- Lt. Cmdr. Data: Throughout the ages, from Keats to Jorkemo, poets have composed odes to individuals who have had a profound effect upon their lives. In keeping with that tradition, I have written my next poem in honour of my cat. I call it "Ode to Spot":
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: Felis catus is your taxonomic nomenclature, / An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature. / Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses / Contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses.
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: I find myself intrigued by your sub-vocal oscillations, / A singular development of cat communications / That obviates your basic hedonistic predilection / For rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection.
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents, / You would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance. / And when not being utilized to aid in locomotion, / It often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: O Spot, the complex levels of behavior you display / Connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array. / And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend, / I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.
- [last lines]
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Have we any idea what came through the rupture before we were able to shut it down?
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: No, sir. We were unable to track it once it left the cargo bay.
- Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: Maybe it was a probe of some kind.
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: Possibly they were simply curious, explorers, like ourselves.
- Commander William T. Riker: Ensign Rager and I were lucky to have escaped. Lieutenant Hagler is dead. Whoever it was that sent that thing was more than simply curious.
- [on the holodeck, several crew members are recreating the room, its equipment and instruments from their visions step by step]
- Counselor Deanna Troi: All right. You were lying on the table. You had a bright light shining in your eyes. Were there any smells in the room? Were there any sounds?
- Commander William T. Riker: Yes. Yes, there was a sound. Computer, there were noises, coming from the darkness. Strange. Like whispering.
- [the computer creates a rustling sound]
- Kaminer: More like clicks. Clicking sounds.
- [the computer changes to a single clicking]
- Commander William T. Riker: Louder.
- [more clicks can be heard]
- Commander William T. Riker: Faster... More of them...
- [the computer ends up producing a continuous, eerie clatter]
- Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: I've been in this room before.
- Commander William T. Riker: We've all been here before.
- Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: You accomplished a lot, but if you want to touch people, don't concentrate so much on rhyme and metre. Think more about what you want to say instead of how you're saying it.