Fabula
S2E22 · Shades of Gray
S2E22
· Shades of Gray Flashback

Hold Position — Beyond This Place, Dragons

On the bridge Riker gives a calm technical status while Picard quietly converts uncertainty into a command: hold position and study the anomaly. Their exchange — Riker invoking archaic flat‑Earth lore, Picard reframing it as seafaring superstition and the warning, “beyond this place there be dragons” — diffuses panic, steadies the crew, and rhetorically prepares them to face unknown dangers. This compact emotional pivot affirms Riker’s steadiness and loyalty and functions as a deliberate setup before the medical crisis deepens and the mission plunges into darker memories.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

2

Riker stares into the seemingly infinite void and frames it through ancient flat‑Earth lore; Picard tags the geocentric fallacy, yoking their present frontier to humanity’s past misconceptions.

curiosity to awe

Picard evokes “Beyond this place there be dragons” and even mutiny at the yardarm; Riker counters with confident loyalty, and Picard lands on dry humor to defuse the specter of fear.

ominous foreboding to reassurance

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain
 primary

Quietly confident and steadying; uses controlled authority and mild irony to contain uncertainty and model calm for the crew.

Approaches Riker, stands beside him, converts the situation into an explicit command to hold position and study, and supplies a wry historical aphorism that reassures while acknowledging genuine danger.

Goals in this moment
  • • Stabilize the bridge by issuing a clear, measured order.
  • • Reframe the crew's emotional response to the unknown so they remain composed and investigative.
Active beliefs
  • • Decisive but cautious command calms crews and yields better outcomes.
  • • Shared metaphors and institutional memory (e.g., sailors' superstitions) are effective tools for leadership and morale.
Character traits
authoritative reassuring disciplined dryly humorous
Follow Jean-Luc Picard's journey
William Riker
Commander
 primary

Composed and quietly curious; outwardly steady with an undercurrent of fascination rather than fear.

Standing at a bridge panel and looking up at the dark viewscreen, Riker reports that all stations have checked in, offers an historical anecdote to contextualize the void, and returns his gaze to the inscrutable display.

Goals in this moment
  • • Communicate operational status to reassure the captain and crew.
  • • Frame the anomaly in familiar, historical terms to reduce panic and make the unknown cognitively manageable.
Active beliefs
  • • Orderly procedure and clear reporting will prevent unnecessary alarm.
  • • Contextualizing the unknown with historical metaphor helps crew cohesion and decision-making.
Character traits
calm steady curious wryly intellectual
Follow William Riker's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

2
Enterprise Main Bridge Viewscreen (Communications & Sensor Display)

The near-black viewscreen is the focal point: Riker studies its void, and Picard orders that it be held and studied. The screen functions as both stimulus and symbolic unknown, driving the dialogue and the decision to pause the ship for analysis.

Before: Mounted on the bridge, displaying a dark, inscrutable …
After: Continues as the subject of study; physically unchanged …
Before: Mounted on the bridge, displaying a dark, inscrutable void that draws officers' attention.
After: Continues as the subject of study; physically unchanged but designated by command as the object of prolonged observation.
Ship's Yardarm

Mentioned rhetorically by Picard when recounting sailors' punishments — the yardarm appears only as a historical image invoked to dramatize past threats and the lengths crews would go to avoid unknown danger; it functions symbolically rather than physically in the scene.

Before: Not physically present on the bridge; exists as …
After: Remains a rhetorical device that reinforces the seriousness …
Before: Not physically present on the bridge; exists as a cultural/maritime image in dialogue.
After: Remains a rhetorical device that reinforces the seriousness of exploration risks and supports Picard's calming metaphor.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

4
Main Bridge

The Main Bridge is the operational center where this exchange occurs: officers report in, command posture is taken, and institutional authority is performed. It frames the moment as professional, controlled, and consequential—where decisions about posture toward the unknown are made.

Atmosphere Taut but composed; alert curiosity under disciplined control.
Function Command center and stage for leadership to steady the crew and set investigative policy.
Symbolism Embodies institutional authority and the obligation to transform fear into disciplined inquiry.
Access Restricted implicitly to bridge crew and senior officers; not an open area for the general …
Dark, near-black viewscreen dominating forward field of view. Low ambient bridge lighting that emphasizes displays and faces. Quiet, professional reporting cadence; absence of alarm tones.
Earth Orbit

Earth is invoked as a historical anchor in Riker's anecdote—a cultural reference that supplies familiarity and contrasts nascent modern cosmology with ancient superstition, used to steady the crew's emotional frame.

Atmosphere Not physically present; invoked nostalgically and intellectually to orient the crew's perspective.
Function Metaphorical reference point that provides moral and epistemic ballast.
Symbolism Represents settled knowledge and human error together—what we once 'knew' versus what we now can …
Mentioned as a site of historical belief (flat Earth). Used to contrast ancient cosmology with current scientific inquiry.
Earth's Atlantic Ocean

The ocean functions as a metaphor invoked by Riker to dramatize the perils of exploration—ships 'falling off the edge'—helping to make the abstract void into a visceral image of danger.

Atmosphere Evocative and cautionary in the dialogue; not physically present but emotionally present as an old …
Function Illustrative metaphor used to reduce panic by translating the unknown into a familiar image.
Symbolism Represents the elemental, indifferent risk of exploration that predates modern navigation.
Referred to conversationally as a dangerous, boundary-defining space. Serves as a cultural memory that shapes the crew's reaction to unknown regions.
Edge of the World

The 'Edge of the World' is called up as a rhetorical location—an ancient cognitive boundary invoked to explain why humans fear unexplored spaces; it provides the metaphorical topology for Picard's 'dragons' aphorism.

Atmosphere Mythic and cautionary; a conceptual horizon rather than a place with physical presence.
Function Metaphorical horizon that frames the crew's stance toward the anomaly.
Symbolism Embodies the intersection of myth and exploration anxiety; a narrative shorthand for unknown danger.
Mentioned as a cultural, not physical, limit. Evokes sailors' lore and punitive imagery (yardarm) to dramatize stakes.

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What this causes 1
Foreshadowing medium

"‘Beyond this place there be dragons’ anticipates the perilous plunge into Riker’s darkest memories."

Last-Resort Neural Shock
S2E22 · Shades of Gray

Key Dialogue

"RIKER: "All stations have reported, Captain. There seems to be no immediate threat to our ship or crew.""
"PICARD: "In which case, let's hold position for a while, Number One. This is worth studying.""
"PICARD: "Beyond this place there be dragons... It was even said that crews would threaten to hang their captain from the yardarm if they refused to turn back.""