Star Trek: Picard - The Destroyer

Spoilers for "Star Trek: Picard" The End is the Beginning.

What is it to be "The Destroyer"?

To a certain set of Romulans it means the worst possible thing.  A harbinger of death perhaps?  Or even worse?  The extinction of all things, from culture to art, to race and religion and mythology?  The elimination of all things of what it means to be a people.

To the xB Romulan, Ramdha, The Destroyer is, "Seb Cheneb" or "The End of All".  Ramdha was an expert in Romulan mythology and upon turning the pixmit card in front of her she flew into a panic and threatened to kill Soji, the subject of her ire.

How could Soji represent something from Romulan mythology or "news"?  She doesn't seem capable of wiping out a race of people.  There was a theory before "Picard" began to air that Dahj/Soji was to become the next Borg Queen.  Certainly someone capable of wiping out a species through assimilation and war.  This could still be, as we are only three episodes deep into the first season.

But, I think it something different that that.

I have my own theory as to why the Romulans hate Synthetics, Androids and AI so much.  In short, it's because the Romulans themselves come from Organic Synthetics or Androids.  As an offshoot of the Vulcan eons ago, they became a space-faring race that eventually died out due to the rigors of space travel in a pre-warp time.  The only thing to survive were their organic androids they created that lived to carry on the Romulan name.  It is their greatest secret and would would bring lie to the primacy of the Romulan Star Empire.  A work of androids not people.

To me, this is the great secret the Zaht Vash is willing to kill to preserve.  It would also explain their willingness to wipe out and form of Android or synthetics that would be a threat to their people.  Even if it meant a rescue of their race by the Federation.  (You can read more on my theory here.)

To a cultural mythologist like Ramdha, the turning of the pixmit card seen above is as a warning of the worst of existential threats.

As I look at it, the card seems to picture two woman.  It made Ramdha think of two sisters. As she held Soji at gun point she asked her if she was the alive or dead one. Perhaps Ramdha is one of the few Romulans alive that understand the meaning of this symbolic card.

We, as the viewing audience, know that Soji is one of two sisters with her sister Dahj being dead.  Looking at the card, the woman on the left is dressed partly in white while the one on the right is dressed mostly in black.  The left one holds a horn and her "sister" has a drum.  The both sit on a pile of what could be stones.  (Or, even skulls.)

I read this card as the left sister represents the purity of the Romulan race as they started.  She heralds their march into space an ascension as an empire with her horn.  The sister to the right is dressed in black because she represents the Romulans as they were to become.  A "dead" race of synthetic androids beating the funereal drum of their living apocalypse.  

Ramdha sees this as once was and as what is to be.  Her "news" and mythology come to pass.  Imagine seeing your cultural mythology personified right in front of you.  (Those who have read Arthur C. Clarke's "Childhood's End" may know of this.  A race of beings that looked like our cultural "Devil".  It seems humanity had a cultural pre-cognition of our collective end and it was personified as the Devil. It was made manifest by the Devil-like beings heralding of our evolutionary end.  Good story.)

I feel for Ramdha.  Being in a position of great knowledge but treated as "disordered" and held in sanatorium like confinement. It must be maddening.

Inserted Code

We were asked by listener Fred in our most recent podcast of "The Captain's Chair" (At the FanGirl Zone) about the origins of Dahj/Soji and how Data came to know of the sisters and featured their face in his painting called, "Daughter".  Data painted a face that he couldn't have known but is directly related to what we think is a creation of Bruce Maddox in the near future.

I ruminated on this and came to realize Data didn't have an epiphany or vision, he had code inserted.

Somehow, if Bruce Maddox did indeed create Dahj and Soji, he also inserted new code into Data's neural matrix and gave him a "memory" of what was to be.  In close cooperation with Data over the years, Maddox learned the innermost workings of Data's positronic brain and was able to remotely gain access to it.  He then inserted this "memory" to Data planting the seed for the painting "Daughter".  In literal terms, the seed of Data's positronic neurons were used to create Soji and Dahj.  How Maddox came to possess one of those neurons is a different story.  Did Maddox obtain a neuron during the episode, "Measure of a Man" or did he gain access from the events known in the episode "Contagion"?  

By the way, we've seen an example of remote accessing and code insertion in this most recent episode of Picard.  I think we all know that Soji's mother is a complete fiction.  It's just a program that responds to Soji.  As she communicates to her "mother" Soji responds to a cue or key word that activates Soji to react in a certain way.  In the above pictured incident, Soji is cued to fall asleep.  In this time, new software may have been uploaded into Soji.  

Uploads such as this may be responsible for Soji's unaccountable knowledge of Romulan inner workings.  Something that even Director of Reclamation, "Hugh" didn't have access to.  Poor Soji thought she may have read something along the way.  When, in fact, this knowledge was "inserted" during her programmed down time.

If I'm right, inserted code may be a theme to this show.  We got a flash of the destruction on Mars once again to start the show.  The Synths became activated and the reigned destruction down on the Red Planet.  They were good little automatons one day and planet killers the next.  Inserted code no doubt.  Or, at least, some part of their programming that laid dormant until activated.

It begs the question, who is the master puppeteer here?  Who is pulling the strings behind the Federation infiltration?  The Mars Attack?  The activation of Dahj?  A Romulan Cabal?  A turncoat at Starfleet? Bruce Maddox on Freecloud? 


Freecloud

Little is known of this seemingly exotic galactic destination.  It's familiar to Jean Luc and judging by it's interface, it's a place where gambling is allowed.  Rolling dice spill across the display as Raffi looks upon.

I have a feeling it is a bit of a lawless place and perhaps a great place to hide.  Maddox may have chosen it for it's disregard of the rules and I have no doubt it attracts all sorts from across the galaxy making it easy to mix in and disappear.

For me, I was intrigued by the rolling dice.  

Einstein had a famous quote, "God does not play dice with the Universe".  It seems Einstein could not reconcile the mathematical order in which the universe operates with the disorder of quantum mechanics.  

It should be interesting to see how this ties in with the larger themes of the show.  Perhaps, it will be something like viewing the grand events like war, insurrection and genocide.  But a smaller level, seemingly random events like assassination, espionage and betrayal will turn events.

These random events won't seem to make any sense.  But with players like the Zaht Vash and Picard's intrepid band constantly colliding with each other.  Larger events will follow.  Events that will shape the future of the galaxy.

Bring your own libation!