What Is To Be Done With Them
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Data demands a directive—'What is to be done with them?'—forcing the bridge to confront responsibility for the anachronistic arrivals; Riker replies with blunt uncertainty, exposing command indecision at a moment that requires a clear course of action.
Data displays cultural dislocation by quoting an unfamiliar slang term—'low-mileage-pit-woffie'—turning a strategic meeting into a moment of comic, unsettling temporal mismatch; Riker admits he has no idea, underscoring how wide the cultural gulf runs.
Data frames the revived humans as unique and 'fascinating,' voicing analytic curiosity; Riker snaps back with contempt, dismissing the guests and questioning humanity's twenty-first-century survival—this clash crystallizes a thematic divide between clinical inquiry and moral judgement.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Clinically curious and excited about new data, with slight uncertainty in social register; no visible moral judgment, focused on knowledge acquisition.
Data stands in the corridor pressing for an explicit command about the revived humans, using clinical language and awkwardly testing contemporary slang while clearly fascinated by them.
- • Obtain a definitive command from Riker about how to process/handle the three revived humans.
- • Gather information and contextualize the revived humans as subjects of scientific/forensic interest.
- • Decisions about living subjects require explicit command authorization.
- • These individuals represent valuable new data points that merit study rather than immediate moral dismissal.
Surface impatience and contempt masking uncertainty; he is defensive about resources and the chain of command while unsettled by an unplanned human variable.
Riker responds tersely and dismissively, offering no solution and expressing contempt for the revived humans. He frames them as problematic 'guests' and questions humanity's past survival, both deflecting responsibility and signaling prudential concern for ship welfare.
- • Avoid making a premature decision that could jeopardize ship security or crew resources.
- • Signal that responsibility for these civilians requires higher-level guidance or clearer policy.
- • Maintain ship readiness by downplaying accommodation of unpredictable variables.
- • Resources and security of the Enterprise take precedence over the comfort of unexpected civilians.
- • The twenty-first-century humans are likely more trouble than benefit and may threaten order aboard ship.
- • Command decisions should be decisive; ambiguity is dangerous and should be minimized.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Riker’s cynicism about 21st-century humanity is contrasted by Picard’s articulation of a post-scarcity ethos."
"Riker’s cynicism about 21st-century humanity is contrasted by Picard’s articulation of a post-scarcity ethos."
"Riker’s cynicism about 21st-century humanity is contrasted by Picard’s articulation of a post-scarcity ethos."
Key Dialogue
"DATA: What is to be done with them?"
"RIKER: I don't know."
"DATA: Commander. What is a low-mileage-pit-woffie? RIKER: This time you have me, Data. I haven't a clue."