STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
ENIGMA
BY
COLIN M. TAYLOR
Captain's Log,Stardate: 4234.2
The U.S. has been detailed to search for the U.S.S. Bowman, a Grissom II class research vessel that had been surveying previously unexplored star systems. The last message received by Starfleet was distorted,with a massive red shift which would appear to indicate great acceleration.
As the Enterprise slowed to sub-light speed, a conference was being held.
"There could have been a fault in the Warp drive systems." said LaForge thoughtfully.
"That is possible." replied Data, "But I would say that that is very unlikely"
"How so, Data" asked Picard.
"The red shift that scrambled the signal seems to indicate an acceleration of some several thousand g."
"I see your point" agreed Picard., "No Federation ship would be capable of such an acceleration."
"Since there are no black holes in this region of the galaxy, that means we're dealing with some alien force," decided Riker
"Sir,'' he added "Might I suggest that we go to Red Alert?"
"Let's not be hasty, Number One." replied Picard. "We have no proof that what happened to the Bowman was due to alien intervention."
"Certainly neither the Ferengi nor the Romulans have such capability" added Data.
"Thank you Commander" replied Picard.
"But what about the Q?" asked Riker
"Ah, Yes." said Picard thoughtfully. "It's just the sort of puzzle they'd set for us." He turned to Deanna Troi who had been silent up till now.
"Counsellor, have you anything to add?"
The Betazoid concentrated for a moment, then relaxed. "I can feel something" she said slowly
"The Q? asked Riker quickly
"No," she replied firmly "There is not the same feeling of malice. It is more a feeling of great patience, as if it is waiting for something.
"But waiting for what?" asked Riker.
She shook her head slowly. "That I do not know."
Picard had heard enough. "Very well, Number One, go to Yellow alert.
"Yes sir." replied Riker."
With that, the conference dispersed, each officer returning to his station .
Data's Instruments were the first to pick up the new system.
"I read a G-type main-sequence star sir" Reported the android. As further information became available, he relayed it to the captain.
"The star is some three million years younger than Earth's Sun."
"Any planets?" asked Riker
"Eleven sir," confirmed Data. "The outer seven are gaseous in composition and of the
others, only the fourth one is capable of supporting life."
"Very well." replied Picard turning to the helmsman "Take us into orbit around the
fourth planet."
"Aye Sir ."
Gracefully, Intercoolers glowing brilliant blue, the Galaxy class vessel settled into orbit above the blue-green planet. Most of the surface was hidden from view by white swirls of cloud. At his console, Data made his report:
"The planet's composition is very similar to that of Earth. Oceans cover eighty-seven percent of the surface. There appears to be vegetation and animal life but no signs of civilisation.
"That seems unusual Data." Remarked Riker.
"Not necessarily, sir," replied the android. "The age of the planet puts it some three million years behind that of the Earth. The most advanced life forms are likely to be barely more than apes."
There was a snort. Lieutenant Worf scowled at the android.
"Apes, advanced huh!. You Humans..."
"Commander Data is NOT human." interrupted Picard, trying to defuse the situation "I'm Lieutenant Worf meant no offence."
Fuming, Worf returned his attention to his console.
Data completed his report "As I said before, the highest form of life on the planet will not yet have developed past living in caves in small family groups."
"Thank you Mr Data" replied Picard. Under the circumstances..."
He was interrupted by the Science officer.
"Sir, I'm picking up an energy reading on the planet." reported Data
"I thought you just said there was no development on the planet." said Riker.
That's true sir, however I ampicking up energy readings from a small area of the planet's surface.
"Well that rules out volcanic activity." mused Picard. He turned to Troi "Counsellor, do you have anything else to report?"
"Only very basic emotions," she replied. "No coherent thoughts at all. "
"But what about that other feeling?" asked Riker. "The waiting feeling."
"That is still there" she replied.
"Very well," decided Picard "I want an Away Team to investigate."
"Yes Sir" replied Riker."
The away team took their places on the Transporter platform two minutes later.
"Phasers on stun" ordered Riker.
The Transporter operator checked his instruments and then activated the controls. The
air shimmered around the Team as the dematerialisation began. The figures on the platform disappeared only to re-appear almost instantly.
"What's wrong?" asked Riker."Try again."
"Yes Sir"
"What is it Lieutenant?" asked Picard, gazing at the image on the main vlewscreen.
"I don't know sir" Replied LaForge. "Sensor scans negative."
Indeed, the object that he had just discovered was very difficult to see. It was large, rectangular and perfectly black. Light seemed to fall into it, never to return.
It wasn't that the object was small. It wasn't. It was nearly two kilometres long, but so perfectly black that the only clue to its presence was the stars that it obscured.
"Is it some kind of vessel?" asked Picard.
"If it is, it's like no vessel I've ever seen before." replied LaForge.
Picard took no chances: "Shields up." he ordered. He turned to the counsellor but before he could ask any more questions, he was interrupted by the intercom.
"Bridge . "
"Riker here sir." came the report "We have been unable to beam down to the planet."
"What went wrong?" asked Picard anxiously.
"We don't know sir" replied Riker, "The Transporter isn't working but all the diagnostic
programs report all systems go."
"Have you tried sending an instrument package down?" asked Picard.
"That was the first thing we tried. It never left the Transporter room.
Picard made a decision.: "The Away Team will have to wait. I need you up here."
"Yes sir" replied Riker closing the channel.
Twenty minutes later, they were none the wiser. Sensor scans had been useless.
Greetings and friendship messages had been totally ignored by the object.
They knew it was there and that was about all. Data had finished checking the Transporter five minutes before and as far as anyone could tell, there was nothing wrong with it. He had now returned to his bridge station. "The object is eighteen hundred metres by eight hundred metres by two hundred sir." Data reported, "lt is in geostationary orbit around the planet"
"It's obviously not natural," Picard muttered to himself. "No sir," agreed the android. He continued: "The accuracy of the manufacture indicates a high degree of intelligence. The dimensions are in the ratio of 1:4:9 which are the squares of the first three integers. Another..."
"Yes, Yes." Picard interrupted him testily. Data, though an excellent officer, tended to babble if he was allowed to.
He turned to Troi. "Counsellor?"
"Nothing new, captain," she replied. "The intelligence seems to be totally oblivious to us."
"Thank you."
"Sir, might I suggest sending a sensor probe in close" said Riker. "Perhaps we can get
close enough to find out what it's made of." Picard agreed "Make it so, Number One."
The sensor probe was capable of providing very little else in the way of information. "The object seems, to have very low mass" reported Data .
"Then it's hollow." said Riker. "Possible, sir" replied Data. "On the other hand," He continued "It could be made of a very low density material."
"Why should anyone leave a large black slab in orbit around an unexplored planet?" asked Riker. "Not known sir" replied Data
Captains Log-Supplemental:
The Black Slab seems to be inert and totally oblivious to everything we seems that the more we find out about it,the more questions remain Instrument package that we sent has proved to be ineffective.I shall order that It attempt to make physical contact with the slab.
The probe descended slowly towards the surface of the slab. "Two hundred metres sir data link good" reported Data. "Very good." Data touched a control. Thrusters on the pack fired and it slid ever nearer. One hundred metres...seventy five...fifty...twenty five... The Bridge Crew watched the probe, dwarfed by the slab, inch closer and closer until... "Sir!" exclaimed Riker pointing at the screen. The sable face of the slab suddenly seemed to blaze with light. Countless brilliant stars were framed within the rectangle that had so recently been impenetrably black. Then, in the blink of an eye, they were gone and with them the probe
Phasers full power, Fire at will" ordered Picard
Worf reacted immediately and an intense beam of Phaser energy hit the slab square on. The sable surface absorbed the beam completely.
The Crew steeled themselves against the inevitable retaliation. If the slab was unharmed by full Phasers, there was no telling what sort of weapons it could be carrying.
Perversely, the Slab just sat there, completely ignoring them.
Some time later, the command crew were in conference in the Captain's Ready Room. "Now we know what happened to the Bowman sir" said Riker. "The Slab destroyed it the same way it destroyed our probe."
"I do not believe she was destroyed, sir" stated Data. "Oh?" Riker looked surprised.
"Before we lost contact with the probe," replied Data. "l registered a large red shift in the signals it was sending us. This would indicate that it was accelerating away from us at a great rate."
"But where did it go?" asked Riker.."The last we saw of it, the probe was about to land on the slab."
"You, yourself saw what happened." replied Data. "The probe entered it."
"Are you saying that the probe is currently within the slab?" asked Picard.
"No sir." replied Data "I believe that the slab is not the simple artifact that it appears to be, but a portal to somewhere else."
"Somewhere else?" echoed Riker, "You mean another dimension?"
"Possibly," replied Data "or perhaps another part of the galaxy."
"If this is as you say, Data, why were we not drawn in?" asked Picard.
"l believe that this is no simple snare, sir" replied the android. "I think that there has to be a deliberate approach to it, an attempt to use it as a tunnel, for it to be activated."
"If, as you say, Data, that thing is some kind of trans-galactic tunnel, what was it doing in orbit around a planet that is three million years behind the Earth in its evolution?"
"I do not believe that that was it's only function sir." replied the android."
"Commander Data," Picard addressed him directly "You seem to know more about the slab than we actually managed to collect. How so?"
"Well sir," replied Data "I searched through the computer's memory for any previous phenomena of this type. The results were negative so I tried the Starfleet records. They finally tracked down an old Earth record, dating back to the early twenty-first century, old calendar."
"Go on." prompted Picard.
"Well sir," continued Data "the records show that twoslabs, or monoliths as they were called, were found, one on the moon and one in the outer solar system. The one on the Moon had been carefully buried there some three million years ago. When uncovered, it sent a signal to the other, much larger monolith. The whole story was covered up for fear of culture shock since, at that time, extra-terrestrial contact had not yet been made. "A manned mission, Project Discovery, was sent to investigate the second monolith. It appears that, due to a computer error, all but one of the crew were killed and the other was listed as missing, presumed dead. He was about to land on the object when all transmissions ceased. His last message displayed a massive red shift, indicating massive acceleration."
Riker was the first to speak: "What exactly was this message?"
"There remains some confusion over this point, sir," replied Data "but it appears to have been 'My God...it's full of stars.'
"The slab we saw," Riker said slowly "seemed to be full of stars."
"Exactly sir." replied Data." It was this that led me to deduce that it served the same purpose as the other two. It is possible that if we had been closer, we would also have been taken to where both the U.S.S. Bowman and our own probe have gone."
"You say that the one on the moon was buried there some three million years ago?" asked Picard.
"Yes sir." replied Data "Approximately when the first stages of human evolution took place."
"The planetary survey indicated that it was some three million years behind Earth in its development," mused Picard "And the indigenous life-forms were hominids." added Riker quickly.
"Counsellor?" Picard turned to the Betazoid. She concentrated and frowned: "It's strange...the feelings are somehow...different...not quite so basic."
"Different?" asked Riker "In what way?"
She shook her head sadly "I do not know. They are just different..
"I would say" Picard said slowly " that these slabs, these monoliths, are in some way instrumental in triggering the evolution of species into higher forms."
"That would be in agreement with the evidence sir" agreed Data
"That doesn't explain the Transporter fault." said Riker.
"There is no fault, sir," replied Data "I would suggest that an intelligence capable of producing a device such as we have seen is quite capable of preventing us from making contact with the planet and possibly affecting the evolution of the species on it."
"In other words, Data" said Picard "We're allowed to look, but not touch. "
"Exactly sir."
"We, ourselves, have the Prime Directive," said Picard, "Whoever or whatever the Slab's creators are, they've taken the Prime Directive to the ultimate extreme.
There's nothing more we can do here." The officers returned to their duty stations and Picard gave his orders.
"Mr Data, Signal to Starfleet: U.S.S. Bowman lost with all hands." He paused: "No, not lost, missing.Advise them that system is to be declared closed. Under no circumstances are vessels to enter the system':
"Yes, sir. "
"Mr LaForge," ordered Picard "Course 324 Mark 7. Warp Factor 6"
"Course laid in sir."
"Engage."
Gracefully, the Enterprise left orbit. Pausing for a moment, she gathered her energies before vaulting into Warp Space, leaving the planet and its enigma far behind.
THE END
Star Trek The Next Generation © Paramount Pictures Corporation 1985-2006
2001:A Space Odyssey © Metro Goldwyn-Mayer 1968