b6c
Subj : Re: Cage Blooper
To   : alt.tv.star-trek.tos
From : Karl Johanson
Date : Sun Sep 18 2005 17:32:17

From Newsgroup: alt.tv.star-trek.tos

"Steven L." <sdlitvin@earthlinkNOSPAM.net> wrote in

>> Vina changed her mind at that point and decided to accept death too,
>> rather than continue to act as a lure for more Earthmen to be
>> kidnapped.
>> [[
>>
>> Yes, I remember that, but it doesn't change the fact that she was 
>> able
>> to live in captivity for 18 years.  Obviously therefore, it's 
>> possible
>> for humans to live that way.
>
> It may be possible to live that way *alone*, making that decision only 
> for yourself due to very special circumstances.  Just as Captain Pike 
> offered to do--to sacrifice his freedom for that of his crew.  It's 
> when you have to conspire to enslave others for your own companionship 
> that it becomes intolerable.  That was the point of the scene--the 
> conflict between choosing to live a life of loneliness vs. enslaving 
> others for your own companionship.  (And, as Number One pointed out, 
> needing to see your own children enslaved as well.)

As well, in one of the illusion scenarios, Vina mentioned 'headaches' 
she got when Pike talked about such things (the Taloshians). Pike said 
to her at one point, "those headaches... you know they'll be 
hereditary."

> Another such very special circumstance is if you're already enslaved 
> to permanent injuries anyway.

Or so the Talosians told her...

> The real Vina had to decide to accept a life of illusion on Talos IV, 
> because her body was mangled in the crash.  And in "The Menagerie," 
> Captain Pike has ended up in a similar state as Vina, with an even 
> more damaged body.  So he makes the same decision that Vina did, for 
> pretty much the same reason that Vina did, which I thought was an 
> elegant way to end that episode.
>
> Vina herself told Pike that the Talosian power of illusion was like a 
> narcotic.

When the illusions become more important that real life... Good thing 
Trek fans took that to heart & none of us became obsessed with the 
illusions presented on our TVs.

> In present-day Earth, someone who is suffering chronic pain due to 
> injury or cancer may voluntarily choose to take enough opiate narcotic 
> painkiller that he may risk getting addicted--"enslaved"--to it.

Interestingly, many don't become addicted to such meds, if they use a 
level needed only for pain control. When the pain goes away, there often 
is no lingering desire for the drug.

(Even though this person would never have become a junkie when he
> was healthy.)  What Vina and Pike were doing was similar--becoming 
> "illusion junkies" was still preferable to the sad reality of their 
> state of health.

Quite so. And if cured of their condition, there may be no lingering 
addition to the illusions.

Karl Johanson

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