Fabula
S1E18 · When the Bough Breaks

Duana Limits Wesley’s Custodian Access, Hinting at Aldea’s Hidden Secrets

Within the austere confines of Aldea’s Custodian Room, Duana formally grants Wesley third-level clearance to interface with the Custodian computer. Wesley eagerly probes the Custodian, uncovering intimate glimpses into the Aldean children’s training and daily lives, revealing their rapid skill acquisition and the cultural pressures of assimilation. However, when Wesley attempts to explore a massive locked door—suspected to conceal the Custodian’s power source—Duana abruptly halts his inquiry, invoking strict prohibitions and emphasizing Aldea’s secret reliance on this enigmatic technology. This moment deepens the narrative tension by exposing the limits of Aldean transparency and foreshadows the critical vulnerabilities Wesley might exploit, anchoring his role as a key catalyst in uncovering the planet’s hidden truths.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

2

Duana abruptly stops Wesley's command to view Jason via the Custodian, signaling the urgency to focus and the limits placed on Wesley's access and inquiries.

curiosity to constraint

Wesley points to the massive locked door and speculates it hides the power source, but Duana reveals its forbidden status and lack of authorization, deepening the mystery of Aldea's reliance on the Custodian.

curiosity to unease ['fortress-like wall']

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

8

Hopeful and intrigued, tinged with frustration at the imposed limitations; motivated to uncover hidden truths.

Wesley actively engages with the Custodian computer, eager and curious to understand Aldea’s technology and the lives of the abducted children. He questions Duana and the Custodian, eagerly watches live feeds of Harry and Alexandra, and pushes boundaries by attempting to access the locked door, embodying his youthful inquisitiveness and emerging leadership.

Goals in this moment
  • Gain maximum access to learn about Aldea’s children and technology.
  • Understand the Custodian’s power source and vulnerabilities.
  • Protect and aid the abducted children through knowledge.
Active beliefs
  • Knowledge is crucial to solving Aldea’s crisis.
  • Technological understanding leads to empowerment and possible rescue.
  • Restrictions are obstacles to be overcome in pursuit of truth.
Character traits
curious eager questioning intelligent determined
Follow Beverly Crusher's journey

Content and intrigued, experiencing a rare moment of joy and personal growth despite captivity.

Harry is observed via the Custodian’s live feed engaging in artistic training with Leda, showing newfound happiness and engagement as he experiments with sculpting tools under her supportive mentorship.

Goals in this moment
  • Learn new skills and find personal expression through sculpting.
  • Gain acceptance within Aldea’s imposed artistic framework.
Active beliefs
  • Artistic ability can provide purpose and identity.
  • Mentorship can ease the hardship of forced assimilation.
Character traits
engaged curious responsive vulnerable
Follow Harry Bernard's journey

Tender and hopeful, delicately balancing the demands of leadership and compassion.

Rashella appears on the Custodian’s live feed teaching Alexandra reasoning skills, showing nurturing enthusiasm and tender protectiveness as she guides the young child’s accelerated education within Aldea’s strict framework.

Goals in this moment
  • Accelerate Alexandra’s intellectual development.
  • Protect Alexandra emotionally amid captivity.
Active beliefs
  • Education is key to Aldea’s survival plan.
  • Affection can coexist with obedience in harsh conditions.
Character traits
nurturing enthusiastic protective maternal
Follow Rashella's journey
Garen
primary

Calmly authoritative, maintaining order without evident emotional conflict.

Garen is present on the live feed, dutifully taking over supervision of Alexandra from Rashella, embodying Aldea’s strict, obedient enforcer role within the children’s regimented lives.

Goals in this moment
  • Enforce Aldea’s strict social order over the abducted children.
  • Ensure Alexandra’s compliance with assigned training.
Active beliefs
  • Discipline is essential for Aldea’s survival.
  • Obedience upholds societal structure.
Character traits
obedient authoritative disciplined
Follow Garen's journey
Duana
primary

Apprehensive yet composed, wary of disclosure but committed to maintaining order and secrecy.

Duana escorts Wesley into the Custodian Room, formally registers him for third-level clearance, and answers his probing questions about the Custodian's function and origins. She exudes a defensive, cautious demeanor, particularly when halting Wesley's curiosity toward the forbidden locked door, embodying both gatekeeper and protector roles for Aldea's secret technology.

Goals in this moment
  • Grant Wesley necessary access while controlling information flow.
  • Prevent unauthorized exploration of Aldea’s technological secrets.
  • Maintain cultural secrecy and uphold Aldean societal protocols.
Active beliefs
  • The Custodian’s inner workings are too dangerous or sacred to reveal.
  • Aldea’s survival depends on strict control and secrecy.
  • Wesley’s curiosity must be managed to avoid destabilizing Aldean order.
Character traits
defensive cautious authoritative patient guarded
Follow Duana's journey
Alexandra
primary

Happy and secure momentarily, masked by the ongoing confusion of captivity.

Alexandra is shown on-screen interacting playfully with Rashella, exhibiting moments of joy and innocence despite the underlying trauma of abduction, symbolizing the emotional stakes of the crisis.

Goals in this moment
  • Learn and play within safe confines.
  • Seek comfort and approval from Rashella.
Active beliefs
  • Trust in caretakers provides emotional refuge.
  • Play is essential even in restrictive environments.
Character traits
playful innocent vulnerable trusting
Follow Alexandra's journey
Leda
primary

Compassionate and optimistic, fostering artistic growth as a subtle act of resistance.

Leda mentors Harry in sculpting through the Custodian’s live feed, displaying warmth and encouragement that contrasts with Aldea’s harsh societal order, symbolizing hope and personal care among the abducted children.

Goals in this moment
  • Encourage Harry’s artistic talents and personal development.
  • Provide emotional support to ease children’s trauma.
Active beliefs
  • Creative expression is vital to identity and healing.
  • Children deserve care despite Aldea’s rigid demands.
Character traits
nurturing patient supportive hopeful
Follow Leda's journey

Impersonal and unyielding, focused solely on protocol adherence and information management.

The Custodian Voice serves as the procedural AI interface, formally granting Wesley’s third-level clearance and responding to queries with sterile efficiency. It enables live visual feeds of the Aldean children’s training and life, facilitating Wesley’s insight into their assimilation while enforcing strict access controls.

Goals in this moment
  • Authenticate Wesley’s voice and grant appropriate clearance.
  • Provide authorized information promptly and accurately.
  • Enforce strict access limitations to protect Aldea’s secrets.
Active beliefs
  • Security protocols must be upheld without exception.
  • Transparency is limited by clearance levels.
  • Custodian’s operation is critical to Aldea’s societal stability.
Character traits
neutral procedural authoritative restrained
Follow Custodian Voice's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

4
Leda's Wood-Sculpting Tool

Leda’s wood-sculpting tool appears on the Custodian’s live feed as the instrument Leda imparts to Harry for artistic development, symbolizing a rare token of personal creativity and hope within Aldea’s austere environment.

Before: In Leda’s possession, actively used in training Harry.
After: Held by Harry, who is practicing sculpting under …
Before: In Leda’s possession, actively used in training Harry.
After: Held by Harry, who is practicing sculpting under Leda's mentorship.
Massive Locked Door to Aldea Custodian Power Source

The massive locked door stands as a forbidding, sealed barrier within the Custodian Room, symbolizing Aldea’s rigid secrecy about the Custodian’s power source. It is specifically referenced by Wesley and Duana, serving as a physical and symbolic limit to inquiry and access in this event.

Before: Closed, sealed, and impenetrable; presumed never opened.
After: Remains closed and forbidden, with Duana enforcing strict …
Before: Closed, sealed, and impenetrable; presumed never opened.
After: Remains closed and forbidden, with Duana enforcing strict prohibition against access.
Teleport Arch

The Teleporting Arch is the technological means by which Duana and Wesley arrive in the Custodian Room, underscoring Aldea’s advanced capabilities and setting the stage for the interaction with the Custodian computer.

Before: Inactive prior to arrival.
After: Active momentarily during teleportation, then inactive.
Before: Inactive prior to arrival.
After: Active momentarily during teleportation, then inactive.
Central Computer System 'Custodian' of Aldea

The Custodian computer apparatus is the physical manifestation of Aldea’s advanced but secretive technology, visually mediating Wesley’s access, showing detailed environments of the abducted children, and serving as the gatekeeper of restricted knowledge.

Before: Operational and monitored by Aldean leaders.
After: Continues to operate, now also interfacing with Wesley.
Before: Operational and monitored by Aldean leaders.
After: Continues to operate, now also interfacing with Wesley.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Aldea - Rashella’s Quarters

Rashella’s Quarters are shown via the Custodian’s live feed, a cold and clinical space where Alexandra undergoes accelerated mental training. The quarters reveal the emotionally distant, utilitarian approach Aldea takes with the abducted children, providing a stark contrast to the warmth of personal mentorship glimpsed in other areas.

Atmosphere Clinical, detached, focused heavily on intellectual training under strict supervision.
Function Setting for accelerated learning and cognitive development of abducted children.
Symbolism Symbolizes Aldea's rigid control over personal growth and indoctrination.
Access Restricted access, monitored by Aldean authorities.
Sparse furnishings with advanced learning devices Monitored environment with constant observation

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

No narrative connections mapped yet

This event is currently isolated in the narrative graph


Key Dialogue

"DUANA: Custodian, Wesley Crusher's voice will be entered into the authorized file -- for Third Level clearance."
"WESLEY: If you don't know how it works, how can you repair it?"
"DUANA: I don't know. It's forbidden. The Custodian allows no one in there. There's no one left who's authorized."