Myriad Universes_ Echoes And Refractions Part 1

Myriad Universes.

Echoes and Refractions.

by Keith R. A. DeCandido.

The Chimes at Midnight.

Geoff Trowbridge.

Prologue.

2274.

"Amba.s.sador Sarek, it is an honor to receive you," the Andorian said as he bowed his head and spread his arms in a gesture of respectful greeting, which the Vulcan diplomat returned in kind. "My name is Thelin th'Valra.s.s. Welcome to the Andorian Science Inst.i.tute."

Thelin had previously met Vulcans only in pa.s.sing. Despite having served in Starfleet for many years, including a five-year stint as first officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise among its multispecies crew, never did he have the opportunity to work closely with any of Vulcan's stoic and reclusive citizens.

"The honor is mine, Thelin of Andoria," Sarek replied. "I have followed your work with great interest. As you are no doubt aware, the Vulcan Science Academy is awaiting my report on your new research in climate modification."

Atop his white-haired head, Thelin's two antennae began to twitch with subtle enthusiasm at the mention of his current project, now having been under way for nearly four years-ever since Thelin had retired his Starfleet commission and returned to his homeworld. Recent experiments had indeed produced some revolutionary results. "I look forward to presenting our findings, Amba.s.sador, and to answer any questions you might pose. Please, if you will follow me." Thelin turned away from the entrance and strode purposefully toward the interior of the building.

At the rear of the decorative, homelike foyer area, the Andorian placed his palm upon a biometric scanning pad against the wall, and two large doors slid apart in response, revealing a long, sterile-looking corridor. "The environmental lab is, in fact, on the ground floor. But we will arrive much more quickly by using the turbolift."

"Very well," Sarek agreed. A quick turn to the right and the doors of the lift slid open before them. Upon entering, the doors resealed themselves and the car began its swift journey in a horizontal direction.

Thelin continued. "As you're no doubt aware, the gradual cooling of Andor's temperate climate zones has caused great hardship over the past few centuries for much of our population. While we have resolutely adjusted our habitat, the reduction in our agricultural output has seriously impacted our self-sufficiency."

"Indeed," Sarek said. "I am aware that the Andorian trade deficit is a growing concern."

The lift stopped and the doors opened, revealing a waiting Andorian student in a lab coat-a chan whose white hair was tied into several tight braids that swayed in front of his blue-skinned face. The youth nodded his acknowledgment, and Thelin bobbed his head in return before the two men pa.s.sed him by and began walking down the hall. "So about fifty years ago, the Presider of the Council announced a plan to warm the planetary ecosystem, using crude greenhouse gases and reflective solar sails, similar to the techniques used on Weytahn centuries earlier."

"And this, of course, failed to take into account the effects upon the Aenar," Sarek said.

"You are correct," Thelin replied. The Aenar, a blind and telepathic subspecies of the Andorians, lived only in the extreme northern wastes of the planet...and as it happened, Thelin himself was of mixed Aenar parentage. "The government's efforts caused a uniform rise in temperatures across the globe. While this did help to extend the growing season in parts of the world, the effect upon the Aenar habitat was catastrophic. Settlements near geothermal reservoirs began to experience seasonal thaws. Ice canopies housing entire cities became unstable."

"Yes, I recall an Aenar contingent making a plea to the Federation when they could get no relief from the Andorian council," Sarek said. "The incident very nearly threatened Andorian membership in the Federation."

Thelin looked down at his feet and his antennae hung droopily, the conversation having triggered memories that he was not terribly eager to share. "And sadly, race relations with the Aenar have not yet fully recovered. Among members of a warrior race, such disagreements do not end lightly. Technically, an ushaan between the Aenar ruling family and the previous presider remains unfulfilled." He stopped before a door labeled Climate Laboratory-East Wing in flowing Andorian script. "Having a vested interest in returning harmony to the races of my world, my desire to find an amicable solution to the conflict was one of my reasons for leaving Starfleet to return to Andor."

Sarek nodded, his face revealing the wisdom of one forced to confront issues of bigotry and intolerance in his own life. "And the other reasons?"

Thelin wistfully stared off into nothingness and quietly sighed. "Family, of course." He pressed his palm against the pad on the wall, and the door slid aside and beckoned them forward.

A cacophony of voices greeted the two men as they stepped into the laboratory. About a dozen technicians, mostly Andorian, moved about between the various consoles lining the walls of the s.p.a.cious room, engaged in various activities, either reading or recording data. At the far end of the lab, the walls sloped inward, tapering to a seam that neatly bisected the area, and large bay-style windows indented the veneer of the sweeping concave surfaces at regular intervals on each side of the room. To the left, the windows faced out upon an outdoor landscape darkened by thick storm clouds that threatened to unleash their torrential downpours at any moment; but to the right, the windows peered into the interior of the Inst.i.tute's huge biosphere, populated by numerous species of lush vegetation in tightly controlled environmental conditions under artificial illumination.

Seated at one of the consoles farthest from the door, a young human woman turned her head toward Thelin, her shoulder-length blond hair fluttering down about her shoulders. Next to her sat a boy of about twelve, also blond but with curlier locks, his gaze fixed upon the screen in front of him with wide discerning eyes that seemed to suggest a level of knowledge that far surpa.s.sed his chronological age. The woman smiled, rose from her seat and blithely approached the two men.

Thelin bowed to the woman in greeting as she approached, then turned to his Vulcan guest. "Amba.s.sador Sarek," he said, "allow me to introduce our new adjunct project leader, Doctor Carol Marcus."

The woman started to reach out her hand, but caught herself, apparently just then remembering that Vulcans generally eschewed casual physical contact. "Amba.s.sador, this is a genuine honor," she said.

"Doctor Marcus," Sarek replied. "I have studied your recently published journals, and I have found much that is quite intriguing."

"Well, thank you; that's high praise indeed," Carol replied.

"Doctor Marcus joined our team about six months ago," Thelin explained. "Her theoretical work on the selective modification of ecosystems was of particular interest to us, and when the Inst.i.tute heard of her availability, we actively recruited her to come to Andor."

"Thelin, you could hardly keep me away," Carol quipped. "This was such a tremendous opportunity, not just to develop theoretical science but to also actually apply it in ways that benefit the people of this world.... Anyway, it's been a great experience thus far."

Thelin smiled. "Well, Amba.s.sador, allow me to introduce you to the rest of the team." They turned back toward the center of the lab and for the first time noticed a small flurry of excitement surrounding the young boy, still seated at the station where Carol had been supervising his work. Other researchers had gathered around the computer screen with obvious interest and were talking animatedly, though quietly, among themselves.

"David?" Carol called out. "Excuse me, Amba.s.sador."

As Carol hurried back to the console, Sarek turned toward Thelin with an eyebrow raised in inquiry. "The boy, David Marcus, is Carol's son," Thelin explained, as the two of them advanced across the lab toward the commotion at the far end. "They are both native to Earth, but Carol has been attached to projects throughout the entire quadrant, and her boy is always with her. He's a bit of a genius, that one."

"Indeed?" Sarek said.

"Yes. He's an exemplary student, despite the lack of any formal cla.s.sroom structure. I hear he has already pa.s.sed several Federation universities' entrance exams." As they walked, Thelin glanced over at the amba.s.sador's face, and couldn't help but notice that Sarek's eyes, intently focused upon the young boy, seemed to betray a sense of painful recollection, or perhaps forlorn longing-an oddly emotive expression for the usually stern Vulcan diplomat.

They approached the workstation, and over the shoulders of the a.s.sembled crowd they could see on the computer screen an image of a pulsating, spherical waveform. Thelin craned his neck as both his eyes focused upon the screen, straining to read the technical data that splashed down a column on one side of the display. His antennae stood erect, though they were of little help in interpreting the technical readouts. He perked up his ears.

Carol had fought her way through the crowd to join David, who was actively observing and modifying the properties of the simulated energy wave. "So you simply ran the same simulations of the bioelectrical energy matrix?" she asked her son.

"Right," David replied. "But for the first time, I tried to integrate the metastatic properties of the meta-genome that we studied a few years ago."

"And the reaction was self-sustaining?"

"Yep.... If the data is right, this wave can be used to convert any matter into other complex molecules, depending on how we configure the matrix. And the scale is unlimited."

"Unlimited?" Carol was incredulous. "As in, an entire planetary ecosystem?"

"Well, yeah, in theory...I guess," David replied.

The lab was shaken by the boom of a loud thunderclap. Looking out the windows to the outdoors, Thelin could see that the dark storm clouds that had gathered were finally unleashing their torrential downpour. He turned toward Sarek, who still watched the boy dolefully. While Thelin was certainly interested in the potential breakthrough that young David had apparently stumbled upon, he was more immediately concerned with the demeanor of his guest. "Mr. Amba.s.sador, are you not feeling well? Can we provide you with anything?"

Sarek turned toward Thelin, then bowed his head as a look of shame emerged on his features. "Forgive me," he said. "It seems that my thoughts are focused elsewhere. May I be seated?"

"Of course." Thelin motioned him back toward the end of the lab nearer the entrance. The area was now cleared of any other technicians as they had all congregated down near Carol's console to observe the new discovery.

Sarek seated himself in front of an unused workstation and Thelin took the chair next to him. The Vulcan closed his eyes, allowing himself a brief moment of meditation. For the first time, Thelin truly noticed the physical effects that years of stressful duty had imprinted upon the amba.s.sador. The man was only 110 years old-typically the prime of a Vulcan's middle-aged years-yet his face was etched with lines that suggested a lifetime's worth of grief.

Sarek opened his eyes a moment later and spoke. "Not long ago, I returned from a mission where we had rescued several...abandoned children from a deserted planet. More than this I cannot reveal. But suffice it to say that the mission had a profound impact upon me."

"I see," Thelin replied with understanding. "And seeing young David reminds you of these children."

"Partly," Sarek replied pensively. "But mostly his precocious intelligence reminds me of my youngest son."

"Ah," said Thelin, uncertain if he should press for further details. He was not aware that the amba.s.sador had any young children. "What is his name?"

"His name was Spock...and he died at the age of seven, alone in the wilderness, during his kahs-wan ritual."

"Oh..." said Thelin, now wishing he had erred on the side of discretion. "Amba.s.sador, I had no idea. I am truly sorry."

"Thank you for your condolences, but your sympathy is unnecessary." Sarek had regained tight control over his composure. "It is normal to carry grief for the dead, but this was thirty-seven years ago. It is illogical to react emotionally after the pa.s.sage of so much time."

Thelin tried to compose a reply that would express his understanding of Sarek's sorrow while remaining respectful to Vulcan mores of logic and emotional restraint. But before he could solve the conundrum, the door slid open and a pretty, young Andorian girl-a zhen-entered, and immediately approached him.

"h.e.l.lo, Thelin," she said quickly and with a bit of nervousness. "I'm very sorry...I know you're with the amba.s.sador and all, but you have a call from Thali, and...well, she says it's really important."

Mortified, Thelin sheepishly looked over at Sarek before responding to the young girl. "Zheva, I'm terribly busy here. Was this some kind of emergency?"

Zheva's antennae turned inward, expressing her uncertainty, and she opened her mouth to reply, but Sarek silenced her with a wave of his hand before turning to Thelin. "It's all right. Go and attend to your affairs. I will remain here and try to learn more about your team's timely discovery."

Thelin remained unsure what to do. He had not heard from Thali in some time, which was unusual and had caused him some concern as of late. After all, they had been betrothed for a few years now. But they were not yet legally permitted to marry. Such decisions required the approval of the Eveste Elders-an enclave whose sole purpose was to determine which Andorian quads were most suitable for reproduction. Given the complexity of Andorian s.e.xuality, requiring marriages in groups of four, public concern about the declining Andorian population had grown in recent years, and thus the Council had enacted a complex set of laws and regulations regarding the arrangement of the shelthreth marriage bonds.

Having known each other since early childhood, Thelin had followed the somewhat tragic circ.u.mstances that led to the dissolution of Thali's own marriage bond, involving the untimely death of one member and the emotional breakdown of another, before the shelthreth had produced any offspring. Which was why, following his five-year stint aboard the Enterprise, Thelin had been honored by Thali's request that he return to Andor to join her, and to pet.i.tion the Elders to approve a new arrangement. Owing to the circ.u.mstances of his youth, he had never been bonded himself. Nevertheless, he felt rather strongly his social and familial responsibility to produce children...even though it had meant giving up an a.s.sured promotion to a captaincy. If Thali had to speak with him regarding a matter of some urgency, he felt obligated to listen. "Thank you for your understanding, Amba.s.sador," he said with a slight bow to Sarek. "I shall try to rejoin you as quickly as possible."

Thelin turned and quickly exited the lab with Zheva closely following him. "Would you please send the transmission to my office, Zheva?" he said.

"Of course," Zheva replied. They both reached the T at the end of the corridor and went separate ways. Thelin pa.s.sed a couple of offices before turning in to one that bore his name on a plaque, and the door promptly slid aside to permit his entry.

"Lights," he commanded, and the illumination flooded the small room, revealing the spa.r.s.e decor of his office at the Inst.i.tute. A few shelves hung from the far wall with odd knickknacks, a holo-image of his zhavey, and a few padds loaded with science manuals and research doc.u.ments, hastily placed for future reference. But the rest of the walls were mostly barren.

Thelin promptly seated himself at his desk and pulled the display monitor close to him. "Computer, incoming transmissions," he said.

"One active communication," the computer responded. "Thali sh'Dani currently on hold."

"Answer," Thelin said, and the screen flickered to life, revealing a middle-aged Andorian shen, her deep-blue skin much darker than Thelin's own pale complexion, her thick white hair coiffed in a full-bodied style adorned with a few small braids hanging down the sides and across her face-a face which bore a deeply troubled expression.

"My sh'za!" Thelin said. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you this week. Is everything all right?"

Thali closed her eyes and breathed deeply, then reopened them, revealing a purplish tint in the whites, and Thelin realized that she had been crying recently. "All right? No, Thelin, everything is not all right."

A dozen terrible thoughts raced through Thelin's mind, and he felt his blood pumping, readying him to leap into action for whatever need his bondmate might have. "What? What has happened?"

Thali c.o.c.ked her head to the side, her antennae hanging droopily, and a sad smirk crossed her face. "Zhavey received a communication from the Elders this morning. They finally made their decision."

Thelin's heart sank. For nearly three years the Eveste Elders had been dragging their feet concerning their pet.i.tion to marry. Given the reproductive imperatives handed down by the Andorian leadership in recent years, this was highly unusual; but they were a highly unusual case. Very little scientific data yet existed regarding reproductive compatibility between the Andorians and the Aenar, and this had resulted in one delay after another as the Elders debated how to proceed. "What does it say?" Thelin asked, already dreading to hear the justification for the denial.

The woman picked up a padd from the desktop in front of her and read in a hollow, dispa.s.sionate tone. "In the matter of pet.i.tion for bonding in marriage: The Council of Eveste Elders recognizes and respects your desire to select a mate with whom you have an intimate familiarity. While such pairings are oft permitted, they remain bound by decree of the procreation imperative. The council finds that insufficient scientific data yet exists to ensure reproductive compatibility between the Aenar and the mainline Andorian race. Therefore, with regret and without prejudice, the council has no alternative but to deny your pet.i.tion at this time."

The padd clattered down onto the desk as both Thelin and Thali sat in silence. A single tear ran down Thali's cheek.

Without prejudice, Thelin thought. What an ironic choice of words. After taking a long moment to collect his thoughts, Thelin took a deep breath and spoke. "Thali...we've known all along that this would be a struggle. We've been dealing with it for years now."

"Yes, Thelin, that's right...for years." She closed her eyes for a moment, and when they reopened, it seemed as if her despair poured forth from them. Her voice was reduced to a faint squeak. "How many more years shall we keep up the charade?"

"Thali..." Thelin stammered. "It's not over yet. It's...it's just our first appeal. We'll try again when the next enclave convenes in a few months. I know geneticists who can testify on our behalf. After all, I'm living proof that the two races are entirely compatible. Not everyone will be so closed-minded."

"Thelin, do you really believe that will change anything? The decision is made. They want us to bond with our own kind. Our relationship is too reckless for them to abide it."

"This is preposterous," Thelin spat, his resentment for the aloofness of the Elders beginning to stir a pa.s.sionate reaction from deep within him. "Three years we've waited, and when all is said and done, they simply announce that they can't stomach an interracial bonding."

"Stop it," Thali said with enough emphasis that Thelin was taken aback. "Don't turn this into a racial issue. You know the reasons for the genetic profiling. They have to be sure we're compatible. It's the law. There's nothing we can do about it."

"Genetics?" Thelin gave out a laugh of indignation. "What do you think race is, other than a matter of genetics? They can't see anything beyond the shade of our skin and the social perceptions. Do you deny that our application would have been approved years ago if not for my Aenar blood?"

"Oh, Thelin, you're acting so callow! Of course there are social factors to consider." She slowly shook her head, giving him a look of sympathy. "It's complicated, Thelin. You stay there, holed up with your climatologist friends, yet you have no idea what the climate is like out here in the real world. We aren't just bringing together four people for some cheap tezha. We're talking about the bonding together of four families, and earning the blessings of an older generation that is set in their ways, with no desire for reconciliation with the Aenar. Sometimes you just have to accept when a plan isn't going to come to fruition."

Thelin was unyielding. "All right. Fine. Then it's time for us to pursue other avenues. We'll find an Aenar couple to bond with. We have discussed that possibility. The Aenar aren't subject to the decrees of the Council. We could arrange a bonding entirely on our own, without interference, and begin right away."

Thali snorted. "Honestly, Thelin...would we really want our children to have a blind, helpless zhavey trying to raise them?"

This, Thelin thought, was entirely uncalled for. He felt his frustration giving way to outright anger. "What are you saying? My zhavey was blind, and she raised me practically on her own!" His mother may have lacked sight, but like most Aenar she was also a telepath, enabling her to nurture him in ways that most other Andorians could never understand.

Thali sighed. "It doesn't matter, Thelin. Don't you think that my zhavey and I have looked into every possible option? She contacted the Aenar Ministry of Health more than a year ago. She even posted inquiries, trying to gauge the reception of potential Aenar mates. It seems that your work is quite well known among them."

Thelin had no idea that such an effort had already been under way. He suddenly found himself bewildered as to why no positive news had been relayed to him concerning this. "And...?" he anxiously prompted her.

"The Aenar don't trust you, Thelin. They aren't convinced that your intentions at the Science Inst.i.tute are in their best interests."

"What are you talking about?!" Thelin shouted, feeling his blood beginning to boil with stunned outrage. "I gave up everything to come back here and try to help them! Everything!"

"I know," Thali whispered, tears now streaming down her cheeks. "Starfleet was always everything to you. You've always looked back. Never forward; never embracing our efforts to build a new life together."

For a moment he had no reply. "That's not true," he eventually blurted out, not at all convincingly. "I've supported you every step of the way."

"Yes," she agreed. "But it's not about me, Thelin. It's about us. I'm sorry, I just...I can't do this anymore. I have to move on while I still have time. Zhavey has already withdrawn her appeal to the Elders and released you from our bond. She will contact you later to finalize everything."

"Thali!" Thelin shouted, reaching out to grip the screen with both hands. "We can still talk about this! Don't..."

"Good-bye, Thelin." The screen blinked off, and her face was replaced with the emblem of the Science Inst.i.tute.

Thelin picked up the screen and violently flung it from the desktop, smashing the housing and spilling the various electronic components from within onto the floor. As he did so, another loud thunderclap shook the room as the storm front intensified outside the building. He fell back into his chair, breathing heavily, waiting for the spell of rage to pa.s.s.

His mind was racing, his thoughts a chaotic maelstrom as he attempted to process what had just transpired. Had the last three years of his life truly been spent in vain? His resignation from Starfleet, his efforts using science to try to reconcile his two parent races.... Had it all been for nothing?

Andorians were taught from birth that they could not subsist as mere individuals. They had to be made whole. The shelthreth would provide that. But how could one become a whole vessel when he was unable to reconcile the two halves of his own self?

Minutes went by, and as the intensity of his emotions gradually began to diminish, similarly the questions surrounding his future came slowly into focus. Thali was right. He had come back to Andor out of a sense of obligation, to make right the wrongs of his own thavan, to honor the commitment to family that society demanded. But he already had a family-the only family he had ever known.