Star Trek 09

by James Blish

  Kirk drew a deep breath. "All right. My recommendations are as follows. We send down a general survey party, avoiding contact with life forms on the planet. Landing party to consist of myself, Dr. McCoy, astrobiologist Mason, geologist Rawls and Science Officer Spock."

  "Mr. Spock," said Daystrom, "play M-5"s recommendations."

  Spock dropped the cartridge into another slot in his library-computer, and punching a button, he evoked a computer voice. It said, "M-5 readout. Planet Alpha Cazinae II. Class M. Atmosphere oxygen-nitrogen . . ."

  On Deck 6 the lights suddenly faded—and darkness flooded into another area of the Enterprise.

  Scott cried, "Now power's gone off on Deck 6!" The computer voice went on. "Categorization of life form readings recorded. Recommendations for general survey party: Science Officer Spock, astrobiologist Mason, geologist Carstairs."

  Kirk let a moment go by. "The only variation in reports and recommendations is in landing party personnel. And that's only a matter of judgment."

  "Judgment, Captain?" said Daystrom.

  "Captain . . . the computer does not judge," Spock said. "It makes logical selections."

  "Then why did it pick Carstairs instead of Rawls?

  Carstairs is an Ensign, Mr. Spock, no experience: this is his first tour of duty. Rawls is the Chief Geologist.

  "Perhaps, Captain, you're really interested in why M-5 didn't name you and Dr. McCoy."

  "Not necessarily, Daystrom," Kirk said smoothly.

  "Let's find out anyway." Daystrom hit a switch. "M-5 tie-in. Explanation for landing-party recommendations."

  The computer voice said, "M-5. General survey party requires direction of Science Officer. Astro-biologist Mason has surveyed 29 biologically similar planets. Geologist Carstairs served on merchant-marine freighters in this area . . . once visited planet on geology survey for mining company."

  "M-5 tie-in. Why were the Captain and Chief Medical Officer not included in the recommendations?"

  "M-5," said the computer. "Non-essential personnel."

  Spock averted his eyes from Kirk's face; and Scott, over at his board, called, "Captain! I've located the source of the power shutdowns. It's the M-5 unit, sir. That thing's turning off systems all over the ship!"

  "Well, Dr. Daystrom," Kirk said, "do we visit the Engineering Section?" He stood aside while the inventor removed a panel from the huge mechanism. A moment or so later, he replaced it, saying, "As I suspected, it's not a malfunction in this series of circuits. There is no need to check further. The M-5 is simply shutting down power to areas of the ship that don't require it. Decks 4 and 6 are quarter decks, are they not?"

  "Yes."

  "And currently unoccupied."

  Spock was examining the great monitor panel. "I am not familiar with these instruments, Dr. Daystrom. You are using an entirely new control system . . . but it appears to me the unit is drawing more power than before."

  "Quite right. As the unit is called upon to do more work, it pulls more power to accomplish it . . . just as the human body draws on more power, more energy to run than to stand still."

  "Dr. Daystrom," Spock said, "this is not a human body. A computer can process the information—but only that which is put into it."

  Kirk nodded. "Granted it can work thousands, millions of times faster than a human brain. But it can't make value judgments. It doesn't have intuition. It can't think nor gauge relative importances."

  Daystrom flushed angrily. "Can't you understand the unit is a revolution in computer science? I designed the duotronic elements used in your ship right now. And they are as archaic as dinosaurs compared to the M-5—" He was interrupted by a bosun's whistle and Uhura's filtered voice.

  "Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock to the bridge, please."

  Kirk crossed to the intercom. "This is Kirk. What is it, Lieutenant?"

  "Sensors are picking up a vessel paralleling our course, sir. As yet unidentified."

  As he turned from the intercom, he realized the M-5 had again increased its humming and light activity. He looked at it dubiously and said, "Mr. Spock." Descending the ladder, his last glimpse of Daystrom showed the man's hand patting the computer caressingly. The high hum followed them to the bridge where McCoy, his jaw set, was waiting for them.

  "What are you doing up here, Bones?"

  "Why wouldn't I be here? Sickbay systems are shut down until such time as the M-5 is informed there are patients to be cared for."

  Spock, over at his station, spoke hastily. "Sir, sensor reports indicate two contacts; one on the port bow, the other on the stern. Distance, two hundred thousand kilometers and closing."

  "Identification?"

  "Sir, the M-5 unit has already identified the vessels as Federation Starships Excalibur and Lexington."

  Kirk looked at him. It was impossible to tell whether Spock was impressed or annoyed that the M-5 had done his job for him. "We were not scheduled for war games in this area, Captain. It may be a surprise attack as a problem for M-5."

  Uhura spoke. "Priority alert message coming in, sir."

  Daystrom came from the elevator as Kirk said, "On audio, Lieutenant." He paused at the sound of Wesley's voice.

  "Enterprise from Commodore Wesley aboard the U.S.S. Lexington, This is an unscheduled M-5 drill. I repeat, this is an M-5 drill. Enterprise, acknowledge on this frequency."

  Kirk nodded at Uhura. "Acknowledge, Lieutenant."

  Uhura reached to press a button, hesitated, and stared at Kirk. "M-5 is acknowledging for us, sir."

  "Then sound red alert, Lieutenant."

  "Aye, sir." But as she moved for the switch, the red alert sounded. "M-5 has already sounded the alert, Captain."

  "Has it?" Kirk said. He turned to Sulu. "Phasers on l/100th power, Mr. Sulu. No damage potential. Just enough to nudge them."

  "Phasers l/100th power, sir." As Sulu turned back to his board, the ship was struck by a salvo from one of the attacking Starships. A bare thump. Spock called, "Phaser hit on port deflector 4, sir." Sulu looked up. "Speed is increasing to Warp 3, sir. Turning now to 112 Mark 5." A moment passed before he added, "Phasers locking on target, Captain."

  Then it was Chekov's turn. "Enemy vessel closing with us, sir. Coming in fast. It—"

  Sulu interrupted him. "Deflectors down now, sir! Main phasers firing!" Then he cried out in delight. "A hit, sir! Two more!" But the elation in his face faded abruptly at the sight of Kirk, sitting stiff and unmoving in his chair, merely watching the screen.

  Chekov spoke quietly. "Changing course now to 28 Mark 42, sir."

  The reports piled up thick and fast "Phasers firing again."

  "Course now 113 Mark 5. Warp 4 speed."

  "Phasers firing again!"

  "Attacking vessels are moving off!"

  "Deflectors up—moving back to original course and speed."

  Kirk finally spoke. "Report damage sustained in mock attack."

  "A minor hit on deflector screen 4, sir," Spock said. "No appreciable damage."

  Kirk nodded slowly and Daystrom, triumph flaming in his face, said, "A rather impressive display for a mere 'machine,' wouldn't you say, Captain?"

  Kirk didn't answer him. Instead, he rose and went to Spock's station. "Evaluation of M-5 performance, Mr. Spock. We will need it for the log record."

  Spock measured his words slowly. "The ship reacted more rapidly than human control could have maneuvered her. Tactics, deployment of weapons—all indicate an immense skill in computer control."

  "Machine over man, Spock. You've finally made your point that it is practical."

  Spock said, "Practical, perhaps, sir. Desirable—no." His quiet eyes met Kirk's. "Computers make excellent and efficient servants; but I have no wish to serve under them. A Starship, Captain, also runs on loyalty, loyalty to a man—one man. Nothing can replace it. Nor him."

  Kirk felt the absurd sting of grateful tears behind his eyes. He wheeled at Uhura's voice. "Captain, message coming in from Commodore Wesley."

  "Put
it on the screen, Lieutenant."

  The image showed Wesley sitting in a command chair. He said, "U.S.S. Enterprise from Starships Lexington and Excdlibur. Both ships report simulated hits in sufficient quantity and location to justify awarding the surprise engagement to Enterprise. Congratulations."

  Kirk spoke to Uhura. "Secure from General Quarters."

  Again, she reached for the switch. And again the alarm had been silenced. She looked at Kirk, shrugging.

  But the image on the screen was continuing. "Our compliments to the M-5 unit and regards to Captain Dunsel. Wesley out."

  McCoy exploded. "Dunsel? Who the blazes is Captain Dunsel? What's it mean, Jim?"

  But Kirk had already left for the elevator. McCoy whirled to Spock. "Well?" demanded McCoy. "Who's Dunsel?"

  "A 'dunsel,' Doctor, is a word used by midshipmen at Starfleet Academy. It refers to a part which serves no useful purpose."

  McCoy stiffened. He glanced at the closed elevator doors; and then to the empty command chair, the brightly gleaming M-5 control panel attached to it—the machine which had served such a useful purpose.

  McCoy walked into Kirk's cabin without buzzing the door. Nor was he greeted. His host, head pillowed on his forearms, lay on his bed, unmoving. McCoy, without speaking, laid a tray on a table.

  Without turning his head, Kirk said, "I am not interested in eating."

  "Well, this isn't chicken soup." McCoy whisked a napkin from the tray, revealing two glasses filled with a marvelously emerald-green liquid. He took one over to Kirk, who took it but made no move to drink it

  "It's strongly prescribed, Jim."

  Kirk, placing the drink on the floor, sat up. "Bones, I've never felt so lonely before. It has nothing to do with people. I simply . . . well, I just feel separate, detached, as though I were watching myself divorced from all human responsibility. I'm even at odds with my own ship." Resting his elbows on his knees, he put his head in his hands. When he could speak again, words stumbled over each other. "I—I'm not sorry . . . for myself. I'm sure . . . I'm not. I am not . . . a machine and I do not compare myself with one. I think I'm fighting for something . . . big, Bones." He reached down for the glass. Then he lifted it. "Here's to Captain Dunsel!"

  McCoy raised his own glass. "Here's to James T. Kirk, Captain of the Starship Enterprise!"

  They drank. Kirk cupped his empty glass in his hands, staring into it. "One of your better prescriptions, Bones."

  "Simple—but effective."

  Kirk got up. The viewing screen had a tape cartridge in it. He switched it on and began to read aloud the words that began to align themselves on it.

  "All I ask is a tall ship . . ."

  "That's a line from a poem, very, very old, isn't it?" McCoy said.

  "Twentieth century," Kirk said. "And all I ask is a tall ship . . . and a star to steer her by." His voice was shaking. "You could feel the wind then, Bones . . . and hear the talk of the sea under your keel." He smiled. "Even if you take away the wind and the water, it's still the same. The ship is yours—in your blood you know she is yours—and the stars are still there to steer her by."

  McCoy thanked whatever gods there were for the intercom beep, for the everyday sound of Uhura's voice saying, "Captain Kirk to the bridge, please."

  'This is Kirk. What is it, Lieutenant?"

  It was Spock who answered. "Another contact, Captain. A large, slow-moving vessel . . . unidentified. It is not a drill, Captain."

  "On my way," Kirk said.

  Spock vacated his command chair as he left the elevator; and Uhura, turning, said, "No reply to any of our signals, Captain. No . . . wait. I'm getting an auto-relay now."

  The library-computer began to chatter; and Spock, moving to it swiftly, picked up an earphone. After a moment of intent listening, he spoke. The M-5 has identified the vessel, Captain. The Woden . . . Starfleet Registry lists her as an old-style ore freighter, converted over to automation. No crew." He glanced at the screen. "She's coming into visual contact, sir."

  The Woden was an old, lumbering spaceship, clearly on her last, enfeebled legs. As a threat, she was a joke to the galaxy. Moving slowly but gallantly in deference to the rejuvenating influences of automation, she was a brave old lady trying to function with steel pins in a broken hip.

  Sulu suddenly stiffened in his chair. A red alert had sounded. "Captain, deflector shields have just come on!"

  Chekov looked up. "Speed increasing to Warp 3, Captain!"

  Something suddenly broke in Kirk. Suddenly, he seemed to be breaking out of a shell which had confined him. "Lieutenant Uhura, get Daystrom up here!" As she turned to her board, he pushed a control button on the M-5 panel at his side. He pushed it hard. "Discouraging M-5 unit," he said. "Cut speed back to Warp 1. Navigator, go to course 113 mark 7—I want a wide berth around that ship!"

  Sulu worked controls. "She won't respond, sir! She's maintaining course!'

  "Going to Warp 4 now, sir!" cried Chekov.

  On the screen the bulky old freighter was looming larger. Kirk, shoving buttons on his left-hand panel, tried to regain control of his ship. Over his shoulder, he shouted, "Mr. Scott! Slow us down! Reverse engines!"

  Scott looked up from his board. "Reverse thrust will not engage, sir! The manual override isn't working, either!"

  Daystrom hurried in from the elevator. "What is it now, Captain?"

  "The control systems seem to be locked. We can't disengage the computer."

  Spock cried, "Captain! Photon torpedoes are locking on the Woden!"

  Kirk rushed to Sulu's station; and leaning over his shoulder, pushed torpedo button controls. Sulu shook his head. "I already tried, sir. Photon torpedo cutoffs don't respond!"

  Kirk strode to Daystrom. "Release that computer's control of my ship before those torpedoes fire!"

  The man stooped to the panel affixed to Kirk's chair; but even as he bent, there came a flash from the screen—and the Woden disappeared.

  The red-alert sirens stilled. The Enterprise swerved back to its original course. Its speed reduced; and Spock, checking his instruments, said, "All systems report normal, Captain."

  "Normal!" snorted McCoy. "Is that thing trying to tell us nothing happened?"

  Kirk nodded. "Dr. Daystrom, you will disengage that computer now!"

  The man looked up at him from the control panel where he had been working. "There appears to be some defect here . . ."

  "Defect!" McCoy shouted. "Your bright young computer just destroyed an ore freighter! It went out of its way to destroy that freighter!"

  "Fortunately," Daystrom said, "it was only a robot ship."

  Kirk interposed before McCoy blew up. "It wasn't supposed to destroy anything, Daystrom. There might easily have been a crew aboard."

  "In which case," yelled McCoy, "you'd be guilty of murder and—!"

  "Hold it, Bones," Kirk said. He turned to Daystrom. "Disengage that computer." He went over to Uhura. "Lieutenant, contact Starfleet Command. Inform them we are breaking off the M-5 tests and are returning to the space station."

  "Aye, sir."

  "Let's get down to Engineering, Daystrom. Your M-5 is out of a job."

  The computer's hum seemed louder in the echoing cavern of the Engineering Section. Kirk stood at its door as Daystrom and Spock entered. "All right, Doctor," he said. "Turn that thing off."

  But Daystrom hung back. Kirk, his jaw set, strode toward the M-5. Suddenly, he staggered and was slammed back against the screening. Recovering his balance, he stared incredulously at the computer. "A force field! Daystrom?"

  Daystrom's face had paled. "No, Kirk. I didn't do it."

  "I would say, Captain, that M-5 is not only capable of taking care of this ship; but is also capable of taking care of itself."

  "What are you saying, Spock? Are you telling me it's not going to let any of us turn it off?"

  "Yes, Captain."

  Scott and an assistant had joined them. Kirk made no attempt to keep his conversation with Daystrom priva
te. "You built this thing," he was saying. "You must know how to turn it off."

  Daystrom's hands were writhing nervously. "We must expect a few minor difficulties, Captain. I assure you, they can be corrected."

  "Corrected after you release control of my ship," Kirk said.

  "I—I can't," Daystrom said.

  Scott spoke. "Captain"—he nodded toward the main junction with the power banks—"I suggest we disconnect it at the source."

  "Disconnect it, Scotty."

  Scott turned to pick up a tool as his assistant, Harper, crossed to the main junction. Suddenly the computer's hum was a piercing whine; and a beam of light, white-hot, arched from the console across to the junction. For a moment Harper flamed like a torch. There was a vivid flash and he vanished without a sound.

  Kirk stared, aghast. Then, as full realization hit him, his fists clenched. "That—wasn't a minor difficulty," he said silkily. "It wasn't a robot, Daystrom." Then he was shouting, his voice hoarse. "That thing's murdered one of my crewmen!"

  Vaguely, he noted the look of horror on Daystrom's face. It didn't seem to matter. The man appeared to be chattering. ". . . not a deliberate act . . . M-5's analysis . . . a new power source . . . Ensign Harper . . . got in the way."

  Kirk said, "We may all soon get in its way."

  Spock said, "The M-5 appears to be drawing power from the warp engines. It is therefore tapped directly into the matter-anti-matter reserves."

  "So now it's got virtually unlimited power," Scott said. "Captain, what do we do?"

  "In other circumstances," Kirk said, "I would suggest asking the M-5. The situation being what it is, I ask you, Spock and Scotty, to join me in the Briefing Room."

  They followed him out, leaving Daystrom to make what he could of his Frankenstein's monster.

  It was in the Briefing Room that Kirk learned Uhura couldn't raise Starfleet Command. Though the M-5 unit permitted the Enterprise to receive messages, it had blocked its transmitting frequencies. Kirk, at the intercom, said, "Keep trying to break through, Lieutenant."