Thinking Outside the Box
Despite the sterility of its uniform, modular stalls, the merchants' market at the Kdrazin colony held all the liveliness and noisy bustle of any outdoor market. The paths between the units, perfectly smooth and hygienically clean, were crowded with shoppers who jostled their way from display to display, snacking on aromatic spice sticks, exclaiming eagerly over bargains and savoring the guilty pleasure of each unnecessary purchase.
The crew of Voyager was enjoying a break from ship's duties and savoring the holiday mood. Neelix was in raptures over the many fruits and vegetables he'd purchased at the market. He'd been lucky enough to find several new plant samples to add to the hydroponics bay. He'd already beamed back to the ship to oversee the arrival and storage of these treasures.
B'Elanna made an early return to the ship as well in order to test out some replacement units she'd found. She carried a present that Tom bought for her. It was wrapped in the local equivalent of discreet packaging. He'd only agreed to let her take it back to the ship if she solemnly promised not to open it until he could join her that evening.
Harry had been feeling low about missing his mother's birthday again this year so B'Elanna encouraged him to linger at the market and urged Tom to stay to keep him company. Harry and Tom spent the rest of the afternoon wandering from stall to stall, discovering the familiar and the exotic.
Theirs was an aimless, leisurely stroll until Harry found a display of resonating crystals at a music stall and his casual interest turned to excitement. The colorful crystals produced beautiful melodies on themes borrowed from nature. The individually tuned crystals were suspended at various intervals from a fixed canopy overhead and curious customers moved from display to display trying out the different musical poems. Harry spent an hour just listening to the melodic tones before setting himself the difficult task of choosing one crystal from among the many available for purchase.
Tom patiently listened to crystal after crystal until Harry narrowed his choices to four. At that point Harry decided that Tom was of no further use and shooed him away to go and look at some of the other stalls so he could finish making up his mind.
"You mean you're depriving yourself of the benefit of my musical expertise?" Tom asked, pretending to be amazed at the very idea.
"I'm positive that I can manage just fine without that," Harry teased back."Besides, I need peace and quiet so I can think. Why don't you go and find the games we saw on the way here?"
"Are you sure? I don't mind waiting, you know."
"You talk too much. Go already." Harry gave Tom a friendly shove to get him moving.
Tom took a few steps and then stopped so he could search the line of stalls for the one that had caught his attention earlier. It was not far away. Tom could see its wide counter stretched out with piles of colorful and intricate puzzles. There was an open space in the middle of the counter where customers could try out sample toys. Additional stock was arranged in eye pleasing displays on shelves at the back of the stall. A large merchant with the smile of a salesman stood in front of the counter trying to interest passers-by in a hexagonal shaped box covered with honeycombs of flashing lights.
"My friend," the merchant called to one retreating back. "The Conundrum can be solved by those who are clever and wise. Try for yourself and you may win a prize."
Tom glanced over to make sure that Harry really was okay, then strolled toward to the games stall to get a closer look at the puzzle that the merchant was so obviously trying to promote.
Meanwhile, in another corner of the Kdrazin market Voyager's Captain Janeway decided that she'd thoroughly enjoyed her afternoon away from the ship. Although she hadn't made any purchases, she'd delighted in uncovering tiny treasures in stall after stall. Kathryn now prepared to make a final tour of the market to gather her remaining crewmembers before returning to the ship.
She spotted Harry quickly enough. From what she could tell he was either comparing or weighing two crystals that he held in his hands. He lifted one and then the other, switching back and forth in a classic pantomime of indecision.
"Captain, what do you think?" Harry asked when he noticed her. "The white crystal or the blue-green one? The white crystal makes a winter kind of song like crisp, crackling snow. The blue-green has a more spring-like sound. It's like water rushing over rocks.
"They're both lovely, Harry. Which one do you like best?"
"Maybe I'd better get the one with the water music. Listening to snow just reminds me how cold I got the last time I went skiing with Tom on the holodeck."
"A wise choice," she approved. "Speaking of Tom, where is he?"
"Over there," Harry answered, pointing down the path. "He went to check out a stand that has puzzles and games for sale."
"It's almost time to head back to Voyager. I'll see if he's ready to leave. Join us when you've completed your purchase."
"Yes, ma'am."
Kathryn negotiated her way through the lingering shoppers to a large crowd gathered around one of the stalls. They were shouting advice and encouragement to someone who was hidden from view. The crowd was too thick for her to see much of the stall itself, but the design etched into the gray, dome-shaped canopy arched overhead confirmed that this was indeed the stall that Harry had directed her to.
At that moment a large cheer burst from the crowd, followed by a sudden bustle of activity that seemed to signal the end of whatever it was that they had been watching. People on the outer edges pushed forward, while those nearer the center squeezed back out, most carrying small boxes covered with coral lights that flashed randomly across the surfaces of these many-sided boxes.
Finally, enough of the crowd dispersed so she could see Tom Paris standing in front of the stall's counter, beaming proudly with one of the same boxes in his hand. The only difference between his box and the ones carried by the departing shoppers was that all the buttons on his were a subdued blue. Next to Tom, a happy merchant was busy serving his many customers.
"Well," Kathryn said when she reached them. "What's all this?"
"Honored Lady, may I interest you in purchasing a Cerebral Conundrum? This Honored Sir found the key to solve its mysteries. Surely a Lady of your dignity and intelligence can unravel the secret as well."
"Never mind, Zadril," Tom interrupted. "This 'Honored Lady' is my captain. She can have mine, no charge."
"Ah, yes, of course." The merchant turned his attention to a paying customer.
"Yours?" Kathryn asked Tom.
"I won it, Captain. That's what the sign is all about." He pointed to a colorful poster written in the local script. "It says 'Try your luck. Unravel the mystery hidden in the Cerebral Conundrum and win one of your own. I won," he repeated helpfully.
"Congratulations," she said, smiling. "How did you manage to figure it out?"
"Back in the twentieth century they had something like this, a cubic puzzle named after someone called 'Rubik', I think. For a while, it was quite popular, almost a craze. Everyone wanted to try it."
"This works on the same principle?"
"Not exactly. This one is more complicated. But I used the same basic idea to work it out. It's like thinking with a twist. They had a lot of good ideas back in the twentieth century," he explained. "You just have to take the idea and see where you can go with it."
"You don't have to convince me," she told him. Unlike many people in Tom's past, she wasn't blind to the value of his unorthodox thinking and the way he was able to use twentieth century technology to develop new ideas. She not only tolerated Tom's twentieth century interests, she encouraged them and Voyager had reaped many benefits.
"The puzzle is a lot of fun, Captain." Tom assured her. "Although I've got to say, Zadril," he said, addressing the merchant, "you have to do something about that name. 'Cerebral Conundrum' doesn't have much of a ring to it."
The merchant merely clasped his four thumbs together politely, and returned to his last customer.
"Here, Captain," Tom said, "try it." He reset the sequence so that coral lights began flickering over the blue buttons.
"Don't you want to hold on to your winnings?" she asked.
"It's okay. I was just going to pass mine along for someone else in the crew to try. If I kept it to show to B'Elanna, it'd probably end up smashed against a bulkhead. Besides, I already found something much better to give her," he confided.
"What about Harry?" she asked.
"I could give Harry the puzzle," he agreed. "But he gets to play a lot more games than the captain does." Tom Paris's Starfleet family background gave him a special understanding of how demanding a captain's job could be. "Why should ensigns have all the fun?" he added, keeping his tone light.
Kathryn gave him a look to stop him from going further, but she did accept the puzzle. She turned it over to examine the seemingly random lights on each of its hexagonal faces.
The merchant finished in time to overhear the last part of their conversation. "You have many on your ship?" he asked Tom.
"A few," Tom answered cautiously. Even in friendly territory like the Kdrazin colony, it didn't pay to volunteer too much information about the ship.
"Then allow me to present you with two more puzzles to share with your shipmates."
"Thanks," Tom replied, rather startled by this unexpected offer from the merchant.
"It's very generous of you," Kathryn commented in a neutral tone.
"Not at all," the merchant assured her. "Once your crewmember shares the Conundrum with his shipmates, I know that many of them will want to purchase one of their own." He leaned forward to whisper urgently, "Please tell me that your ship will not be leaving soon."
"It's difficult to say. It will depend on how long it takes to complete our business," she answered noncommittally.
"May the fortunes be favorable!" was his fervent wish. Then he turned to Tom. "I have sold my entire display stock. Give me a moment to retrieve more puzzles from the back storage area."
"No problem," Tom answered. Then he added, "That is, if you don't mind, Captain?"
"I'll wait for the puzzles," she offered. "Why don't you go over and see if Harry is finished with his purchase?"
"Sure thing," Tom replied and then made his way back to the music stall.
Zadril returned a few minutes later bearing more puzzles. He placed two of them into a carrying bag and set this in front of Kathryn. "Will you try your Conundrum, Honored Captain?" he asked, indicating the one in her hands.
She examined the lights once more before answering with a question of her own. "Just how difficult is this puzzle?"
"It requires an ability to see a problem from a different perspective. Your crewmember must have a talent for solving unusual puzzles. I have had that sign up for several seasons. This is only the second time that it has been won."
Kathryn smiled to herself as she recalled some of her own experiences with Tom's unique perspective. Among other things, Tom's version of creative problem solving had given Voyager a solution to the nacelle problem for the warp ten flight, a carburetor inspired device for a space-folding engine and a hot-rod based design for the multi-functional Delta Flyer. "Tom does bring his own perspective to problem solving," the Captain told Zadril. "We call it 'thinking outside the box'."
"We have a similar expression," he explained. "My people say that if you always sit inside a closed box, you will miss the light of the new day." The merchant leaned closer to confide to Voyager's captain. "I have to admit, when your crewmember first attempted to solve the Cerebral Conundrum, I did not expect much success, especially since members of your species only have one thumb on each hand. However once he began, he made the game so much fun that he attracted a larger crowd than I've had all season. I sold more merchandise today in one business session than I usually sell in twenty-four. I am sure I could surpass my record for sales if your ship stayed in orbit long enough."
Kathryn wasn't surprised. Tom had a knack for sharing his enthusiasm and getting people involved in novel activities. It led to everything from the large number of people involved in the Tom generated 'yo-yo' craze, all the way to the diverse team he pulled together to design and build the Delta Flyer. "You're probably right," she agreed.
Harry and Tom arrived and joined them soon after. Harry was carrying a bundle wrapped in soft cloth. It was larger than Kathryn expected.
"All set, gentlemen?" she asked.
"Sorry for the delay, Captain," Harry answered. "I found another crystal that sounded like waves lapping along the shore. It kind of reminded me of summers at the seaside back home."
"Is that the one that you ended up buying?"
"I couldn't decide," he admitted. "So I bought that one and the blue-green one too. I'll put one of them away to give to my mom when we get home." Harry smiled a bit sadly, knowing that it could be many years before that happened.
"I'm sure that she'll love it," Kathryn assured him gently.
"Come on, Harry," Tom spoke up. "Why don't you check out the Conundrum?"
"What's all this that Tom's been telling me about solving some kind of local puzzle?" Harry asked.
"Apparently he has a knack for them," Kathryn explained.
"Here you go, Harry," Tom said, taking one of the extra puzzles from the carrying bag and giving it to Harry.
"Personally, I think all this is just another example of your sheer lunacy," Harry ribbed Tom.
"That's it! That's exactly what it is. 'Sheer Lunacy.' That's a great name, Harry." Tom smiled broadly at the merchant. "If anyone from my ship asks you for 'Sheer Lunacy' you'll know what they mean."
"I will remember," Zadril promised, "and you can tell them that I will deduct two zdaki from the regular price for any crewmate of yours who wishes to purchase one."
By this time Harry was engrossed in his examination of the lights on the sides of the puzzle. Tom smiled in satisfaction at being able to divert Harry's attention away from his homesickness. Harry scarcely noticed when Tom freed Harry's purchases from the crook of his arm and added them to the single puzzle remaining in his carrying bag.
"I think we're ready to go now, gentlemen," Kathryn announced. "Thank you for your generosity," she told the merchant.
"It was my profit and pleasure, Honored Captain," he replied politely.
Tom pulled the strap of his bag over one shoulder and joined his captain. "I'll drop this last puzzle off in the mess hall for the crew to try," he told her.
They started to walk away, then realized that Harry wasn't with them. He was still back at the stall staring at the puzzle in his hands, testing the buttons, searching for patterns. Tom raised an eyebrow. Kathryn smiled and nodded back toward Harry.
"Come on Harry," Tom called out. "It's time to go."
"I'm coming," Harry answered, still not moving.
Tom walked around behind Harry and placed his hands on Harry's shoulders. Harry looked back at Tom. "I'll get it in a minute or two. It can't be that hard if you solved it."
"Whatever. Tell me again how easy it is after you solve it." Tom answered, steering Harry in the direction of the path that led to the beam up point. Harry shuffled along ahead of him, fully occupied with Sheer Lunacy.
Kathryn shook her head in resignation. She recognized the signs. Sheer Lunacy would be all over the ship by the end of the day. But it would be worth it if it helped others on the crew the way it was helping Harry with his latest bout of homesickness. She started checking over the lights on her own puzzle again then checked herself. It wouldn't do for Voyager's captain to be caught playing with toys in public. She eyed the buttons then stopped herself once more. She'd wait until she got back to her ready room.
"Thanks for letting me try out your games, Zadril," Tom called out to the merchant. "I had a lot of fun."
"Come back again," the merchant replied. "Bring your friends," he added hopefully and waved both of his second thumbs in the Kdrazin gesture of farewell and good luck.
The End
Author's notes:
1) The Captain mentions Tom's involvement in the yo-yo craze at the beginning of the episode, Think Tank.