Star Trek The Next Generation
S2E18
· STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION — Up the Long Ladder

Cloning Bay Standoff — Survival Against Autonomy

In the ruined Mariposa cloning lab a razor‑thin moment becomes a moral cudgel: Riker confronts Granger and three identical, armed clones over the missing cloning equipment while Geordi and Pulaski register how quickly law and science give way to desperation. Accusations of murder and theft collide with Granger's blunt claim that survival justifies any means. Pulaski physically interposes, forcing the clones to lower their weapons, but the exchange crystallizes an ethical fracture — a turning point that converts scientific discovery into an urgent, political choice the crew must resolve.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

4

Geordi and Pulaski take in the wrecked lab as Riker stands with a phaser and the cloning bay lies stripped; Geordi tosses a dry probe about an 'accident' to cut the shock.

disorientation to wary confrontation

Granger hurls 'Murderers!' and Riker snaps back, branding him a thief, flipping blame into a direct moral counterattack.

indignation to open fury

Pulaski steps between the men and forces a cooldown; the armed clones lower their weapons as the standoff eases by a razor’s width.

volatile to tentative restraint

Granger pleads desperation after refusal, Riker condemns the assault and theft, and Granger stakes survival as a right, hardening the ethical collision.

pleading to defiance

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

0

No character participations recorded

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What this causes 2
NARRATIVELY_FOLLOWS medium

"The lab standoff over theft and 'murder' leads into the Ready Room summit demanding hard numbers and solutions."

Two Generations Left — Pulaski's Verdict and Picard's Compromise
S2E18 · STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION …
NARRATIVELY_FOLLOWS medium

"The lab standoff over theft and 'murder' leads into the Ready Room summit demanding hard numbers and solutions."

Brokering Survival: The Mariposa–Bringloidi Compromise
S2E18 · STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION …

Key Dialogue

"GEORDI: "I don't suppose you'd believe this was an accident?""
"RIKER: "Like hell! You're a damn thief!""
"GRANGER: "What else could we do? We asked for your help and you refused! We're desperate. Desperate!""
"RIKER: "So that gives you the right to assault us, and rob us, and --""
"GRANGER: "We have a right to survive!""