Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (TV Series)
Past Tense, Part I (1995)
Avery Brooks: Commander Benjamin 'Ben' Sisko, Gabriel Bell
Photos
Quotes
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Commander Sisko : By the early 2020s, there was a place like this in every major city in the United States.
Dr. Julian Bashir : Why are these people in here? Are they criminals?
Commander Sisko : No, people with criminal records weren't allowed in the Sanctuary Districts.
Dr. Julian Bashir : Then what did they do to deserve this?
Commander Sisko : Nothing. Just people, without jobs or places to live.
Dr. Julian Bashir : Ah, so they get put in here?
Commander Sisko : Welcome to the 21st century, Doctor.
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[the Defiant is approaching Earth]
Commander Sisko : Now, there's something I never get tired of looking at.
Lieutenant Jadzia Dax : If you ask me, the seas could be a little more purple.
Major Kira : That's funny, I was just thinking they weren't green enough.
Dr. Julian Bashir : I guess it's true what they say: there is no place like home, no matter what color the water is.
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Commander Sisko : [111th Rule of Acquisition] Treat people in your debt like family. Exploit them.
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Commander Sisko : Those shotguns, uniforms - there's something very familiar about this.
Vin : Yeah, probably from the last time you were in a Sanctuary District.
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Dr. Julian Bashir : It makes you wonder, doesn't it? Are Humans really any different than Cardassians or... Romulans? If push comes to shove, if something disastrous happens to the Federation, if we are frightened enough, or desperate enough, how would we react? Would we stay true to our ideals or... would we just... stay here, right back where we started?
Commander Sisko : I don't know. But as a Starfleet officer, it's my job to make sure we never have to find out.
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[last lines]
B.C. : I've waited a long time for this. And I know I won't be disappointed. Ain't that right, new boy?
Commander Sisko : The name is Bell - Gabriel Bell.
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[Sisko tells Bashir about the Bell Riots that are about to occur in their Sanctuary, causing the death of hundreds of residents]
Dr. Julian Bashir : Starfleet temporal displacement policy may sound good in the classroom, but to know that hundreds of people are going to die, and to not be able to do a thing to save them...
Commander Sisko : I sympathize, Doctor. But if it will make you feel any better, the riots will be one of the watershed events of the 21st century. Gabriel Bell will see to that.
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Commander Sisko : Is there something wrong?
Lee : Well, according to these forms, you're supposed to be dims. But you're not, are you?
Commander Sisko : I hope you're not disappointed.
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Commander Sisko : [after trading their uniforms for contemporary clothes] Well, at least now, we look like we belong here.
Dr. Julian Bashir : Yeah, and we smell just as bad as everyone else, too.
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B.C. : [to Bashir, warming himself over a burning trash can] Hey, gimme! I'm talkin to you! Let me see your food card.
Dr. Julian Bashir : [stays his hand] What for?
B.C. : [laughs it off and grabs Bashir by his lapels] Because I said so.
Commander Sisko : Let him go!
B.C. : [feigning surprise and puts a hand to his ear] What?
Commander Sisko : I said... let him go!
B.C. : Oh, well when you put it like that.
[things quickly erupt into a brawl]
Gabriel Bell : [a black man emerges from the crowd of onlookers and decides to get involved] Leave him alone!
[he pummels B.C. and then tends to Bashir]
Gabriel Bell : Are you alright?
[while the man's back is turned B.C. draws a knife and stabs him with it]
B.C. : [to his cronies] Get his card! Get his food card!
[he can hear the sound of a police chopper]
B.C. : Come on, let's get outta here! Come on, let's go!
Commander Sisko : [rushing over to the stabbed man] Help him. He never would have got hurt if it wasn't for us.
Dr. Julian Bashir : [performing CPR] Breathe, damn you, breathe! Oh, he's gone!
Commander Sisko : [more cops are on the way] Come on, we've got to get out of here!
[they disappear into the crowd]
Commander Sisko : Cover!
[they hide under some blankets as the chopper flies overhead and some cops on foot run past them]
Dr. Julian Bashir : [once the coast is clear they reveal themselves] They're gone.
Commander Sisko : For now, but they're the least of our worries. That man who just got killed trying to help us.
[Sisko produces an ID card]
Commander Sisko : That man... was Gabriel Bell.
[Bashir sighs, wondering how losing such an important man will impact the future]
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Webb : [to Bashir, after tending to his wounded son] Hey, you know the District could use another Doctor.
Dr. Julian Bashir : I don't really practice anymore.
Webb : But there are people here who need you.
Dr. Julian Bashir : I'm sorry but they'll have to get along without me.
Webb : [time to let them know what life in a Sanctuary District is really like] You two are new here, so let me explain something to you. You can forget about gettin out of here anytime soon. This is your home now. The only help we're gonna get is from each other, and if we don't start pulling together... we're finished.
Commander Sisko : All we want is to be left alone.
Webb : [disappointed, and it shows all over Webb's face] My mistake. I thought you wanted to get out of here.
Dr. Julian Bashir : We do.
Webb : Well, the only way that's gonna happen is if we get organised and let people on the outside know what's goin on in here.
Commander Sisko : Do whatever you want. Just leave us out of it.
Webb : If you want to be left alone... that's fine with me. But if you want to help us... then help yourselves. You know where to find me.
[Webb walks away and Sisko sighs, sorry to turn a blind eye to such suffering]
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[first lines]
Commander Sisko : [voiceover] Commander's log, stardate 48481.2. My senior staff and I have been asked to address the annual Starfleet symposium on the current situation in the Gamma Quadrant. I'm looking forward to the opportunity and to visit my sister in Portland.
