Star Trek
The Next Generation
Infinite Regression
of Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit
Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal tast
Brought Death into the World, and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till one greater Man
Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat...
John Milton - Paradise Lost
Chapter One
The bearded man paused, his large hand hovering a long time over the ornate chess board as if undecided on which piece to pick up and move. When he spoke, his deep voice resonated around the well furnished library.
"So you see Jean Luc, despite evidence telling them otherwise, there remain certain primitive cultures that believe the world, our earth, is still completely flat."
Jean Luc Picard, captain of the Enterprise D took his attention from the board for a moment and looked into the speaker's broad smiling face.
"Really? That is fascinating."
"Indeed. I make it my business good sir, to learn everything there is to learn about our world and its people. It makes for a better artist don't you think? It's your move."
Enamoured by the conversation, Picard hadn't noticed, he took a while to locate the glass knight, moved forward a few squares by his opponent's unseen hand and countered the move quickly with a knight of his own. With a breath he leaned back in his chair and spoke. "I myself have visited certain 'primitive' cultures in my travels. One of which actually had the peculiar notion that their entire world was transported through space, or through the heavens, on the back of a giant turtle."
Leonardo Da Vinci gave a loud booming laugh and shook his head, putting Picard in check without a glance. "Preposterous notion!"
With the faintest change in the air, an archway suddenly appeared on the far wall, melding as one into the bookshelves.
The door to the arch opened quickly with a hiss and Lt Commander Data strode confidently through. Taking in the details of the room with a quick tilt of his head, he walked over to the two seated figures. And about to open his mouth and address his captain, he suddenly noticed the game board.
"Curious."
"Mr Data?"
His golden eyes gleamed brightly in the firelight as if a hundred thousand sparks suddenly came alive inside them.
"I find it curious... as to why you are playing an archaic game of chess, when three dimensional chess is readily available in the computer's library."
"The game of kings Data."
"I beg your pardon captain?"
"Chess was called the game of kings. It was… a test of character. Far more challenging to invent new strategies, to battle an opponent with such a fierce intellect on something so archaic don't you agree?"
Not taking his eyes off the board to acknowledge the android, Da Vinci mumbled and nodded "Also my friend, Mr. Picard has the finest chess set I have ever seen."
"I see." Data paused and examined the board briefly."And... who is winning?"
Before he could answer, the communicator chirped gently on Picard's chest. The voice of his first officer, William T. Riker came through cleanly "Captain Picard to the bridge.
Picard smiled and nodded to Da Vinci "I think we'll call this a stalemate."
The impossibly large man suddenly stood and almost looked if he would sweep the board to the floor in one dramatic motion. "I beg to differ good sir; I clearly hold the advantage here."
"If I may captain?"
"Be my guest Mr Data."
"Computer, end program."
Chapter Two
The H-Class planet Ga'Matol hung like a vast orange jewel in the inky void of space. A silent witness to the endless passage of time. The untold eons that it had drifted alone were unmeasured.
With a flash of blue light and a blur of psuedomotion the Galaxy class starship Enterprise broke out of warp and manoeuvred easily through the Tol system, safely sliding into geosynchronous orbit of its third planet.
From the bridge, Lt Commander Data computed the planetary details at astonishing speed. As he worked out the atmospheric content, wind velocities, temperature, surface terrain and features and logged them accordingly, he played the con like a musical instrument, seemingly unaware of the amused look his fellow officers gave him. How long has this planet remained untouched, thought Picard as he watched Data's fingers dance over the console. His innate curiosity for exploration growing enormously as he changed his gaze to the large screen ahead, its view now showing an unforgiving desert world, pitted with rocky outcroppings and strange canyons. Data's voice startled him from his daydreams. "Scanning oxygen / nitrogen atmosphere Captain, no lifesigns but evidence of a pre-industrial society. Abandoned over… one hundred thousand years ago."
"Evidently the planet passed too close to its sun." Riker's bass voice was in stark contrast to Data's but no less startling to Picard.
"Harsh, reminds me of Vulcan. You don't honestly want to go down there?"
Picard thought he'd never get used to that beard, even after a year the effect on Riker was incredible, giving his first officer a more confident, almost regal poise. A lot different to the brash and young looking commander who he'd first met on the Farpoint mission.
"I've been stuck on this ship too long Will, I'm itching to stretch my legs on something other than a holodeck." He smiled, "Besides, I thought you'd relish the chance to sit in the chair for a while."
Riker was glad and his large toothy grin let Picard know it, since the return of Beverly Crusher from Starfleet Medical the captain had lightened noticeably, the bridge had taken on a more relaxed and familial atmosphere.
Picard strode excitedly to the turbolift with almost a spring in his step. "You have the bridge number one!"
The heaviness of the planet's gravity gripped Picard's spine violently as he materialised and seemed to take his very breath away, the heavy sun hung low in the sky, its glare causing him to perspire almost immediately in the bulky field jacket. "Harsh is right." Amid the heat haze and billowing dust on the horizon, shapes hovered, "300 yards Captain…" Geordi's tricorder hummed as he spoke. A miniature pyramid, just large enough to accommodate a man stood imposingly under the dune.
As they walked by him, Data noticed the sweat on his two companion's foreheads and adjusted the thermal level of his skin accordingly, a faint sheen appearing on his own face. Satisfied, he made a quiet noise to himself"Hm!"
The short walk to the dune was torturous in the constant fire of Ga'Matol's sun, Geordi suffering the most, forever rubbing the sleeve of his uniform over his brow to keep his visor clear. At the pyramid, faded and unreadable alien script covered the top of the open doorway. While inside, the air was thick with dust, the ravages of time halted completely.
"The lack of moisture in the air Captain, has the effect of preserving things. Cooler in here though."
On the dais lay a small figurine, surrounded on a shelf by broken artefacts of varying shapes and sizes. Picard could hardly contain himself as he brushed passed Geordi to examine them more closely. "Remarkable, almost Aztec, wouldn't you say Mr Data?"
Poking his head through the doorway, his face now covered in a thick later of dust, Data nodded and held his own tricorder over the vaguely humanoid design, "Indeed, I would suggest a culture along Olmec li... " He paused, confused "Captain? Is there something wrong?"
Picard and Geordi were almost holding each other as they laughed, the scene was absurd. Data was stained orange, his hair matted and sticking out at odd angles.
Picard wiped a tear and put a friendly hand on the android's shoulder, "I think, Mr Data, that we should get back to the ship before we all end up looking alien enough to scare councillor Troi out of her wits."