Synopsis: On a mission to investigate the disappearance of a Starfleet vessel, the crew of the Enterprise encounters a planet populated now only by computer generated sales pitches for weapon systems.
Like many episodes in Star Trek: The Next Generation in “The Arsenal of Freedom” there is a plotline aboard the Enterprise, and a separate story unfolding on a planet below, in this case the planet Minos. But it seems that in both these plotlines, the true arsenal to freedom is self-knowledge and the ability to learn and adapt.
On the Enterprise, with senior officers trapped on the planet, Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge steps into command, The ship unexpectedly comes under fire from weapons on Minos, and he has to use all his creativity to keep the Enterprise safe. He also learns that leadership involves not only making decisions for the mission, but also requires him to instill positive reinforcement to his crew that they are capable of doing things for themselves. The dire situation La Forge finds himself in, led to his ability to grow as a leader.
On the planet Minos, the weapon system that is attacking the away team is programed to learn from its encounters with any opposition. By replicating how a mind learns new things, it became such an invincible power that it ended up killing its own creators. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Dr. Beverly Crusher learn this after they fall into a hole and are trapped in an underground operations site. Picard also finds out that Crusher understands how to use roots and herbs medicinally. Knowledge that she shared with Picard so that he could treat her injuries.
All in all, the ability to adapt and to learn new things, particularly when forced to do so out of necessity, is how the conscious ego can incorporate previously hidden aspects of the unconscious to create a stronger psyche.
Original post created 29 May 2021
mydailysoultrek 