Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Page #4

Let's just

push the button

We'd be

better off dead

'Cause I hate you

And I berate you

Excuse me.

Would you mind

stopping that noise?

The system

of our fathers

Is dumped on us,

the sons

The only choice

we're given

Is how many megatons

Would you mind stopping

that damn noise?

And I say screw you

And hope

you're blue, too

We're all bloody-

Admiral, may I

ask you a question?

Spock, don't

call me Admiral.

You used to call me Jim.

Don't you remember "Jim"?

What's your question?

Your use of language

has altered since our arrival.

It is currently laced

with more colorful

metaphors-

" Double dumb-ass on you"

and so forth.

You mean the profanity?

That's simply

how they talk here.

Nobody pays any attention to you

unless you swear every other word.

It's in all the literature

of the period.

For example?

The works of Jacqueline Susann,

the novels of Harold Robbins.

Ah.

The giants.

The next showing of

the wonderful world of whales

will begin in five-minute

in the Ferrari Marine Theater.

Smile!

O.K.

Oh. Here I go.

Good morning!

I'm your guide this morning.

My name is Dr. Gillian Taylor,

assistant director

of the Maritime

Cetacean Institute.

So, please follow me,

and just yell

if you can't hear me.

The Cetacean Institute

is the only museum in the world

exclusively devoted to whales.

As you can see, we have

a great deal to offer,

but that is small

compared to what

we don't know about whales.

The first commonly held

misconception

is that whales are fish.

They're not.

They're mammals like us-

warm-blooded,

needing air to breathe,

and producing milk

to nurse their young.

Do whales attack people

Like in Moby Dick?

No. Most whales

don't even have teeth.

They have a soft,

gum-like tissue

that strains

tiny shrimp for food.

That's the limit

of their hostility.

Unfortunately,

their principal enemy

is far, far more aggressive.

You mean man.

To put it mildly.

Since the dawn of time,

men have harvested whales

for a variety of purposes,

most of which can be

achieved synthetically now.

100 years ago,

using hand-thrown harpoons,

man did plenty of damage.

But that is nothing

compared to his

achievements this century.

This is mankind's legacy-

whales hunted

to the brink of extinction.

Virtually gone

is the blue whale,

the largest creature

ever to inhabit the earth.

Despite all attempts

at banning whaling,

there are still

countries and pirates

currently engaged

in the slaughter

of these inoffensive creatures.

Where the humpback whale

once numbered in

the hundreds of thousands,

today there are less

than 10,000 specimens alive.

Those that are taken in

are no longer fully grown.

In addition, many

female whales are killed

while bearing unborn calves.

To hunt a species

to extinction

is not logical.

Who ever said

the human race was logical?

If you'll follow me,

I'll introduce you

to the institute's pride and joy.

This is the largest

seawater tank in the world,

and it contains

the only two humpback whales

in captivity.

They are mature humpbacks

weighing 45,000 pounds each.

They wandered into

San Francisco Bay as calves

and were brought here.

We call them

George and Gracie.

It's perfect, Spock.

A male and female humpback

in a contained space.

We beam them up together,

consider ourselves lucky.

Beautiful, aren't they?

And extremely intelligent.

Now if you'll

follow me, please.

Despite all

they're teaching us,

we have to return George

and Gracie to the open sea.

Why is that?

Well, for one thing,

we can't afford

to keep feeding them

2 tons of shrimp

per day.

How soon?

Soon.

It's too bad, too,

because they're

quite friendly,

as you could see.

I've grown

quite attached to them.

And now here's

a much better way

to see George and Gracie-

underwater.

What you're hearing

is recorded whale song.

It's sung by the male.

He'll sing anywhere

from 6 to 30 minutes

and then start again.

Other whales

pick up his song

and pass it on.

The songs change every year,

and we still don't know

what purpose they serve.

Are they some kind

of navigational signal?

Could they be part

of the mating ritual?

Or is it pure communication

beyond our comprehension?

Frankly, we just

don't know yet.

Maybe he's singing

to that man.

Look, there's a guy

swimming in there.

How did he get in there?

What the hell?

Excuse me. Wait right here.

Excuse me.

Excuse me, please.

Who the hell are you?

What were you

doing in there?

Yes, speak up.

Attempting the hell

to communicate.

Communicate what?

You have no right here!

You heard the lady.

Admiral, if we assumed

these whales are ours

to do with as we please,

we'd be

as guilty as those

who caused their extinction.

O.K.

I don't know what's going on,

but get out now,

or I call the cops.

That's not necessary.

We're trying to help.

Your friend was messing up

my tanks and my whales.

They like you,

but they're not your whales.

They told you that?

The hell they did.

Right.

Spock.

Yes?

About those

colorful metaphors

that we've discussed...

you shouldn't

try using them anymore.

Why not?

You haven't quite

got the knack of it.

I see.

It's not always necessary

to tell the truth.

I cannot tell a lie.

I don't mean lie,

but you could exaggerate.

Exaggerate?

Exaggerate.

You've done it before.

Can't you remember?

The hell I can't.

What else did you learn

from your mind meld?

They're unhappy about

the way their species

has been treated by man.

Are they going to help us?

I believe I successfully

communicated our intentions.

It's all right.

Yes, I know.

They didn't mean any harm.

Heard there was some excitement.

Oh, just a couple of kooks.

How you doing?

I'm fine.

Don't tell me fish stories.

I've known you too long.

Bob, it's tearing me apart, o.k.?

I know.

I feel the same thing,

but we're stuck.

We can't keep them

without risking their lives.

Letting them go means

taking the same chance.

I know, I know.

Besides, we're not

talking about human beings.

Their intelligence

has never been proven-

Oh, come on, Bob!

My compassion for someone

is not limited

to my estimate of

their intelligence.

Team leader, this is team two.

Come in, please.

I have the coordinates

of the reactor.

Team two, Kirk here.

Admiral, we have found

the nuclear vessel.

Well done, team two.

And, Admiral,

it is the Enterprise.

Understood.

What's your plan?

We'll beam in tonight,

collect the photons,

and beam out.

No one will know.

Understood and approved.

Keep me informed.

Kirk out.

There she is.

If we play our cards right,

we'll find out when

those whales are leaving.

How will playing cards help?

Well, if it isn't

Robin Hood and Friar Tuck.

Where you fellas heading?

Back to San Francisco.

Came all the way down here

just to swim with the kiddies?

Very little point

in my trying to explain.

I'll buy that. What about him?

Him? He's harmless.

Back in the sixties,

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