Overseer (god)

Overseer was the name given by Mintakans to their supreme God early in their history. By 2366, belief in the Overseer had been discarded in favor of rational empiricism.

In 2366 the Mintakans were accidentally exposed to a Federation anthropology team on their homeworld of Mintaka III when the technology hiding the duck blind used by the team failed. An away team from the USS Enterprise-D was sent to repair the outpost before it was observed and potentially contaminated the native Bronze Age level culture. However, during repairs two indigenous individuals, Liko and his daughter Oji, observed the failure of the holographic technology hiding the site and investigated unnoticed.

Liko was injured when he touched an electrified wall and Dr. Beverly Crusher, acting on instinct, beamed him aboard the Enterprise for treatment. During treatment, Liko regained consciousness and saw the inside of the Enterprise, including Captain Jean-Luc Picard discussing the situation with Dr. Barron, one of the anthropologists. He was subsequently sedated and treated for his injuries by Dr. Crusher who performed a short term memory wipe in an attempt to prevent further contamination.

The memory wipe was unsuccessful and Liko, unable to understand what he had seen, believed that he had died and then been resurrected by his people's gods. Since Picard was in the highest authority position, Liko believed him to be the Overseer.

Upon returning to his village, Liko told of his experiences and called for a revival of traditional beliefs with Picard (referred to as "The Picard") as the Overseer. He was backed up in this by Oji. Though reluctant at first, Oji was unable to come up with another rational explanation for what she had seen, including Dr Crusher and her father de-materializing.

Liko became more fanatical in his beliefs, attempting to interpret the will of his interpretation of the Overseer including threatening Counselor Troi, who had gone undercover on the planet and Dr. Palmer, one of the anthropologists.

Picard rejected suggestions by Dr Barron to "show them a sign" and perpetuate the false beliefs. Desperate to mitigate the cultural damage and get those on the planet safely out, Picard had Nuria, a village leader who was skeptical of the claims, brought aboard the Enterprise to appeal to her sense of logic. After some effort, Picard was able to convince Nuria of his own mortality and accompanied her to the planet to explain the situation to the others. Liko remained unconvinced until he wounded Picard with a bow and arrow in a misguided final attempt to prove Picard's superiority.

The crisis averted, Picard had the duck blind dismantled and the crew left Mintaka III after exchanging farewells and accepting a Mintakan tapestry from the natives. (TNG: "Who Watches The Watchers")