by James Blish
Bele stared at him. "You're bluffing. You could no more destroy this ship than I could change colors."
Kirk turned sharply toward Uhura. "Lieutenant, tie bridge audio into master computer."
"Aye aye, sir."
Kirk sat down and hit a button on his chair. "Destruct Sequence. Computer, are you ready to copy?"
"Working," said the computer's voice.
"Stand by to verify Destruct Sequence Code One."
"Ready."
"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship USS Enterprise. Destruct Sequence One—Code One One A."
There was a rapid run of lights over the face of the computer, accompanied by the usual beeping. Then on the upper left of the panel a yellow square lit up, with a black figure 1 in its center.
"Voice and Code One One A verified and correct. Sequence One complete."
Mr. Spock, please continue."
"This is Commander Spock, Science Officer. Destruct Sequence Number Two—Code One One A Two B."
"Voice and code verified and correct. Sequence Two complete."
"Mr. Scott."
The sweat was standing out on Scott's brow. Perhaps no one aboard loved the Enterprise as much as he did. Looking straight into Kirk's eyes, he said mechanically, "This is Lieutenant Commander Scott, Chief Engineering Officer. Destruct Sequence Number Three—Code One B Two B Three."
"Voice and code verified and correct. Destruct Sequence engaged. Awaiting final code for thirty-second countdown."
"Mr. Spock, has this ship returned to the course set for it by my orders?"
"No, Captain. We are still headed for Cheron."
Bele said nothing. Kirk turned quietly back to the computer. "Begin thirty-second countdown. Code Zero-Zero-Destruct-Zero."
"Count beginning. Thirty. Twenty-nine."
"Now," Kirk said, "let us see you prevent the computer from fulfilling my commands."
"Twenty-five."
"You can use your will to drag this ship toward Cheron. But I control this computer. The final command is mine."
"Fifteen."
"From five to zero," Kirk said, "no command in the universe can stop the computer from completing its Destruct order."
"Seven."
"Waiting," Kirk said relentlessly.
"Five."
The lights stopped blinking and became a steady glare, and the beeping became a continuous whine. Chekov hunched tensely over his board. Sulu's hand was white on the helm, as though he might put the ship back on course through sheer muscle power. Uhura looked at Kirk for a moment, and then her eyes closed peacefully. Spock and Scott were tensely impassive.
"Awaiting code for irrevocable five seconds," the computer's voice said.
Kirk and Bele stared at each other. Then Kirk turned back to the computer for the last time.
"Wait!" Bele said. It was a cry of despair. "I agree! I agree!"
Kirk's expression did not change. He said, "Captain James Kirk. Code One Two Three Continuity. Abort Destruct order."
"Destruct order aborted." The computer went silent.
"Mr. Spock, Are we heading for Ariannus?"
"No, sir. The Enterprise is now describing a circular course."
"And at Warp Seven, Captain," Scott added. "We are going nowhere mighty fast.'
"I warned you of his treachery," Lokai said. "You have weapons. Kill him!"
"We are waiting, Commissioner," Kirk said, "for you to honor your commitment."
"I have an alternative solution to offer, Captain. Simple, expedient, and, I am sure, agreeable. Captain—I am happy to have you complete your mission of mercy to Ariannus. It was madness to interfere with such a worthwhile endeavor."
Kirk listened stonily.
"Please, sir. You may proceed to Ariannus. Just guarantee me that, upon completion, you will take me and my traitorous captive to Cheron."
"Sir," Kirk said, "he is not your captive—and I make no deals about control of this ship."
Bele's shoulders sagged. He closed his eyes for a moment, his face curiously distorted, and then opened them again. "The ship's course is now in your control."
"Mr. Sulu?"
"She responds, sir. I'm resetting course for Ariannus."
"And as for you two—let me reaffirm my position. I should put both of you in the brig for what you have done. As Lokai observed, we have weapons, from which no heat shield will protect you. But I won't do it, since you are new to this part of the Galaxy, which is governed by the laws of the United Federation of Planets. We live in peace with the fullest exercise of individual rights. The need to resort to force and violence has long since passed. It will not be tolerated on this ship."
"You are both free to move about the ship. An armed guard will accompany each of you. I hope you will take the opportunity to get to know the ways of the Federation through some of its best representatives, my crew. But make no mistake. Any interference with the function of this ship will be severely punished. That's all."
Bele, his face inscrutable, nodded and went out, followed by a guard.
Lokai said, "You speak very well, Captain Kirk. Your words promise justice for all."
"We try, sir."
"But I have learned to wait for actions. After Ariannus—what is your justice? I shall wait to see it dispensed."
He too went out followed by a guard. Spock looked after him.
"Fascinating," the First Officer said. "Two totally hostile humanoids."
"Disgusting is what I call them," Scott said.
"That is not a scientifically accurate description," Spock said.
"Fascinating isn't one, either. And disgusting describes exactly what I feel about those two."
"Your feelings, as usual, shed no light on the matter."
"Enough for one day," Kirk said. "Those two are beginning to affect you."
Lokai settled upon Uhura as his next hope, perhaps feeling that since he had made no headway with the white members of the crew, a black one might be more sympathetic. He was talking eagerly to her in the rec room, with Chekov and Spock as bystanders. Racially, the four made a colorful mixture, though probably none of them was aware of it.
". . . and I know from my actions you must all think me a volcanic hothead—erupting lava from my nostrils at danger signals that are only figments of my imagination. But believe me, my friends, there can be no moment when I can have my guard down where such as Bele are present. And so what happens? I act the madman out of the anger and frustration he forces upon me and thereby prove his point that I am a madman."
"We all act incorrectly when we're angry," Uhura said.
"After all," Chekov added cheerfully, "we're only human."
"Ah, Mr. Chekov, you have used the phrase which puts my impatience into perspective—which focuses on my lack of ability to convey to your captain, and to you, yes you here in this room, my lack of ability to alert you to the real threat of someone like Bele. There is no persecution on your planet. How can you understand my fear, my apprehension, my degradation, my suffering?"
"There was persecution on Earth once," Chekov said.
"Yes," said Uhura. "But to us, Chekov, that's only something we were taught in history class."
"Yes, that's right. It was long ago."
"Then," said Lokai, "how can I make your flesh know how it feels to see all those who are like you—and only because they are like you—despised, slaughtered and, even worse, denied the simplest bit of decency that is a living being's right. Do you know what it would be like to be dragged out of your hovel into a war on another planet? A battle that will serve your oppressor and bring death to you and your brothers?" There seemed to be no answer to that.
Bele, for reasons not to be guessed at, continued to work on Kirk—perhaps because he had developed a grudging respect for the man who had faced him down, or perhaps not. He visited the Captain's quarters whenever asked, though Kirk took care on each occasion to see that Spock was present as well.
"Putting the matter in the
hands of your Starfleet Command is of course the proper procedure," Bele said on one such occasion. "Will it be long before we hear from them, Captain?"
"I expect the reply is already on the way, Commissioner."
"But Command may not arrive at the solution you anticipate," Spock added. "There is the matter of the shuttlecraft Lokai appropriated."
"Gentlemen," Bele said, almost airily, "we are discussing a matter of degree. Surely, stealing a shuttlecraft cannot be equated with the murder of thousands of people?"
"We don't know that Lokai has done that," Spock said.
"Well, the one thing we're agreed on is that Lokai is a criminal."
"We are agreed," Kirk said, "that he took a shuttle-craft—excuse me. Kirk here."
"Captain," Uhura's voice said, "I have your communication from Starfleet Command."
"Fine, Lieutenant. Read it out."
"Starfleet Command extends greetings to Commissioner Bele of the planet Cheron. His urgent request to be transported to his planet with the man he claims prisoner has been taken under serious consideration. It is with great regret that we report we cannot honor that request. Intragalactic treaty clearly specifies that no being can be extradited without due process. In view of the circumstances we have no doubt that after a hearing at Starbase, Commissioner Bele will be provided transportation, but whether with or without his prisoner remains to be determined. End of message."
Bele's face was a study in the attempt to retain a bland mask over anger. "As always," he said, "Lokai has managed to gain allies, even when they don't recognize themselves as such. He will evade, delay and escape again, and in the process put innocent beings at each other's throats—for a cause they have no stake in, but which he will force them to espouse violently by twisting their minds with his lies, his loathsome accusations, his foul threats."
"I assure you, Commissioner," Kirk said, "our minds will not be twisted by Lokai—or by you."
"And you're a leader of men—a judge of character?" Bele said contemptuously. "It is obvious to the most simpleminded that Lokai is of an inferior breed . . ."
"The evidence of our eyes, Commissioner," Spock said, "is that he is of the same breed as yourself."
"Are you blind, Commander Spock?"
"Obviously not; but I see no significance in which side of either of you is white. Perhaps the experience of my own planet may help you to see why. Vulcan was almost destroyed by the same conditions and characteristics that threaten to destroy Cheron. We were a people like you—wildly emotional, often committed to irrationally opposing points of view, to the point of death and destruction. Only the discipline of logic saved our people from self-extinction."
"I am delighted Vulcan was saved, Commander, but expecting Lokai and his land to act with self-discipline is like expecting a planet to stop orbiting its sun."
"Maybe you're not a sun, and Lokai isn't a planet," Kirk said. "Give him a chance to state his grievances—listen to him—hear him out. Maybe he can change; maybe he wants to change."
"He cannot."
"Change is the essential process of all existence," Spock said. "For instance: The people of Cheron must have once been monocolored."
"Eh? You mean like both of you?"
"Yes, Commissioner," Kirk said. "There was a time—long ago, no doubt—when that must have been true."
Bele stared at them incredulously for a moment, and then burst into uproarious laughter.
While he was still recovering, the intercom sounded. "Scott here, Captain. We are orbiting Ariannus. We're ready with the decontamination procedure and Ariannus reports all ground precautions complete."
"Very good, Scotty, let her rip. Kirk out."
"I once heard," Bele said, still smiling, "that on some of your planets the people believe that they are descended from apes."
"Not quite," Spock said. "The apes are humanity's cousins, not their grandfathers. They evolved from common stock, in different directions. But in point of fact, all advanced forms of life have evolved from more primitive stages. Mutation produces changes, and the fittest of these survives. We have no reason to believe that we are at the end of the process—although no doubt the development of intelligence, which enables us to change our environment at will, has slowed down the action of selection."
"I am aware of the process," Bele said, somewhat ironically, "and I stand corrected on the detail. But I have told you that we are a very old race and a long-lived one. We have every reason to believe that we are the end of the process. The change is lost in antiquity, but it seems sensible to assume that creatures like Lokai, of generally low intelligence and virtually no moral fiber, represent an earlier stage."
"Lokai has sufficient intelligence to have evaded you for a thousand years," Kirk said. "And from what I've seen of you, that can't have been easy to do."
"Nevertheless, regardless of occasional clever individuals, whom we all applaud, his people are as I have described them. To suggest that behind both of us is a monochrome ancestor . . ."
The buzzer sounded again. "Captain, Scott here again. We have completed the decontamination orbit. Orders?"
"Program for Starbase 4. We'll be right with you."
Bele was showing signs of his strained and intense look of concentration which Kirk had no reason to recall with confidence. Kirk said, in the tone of an order, "Join us on the bridge, Commissioner?"
"Nothing I would like better."
But when they arrived, the bridge personnel were in turmoil. They were clustered around the computer, at which Scott was stationed.
"What's wrong?" Spock asked.
"I don't rightly know, Mr. Spock. I was trying to program for Starbase 4—as ordered—but I can't get a response."
Spock made a quick examination. "Captain, some of the memory banks are burned out."
"See if you can determine which ones."
"I will save you that trouble, Mr. Spock," Bele said. "They are in Directional Control and in the Self-Destruct circuit. You caught me by surprise with that Destruct procedure before." As he spoke, the fire sheath began to form around him. "Now can we go on to Cheron without any more discussion?"
"Stand clear of him," Kirk said. "Guard, shoot to stun."
The heat promptly increased. "I cannot block your weapon," Bele said, "but my heat shield will go out of control if I am rendered unconscious. This will destroy not only everyone here, but much of the ship's bridge itself."
The Cheronian was certainly a virtuoso at producing impasses. As he and Kirk glared at each other, the elevator doors parted and Lokai came storming out to the Captain.
"So this is the justice you promised after Ariannus! You have signed my death warrant! What do you do—carry justice on your tongues? Or will you fight and die for it?"
"After so many years of leading the fight," Kirk observed, "you seem very much alive."
"I doubt that the same can be said for many of his followers," Spock said.
Bele laughed contemptuously. At once, a fiery sheath grew also around Lokai.
"You're finished, Lokai. We've got your kind penned in their districts in Cheron. And they'll stay that way. You've combed the Galaxy and come up with nothing but monocolored primitives who snivel that they've outgrown fighting."
"I have given up on these useless pieces of bland flesh," Lokai raged. "But as for you, you—you half of a tyrant . . ."
"You image in a cheap mirror . . ."
They rushed together. Their heat shields fused into a single, almost solid mass as they struggled. Its edges drove the crew back, and wavered perilously near to the control boards.
"Bele!" Kirk shouted. "Keep this up and you'll never get to Cheron, you'll have wrecked the bridge! This will be your last battlefield—your thousand years of pursuit wasted!"
The combatants froze. Then Bele threw Lokai away from him, hard. Lokai promptly started back.
"And Lokai, you'll die here in space," Kirk continued. "You'll inspire no more disciples. Your cause will be lost."
Lokai stopped. Then his heat shield went down, and so, a moment later, did Bele's.
"Captain," Spock said, "I believe I have found something which may influence the decision. I can myself compute with moderate rapidity when deprived of the machine . . ."
"Yes, and beat the machine at chess, too. Go on."
"Because of our first involuntary venture in the direction of Cheron, our orbit around Ariannus was not the one originally planned. I believe we can leave it for Starbase 4 in a curve which will pass us within scanning range of Cheron. With extreme magnification, we might get a visual readout. I can feed Mr. Sulu the coordinates; he will have to do the rest of the piloting by inspection, as it were, but after the piloting he did for us behind the Klingon lines* I am convinced he could fly his way out of the Cretan labyrinth if the need arose." *See Spock Must Die!
"I believe that too," Kirk said. "But what I don't see is what good you think will come out of the maneuver."
"Observing these strangers and their irreconcilable hatreds," Spock said, "has given me material to draw certain logical conclusions. At present it is only a hypothesis, but I think there would be value in testing it."
Anything Spock said was a possibly valid hypothesis was very likely to turn out to be what another man would have called a law of nature. Kirk said, "It is so ordered."
The visual readout of Cheron was wobbly, but growing clearer; Sulu had sufficiently improved upon Spock's rather indefinite course corrections so that the moment of closest approach would be not much over 15,000 miles. It was an Earthlike planet, but somewhat larger, by perhaps a thousand miles of diameter. Both Bele and Lokai were visibly moved by the sight. Well, a thousand years is a long time, Kirk thought, even for a long-lived race.
"There is your home, gentlemen," he said. "Not many details yet, but if you represent the opposing factions there typically, we must be picking up a raging battle."
"No, sir," Spock said from his console. The words could not have been simpler, but there was something in his tone—could it possibly have been sadness?—that riveted Kirk's attention, and that of the Cheronians as well. "No conflicts at all."
"What are you picking up?" Kirk said.
