Part 9 (1/2)
”And let me guess,” said Troi, ”there aren't any of them around.”
”That is true.” Data frowned slightly as he chose his next words. ”The sh.e.l.l is designed to keep working at all costs, which is logical given the disastrous results if it ever failed. Despite its size and complexity, every subsystem is integrated to a remarkable degree. You cannot shut down one subsystem without shutting down many other subsystems, and that is simply not allowed. The sh.e.l.l is not like me or the Enterprise, designed to be shut down and repaired. It is more like a human being, designed to grow and compensate for system failures, but never shut down. Shutting down would result in disaster.”
”So there's tremendous resistance to change,” concluded Picard. ”That's one reason why high-level access is limited to only six senior engineers, who are never around.”
”Correct,” answered Data. ”Almost all the current workers are maintenance workers, because the programming for the system was optimized millennia ago. No one on the sh.e.l.l can access either the core fractal program or the darkmatter collection routines. We require one of the senior engineers.”
Geordi La Forge scowled with incomprehension. ”What do we have to do to convince these people this is serious?”
”You don't understand,” said Melora Pazlar glumly.
”We know it's serious, but we can't believe that our Sacred Protector could be at fault. We have depended upon the sh.e.l.l, and all the traditions that have surrounded it since the days of the Ancients. You saw the reaction you got when you said it was only a machine. We've always regarded the sh.e.l.l as infallible.”
Reg Barclay cleared his throat. ”Excuse me, but the sh.e.l.l's crystal computer isn't at fault. Programmers have a saying: 'Garbage in, garbage out.' Somebody messed up the programming, and only six senior engineers have access to the programming. Ergo, one of them must have started this whole mess.”
Pazlar scoffed. ”That's preposterous.”
”It would seem a far-fetched conclusion,” agreed Picard, ”but you can't overlook its underlying logic. One thing is certain: we've got to get at least one of those engineers back to work so we can examine the programs.”
Pazlar hobbled toward the door. ”I'll get right on that, sir. I'm going to prove you wrong, Lieutenant Barclay. We will find a logical explanation for this. Or we may find that the rift did appear spontaneously and is causing all of the problems.”
”Mr. Barclay, go with her,” ordered Picard. ”Take a shuttlecraft-it will be faster and safer.”
The Elaysian whirled around as quickly as she could. ”With all due respect, Captain, I think I can handle a protocol matter with my own people by myself.”
”Lieutenant, some of your people have proven to be very intractable. I don't want anybody from this crew going anywhere on this planet alone. Do I make myself clear?”
She lowered her head. ”Yes, sir.”
The captain granted her a slight smile. ”Besides, it always helps to view a situation from two different sides. While you hunt down these engineers, try to find out when each of them was last on the sh.e.l.l.”
”A little detective work,” said Barclay, rubbing his hands together. ”I don't mind that at all.”
”We'll check on it, Captain.” Melora shuffled out the door, barely waiting for Reg to catch up.
”I could give you more detailed descriptions,” said Data, ”but until we inspect the programming, we can draw no conclusions. Their technology is both more sophisticated and more primitive than ours, owing to its advanced age. The sh.e.l.l is a remarkable combination of traditional circuitry and organic components made from the crystal.”
The captain sighed. ”At some point, I would love to hear about their technology in detail, but right now we need to finish repairs.”
”What we really need is some sleep,” insisted Crusher. ”We've been here for sixteen hours now, and most of us were up a s.h.i.+ft or two before that. Did Barclay sleep at all?”
”He slept on the shuttlecraft,” answered Data.
”All right, Beverly,” said Picard with a weary smile. ”Mr. Data, you have the bridge. I'd like to send a probe into that rift, even if the chances are slim that we'll learn anything. So think about what kind of sensors would be most useful.”
The android nodded thoughtfully. ”I will make preliminary readings. If the other dimension contains a darkmatter nebula, which seems likely, we might be able to detect trace gases a.s.sociated with a nebula.”
”Make it so,” said the captain.
”One more thing,” said Dr. Crasher. ”I just want to remind everyone that there are some severe side effects a.s.sociated with weightlessness. Muscle loss, atrophy, nausea, cramping. I know it's pretty out there, but take your hypos and try not to stay off the s.h.i.+p for extended periods.”
”If my projections hold true,” said Data, ”Gemworld will soon have gravity again, but it will no longer be pretty.”
That was not the cheery note on which Picard would have hoped to end the staff meeting, but it was fitting. ”All of you have things to do,” he said, ”with sleep being primary among them. Dismissed.”
Chapter Nine.
REG BARCLAY FLOATED in an uncomfortable silence a few centimeters above his seat on the shuttlecraft. He was uncomfortable not because of the weightlessness but because of the icy curtain of silence Melora Pazlar had strung between them. She hadn't spoken to him since they left the briefing aboard the Enterprise. True, she had to pilot the shuttlecraft, and there were plenty of obstacles among the glittering crystals, but she could acknowledge his existence, couldn't she?
He thought about tightening his lap belt some more, but he didn't want to appear to be frightened of the low gravity. More than anything, he wanted Melora to feel that he was sympathetic to her, but how could he be sympathetic if he was scared of low gravity? So the lanky lieutenant floated nervously above his seat, trying to cross his legs and appear nonchalant.
Under the best of circ.u.mstances, Reg wasn't comfortable making small talk, and this was even more torturous. He didn't even know where they were going; but it couldn't be the sh.e.l.l because they were headed the wrong direction. He had to trust that she was on-mission, which was to get one of the six senior engineers back to the sh.e.l.l. There was no other way to gain access to the high-level subroutines.
Reg decided that he was within his rights to ask where they were going. After all, it wasn't top secret, and he was an integral part of the away team. Nevertheless, he had to screw up his courage to even clear his throat, which he did. That guttural sound didn't get a reaction from Melora as he had hoped, so Reg grew bolder. ”Uh, I was just wondering ... w-where are we going?”
She ignored him, and Reg felt a flash of anger, which spurred him to try again. ”Come on, Melora! You can't ignore me the whole trip-you've got to talk to me sometime.”
”But not until I have to,” she snapped back.
”Well ... you can at least tell me where we're going.”
She sighed impatiently. ”The Hold of the Regal Oneness.”
”Oh, that clears it up,” muttered Barclay. ”I was worried we were going to the hold of the Twoness or Threeness.”
She seethed angrily at him. ”I can't believe you suggested that one of our senior engineers sabotaged the sh.e.l.l. What could possibly be the motive for that?”
Barclay gulped. ”I was just drawing a logical conclusion. If you hang around Data enough, you end up doing that. Please forgive me-it's nothing personal.”
”I know.” Melora slowed the craft down, as much to give herself a moment to think as to avoid a large cloud of dark, shattered crystals floating in the air. A few of the shards sizzled on the shuttlecraft's forcefield. ”It's just that I haven't been back here in so long, and I feel like I don't belong. My loyalties are divided. I never questioned any of our traditions before, but now I do. Gemworld is the same place I left ... but it's not.”
She shook her head in amazement. ”When I was growing up here, I thought it was a paradise, a place where there was never any strife or ill feelings. Now for the first time I see that some of us are petty and small-minded. Also, the Lipuls summoned us, but my own people don't seem to want us. I've never noticed the philosophical difference between our species before. I thought we were always in agreement.”
”Well,” said Reg, ”you left here a child and you came back an adult. You lost your innocence along the way. Fighting in a war will do that to you.”
Despite her silky blond hair, Melora's face looked as dark as the cloud of broken crystals. ”And I've heard all of you talk about Gemworld: 'It's artificial, it's a skeleton, it should have died a million years ago.' And, you know, I look around here, and I can't help but to agree with you. Now I've seen young planets in their prime, and I know this planet is more preserved than alive. Who have we been fooling all these years?”
”Melora, you're ... you're dead wrong,” insisted Reg. ”Gemworld is a beautiful place, a triumph of the will to survive. You've built, you've adapted, and you've lived in peace forever. Your people don't have to apologize for anything you've had to do to survive. So what if Gemworld doesn't look like a thousand other planets? We're all impressed with it, even if we can't figure it out exactly.”
Melora gave him an appreciative smile, then turned back to her instruments. ”Thank you, Reg. I'm sure glad I ran into you in the corridor and not somebody else.”
He looked down sheepishly. ”Uh, no, I think I ran into you.”
”No, I wasn't looking where I was going. That's me, full speed ahead! Good thing my full speed on a s.h.i.+p isn't too fast.”
”Then I can stop feeling guilty?”