The Silence Between Us
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
PICARD pivots to a concrete solution—communication—and discovers the Chorus lacks sign language and that Riva neither reads nor writes; a WOMAN confirms he's never needed those skills before.
A stage-direction note reveals Riva does know sign language from a past mission, but immediate emotion takes over: a WOMAN asks "what's going to happen?" and Riva expresses raw disorientation—he's never been without his Chorus.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Acute existential panic at their sudden purposelessness
Collectively exhibits complete disorientation and panic upon admitting their dependence on Riva's guidance, displaying emotional disintegration as they confess their inability to communicate independently through sign language.
- • Seek reassurance about Riva's condition
- • Avoid complete emotional collapse in the interim
- • They have no independent identity outside serving Riva's communication needs
- • Their own survival depends entirely on Riva's wellbeing
Raw fear about impending irrelevance
Voices the Chorus's collective terror most explicitly, directly pleading with Picard about their future while admitting Riva's illiteracy, embodying the group's complete psychological dependence on their mediator.
- • Make Picard understand the severity of their situation
- • Seek comfort amid disintegration of their structured world
- • Their entire existence has been predicated on never needing independent communication skills
- • Without Riva's guidance, they are fundamentally lost
Detached concern with scientific curiosity about the rare condition
Offers professional medical assistance to Riva with clinical detachment, framing his deafness as a rare exception in a galaxy where such conditions are typically remedied, prepared to examine him in Sickbay.
- • Assess whether Riva's congenital deafness has any medical solution
- • Maintain Starfleet medical protocol despite unusual circumstances
- • Most physical impairments can be medically addressed given Federation technology
- • Her duty is to provide options regardless of probable success
Concerned urgency masking deeper alarm about the mediation crisis
Shifts from diplomatic inquiry to crisis management as he realizes the depth of Riva's communication barrier, demonstrating decisive leadership by coordinating medical examination and linguistic solutions while attempting to reassure the distraught Chorus.
- • Stabilize the emotional state of Riva and his Chorus
- • Establish functional communication channels with Riva before planetary negotiations collapse
- • Starfleet has a responsibility to preserve the Solari peace process at all costs
- • Technological solutions can bridge even severe communication barriers
Neutral focus on solving the technical communication challenge
Notes the complexity of Federation sign language variations with characteristic precision, demonstrating linguistic awareness as he's tasked with establishing communication channels with the suddenly isolated mediator.
- • Catalog available linguistic options for communicating with Riva
- • Apply his computational abilities to bridge the communication gap
- • Communication systems can be systematically analyzed and decoded
- • His android capabilities make him uniquely suited for this task
Professional focus masking mild concern
Provides stoic physical assistance to Riva, escorting the shaken mediator to Sickbay with professional detachment, embodying Starfleet's disciplined support during the crisis.
- • Ensure Riva's safe transport to medical facilities
- • Maintain security protocols amid the diplomatic crisis
- • Physical safety protocols must be maintained regardless of circumstances
- • His role is to execute orders precisely during crises
Concerned but solution-oriented
Adopts pragmatic crisis response, suggesting Picard personally take over mediation duties if Riva proves incapable, balancing concern for the Solari situation with realistic assessment of Riva's current limitations.
- • Ensure contingency plans are in place for failed negotiations
- • Protect Picard from overextending himself diplomatically
- • The Solari conflict requires immediate intervention regardless of mediator availability
- • Starfleet captains must sometimes step beyond traditional roles in crises
Existential terror about losing his identity and purpose
Experiences profound vulnerability and terror as his lifelong mediation system fails, reduced to silent nods when prompted about sign language knowledge, appearing physically diminished when escorted to Sickbay by Worf.
- • Conceal the full extent of his panic from the Starfleet officers
- • Seek any possible solution to restore his communication ability
- • His entire worth as a mediator is tied to his Chorus system
- • Without technological mediation, he has nothing substantive to offer
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Ready Room becomes an impromptu crisis center where the full extent of Riva's communication barrier is revealed, its normally orderly space contrasting with the emotional chaos unfolding as the Chorus disintegrates without their mediator's guidance.
Sickbay becomes the impending destination for Riva's medical assessment, representing both hope for potential technological solution and institutional processing of his perceived 'defect,' its clinical sterity contrasting with the emotional nature of his crisis.
The Observation Lounge serves as secondary crisis coordination point where Picard assigns roles to bridge the communication gap, its expansive windows metaphorically representing both the vastness of the challenge and the isolation Riva now experiences.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Once the device is identified in the Observation Lounge, Picard moves to concrete problem-solving and discovers the Chorus lacks sign language skills—deepening the communication crisis."
"Once the device is identified in the Observation Lounge, Picard moves to concrete problem-solving and discovers the Chorus lacks sign language skills—deepening the communication crisis."
Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"PICARD: "You are not alone. We will solve this together.""
"WOMAN: "I feel so strange. I've never been without him before... never. I feel like I'm losing my mind.""
"PICARD: "It is not me they want. They believe in Riva. The problem is, he no longer believes in himself.""