- [last lines]
- Romulan Captain: It would seem that we are not completely dissimilar after all - in our hopes, or in our fears.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Yes.
- Romulan Captain: Well, then. Perhaps... one day.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: One day.
- Professor Galen: Dream not of today, Mr. Picard.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: "Dream not of today"...
- [he ponders]
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: The night blessing of the Yash-El.
- Professor Galen: As I recall, you missed that question on your final exam.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Well, I've had a few years to look it up.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Counselor, this is not simply a case of me taking the Enterprise and its crew on some wild goose chase to purge myself of guilt and remorse. I will not let Galen's death be in vain. Now, if that means inconveniencing a few squabbling delegates for a few days then so be it. I will take the full responsibility.
- Lt. Commander Data: My upper spinal support is a poly-alloy, designed to withstand extreme stress. My skull is composed of cortenide and duranium.
- [after Nu'Daq has almost knocked himself out trying to head-butt Data]
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: It's four billion years old - a computer program from a highly advanced civilization; and it's hidden in the very fabric of life itself. Whatever information this program contains could be the most profound discovery of our time - or the most dangerous. And the Professor knew that.
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: [referring to Professor Galen] If it hadn't been for you, his dream to solve that puzzle would never have been realized. You left him a wonderful legacy.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Yes, but it would have been a more fitting legacy if the message had not fallen on such deaf ears.
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: Hm... You never know.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: The Professor did not choose this gift at random - the many voices inside the one. You see, he knows that... the past is a very insistent voice inside me. This gift is meant to remind me of that.
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: And the exploration of space? Surely that must count for something?
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: I wouldn't trade it for anything; and I would still make the same choice that I made all those years ago. I just wish that I didn't have to say "no" to him a second time.
- Humanoid Progenitor: You're wondering who we are; why we have done this; how it has come that I stand before you - the image of a being from so long ago. Life evolved in my planet before all others in this part of the galaxy. We left our world, explored the stars and found none like ourselves. Our civilization thrived for ages. But what is the life of one race, compared to the vast stretches of cosmic time? We knew that one day we would be gone, that nothing of us would survive. So, we left you. Our scientists seeded the primordial oceans of many worlds, where life was in its infancy. The seed codes directed your evolution toward a physical form resembling ours: this body you see before you, which is of course shaped as yours is shaped. For you *are* the end result. The seed codes also contain this message, which we scattered in fragments on many different worlds. It was our hope that you would have to come together in fellowship and companionship to hear this message. And if you can see and hear me, our hope has been fulfilled. You are a monument, not to our greatness, but to our existence. That was our wish, that you, too, would know life and would keep alive our memory. There is something of us in each of you, and so, something of you in each other. Remember us.
- Gul Ocett: The Yridian who sold us the information claimed that the program would yield the key to an unlimited power source.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: But until we assemble it, we will never know its purpose.
- Gul Ocett: He's right. As far as we know, it might just be a recipe for biscuits.
- Captain Nu'Daq: Biscuits? If that is what you believe, then go back to Cardassia. I will send you my mother's recipe.
- Captain Nu'Daq: That's all? If she were not dead, I would kill her.
- Gul Ocett: The very notion that a Cardassian could have anything in common with a Klingon - it turns my stomach.
- Professor Galen: What are you doing at this very moment? A study mission! You're like some Roman centurion out patrolling the provinces, maintaining a dull and bloated Empire.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: We both know that's not true.
- Professor Galen: I know this: I know that as a scholar, you're nothing but a dilettante.
- Lt. Commander Data: You are attempting to bribe me.
- Captain Nu'Daq: Not at all.
- [after Nu'Daq has assured Data a promising career in the Klingon Empire if he gave him the information on the missing fragment before everyone else]
- Gul Ocett: My name is Gul Ocett. Identify yourself and state your business in this star system.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation starship Enterprise, and I see no reason why I should answer to you. Cardassians have no claims in this sector.
- Gul Ocett: I suppose not. But my admittedly hasty estimate shows one Federation starship and two Cardassian war vessels. Perhaps I have miscounted.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: The Kurlan civilization believed that an individual was a community of individuals. Inside us are... many voices, each with its... its own desires, its own style, its-its... its own view of the world.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: I had a father. But he was like a father who understood me. And he had his own children, but they didn't follow in his footsteps, so... I was like the son who understood *him*.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: [discovering an artifact in the observation lounge] Oh, my God.
- Professor Galen: Then you *can* identify that object, Mr. Picard?
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Professor Galen?
- Commander William T. Riker: Computer, lights up!
- Professor Galen: I suppose I should say *Captain* Picard.
- Commander William T. Riker: The Professor contacted me from his shuttle about an hour ago. He suggested that we surprise you.
- Professor Galen: To clarify, I insisted and your First Officer was good enough to accommodate me. I trust I'm not being overly presumptuous, now that my star pupil is master of the stars?
- Captain Nu'Daq: [to Data, who is sitting at a table in Ten Forward, holding a PADD] Commander, your reputation for physical strength is known even in the Klingon Empire. Are you familiar with the B'aht Qul challenge?
- Lt. Commander Data: I am familiar with many Klingon rituals including the B'aht Qul.
- [Nu'Daq grins and grunts in eagerness as he promptly sits down across from Data, his hands out, inviting him to challenge him in a B'aht Qul. Data sets down the PADD and mirrors the Klingon Captain]
- Captain Nu'Daq: Wa', cha', wej!
- [translation: One, two, three!]
- Captain Nu'Daq: [Data instantly and easily pushes Nu'Daq's arms back on the table and resumes reading his PADD. Nu'Daq stands up, shocked]
- Captain Nu'Daq: [shouts] Maw'tok!
- [Growling, Nu'Daq grabs Data and attempts to headbutt him. There is a loud clang and Nu'Daq staggers backwards, nearly knocking himself out. He sits on the floor, dazed and winded]
- Lt. Commander Data: My upper spinal support is a polyalloy, designed to withstand extreme stress. My skull is composed of cortenide and duranium.
- [first lines]
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: [voiceover] Captain's log, stardate 46731.5. We are in the midst of the Volterra nebula, a stellar nursery. Our three week mission is a routine analysis of several dozen protostars in various stages of development.