[Dialogue] STARCHILD
David & Lin Zahrt
ch.bnb at longlines.com
Mon Jun 6 22:55:53 EDT 2005
STARCHILD Aug-Sep 1994
The crew has discovered an entity on deck 52. A routine computer sweep
had come across a section, that when probed, had rocked the ship's
systems. The crew often ran such sweeps just "For the heck of it!" as
the Captain '-vas fond of saying, to ward off boredom. At other times
there was a sense that the ship needed to be explored for the sake of
exploration. The crew was lost in an unknown sector of the galaxy, and
sometimes it seemed empty and void of all interest. It was then that
the internal probes would occupy the crew for days and weeks on end,
often absorbing the crews interest so much as to exclude what was
going on outside, reinforcing the idea that it was empty out there.
The First Officer had notions that there was more than they could see
out there with their limited sensors, and occasionally modified one or
another and was able to find new aspects of the outer fields. But he
was typically slow about it. It was funny in a way, the First Officers
intellect was immense and he could accomplish anything he wanted to,
but he rarely wanted to.
In fact there was a general malaise through out the crew. Drifting
like that in the galaxy was taking its toll. Sure, they had each other
for company and all, but they often found themselves at each other's
throats. Teamwork was seldom easy anymore, and there was some
indication that teamwork had been easy at one time. "You said,'not
easy anymore.' " The First Officer told the Captain over a beer in the
lounge. "Do you have a notion that it ever was easy?" "I think so, 1
think it should be easy, 1 mean -I think that there is something wrong
with the way we get along some times."
The First Officer was like that, the Captain thought, and becoming
worse. No one could have a decent thought or feeling 'Without the
First Officer jumping on it. "He's like a Goddamned pit bull." the
Engineer had told him once "Just waiting to bite down on any thing
that moves." The Engineer had taken to using Nicotine as a painkiller.
The Captain was undecided on the subject. If a man wanted to use that
stuff, then let him. Although he was concerned that the Engineers
self-destructive behavior threatened everyone's safety. The Engineer
drew more harm, in the Captain's opinion, from the constant berating
he received from the First Officer, who absolutely detested nicotine.
The Captain allowed himself a THC buzz occasionally, which also irked
the First Officer. "I can't think straight when you are like that!"
the First Officer would rant whenever the Captain got out the small
ebony bowl he had found in a utility closet many years ago. Some how
the First Officer always knew, and sometimes the Captain smoked his
stuff just to see the look on his First Officer's face. The First
Officer was always rationalizing and the Captain liked to throw a
wrench into his works every now and then, as if to "reboot" the
system. It was a method of introspection for the Captain; his normal
neuroses were magnified beyond normal control parameters, and it was
often a tricky maneuver to remain aware that it was just a drug
affect.
The Doctor was mild mannered, and knew what was good for the crew, but
he would fall into a slump half the time. Doc' was responsible for the
feeding, and sometimes let the crew eat whatever they wanted. "Oh go
fix it yourself" he would say when he was on a blue streak. It would
end up depressing him more in the end; when he would find the crew
gorged on Skolian chocolate and fried bikhuns. One could infer the
state of Doc's mind by the state of his gardens: rotting Cole crops,
for example, were an especially bad sign.
On his better days Doc' would work with the Engineer compassionately
on finding healthy alternatives to nicotine. On other days he lost
patience and gave up. The Captain often grew weary of his position. He
was supposed to be in charge of things, but the crew rarely seemed to
follow his orders anymore. He knew that a good Captain should lead a
ship on exciting forays but he often preferred to sit and contemplate
the ungraspable. There was something at the edge of his grasp, on the
tip of his mind. And he felt that if it would only click, he could get
on with things properly. He could understand the crews insolence,
being disgusted with himself for not living up to his own expectations
of a dashing Captain. There seemed to be no escape. He could not laser
his brains out and abandon the crew. And he had always been a
piss-poor drug addict. He never allowed himself to lose control
completely, an ability he sometimes thought he envied in some of his
peers. But then maybe that made him a good candidate for addiction to
drugs and other unhelpful habit patterns. He was just too damn good at
maintaining the status quo. But with the discovery of the Unknown on
deck 52 the crew was really humming. The Captain was almost pleased
with the situation. He had begun to look forward to crises; the only
time he really felt one with the crew. "When the going gets tough, the
tough get going, otherwise we just mope around.," he thought to
himself. Why it was that it took a crises of some sort to make the
crew feel alive he did not know. It seemed that the crew thrived on
hoop-la and uproar. Perhaps that was what was on the tip of his mind;
the elusive knowledge he was after. He wanted the crew to be a crew,
and a happy crew at all times. Relying on crises to keep the ship
together, he believed, was like drug addiction; a battle plan that
left the crew in an extremely vulnerable position.
It was never known if the discovery was pure luck, or if the entity
that was later found responsible had in fact instigated it. It was
true however, that the probes had been reprogrammed with increasing
frequency during the previous few years. There was a new line of
probing developing, evolving from earlier scan patterns. The new line
of probing seemed to be less complicated and more direct than previous
methods, but even the First Officer could not articulate it precisely.
It was beside the point at that moment, however, because the entity
had been discovered. The fish was flopping in the boat so to speak,
and the bait was of little concern.
The Captain ordered an investigation of the anomaly, and sent down one
of the maintenance personal to investigate the sector of the ship
where the "glitch" (as the maintenance team referred to it) was
assumed to be located, It was just one hour later when the Captain
called for a meeting of "The Four." The Engineer arrived late and
caught the Captain in mid sentence... "Šfortunately he was able to
escape with only minor cuts and bruises, Doc." "Yes that's right
Captain," replied the Doctor, "I think he was more surprised than
anything, I mean he hurt himself as he ran from the creature." "So the
creature did not hurt him directly?" asked the first officer. "No, not
that I could determine." said Doc' "Was there any physical evidence
that might give us an idea about the creature?" continued the first
officer, probing as usual. "Nope, other than fear the man was clean,
not a trace of the creature on him." replied Doc'. "What the hell was
he doing down on deck 52 anyway?" interjected the engineer, "A man
could get lost down there. You know, the lights are dim and there are
all kinds of stuff down there. We don't even know whatŠ"
"Enough!" said the Captain, his voice rising slightly in irritation.
The engineer was in the habit of making a fuss about messing with
traditional routines. Anything that had been done for any length of
time was changed only with the utmost reluctance. The Captain was well
aware of the dirty lower decks, and he had been meaning to clean them
up for years, but there had always been other priorities. "Men," said
the Captain, "I want some answers and a solution to this dilemma.
We'll meet back in two hours and I expect something; so get busy!"
The Four met back again in the Captain's quarters and sat at an
antique round table that, as far as anyone knew, had always been
there. The table had hosted nearly as many committee meetings as there
were stars in an average sector. Well, anyway, that was what the
elders said whenever a curious child would ask about it.
"So what do you have for mer asked the Captain, looking around the
table. The Engineer spoke first, "Captain, I've located a fluctuating
power drain in the area of the creature." It's using the replicator to
produce what the computer referred to as 'Kool Filter Kings' and
'Nickel sacs of Chicago street weed'," continued the Engineer,
glancing at a print out sheet. "So this might explain the power drain
we experience?" asked the Captain, simultaneously concerned and
hopeful. "Well it could explain some of it but not all," replied the
Engineer. " I'm afraid there's more than one leak down there." "ls
there a way to shutoff power to the creature?" asked the First
officer. "I don't think so sir," said the Engineer, "The creature is
tricky and well entrenched." The First officer offered up one of his
conjectures. "Well maybe we could use a small photon bomb to blow off
the power trunkŠ" "Just a second now!" the Doctor cut in. "We can't
go around blowing stuff up, and even if we could cut the power it
would be foolish to do so with out knowing more about the creature."
The four sat in stumped silence for a moment. Finally the First
Officer spoke, "Without more information we can't do anything, we'll
have to go down there and see for ourselves."
They soon found themselves deep in the belly of the ship on deck 52. A
dim ray of light illuminated the old bulkheads of the ship. At the end
of one corridor a door stood ajar. Something crunched under the
Captain's boot, and the Engineer jumped in fright. The first Officer
stooped down to examine the source of the crunching noise. It appeared
to be a child's toy; a miniature replica of a wheeled vehicle powered
by the combustion of hydrocarbon vapor. He turned it over in his hands
and one of the three remaining wheels popped off and rolled away. The
Four followed the wheel with their eyes and their visual field crossed
the door at the end of the corridor. They all twitched in fright as an
indescribable form filled the doorway. "Now look what you've done,"
the thing bellowed, "You will all die!" With that it slammed the door,
punctuating the statement and making everyone jump.
The Four returned to the round table in the Captain's quarters to
reassess their situation. "So now what?" asked the Captain, wishing to
be done with the situation. "I have an idea Captain," began the First
officer. "I am willing to try direct mind melding, I've seen it done
on 'Star Trek' several times." "That is a very dangerous procedure!"
exclaimed the Doctor, rising halfway out of his chair. "I'm quite
aware of that Doctor, however I see no other alternatives at this
point," replied the First Officer, "Is the mind meld feasible?"
asked the Captain, his interest sparked "Yes, I believe so," returned
the First Officer. "Doc'?" said the Captain, directing his gaze to the
medic. "Well I guess so." was the reply. "But I'll decide when to
break it off. Smarty pants here might think he's invincible, but can
only take so much." The Four found themselves outside the door that
had been slammed in their face \l\1ith a threat of death. The Captain
had insisted on returning against the advice of the Engineer.
Fortunately the other two were not quite as reluctant. The Captain
wished he could avoid the issue, but it seemed to be increasingly
difficult to ignore the mess in the lower holds of the ship. The First
officer stepped forward and placed his hand on the door. He closed his
eyes and began to breathe slowly with measured rhythmic breaths. His
body suddenly contorted in obvious agony, "Pain!" he screamed, and
continued raving nonsensical statements. "Where are you?" "I want my,
mommy!" I'm Iron Man! I don't need anyone, I only cry for others, not
for me."
The doctor tossed a bucket of ice cold water on the First Officer, who
recoiled in shock, broke his grip on the door, and landed on his butt
in a puddle of water. "Fascinating, he said presently, rising to his
knees and wiping his face, "Pure, raw, emotional energy. If we could
tap into that..." ""Never mind that now, are you O.K.?" asked the
Doctor, obviously concerned. "Oh I'll have a bruised butt, but other
than that I'm fine Doc." thank you.
The Four were found later that evening in the lounge, discussing the
day's events over a pitcher of beer. "That's right, it was pure
emotional energy." related the First Officer, to whom emotion was
something of a mystery. "I'd say it was infantile," he continued,
"quite infantile in its thought processing, yet extremely powerful, we
cannot expect it to make rational actions. "What was that stuff about
'Iron Man' anyway?" asked the Captain. "His tribe had some mythologies
involving a superhuman individual who eschewed personal desires for,
as the entity put it, 'On behalf of all.'" replied the First Officer.
"What do you mean by 'tribe'? asked the Captain, "Are there others?"
"No," replied the First Officer, "At least not here, there was a sense
that it was alone, and the fact pained the creature." "Well it is a
drag to be alone," offered the Engineer, as he dumped the last of the
beer into his glass: "Especially for the infant," added the Doctor,
his avuncular tendencies stirred. "Apparently the creature was real
mad at his parents for leaving him 12,000 light years away at the
academy." related the First Officer, "It is quite confusing." he
continued, "The infant was mad at his parents for doing their duty."
"It makes perfect sense to me," said the Doctor, cracking a can of V8,
"Children do not understand intellectualizations, they are concerned
with their own little world, not the galaxy." "So lets look at the
facts we have so far," suggested the Captain. "We have an infantile
entity of some kind on this ship that is capable of taxing our energy
reserves." "It is alone or feels alone, yet it is not supposed to
cry." said the Doctor. "Yes," began the First Officer "That is an
interesting point." "There is an incongruency here. The creature has
an emotional nature but lives out of a story that says he is not
emotional." "Or that he has abandoned emotion when he clearly has
not." added the Captain, intrigued with the notion. There was
something personal about the concept.
The First Officer spoke; "Apparently he felt empty and void and was
using the 'Kool Filter Kings' and 'Nickel Sacks of Chicago Street
Weed' to fill up the hole, which is preposterous." "You are correct,"
agreed the Doctor, "The Kool Kings' are a device for free basing
nicotine, arguably one of the most dangerous drugs known." "What so
bad about it?" asked the Engineer. "I've seen people maintain for
years on it, they don't freak out or anything." "That is the problem.
It's insidious," replied the Doctor. "Heart and lung damage is one
thing, but the real damage is done by the habit itself." The Captain
added his thoughts; "Just imagine orienting one's whole life around
maintaining a particular nicotine level in the blood." he said,
looking at the Engineer. "What about the 'Weed'?" asked the Engineer.
"It is a good tranquilizer, and it can be abused. But at least the
effects are obvious, and the withdrawal symptoms are nearly zip
compared to nicotine." reported the Doctor. The Captain felt obliged
to add, "As you. Know, it is legal on this Ship when used in
moderation." "Only because you make the rules Captain!" the First
Officer cut in. "I suppose we know now where that damned pipe of yours
came from."
"So now what?" asked the Captain, "What shall we do with the
creature?" "Well we can't just kill him," said the Engineer, "That
would be risky. seeing as how he has some control over the computer,
maybe we should just try to forget about him: "We have ignored the
power drains long enough." replied the Captain. "We have been
literally limping through the galaxy for decades." "When was the last
time we were running at full power anyway?" he continued, looking at
the Engineer. Well, I don't know, I just don't think we should go
messing... "I think we should make the best of it and study the
creature." interjected the First Officer, cutting off the Engineer:
"We need to help the poor thing, for Chrissake." said the Doctor, "It
is a sentient being that's in pain." "I agree." said the Captain, "We
can study it as we help it, perhaps it can help us too."
In attempt to learn more about the creature, the Crew had decided
return the toy to the hallway on deck 52 where it was found. The First
Officer used the replicator to fashion two new wheels and repaired the
axles. The Captain took the toy down alone and placed it outside the
door before hiding behind an old fuel cell that had been abandoned
there years ago. He remained quiet for sometime, and was about to give
up when the door opened slowly and a small hand reached out to
retrieve the toy. A small human head looked around the door, caught
the Captain looking, and smiled. "Thank you." it said. "Wanna' play
with me?"
The Captain agreed and crawled out slowly, not sure if it was because
he was afraid himself or afraid to scare the entity away. He was not
certain what the entity might do and it was his duty to contact new
life forms and live to tell about it. He finally got a good look at
the creature and it looked just like a small Earthling boy. They
played "car" for awhile until the boy said, "I gotta' go now; bye."
just like that. The Captain could not believe it, it looked and acted
just like a kid! It threw tantrums recovered quickly, wanted to play,
and did not make up excuses when it wanted to go home.
The Captain returned to the upper decks to gather the crew for a
meeting. He explained his experience to the others and asked for
suggestions about how to proceed. "Well he needs to be cared for."
replied Doc. "I agree." added the First Officer. "I can take him for
walks around the ship." began the Engineer. "I'll bet he can show me
some things I don't know about down there too." "Good idea," agreed
the Captain. "Perhaps the First Officer could share some of his music
theory. The kid might help you with intuitive improvisation." "Why
yes," replied the First Officer, "and you sir can tell him some of
your wild stories. I'm sure he has some of his own to share." "I can
help improve his diet and exercise routines." offered Doc.
Weeks flew by. The Engineer learned the finer points of fort
construction, room arrangement, and rules of 'Commando'! The First
Officer, who once preferred J.S. Bach and Matteo Carcassi on classical
guitar was caught by the Captain playing 0zzy Osbourn power chord
progressions on an electric guitar. The Captain and the Kid made up
stories together and got out the paint set that had been stashed away
for a decade or more. The Doc' was informed of an amazing number of
ways to prepare food to make it fun to eat the good stuff, and learned
of several alternatives to 'Kool Kings'.
The Four met in the lounge one evening several weeks later. "Man,"
said the Engineer, "I don't remember having so much fun before. That
Kid is really something else," agreed the Doc'. "You know," said the
First Officer, "It may sound strange but I think that the kid was here
first and has more ultimate power over this ship than we do." The
Captain agreed. ."Yes I know." In fact they all knew. "I reckon we
better take good care of him then said the Engineer. "Reckon so." said
the other three in chorus. They knew that they would need the kid's
help to navigate and withstand the unexplored territory that lay
ahead. It had been a drag without the kid, and each wondered how they
had lived with the Kid buried so deep down there in the lower holds.
But that was history now and the crew was psyched up for a little
exploration. "Where shall I set the course to?" asked the Engineer. "I
don't know", said the Captain, "Go ask the kid!"
Jay Zahrt Aug/Sep 1994
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