WOULD YOU?
by Pat Greiner
(Part 4 of 4)
Jean-Luc was already scrolling through data when they entered the conference room. He seemed as excited about his findings as Beverly was about hers.
�Look at this,� he jumped to a visual of a spectacularly carved mountainside where ancient lava flows had cut channels deep into the rock. Steam puffed from the ragged crater at the top. �Now look at the tachyon readings. In the inhabited areas closest to the volcano, they�re triple the readings for the rest of the planet. Over the crater itself they�re off the scale.�
�What could be inside that volcano that could be causing that?� asked Beverly.
�I�ve never heard of anything quite like this,� Jean-Luc mused. �Perhaps some sort of ore that is radioactive in a way we haven�t encountered before � emitting tachyons. Although if there was a tachyon source inside the planet, one would expect the entire planet to be equally permeated with the particles.�
�And are these tachyon particles harmful in any way?� Follim asked.
�Not in low levels. We have encountered high concentrations of them at times, but always in space, never on the surface of a planet before. In space, they tend to have the effect of creating disruptions in the fabric of time. But one of their characteristics is that they pass through virtually any material we know of. There is no known way to contain or shield against them.�
�Jean-Luc, have you tried running a scan directly into the center of the planet? A geological scan?�
�No, but that�s an excellent idea. I�ll start one immediately.�
While they waited for the sensors to complete their analysis, she showed him the scans she had taken of Mhabi and Follim that afternoon. �This is quite remarkable,� he exclaimed as he saw the link form and flow between the two women. �You�re absolutely right, Beverly. This is stronger evidence than we could have hoped for.�
As the two of them dug into their data, eagerly fitting each new piece into the puzzle, they began to see a clear pattern. Follim followed the process with eager fascination, and at one point said, �You aren�t just dealing with the limit anymore. You�re actually trying to answer the question of what oonsar is. And it looks as though you�re right.�
�It�s not what we set out to do,� Beverly conceded. �But it�s where the information led us. And it seems as though the limit is not perhaps what it first appeared to be.�
�I hope my people are ready to hear it.�
�Why shouldn�t they be? It�s good news,� Jean-Luc said.
�But it�s news that may not square with the beliefs of many,� Follim explained.
�Oh, of course. Like Mokkan. Is this belief that oonsar is some sort of divine gift � is it widespread?�
�Wide enough. Perhaps ten percent of the population subscribes to it. All in all, it�s a pretty benign culture, and what you�re saying doesn�t run counter to most of its beliefs � just that Mogl was the giver of oonsar.�
It was another three hours before they had completed their analysis � checking and cross checking data, playing devil�s advocate to examine each piece of their theory for unproved assumptions or fatal flaws. No matter how they tried to undermine it, their conclusion withstood each assault. It was late, and all three of them were exhausted. �Would anyone be offended if we just slept here instead of making the trip back in to the city?� Beverly asked Follim.
�No. I�ll call the staff at your lodging and let them know not to expect you.� She retrieved her roving caller from the pocket of her jacket and took care of the details. �What time shall I come by for you in the morning?�
�You must be as tired as we are, Follim. We have guest quarters here; would you like to stay instead of driving back home?�
Again the eager smile rewarded Beverly. �This is such a beautiful ship. I would love to have the chance to spend the night here. Well, that is ��
�Yes?�
��You won�t be offended if I don�t eat any of that hot food again, will you?� Beverly had replicated some snacks during the evening.
�We�ll have cold fruit and muffins for breakfast,� she promised. �I think they�ll suit you much better. Follim,� she continued as she led the way to the guest quarters, �I don�t quite know what is proper to say or not say, and I don�t want to do anything to make you uncomfortable ��
�You find it so difficult to speak of death. I don�t think any conversation we have can possibly be as hard for me as they are for you. You can ask me whatever you want, Beverly. I really have come to think of you as a friend. And I know that you want to understand. What do you want to know?�
�How old are you?�
�I�m 18. That�s just a little younger than the average lifespan � not a tragically early death by any means. Although I would have welcomed more years had they been granted me.�
�At 18, our children are just reaching the end of adolescence � it�s so young to me.�
�Our adolescence ends somewhere around 4. I was working as a research scientist when I was 7.�
�At that age, I was perfecting my technique with finger paints.� The two of them shared a laugh, touched hands to shoulders, and drew closer into a hug. A few seconds later, Beverly continued, �What�s the proper way for me to behave as far as others? Specifically, as far as Jean-Luc? Is this privileged information, is it something that he should know, is it somewhere in between?�
�As uncomfortable as humans seem to be with this, I think it would be best if he didn�t know, until you leave. I don�t want any reactions to my personal life to conflict with the presentation tomorrow. It wouldn�t be a huge breach of etiquette to tell him, since we have all worked so closely together, but neither is it improper to keep it private.�
�I�ll do whatever you want, Follim. And I think you may be right � it�s still a bit jarring to me, and I�ve had hours to get used to it.�
�Well, don�t be too hard on yourself, Beverly. I�ve had 12 years!� Follim smiled and clearly wanted to lighten the tone a bit. �Will you wake me in the morning? I tend to be a deep sleeper.�
�We�ll be sure you don�t miss breakfast. Pleasant dreams.�
A few minutes later, Beverly slipped into the familiar bed in the ambassador�s suite. Jean-Luc was already half asleep. She tucked herself around him, wrapping her arms around his chest and twining her legs through his. She felt as though she couldn�t hold him tightly enough. Her head rested on his shoulder, and suddenly he felt a warm, wet spot there. He listened, but heard only steady breathing. �Beverly, are you all right?�
�Mmm,� accompanied by a quick sniffle.
�Are you crying?� he backed a few inches away so that he could see her.
�No. Well, yes, but I mean, not really, no.�
�Tears do seem to be coming out of your eyes, my love,� he said as he gently wiped one away with the tip of his finger.
�But,� and after another quick sniff she managed a smile, �I�m not sobbing. I�m just pensively meditating.�
�On a deep and dreary subject?�
�On the fragility of life. The unfairness of death. And on which is worse � certainty or uncertainty.�
�Ah.� He drew her close again and held her in silence for a few seconds before musing, �You know, I think every alien culture I�ve encountered has caused me to re-examine or reappreciate some aspect of human life. Every time we meet yet another thing which we never dreamed of � every time we discover that there is yet another way of looking at the universe � we grow. And sometimes,� he gently stroked her hair as her eyes closed, �that growth comes with pain. Is there anything I can do � besides waxing philosophical, and perhaps boring you to sleep?�
�Exactly this,� replied Beverly as she slid an arm around him and found herself suddenly quite sleepy. �Exactly this.�
*********************************
The next morning, Jean-Luc and Beverly packed a portable data display onto which they had downloaded all the information they had gathered. Follim had arranged for a meeting of the same limit study group that had first outlined the problem for them. In a short time, they were landing once again at the same building where that first meeting had occurred. A familiar figure was waiting for them on the landing pad.
�I hear you may have an answer for us,� Mokkan said as soon as the door of the hovercraft opened. �That is more than we could have hoped for.�
�Do not hope for too much,� Picard replied. �We have a theory, nothing more. We will present it to the group, and they can continue to evaluate it after we have gone. There is certainly no guarantee that we�ve hit upon the answer in this short time.�
�I saw the direction you were heading in yesterday, when you first began researching the tachyon gradient in this end of the galaxy. It made such clear sense to me � I have a very strong feeling that you really are on to something. I hope the committee sees the sense in it as well.�
Picard was surprised by the man�s reaction. Given Mokkan�s religious beliefs, he had expected him to resist a purely scientific explanation not only of the limit, but of oonsar as well. This wasn�t the time to bring it up, however. They had a presentation to make.
There were a number of familiar faces in the room when Beverly and Jean-Luc entered. Besides Follim and Mokkan, there was Fornees, the chairman, and the two librarians who had compiled the reference bank on Eebron. They had spoken with several of the other members in the course of their research in the last few days, and almost all of the group had been in attendance at Flotral�s party. After greetings and pleasantries, the group settled down to business.
�I want to emphasize that what we are about to suggest is simply a theory. It does not mean that we will not continue to study the data we have gathered and search for meanings which we may have overlooked. We also fully intend to put the resources of the Federation to work to examine your problem. But what we have here seems compellingly to explain not only the limit, but other phenomena as well. First, let me begin by explaining a bit about tachyon particles, as they form the basis of our entire theory.�
After providing this basic background, Jean-Luc took them step by step through the readings that showed Eebron had a naturally high level of tachyon particles, and in particular the phenomena around Mount Ibewka. Then he progressed to the varying levels of tachyon radiation in the universe, and the immense band through which Eebron had been passing for the last 350 years � and from which it would emerge another 15.
Beverly took over the presentation when they reached the biological section. She summarized the data she had gathered over the last few days, then showed them the tricorder images of the tachyon flow during an oonsar session. �It seems clear to us that the higher the levels of tachyon radiation, both in the atmosphere and in the particular persons, the more exact and detailed the sense of oonsar becomes. The question of how that effect is generated remains to be answered.� She paused and looked around, then glanced over at Jean-Luc. �But we do have a theory.�
He picked up smoothly. �Tachyons, as we have already noted, move at faster than light speeds. This gives them certain special abilities with regard to time that we do not fully understand. We are starting with an assumption which I must spell out. We feel that the time Eebron entered the tachyon belt matching the first appearance of oonsar, and the time you will exit the belt matching the limit, are unlikely to be mere coincidences.�
�Even though we have these readings that clearly show tachyons are involved in the process of oonsar, we have no explanation of how the particles might actually create the ability,� Beverly added. �One idea is that the higher concentrations of particles in your atmosphere gradually coats everything on Eebron. An individual�s personal accumulation of particles reacts with the unusually high levels in the atmosphere to somehow confer an ability to slide through time along a subject�s lifeline. Of course, what a �lifeline� actually might be, how one slides along it, and a hundred other questions are all unanswered, so this is really a vague speculation on our part.�
�However,� Jean-Luc said, �we believe that there is a strong possibility that the limit represents not the end of life on Eebron, but the end of the time span which oonsar can sense.�
Beverly interjected, �It�s as though the oonsar sensitive were literally following a line running backward and forward in time from their subject. When they reach a point 15 years from now, there is no longer enough tachyon lubrication to allow them to slide further along the line. They just stop. Not because the subject�s life stops, but because from that point in time � the point where Eebron is no longer in the radiation band � the sensitive cannot move through time.�
There was a considerable stir in the room as committee members immediately began to discuss the possibilities and implications. Jean-Luc raised his voice a notch to be heard over the conversations. �We realize that this is a different sort of answer than you expected. It may not be a correct answer at all. It is a theory. However, if we are in some measure correct, this is good news for Eebron�s survival �� he turned to Beverly, who took off from his cue.
�� but sad news in that it may represent the loss of oonsar. The ability is one that your people have used to help build an admirable culture. You will surely face some challenges in maintaining all those gains if you do in fact lose the ability to read lifespans.� On a different note, she went on to explain that the tachyon radiation probably accounted for the malaise Eebronians felt when visiting other worlds. At lesser levels of radiation, they could experience a very minor sort of time distortion, which made them feel slow and sluggish.
Ever the diplomat, Jean-Luc closed their presentation on a positive note. �Both Dr. Crusher and I have come to very much appreciate and admire Eebron and her people over the past four days. If our way home were not so very long, we would gladly prolong our stay and get to know you better. However, we are confidant that whatever challenges the limit may pose for you � you are a people who are well prepared to meet them and come away stronger. We hope that our contact with you is the first step in a lasting relationship between the Federation and Eebron. And we are humbled and gratified indeed by the level of hospitality, cooperation, and friendship that has greeted us at every turn. We will remember Eebron fondly for the rest of our lives.�
Even after all these years, Beverly thought, I am still stunned by his off-the-cuff eloquence and his ability to say the right things � the things I think of two hours later. The sound of Jean-Luc�s voice interrupted her musings.
�Before we take our leave, we do want to be sure that we answer any questions you may have, and that you have functional copies of all the data we have gathered, so you can continue to examine and test our theory, as well as search for other interpretations.� The meeting quickly broke into a dozen smaller conversations, and various groups and individuals waited patiently around Beverly and Jean-Luc for a chance to ask questions and discuss implications.
Mokkan was among the crowd, and along with him were two other scientists whom Beverly remembered seeing at Flotral�s home. �I wanted to thank you,� he began when Jean-Luc turned to him.
�It is I who must thank you,� he countered. �Your help with every aspect of the last few days has been crucial. We could not have accomplished one-quarter as much without your assistance. And I suppose that I have given you little reason to thank me in regard to your beliefs.�
�Do not be troubled over that. We,� and he gestured to his two companions, �discussed and debated the possibility long into the night last night.�
�Last night?� questioned Jean-Luc.
�From the moment you showed me the data confirming that the radiation band matches the onset and end of oonsar � even though you hadn�t gathered the rest of the pieces yet, well, it was clear that this was a strong possibility. And so we were talking it over last night, and we realized that this doesn�t disprove that Mogl gave us the gift of oonsar. What it does is prove how she did it. She created this band of high radiation, and made it so vast in order to give us time to learn, to change our ways, to become truly worthy of her.�
Beverly saw the urge to begin a debate flash over Jean-Luc�s face for less than half a second, and was very glad when she saw it suppressed as quickly as it had come. Whew, she thought. We would never have gotten out of here until midnight. As it was, the questions and discussions continued for another hour and a half before they were able to make gracious farewells and final thank yous, and get back into Follim�s hovercar for the return trip to the spaceport.
�You will be what I miss most about Eebron,� Beverly said to Follim as the craft settled to the ground next to the Mistral. �You�re an excellent scientist, but even more, I�ve come to think of you as a friend.�
�As have I, Beverly,� came the reply. �I will remember you �� she paused and caught Beverly�s eye when Jean-Luc wasn�t looking, �� for the rest of my life.� Her mischievous smile clearly reminded Beverly of everything Follim had told her about the acceptance of the inevitable.
�Not getting to know you better is my loss,� said Beverly. They touched shoulders, and Beverly impulsively drew Follim closer for a final hug. �May good things fill your days,� she said.
�And your journey together be long and pleasant,� Follim replied.
I will not cry, thought Beverly, and she smiled a little wider than usual, blinked a bit faster and harder, and waved as the Mistral�s door closed.
*****************************
As the Mistral left Eebron�s atmosphere, Jean-Luc asked, �Care for a closer look at those pink moons we�ve been seeing through the skylight?�
�This will probably be our only chance,� answered Beverly. She was concentrating hard on bringing her emotions under control and doing a good job of it. Or so she believed until Jean-Luc interrupted her train of thought.
�Beverly, sit down with me,� he glanced at the empty seat beside him in the cockpit. �First your tears last night, and now this. Something is clearly bothering you.�
�What do you mean by �this?�� she tried to keep her tone light.
�You�re acting. You�re a good actress, but I can still tell the difference between your good acting and the real you. You�re concealing something. And knowing you, it�s probably something you think I should not be bothered with, or shouldn�t have to worry about. I know,� he held up his hand as Beverly started to object. �You ran interference for me often enough on the Enterprise � but this isn�t the Enterprise. I only have one crew member to keep track of instead of one thousand � although, strangely enough, it still seems to occupy an enormous amount of my time.� Now it was his turn to try a light tone.
�You�re right, as usual.� She sighed. �Did you notice anything unusual about Follim?�
�It�s hard to say what�s usual or unusual for someone you�ve only known a few days. And you got to know her far better than I.�
Beverly drew one leg up and rested her foot on the seat in front of her. She wrapped her arms around her leg and hugged it to her chest, resting her head on her knee and rocking slightly as she told him how Follim expected to die in the middle of the following week. �The complete acceptance she had for death � the refusal to run, hide, fight, do anything to stave it off � in some ways it seems admirable in a philosophic sense, but as a doctor, everything in me says no! � you�re still young and there is so much more that you could do�� she trailed off and sighed again.
�So many subtle differences in their culture, all traceable to the fact that they can know the length of their life if they choose � and usually do choose so. We could spend a lifetime just studying and getting to know the Eebronians.�
�Yes. And we would only just scratch the surface if we did,� she agreed. �Does it seem to you sometimes that we just skim through the universe, touching a civilization here, another one there, but not truly getting to know any of them in depth?�
�That is our purpose as explorers. We make the contacts and find the ways for those who will come after us, and will get to know other civilizations in depth. Would you really be happy studying just one civilization for the rest of your life?�
Beverly looked at the craggy pink surface that was rapidly approaching on the viewscreen before them. Dark purple clouds trailed across its surface, and what looked like crystalline growths the size of mountains spread out and sparkled in the sun. She smiled and wordlessly shook her head at the beauty.
�And there�s something more spectacular waiting for us in the next solar system.�
�There is?�
�I�m quite sure.� He smiled. �Computer, resume course for Earth. Warp 9. Engage.�
As Eebron disappeared in a blur of lights, Jean-Luc stood up and took Beverly by one hand, pulling her up to stand next to him. �However long our lives are, you�ve made mine happier now than it ever has been. I can wish for nothing better than a long life with you, my darling.� Her smile reflected the same wish back to him, but with a certainty that made him ask, �Beverly, did you � do you �?�
�Would I do that? Well � yes � and no.� He rolled his eyes in exasperation, so she continued, �And I may tell you, if you really want to know. But before we do that � I believe we had an appointment in the holosuite.�