Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series)

The Outcast (1992)

Melinda Culea: Soren

Photos 

Quotes 

• Soren : My parents were pilots. I was flying with them before I could walk. As soon as I was old enough, I entered flight school. Krite was my instructor.

  Commander William T. Riker : He had a good student.

  Soren : "He"? Commander, there are no he's or she's in a species without gender.

  Commander William T. Riker : Okay. For two days, I've been trying to construct sentences without personal pronouns. Now I give up. What should I use, 'it'? To us, that's rude.

• Commander William T. Riker : [about split pea soup]  It's very healthy. Helps to keep you warm on cold Alaskan nights.

  Soren : We prefer to stay warm by sleeping with a friend.

  Commander William T. Riker : I see...

  Soren : Not to mate. Just to sleep together - for warmth.

  Commander William T. Riker : It still sounds better than pea soup.

• Soren : Doctor? You are female.

  Doctor Beverly Crusher : Yes.

  Soren : Forgive me, I do not mean to be rude. But I'm curious. What is it like?

  Doctor Beverly Crusher : Well, it's... it's just the way I am. I've never really thought about what it's like.

  Soren : I notice you tend to have longer hair, and you arrange it more elaborately. And you apply color to your bodies.

  Doctor Beverly Crusher : Color?

  Soren : You put color on your mouths. And your eyes, your cheeks and... your fingernails. The men don't.

  Doctor Beverly Crusher : That's true.

  Soren : Then it is up to women to attract the men?

  Doctor Beverly Crusher : Oh, no. Men want to be attractive too, believe me; they just go about it differently.

  Soren : No color.

  Doctor Beverly Crusher : No color. They like to pretend they're not doing anything to attract a woman, even when it's the most important thing on their minds.

• Soren : I am female. I was born that way. I have had those feelings, those longings, all of my life. It is not unnatural. I am not sick because I feel this way. I do not need to be helped. I do not need to be cured. What I need, and what all of those who are like me need, is your understanding. And your compassion. We have not injured you in any way. And yet we are scorned and attacked. And all because we are different. What we do is no different from what you do. We talk, and laugh. We complain about work. And we wonder about growing old. We talk about our families, and we worry about the future. And we cry with each other when things seem hopeless. All of the loving things that you do with each other, that is what we do. And for that, we are called misfits, and deviants, and criminals. What right do you have to punish us? What right do you have to change us? What makes you think you can dictate how people love each other?

  Noor : I congratulate you, Soren. Your decision to admit your perversion makes it much more likely that we can help you.

• Soren : [to Riker, out of the blue while on their shuttle mission]  Commander, tell me about your sexual organs.

• [Soren has asked what kind of women Human males prefer] 

  Commander William T. Riker : Some like quiet, demure women; others prefer a lot of energy. Some only respond to... physical attractiveness; others couldn't care less. There're no rules.

  Soren : You make it sound very complex.

  Commander William T. Riker : Believe me, it is.

  Soren : Well, perhaps it is that complexity... which makes the differences in the sexes so... interesting.

• Soren : The idea of gender - it is offensive to my people. You see, long ago, we had two sexes, as you do. But we evolved into a higher form. I don't mean to sound insulting; but on my planet, we have been taught that gender is... primitive.

  Commander William T. Riker : "Primitive"?

  Soren : Less evolved.

  Commander William T. Riker : Maybe so. But sometimes, there's a lot to be said for an experience that's "primitive".

• Soren : Tell me about males. What is it makes you different from females?

  [Riker ponders on this] 

  Commander William T. Riker : Snips and snails and puppy dog tails...

  Soren : You have a dog's tail?

• Commander William T. Riker : Soren... I love you.

  Soren : I'm sorry.