Chapter XII
The cathedral stood out in the center of the city like a shore thumb. In comparison to everything his companions had seen so far, Quaid doubted that they were prepared for what was to come. As they approached the place, Picard and Data were busy examining the make-believe surroundings and the young Q wondered what they thought all of this was supposed to symbolize. Then as they approached the large sanctuary, a voice boomed from within, "Take off your shoes, for the place where you are standing is holy ground…" Picard looked at the building with surprise and Quaid smiled before commenting, "Relax, this is just for dramatic effect. He doesn't really know that we are here." "I see," the Captain as he regained his composure and then followed the young Q into the building. The loud harmonious melody of a thousand choirs echoed melodiously throughout the church as they approached the pulpit and Quaid watched the expressions of his companions as they regarded the scene before them. The room was filled with beings and creatures that neither the Captain nor his android companion had ever seen and they each silently went into the confession chamber and yet none returned. "What is happening to them?" Data asked. "Quaid… I don't mean to object, but what sins could such super-beings possibly have to atone for?" Picard asked. "I thought I told you already, Jean-Luc… this is all symbolic. Back then; the concepts of good and evil as you know them did not exist. Of course; then again, this is pure speculation since the Continuum didn't witness these things as they took place…" Quaid admitted.
"I thought that the Q had always been," Data pointed out. "We have, but there are things before us… just as there will always be something else after us. I'm afraid that's about as simple as I can make it," the young Q explained and then pointed towards the confessional booth and asked, "Why don't we say hello to Him?" As they passed by the crowd; Quaid smiled at the fact that he had allowed them to look discontent, forlorn, depressed and otherwise unsatisfied with their lot in life. "Am I to presume that these races have grown bored with their omnipotence?" Picard asked. "Very perceptive, Captain and nothing says profitable business like claiming to be… The One," Quaid explained as they entered the dark room and he gazed at the ancient being. He was dressed in golden armor with a flowing white beard that went past his stomach. "This is the being trapped in the center of the galaxy," Picard recalled and then added, "Your father introduced me to him when 0 was brought forth from the Guardian." "Yes, well; that's a long way into the future… and at this point, The One; as he calls himself was convincing other omnipotent beings that He was before they were and could provide them what their existences lacked… I honestly don't know how they fell for it," Quaid said and shook his head in disbelief. "My ways are what shall make you prosper. Falter and My wrath will destroy you," The One remarked, his eyes seeming to penetrate Picard and examine every detail of him.
"Quite the talker at parties, though," Quaid added and then stated, "But as you might've guessed, being The One does tend to get boring… so once He decided that no one was worthy of His blessings… well…" Just then, a lone humanoid entered the booth and knelt before The One and proclaimed, "O mighty Father, I ask for your forgiveness." "So you have requested and yet your path shows your lies. My judgment is inescapable, My word is final. Worlds without number shall perish and you with them, so I have spoken," the super-being said and then suddenly, he transformed into a mighty pillar of flame that engulfed the sinner and in another moment; he was completely gone. "My word!" the Captain said in disbelief. "No, Picard… not yours, but His," Quaid remarked and then added, "Of course, when others realized how great His power was… they began to fear Him… which only made things worse." "How can such a creature not even allow the sinner to obtain forgiveness?" Data asked in confusion. "We haven't time to worry about such trivialities, my dear Sherlock… worse entities await…" Quaid replied and then the trio departed from the cathedral entirely. "So far, the three beings you've shown me are the individuals 0 let loose from the Guardian in the… far future, as you put it. Gorgan, (*) and The One still survive in our century. Is that correct?" Picard asked. "Quite right, mon capitan. But hold onto your hats, the worst of the bunch is about to come," Quaid remarked. Just then, a loud scream echoed throughout the entire city as they approached what appeared to be a house of mirrors and the young Q wished he knew what was going on in the minds of his comrades.
Even though the Q are omnipotent, it is so interesting to understand how lesser beings think, he realized. A group of aliens rushed from the interior, looking rather terrified at what they had just seen and Picard asked, "Are we supposed to go in there?" "After you, Mister Data," Quaid advised. "Captain, remember that this is not real… whatever frightened those beings can have no effect on us. At least… I do not think so," Data said, sounding quite unsure of himself now. "Well, let's find out together; shall we?" Quaid commented. As they entered the dark building, Picard and his pet calculator examined the mysterious reflections of themselves as they walked along, each becoming more and more atrocious and monstrous to look at. "Quaid… do we really have to see this?" the Captain said angrily as he gazed at one version of himself that resembled his time amid the Borg Collective. "Ready to cut to the chase, are we?" he asked and then nodded and allowed the images to dissipate into nonexistence. In their place; hundreds, if not thousands of mythic and ghoulish creatures appeared and the young Q thought he saw Data jolt with surprise. "Mister Data… can you identify any of these creatures?" Picard asked uncertainly. "Yes sir; some of them are from Earth mythology, such as the Chimera and the Jabberwocky. But there are also some from alien civilizations; like Fek'lhr… however, there are over seventy-three million twenty-five thousand other entities which I am not familiar with," the android reported.
"Yes, whether it was feeding off of dying universes or causing super-beings to quake in fear… this particular reprobate was having a good time," Quaid commented. "And who or what is this?" Picard asked. "Oh, my apologies; didn't I tell you its name? How clumsy of me," the young Q admitted. "I mean, where is this being… or am I to presume that all of these creatures are how it represented itself?" "It has gone by many names, such as Jack the Ripper or Redjac… but as for its official name… well, the mere utterance of it can cause worlds to disappear into nonexistence. We call it by the designation , nothing more and nothing less," Quaid explained. "How exactly do you pronounce that?" Data asked in confusion. "That's kind of the point, isn't it?" he countered and then rolled his eyes and remarked, "I suppose if I must make things easy for you, I'll see fit to make more visible to your poor perceptions." Snapping his fingers, all of the myriads of creatures morphed into one of pure energy and yet seemed to form a dragon-like appearance. " fed off of the fear of the unknown. You might be wondering what beings of such power could possibly be afraid of," Quaid commented. "The thought had crossed my mind," Picard said with a nod. "The End… even here, before The Beginning; omnipotent beings wondered if one day their power would cease to exist… and used this to cause turmoil everywhere it went. Added to this was an even more powerful fear, themselves," Quaid explained.
"Am I to presume once it was done, it threw aside its victims?" Jean-Luc asked. "No, it wasn't that kind. In fact, tended to destroy its hosts," the young Q answered. "So then, it was a murderer," Data decided. "Like I said, the notion of justice was also unheard of… this was before soup, you know," he replied and then gestured for them to follow him outside again. "I think I've heard of it before by one of its other names. Captain Kirk encountered the creature known as Redjac and discovered its murderous past. But he presumed that it was destroyed. Did 0 summon it again?" Picard asked. "Redjac… goes by many forms. It takes the shape of our unknown fears and becomes the embodiment of them, feeding off of them. When Captain Kirk thought he had dispensed of it, we of the Q actually intervened… otherwise would've destroyed that vessel forever without a thought in the world. That is, if it does think," Quaid paused and said, "You must also realize that Redjac can speak, or at least it used to be able to…" "I thought I heard its voice when we were inside," Data agreed and then asked, "Was that it saying something?" "To a point yes… lost its ability to enunciate because his words were so terrifying, it brought even the most stalwart heroes to their knees and so we of the Continuum figuratively cut out its tongue. Of course, back in this time; it could speak. But I thought you might like to know how its power is manifested in your day," Quaid explained. "So this creature, it used the fear of The End to cause others to do its bidding?" Picard asked.
"Precisely and also murdered anyone and anything that got in its way," the young Q answered. "It does sound dangerous… perhaps we should return to our own time and stop these vile creatures," Picard suggested. "Not yet, I'm afraid," Quaid said and pointed towards the theater before explaining, "Now we have to see the romance for the ages." "Another malevolent being, I presume?" Data asked. "Yes and she was quite the temptress even back in these dark times," Quaid explained. "Quaid… must we continue this expedition? I understand why you want to learn more, but surely we need to help your father and the others onboard the Enterprise," Picard stated. He glared at him and replied, "You think I don't know that? I'm not doing this for your benefit, you know. The End is nigh, Jean-Luc and you think we actually have time for all of this? Well, we don't… and that is precisely why we have to find out what happened here before The Beginning, otherwise it is liable to occur again."