Boogeymen Part 20

"Not now, Ensign," Riker said.

Perry looked at Riker, obviously puzzled by his abruptness.

Worf deposited Baldwin like a sack in the extra chair. The exologist seemed gray and shrunken. His hair was not combed or even rakishly disheveled, only in disarray. He was not dirty, but then, Enterprise offered few opportunities to get that way. He would not look at them.

"Eric," Picard said as gently as he could. He had to say it again before Baldwin looked up. The eyes, the slackness of his face, everything about him suggested madness.

Picard said, "Eric, we need to know how you changed the d'Ort'd code so that it would erase any mention of you from Federation doc.u.ments. We need to know so we can save the ship and you and the d'Ort'd."

Baldwin laughed. The laugh was terrible and had no intelligence behind it; it went on and on.

Chapter Fourteen.

THE LAUGHTER CONTINUED. It made Picard itch in places he could not reach, inside his brain, up and down his spinal column. From their actions he could tell that the others felt the same way. Even Worf looked anxious. Only Pilgrim, the d'Ort'd persona, sat calmly.

Picard knew that Baldwin, in his present state, was far beyond his reach. None of the other sleepers had suffered what Baldwin was going through. Perhaps it had something to do with being chosen by the d'Ort'd. Or something to do with Baldwin himself. Eventually they would know. It was possible that Starfleet would someday have its own pushers, giving the Federation interstellar travel without warp engines. An age-old dream. The exploration of s.p.a.ce would truly become a human adventure at last.

Picard walked to a corner of the big room. The walls absorbed sound and made the laughter seem much farther away than it was. In the relative quiet, Picard heard the Enterprise creaking like a ship at sea. Holodeck illusion or more Boogeyman mischief? Could the sound be real, caused by the stress put on the ship by the Boogeymen? Maybe things were even more desperate than he had thought. Ever hopeful, Picard touched his insignia and said, "Sickbay."

"n.o.body here by that name," said a Boogeyman.

Picard came back to the overstuffed chairs and ordered Worf to go down to sickbay and bring back Dr. Crusher and Counselor Troi. "Ask Dr. Crusher to bring a complete medikit."

"Aye, Captain."

"What about me, Captain?" Ensign Perry said.

Picard glanced at Worf, but he was stone-faced, as usual. "Very well," said Picard. "Stay sharp."

Worf and Perry left the holodeck together. Did Perry think they were friends? It was possible; human women had been attracted to Worf before. The coolness, the blatant animal magnetism, the sense of humor that he tried mightily to hide-all had admirers. Interesting, but not Picard's business. Maybe she just wanted to get away from Baldwin.

Wesley could not remember being more brainweary. Yes, he could. He'd once stayed up all night to review his plasma physics notes before the final exam. He'd forced himself to take two hours off for sleep, and it had been enough, but just barely.

He and Geordi and Data were sitting at Engineering's master situation monitor, but not using any of the terminals. If they wanted information or lightning-fast computation, they had to use tricorders. Testing theories and figuring mathematical answers had become a frustratingly slow process.

"What about this?" La Forge said. "We can create a feedback loop so that whatever the Boogeymen do to the Enterprise will come back to bite them."

Data shook his head. "I believe we tried a tricorder simulation of that solution four hours and thirty-seven minutes ago."

"Did it work?" La Forge asked.

Wesley laughed at that, but Data merely said no, which only made Wesley laugh harder. The comical look of confusion on Data's face made La Forge laugh, too. Then he took a deep breath and said, "We're all a little slaphappy, I guess."

All of them except Data. Being an android, he was still alert and fresh. Long after Wesley and La Forge sat staring into s.p.a.ce, trying not to lose the trail of some possible but obscure solution, Data was still eagerly punching information into his tricorder.

The three of them sat without talking. The normal sounds of Engineering twittered and bonked around them. Computer screens were blank or were rolling up line after line of gibberish or showing distorted images of Boogeymen. Occasionally a Boogeyman would laugh or make a threat or tell the world that they had won.

At least one good thing had come out of this situation. The Boogeymen, while still disturbing, had ceased to frighten Wesley. Familiarity had diluted their power. He guessed that even if he saw them in his sleep, he would no longer consider the experience a nightmare, but only a mildly unpleasant dream.

La Forge's staff tried to look busy, but they had little to do while the Boogeyman-d'Ort'd virus was in control of the ship. They occupied themselves mainly in staying away from La Forge, Data, and Wesley.

"Gentlemen," Data said.

Both La Forge and Wesley jumped.

La Forge stretched. Wesley opened his eyes very wide while trying to will himself back to alertness. "You have something?"

"I believe I do," said Data. "If we simplify the interface codes between input and lobe one of the mainframe, I believe it will allow a new machete program to access, recognize, and delete the Boogeyman-d'Ort'd virus."

"That's great," said Wesley. The excitement that came with the possibility of success made him feel more awake.

"Let me see that," said La Forge. Data handed him the tricorder. He studied the screen for a while, punched a few b.u.t.tons, and studied it again. He said, "This'll erase the combination, not just the Boogeymen."

"Correct," Data said.

La Forge puckered his lips and shook his head. "I don't know, Data. If what Captain Picard guessed is true, the d'Ort'd virus is part of the information Professor Baldwin brought up from Tantamon Four. I don't feel right about erasing it."

Wesley said, "The virus in our computer is only a copy of what's still on the infowafer, isn't it?"

"Maybe," said La Forge. "But the virus has probably been changed by its contact with the Boogeymen and with the Enterprise operating programs. Studying those differences might be useful to Lieutenant Shubunkin and Professor Baldwin."

"Ah," said Data. "Very good."

"Then we can't do it?" Wesley said.

"Not without the captain's approval."

"Let's get it, then."

"Right." La Forge touched a companel and said, "Engineering to Captain Picard."

Over the comlink came a hiss of static and Boogeymen singing a primitive chant that Wesley could not understand.

Wesley said, "I don't think we're going to get any help from the usual places."

"No," said La Forge. "The Boogeymen are taking our ship away from us a little piece at a time. It's like being nibbled to death by ducks."

They all were pretty whipped. Even Data looked grim. Wesley had an idea he was sure was in everyone's mind. He suspected that none of them liked it any more than he did. But it had to be said out loud and n.o.body else seemed willing to say it. He said, "Maybe we should simplify the interface codes and do all the rest of it without the captain's approval."

"Not until we're sure we can't find him," La Forge said.

"It's a big ship," Wesley reminded him.

After a moment of thinking about exactly how big the Enterprise was, Data said, "Perhaps the tricorders can be of use."

"Limited range," La Forge said.

"I believe I have solved that problem," Data said and went on to explain how they could use the Enterprise's...o...b..ard sensor net as an antenna.

"Still," La Forge said, "Captain Picard is just one more human male."

"Perhaps," said Data, "but I know his insignia ident.i.ty code."

"You don't just happen to know that," Wesley said.

"Indeed not. I know the insignia ident.i.ty code of everyone on the ship."

"Figures," La Forge said. "Go on. How will we use the tricorder and the ship's sensor net?"

La Forge and Wesley listened with growing enthusiasm as Data spoke. By the time he finished they were ready to try his plan. Ten minutes later Data had made the necessary tricorder modifications, and they went to the nearest turbolift. The doors would not open. La Forge tried to override, and after a few false starts the doors opened all the way, but still no one entered the car.

La Forge said, "I hate it when I can't trust my own technology."

"Yeah," said Wesley. "We could end up anywhere."

"The gangway is the only answer," Data said.

La Forge and Wesley agreed morosely. The main engineering section was near the keel of the engineering hull. The captain was almost certain to be above them. After the kind of day he'd had, Wesley did not look forward to a long climb. Yet there seemed to be no alternative. "Let's get to it," he said.

La Forge opened the manual lock, and they looked into the dim stairwell.

"Which way?" said Wesley, though he already knew the answer.

"Up," said Data as he studied the tricorder.

The three of them started climbing.

The holodeck became warmer from the heat rolling in through the open doorway. Nothing could be done about it short of closing the doors, and Picard had decided against attempting that. He had no guarantee the doors would open again. All he could do was request that Pilgrim discontinue the campfire, and he did.

Baldwin had finally stopped laughing maniacally, but he still looked like a bundle of rags and he still chuckled to himself occasionally, then fell into despondency again.

Worf and Ensign Perry returned with Dr. Crusher and Counselor Troi. All of them were dripping wet, and before Picard could ask Worf to report, Dr. Crusher said, "It's raining down there, Captain."

"Where? On deck twelve?" Picard said with surprise.

"Cats and dogs, sir," Ensign Perry said.

"None of us will dissolve," Worf said, but he did not sound happy.

"Where's my patient?" Dr. Crusher said.

They showed her Professor Baldwin, and after a brief stare at Pilgrim, Dr. Crusher set to work with her medical tricorder. She said, "He's under a great deal of stress, but nothing systemic is wrong with him. A shot of lidox will relax him, but in his condition it will probably also put him to sleep."

Picard said, "We need to talk with him now, Doctor. Counselor?"

Troi looked at Baldwin warily and said, "I can no more force him to relax than you can, Captain."

"Do what you can, Counselor. A miracle would be convenient, but I don't expect one. I want to have a rational conversation with Professor Baldwin."

Troi stood where the campfire had been and talked to Baldwin. It was soothing talk, but talk was all she did. Picard thought she was wasting her time, but Baldwin stopped chuckling, and his empty expression was replaced by a small smile. Then Troi knelt before him and held him the way Picard had seen her hold the little blond girl in sickbay. She hugged him and rocked him, all the time cooing into his ear. This was obviously a private moment, and watching it made Picard uncomfortable. Still, he watched. He had to speak with Baldwin as soon as he was able. The Boogeymen took over more of the ship all the time.

After a few moments, Baldwin began to cry. Heavy sobs came and then steady crying and then sniffles. Troi patted him on the back, and he gently pushed her away. She sat back on her heels and watched him.

"Eric," Picard said.

Baldwin looked up at him. He seemed tired, but the madness that had forced everything else from his face was gone. He said, "Yes, Jean-Luc?"

Picard said, "Thank you, Counselor. You gave me a miracle after all." She stood and went to watch from behind Riker. Picard sat in his overstuffed chair and said, "Eric, the combination of the Boogeyman program and the d'Ort'd virus has very nearly taken over the Enterprise."

"Ah," Baldwin said without surprise.

"How did you modify the d'Ort'd program? They don't seem to know."

"You've spoken with the d'Ort'd?"

"Yes. Pilgrim here is their representative."

While Baldwin looked at him, Pilgrim said, "The d'Ort'd greet you, Baldwin. You must give what help "Yes. Of course." He looked at Picard and said, "The d'Ort'd speak through this?"

"For lack of a better phrase, the d'Ort'd are a computer program," Riker said. "They've created this persona for our convenience."

"Amazing" Baldwin said quietly. "And Shubunkin thought we would understand them in two weeks." He shook his head.

"Eric," Picard said, "we must know."

"Right." He seemed to gather his thoughts and then said, "I'm not a computer specialist, but being alone on most of my expeditions I learned a few things for my own amus.e.m.e.nt." He smiled. It was the old winning smile. Picard could not help smiling back.

"I did not know that the d'Ort'd were the program I found on the teardrop ship. I thought the program was just an artifact."

Pilgrim did not react to this. He answered questions, but Picard never saw him express an emotion.

Baldwin said, "Anyway, I saw that I could use the program. All I had to do was insert my name into the matrix. I worked for three weeks figuring out how."

"Not bad for a man who isn't a specialist," Riker said.

"I do okay. The modified d'Ort'd program was on a secured sector of the infowafer. No one could access it except me."

"Then you did install it in our computer banks on purpose," Picard said.

"Yes. When I first came on board I intended to wait till we got to Memory Alpha to install it. Commander Mont's attack changed my mind. I saw that I could no longer wait. Have you transmitted any messages to Starfleet lately?"

"No," said Riker. "Go on."