The Link (Deep Space Nine)

ODO: Have our people always been shape-shifters, or was there a time when we were like the solids? 

FOUNDER: Eons ago we were like them, limited to one form, but then we evolved. 
ODO: On the home world, are you always in the Link, or do you sometimes take solid form? 
FOUNDER: We prefer the Link, but on occasion it is interesting to exist as something else. A tree perhaps, or a cloud in the sky. 
ODO: A cloud. How many of us are there? 
FOUNDER: Oh. So many questions, Odo. 
ODO: I'm sorry. But there's still so much that isn't clear to me yet. 
FOUNDER: If you Link with me again, everything will be made clear to you. 
ODO: You have to understand that the Link is very overwhelming for me. Right now, it's easier to talk. 
FOUNDER: But words are so clumsy, so imprecise. 
ODO: Even so. 
FOUNDER: As you wish. 
ODO: You haven't told me your name. 
FOUNDER: What use would I have for a name? 
ODO: To differentiate yourself from the others. 
FOUNDER: I don't. 
ODO: But you are a separate being, aren't you? 
FOUNDER: In a sense. 
ODO: When you return to the Link, what will happen to the entity I'm talking to right now? 
FOUNDER: The drop becomes the ocean. 
ODO: And if you choose to take solid form again? 
FOUNDER: The ocean becomes a drop. 
ODO: Ah, yes. I think I'm beginning to understand. 
FOUNDER: Then you can answer your own question. How many of us are there? 
ODO: One. And many. It depends on how you look at it. 
FOUNDER: Very good. You are beginning to understand. But there's so much you don't know. 
ODO: Tell me. 
FOUNDER: Words would be insufficient. Link with me again. It is the only way I can give you the understanding that you seek.