Synopsis

Act III: THE CAGE

Scene 1—In a Montana wilderness

In a Montana Wilderness: Pike encounters Vina as an incarnation of his deceased wife, and confronts the mixture of reality and fantasy in her existence.

Pike finds himself in another illusory landscape—this time, the valley of his home in Montana. Vina appears with him, as Vivian, his fiancée who perished years ago. Pike hesitates, and then seems to warm slightly to the idea of living out the illusion. Just as Vina’s hopes seem to rise, he scorns her, and demands that she recognize the futility of it all—a life and a fantasy partner constructed only from his unrealistic desires. But Vina insists that she is real, and that he is a part of her fantasy, as she is a part of his: “They read my thoughts... my dreams of what would be the perfect man. That’s why they picked you.”

Pleading, Vina wonders if he could live with her, fulfill some dream with her. Pike demands to know about the Talosian world, but when Vina consents to tell him, she succumbs quickly form of telepathic torture; she protests half-heartedly, knowing it is inevitable. In the wake of her pain, Vina berates the Talosians that Pike will never succumb to them.

 

Scene 2—In a club in the Orion colony    

In a Club in the Orion Colony: Pike encounters Vina as an incarnation of a jaguar woman, the Talosians discover the unprecedented challenge they face with human captives.

Pike finds himself in the ‘Carnaval’-like atmosphere of an Orion Colony club, drinking at a table with traders from Earth and other planets. A “jaguar woman” native to Orion performs nearby, and Pike is entranced by her, perhaps recognizing her as Vina. One of the traders recognizes him as a former captain of the Enterprise, and snarls that the lofty Pike had once criticized M-11’s “treatment of the natives,” but doesn’t hesitate to enjoy a show privately. Goading him on, another trader next to Pike tells a story of a jaguar woman; his tale drifts from the tantalizing to the obsessive.

Pike, remembering that the whole conversation unfolding before him is a fantasy—each character’s dispositions, desires, and fears drawn from his own mind—is repulsed. He bolts toward the exit, but stops as commotion arises behind him. The obsessed storyteller leaps in a frenzy to the stage, to dance with Venus. Pike returns in Venus’ defense, and the crowd revels in the ensuing fight. Venus falters at first, but returns to her erotic role, tempting Pike. The dance builds with unprecedented energy.

After a climax, Vina and Pike remain enthralled and passionate as the music recedes. A Talosian enters, and while the music continues, some of the scene’s participants, formerly hidden or disguised, now reveal themselves to each other as Talosians. The newcomer announces that a scan of the Enterprise’s databases is ready to be “assimilated”, and the Keeper consents. In the midst of other new knowledge, he learns that humans are far more adverse to captivity than other species they’ve known. They agree this will pose a challenge that they hadn’t anticipated.

 

           

Scene 3—A chance for life

A Conference/Hearing Room on the Enterprise: Enterprise is regained, and Spock is convicted, but Talos IV still looms.

On the current Enterprise, music and imagery from the Orion Colony persist in their temporary courtroom as Spock, Tor, and Kirk are jolted by an alert, and an intercom signal from the Engine room. Scotty announces success in disabling auto-pilot and halting the ship’s engines, and Uhura confirms that Sulu is once again in control. Spock, distressed at the potential failure of his mission, urges his jury to comprehend Pike’s eventual escape from Talos IV. Instead, Tor and Kirk chastise Spock for his misunderstanding of Pike’s wishes. They move unanimously to convict Spock of treason.

In the wake of the conviction, Sulu reports that warp speed has failed, and that the Enterprise is under the influence of an unknown gravitational force. Though not apparent from Sulu’s monitors, the ship’s computer confirms that the Enterprise is orbiting Sirius, of the Talosian system, at the distance of its fourth planet. Reinvigorated to his cause, Spock once again urges Captain Pike “…only you know the truth. Please remember. You have a choice.”

 

Scene 4—Vina’s Revelation

The Cage: A phaser and communicator fail to free Pike and Vina, but Vina grasps the illusion, and demands Pike’s release, threatening suicide. Vina’s true condition is revealed, and the elder Pike chooses his destiny.

Pike wakes with Vina in his cage, feeling a mixture of dashed hopes at his chances to escape, and a new sense of consolation that perhaps his destiny is here with her. Just as Vina begins to feel some joy at Pike’s words, they find a phaser and communicator have been beamed to their premises—presumably from the Enterprise, still orbiting Talos IV. At first, they appear not to function well. Vina, however, reasons differently, and demonstrates the Talosian illusion by demanding Pike’s release, and threatening her own suicide as the alternative. The Talosians cannot persuade her to relent, and give in to the threat. Pike asks for Vina to be freed along with him, but she refuses to leave, and instead allows her true appearance to be revealed. Broken from the shipwreck years ago, her body is barely strong enough to sustain her vibrant internal life. The holovision closes on its final scene, and Tor turns to Pike in astonishment and sudden comprehension: “Chris…she saved you.” Her words push Pike’s porous and active nerves to a powerful acknowledgment, for the first time, of his destiny, and of Vina’s love.

Kirk begins to grasp Tor’s discovery, but is immediately alarmed to find Tor has disappeared from the courtroom. A Talosian keeper appears in her place, and reveals that Tor’s presence with him, in pursuit of Spock on the shuttlecraft, and on the Enterprise, has been an illusion, designed to maintain his engagement in Spock’s motivations without incriminating him to Spock’s crime of treason.

When the Talosian vanishes, Kirk receives a communication from Tor, still on M-11, acknowledging she has record of the Talosian illusion, and has received notice of Pike’s request for relocation to Talos IV. She further advises that the information before them raises potential exception to General Order IV, and Kirk agrees to “brief” her upon his return. Kirk teases Spock for the emotional nature of his strategy, and then, remembering his own behavior with the illusion of Tor, confirms that Spock has cleared the ship’s record of it. Before leaving the Talosian system, Spock and Kirk watch from the holovision once again as Pike and Vina reunite, and walk wide-eyed, and renewed, into an abundant virtual wilderness.