A concert perhaps?

Stop him!

Stop him! He stole my goods.

No. It is a ruse.

This way.

- What's here, Data?
- What are you doing? Tell us.

The youth was a ploy.
The real crime is here.

The intended victim is that man,
Mr. Jabez Wilson,

employee of the Red-Headed League
and dupe of some criminals.

I saw this plaque,
"Home of the Red-Headed League",

and this rope on the bell.

It enabled me to deduce
that Mr. Wilson was headed here

to meet a most distasteful
and untimely demise.

From this!

Fraud. You didn't deduce anything.

You just recognised elements
from two different Holmes stories.

Reasoning.
From the general to the specific.

Is that not the very definition
of deduction, the way Holmes worked?

Variations on a theme.
Now do you see my point?

All that he knows
is in his memory banks.

Inspiration, original thought,
all the true strength of Holmes,

is not possible for our friend.

I'll give you credit
for your vast knowledge,

but your circuits would short out

if you were confronted with
a truly original mystery.

- It's elementary, dear Data.
- Wait a minute.

We'll see whose circuits short out.

- Computer, arch.
- Are you sure you want to do this?

Better wilted laurels
than none at all.

Computer, override previous program.

OK. A program
that definitely challenges Data.

With events
he has no previous knowledge of.

Computer, in the Holmesian style,
create a mystery to confound Data,

with an opponent who has
the ability to defeat him.

- Define parameters of program.
- What does that mean?

- How far to take the game.
- You mean limiting your risk?

No, the parameters will be whatever
is necessary to meet the directive.

Create an adversary
capable of defeating Data.

- What was that?
- Lieutenant?

An odd surge of power, sir.
It's gone now.

Interesting.

The same London,
but... slightly different.

Is something wrong, Professor?

I... I feel like a new man.

That dark fellow there used
the word "arch", and then...

I wonder...

Arch.

- What have we here?
- Computer standing by.

What are you?

If you refer to the arch you ordered,
it provides computer control.

Do you wish to input any commands?

Not at this time.

It's dark magic, Moriarty!

The best kind, I'm sure.

But I need information.

Data... I mean, Holmes, old boy,
what are we looking for?

For whatever finds us, Watson.

- She has been abducted.
- Who has?

The good Doctor.

I think she's hiding.

She's gonna lead you on a wild-goose
chase and then tell everyone.

The Doctor has been carried away
by two men. One is tall.

The other is shorter, left-handed,
and is employed in a laboratory.

How do you know that?

One set of footfalls
is widely spaced.

The other is evenly spaced,
closer together.

Further, on the ground you can see
the scrapes made by his left shoe

as he twists behind, presumably
to see if he is being followed.

Left-footed means left-handed.

The dark colourings of the scrapes
are the leavings of natural rubber,

a type of non-conductive sole

used by researchers
experimenting with electricity.

Finally, there can be no argument.
The game... is afoot.

Come, Watson.

Hear that? What do
those footfalls tell you, Watson?

We're on the right track.

More particularly, that our
opposition does consist of two men.

And that one of them is carrying
the bound and gagged Dr Pulaski.

You know this because you read it
in a Holmes story, right?

Not at all.

We do not hear her steps, so the
Doctor is probably being carried.

We do not hear cries for help,
so she must be gagged.

Further, both sets of footfalls
are heavy and masculine.

One man shuffles and stumbles
in an irregular pattern.

Since the ground is level,
we must conclude

that Dr Pulaski
is struggling with her captor,

sporadically knocking him off stride.

Deduction. Pure and simple.

Well, not that simple.

Footfalls!

There they are again, Watson.

I dare say we have caught up
nicely with our quarry.

There should be a doorway.

Yeah, come on.

Holmes! Thank God you're here.

Make way, please.
Make way for Sherlock Holmes.

It's murder, Holmes.
Murder most foul.

Well, Holmes, what do you say, man?

I do not see how this connects
with the doctor's disappearance.

Doctor? Dr Watson is right here.

Dr Pulaski. But do not be concerned.
You have enough on your mind.

- She was with you?
- If I may be of assistance.

As I take note of this... dead man,
I deduce that he was strangled.

The finger marks
on his throat show this.

There are signs of struggle,

so the murderer was a stranger
who attacked him from behind.

- Is that correct, Holmes?
- No.

Look at his shoes. He's a convict
released today from Dartmoor prison.

He spent the day in a tavern,
consuming large amounts of gin,

with his killer,
who followed him to this very spot

and waited over there until the
victim slipped into a drunken stupor.

Then, out of fear, motivated only
by self-protection, strangled him.

- There is your killer, Inspector.
- Seize her!

When you check, I believe
you will find that this poor soul

is the victim's common-law wife,

who has been dreading the release
of this vile man.

She hardly has the strength
to strangle a man this size.

Not with her hands, no.
But with this... !

When used as a garrotte, these beads
make a mark similar to fingerprints.

And, Watson, you will note
on the victim's throat,

the marks are too evenly spaced
to have been made by human hands.

Astounding, Holmes.

Not really, Inspector.

And now, for strictly personal
reasons, I must leave. Come, Watson.

This murder does not connect
with our case.

Come along. Hurry it up. Come on.

Data, wait.

If this murder
is unconnected to Dr Pulaski,

then the computer
is running an independent program.

- Yes.
- Why?

I do not know.
That is what puzzles me.

- So you don't know what'll happen?
- No.

- Excellent. Where to now?
- We will find Dr Pulaski in here.

- How's that?
- It is obvious.

Why is that correct?
Isn't this a game of misdirection?

- Not now. He wants us to find him.
- Who does?

The master criminal,
the man Holmes could only defeat

at the cost of his own life
at Reichenbach Falls.

Our adversary, my dear Watson,

is none other than
Professor Moriarty himself.

Now this is getting interesting.

There's nothing here but barrels.

And a trail,

which is so well marked, that
obviously we are meant to follow it.

No, Data. It's another dead end.

No, Watson,
it's not a dead end at all.

Hello. What's this?

Can you see the scratches?

The Doctor was right. Finally
we have a game worth playing.

The time for games is over.

Professor Moriarty, I presume.

How do you know?

He's the one worthy opponent
created by Conan Doyle.

And like a spider, I feel vibrations
when anyone new chances into my web.

Welcome, my dear Holmes.
But not Holmes.

And Dr Watson. But not Watson.

How does he know
we're not who we appear to be?

- Where is Dr Pulaski?
- She's here.

She will have said nothing.

She has provided many answers.
Do you forget I am your equal?

I have read her expressions.

What she has not said
is as important as her words.

- Have you injured her?
- I will, if necessary.

But my mind is crowded with images,

thoughts I do not understand,
yet cannot purge.

They plague me.

You and your associate
look and act so oddly.

Yet though I have not seen
the like of you,

I am familiar with you both.
Very confusing.

I have felt new realities
at the edge of my consciousness

readying to break through.

Surely, Holmes,
if that's who you are,

you of all people
appreciate what I mean.

Say nothing.

I know that there is
a great power called Computer,

wiser than the oracle at Delphi,

a power which controls all of this,
and to which we can speak.

Arch.

Data, this isn't right. A hologram
shouldn't be able to call the arch.

It has described a monstrous shape

on which I am like a fly stuck on
a turtle's back, adrift in emptiness.

What is this, Holmes?

Data, wait.

Why does it frighten you, Holmes?

Data. Will you please
tell me what's going on?

Computer, exit!

Computer, execute complete shutdown
of the holodeck.

- Access denied.
- Explain.

Override protocol
has been initiated.

The program didn't shut down.

We must see the Captain.

Wait. What's on that paper?
Why can't we shut down the holodeck?

This.

This is impossible.

How can a character from
1890s London draw the Enterprise?

- Who's got control of the computer?
- He does. Moriarty.

- Impossible. I don't understand.
- Nor do l.

What about the Doctor?
Is she alright in there?

No. She is in grave danger.

Computer, why wasn't
the holodeck program terminated?

The override protocol
has been initiated.

- On whose authority?
- Lt Geordi La Forge.

Me?

Alright, tell me from the beginning
exactly what happened.

Dr Pulaski and I had a discussion

about whether Data could solve
an original mystery.

Which the computer provided?

- Yes, with a worthy opponent.
- Worthy of Holmes?

My God.

I asked... for a Holmes-type mystery

with an opponent capable of
defeating Data.

- That's got to be it.
- Merde.

Captain, I'm sorry.

I understand, Lieutenant.

Captain, this character, Moriarty,
he called for the arch.

He did what? So...
he has access to the computer.

And perhaps our library files
as well.

That information would be necessary
to create a true adversary for me.

Theorise, Data. What are his limits?

He is still a fictional character,

originally programmed
with 19th-century knowledge.

Which now has access to
24th-century knowledge.

- What does he need to use it?
- Only time.

Sir, I can lead a security team
to sweep the holodeck,

and bring the Doctor out.

I believe that would place
the Doctor at risk.

Our mortality fail-safe
has probably been overridden.

- Computer, where is Dr Pulaski?
- Dr Pulaski is on holodeck two.

- And her vital signs?
- Strong and stable.

Captain,
recommend we attempt to destroy

the hologram generations themselves.
Is that possible, Geordi?

I could split a particle beam
out of the matter/antimatter chamber

and ride it into the holodeck.

If accelerated sufficiently,

that would wash away
all present holographic constructs.

The London buildings, streets,
people, all gone, including Moriarty.

Dr Pulaski?

The beam
will tear apart human flesh as well.

Captain, I'm sensing something
from the holodeck.

It's as if a unifying force
or single consciousness

is trying to bring it all into focus.

There can be only one explanation.

In programming Moriarty
to defeat me, not Holmes,

he had to acquire
something which I possess.

What, exactly?

Consciousness, sir. Without it
he could not defeat me.

Computer, what happened?

Altitude and stabilisation control
of the Enterprise

was momentarily transferred
to holodeck two.

Data, you and I
should return to the holodeck.

- I will change into my uniform.
- No. I will change into a costume.

Uniforms might pose questions
I don't want asked.

It seems that he feeds on knowledge.

Well, let's not give your nemesis
any more information than we have to.

- How did you make the room shake?
- I'm not sure.

Now, dear lady,...
will that be one lump or two?

Lumps, Professor?
What sort of lumps?

- Milk, of course?
- Why not?

Mr. Computer proposes
the incredible thought

that we are all travelling
in a vessel of some sort.

Is that true?

I don't know
what you're talking about.

The scones are likewise a must.

This is... really quite excellent.

Strange, it actually pleases me
to hear you say that.

Very strange.

You're sounding very different
from the Moriarty I've read about.

- You're not frightened of me?
- No.

You should be.

Mr. Computer, the arch, please.

A few more questions, Mr. Computer.

I just can't seem to
remember that last command.

Oh, well, sooner or later
it'll all come to me.

But in the meantime,

I will approach the problem
from a familiar perspective.

There's no reason why
I can't use knowledge from my world

- to bring me closer to yours.
- I have no idea what you mean.

Of course you do.

The more you proclaim ignorance,
the more I am on to you.

Your every silence speaks volumes.

If you know what I'm saying
when I'm not saying anything,

what do you need me for?

Thank you for the tea and crumpets.
I guess I'll be going.

Where? Back to here?

Yes. Would you care to join me?

In time.

In time I will leave all of this
and join you out there.

Or is this where we both are
right now?

Right now, we are in London.

Tell me what you want from me,
or allow me to leave.

I want nothing more than what
the fisherman expects of the worm.

You, dear Doctor, will be the lure.

And this will be the hook
for your Capt Jean-Luc Picard.

Who is that?

How well you know.

- Nice suit.
- Thank you.

Captain, I will be standing by
to assist you.

You'll be a big hit in London.

Computer,
is the program still running?

Affirmative. You may enter.

Data, shall we go?

Gentlemen.

Open.

We don't have much time.
He's getting more control.

Let's try to beat Moriarty
by giving him everything he wants.

Obviously he's trying
to alter the programming.

- Captain?
- Tuppence.

Two pence. Supposed to be good luck.
We may need some.

I'll take that coin, sir.
That's right, and any more you got.

- Excuse me.
- I don't think so. I want money.

- That's right, I want it now.
- Data.

This hologram differs from any
I've seen. Could he injure you?

It's more serious than that.

The mortality fail-safe has been
circumvented. He could've killed me.

Let it go, guv. He's hurtin' me.

Data, let him go.

We will find Moriarty this way, sir.
The warehouse.

You alright?

Yes, except for being
crammed full of crumpets.

I'm a civilised abductor, Captain.
Civilised, but still dangerous.

- Bridge to holodeck control. Worf.
- Here, sir.

- Status? Anything changed?
- No, sir.

Moriarty, you were... conjured up
in an attempt to defeat Holmes here.

Once that attempt is concluded,
your program has run its course.

Your existence is done.

Congratulations, Professor.
I capitulate to the better man.

Your victory, sir, is...

is well earned.

It's gone beyond that game, Mr. Data.

Note I no longer call you Holmes.

Whatever I was when this began,
I have grown.

I am understanding more and more.

I am able to use
the power at my fingertips.

I can affect this vessel.

And I can inflict bodily harm
on you, and on your Doctor.

Yes, you can do that,
but you haven't.

You shook this ship to get
my attention. What is it you want?

The same thing you want
for yourself, to continue to exist.

If I destroy this vessel, can you
say that it doesn't matter to you?

Interesting pun, don't you think?
For matter is what I am not.

The computer says I am made up
only of energy.

That may not be
entirely... true,... Professor.

This which we call the holodeck,

uses a principle similar
to a device called a transporter.

In the time we live,
humans have discovered

that energy and matter
are interchangeable.

In the holodeck, energy is converted
into matter. Thus you have substance.

But only here.

And if I step off this holodeck?

Then, Professor,
you will cease to exist.

You are not alive.
As I said before, you are only...

A holographic image. I know.

- But are you sure?
- Yes.

Does he have life? He's a machine,
but is that all he is?

No. He is more.

Exactly.

Is the definition of life cogito,
ergo sum, I think, therefore I am?

Yes,
that is one possible definition.

It is the most important one.

And for me,
the only one that matters.

You asked your computer to program
a nefarious fictional character

from 19th-century London,
which is how I arrived.

But I am no longer that creation,
that evil character.

I have changed. I am alive. And
I am aware of my own consciousness.

Moriarty, my responsibility
is this vessel and its crew.

I want my existence. I want it
out there, just as you have yours.

That may not be possible.

- Then you must murder me, Captain.
- I cannot give you what you want.

Because you cannot convert holodeck
matter into a more permanent form.

Yes, that is so.

A pity.

What I have seen,...

..what I have learned,...

..fascinates me.

I do not want to die.

And I do not want to kill you.

Madam,
I have enjoyed your company.

Computer,... arch.

Cancel override protocol.

Return control of the holodeck
to main computer.

My fate is in your hands.

As perhaps it always was.

- Bridge, this is the Captain.
- Cmdr Riker here, sir.

Number One,
the situation is under control.

Aye, sir.

Moriarty, this vessel's computer
has a vast memory capacity.

- I know.
- You won't be extinguished.

We will save this program. Hopefully,
in time, when we know enough,

we will bring you back,
able to leave the holodeck.

Perhaps we'll meet again, madam.

It could be a while. Time won't pass
for you, but I may be an old woman.

But I'll still
fill you with crumpet, madam.

I detest long goodbyes.

You have the arch.

As you wish. A short goodbye.

Computer, save the program of the
character Moriarty, then discontinue.

Damaged?

Yes, sir. She cracked a spar
when the Enterprise was shaken.

Otherwise, she weathered it
quite nicely.

She's beautiful. A wonderful
testimony to simpler times.

Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.

It's just that,
I can't help thinking how...

What else might have happened
because I misspoke a single word?

Soon she'll be ship-shape
and Bristol fashion.

"Bristol fashion", sir?

It's an old navy phrase,
meaning everything in perfect order.

Yes, sir.

As are we, Mr. La Forge.

Yes, sir.

Captain,
Starship Victory has arrived.

On my way, Number One.

Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.