by Lee Correy
How good is it? How long will it last? I wish I knew.
Unlike those who drafted the Constitution of the USA, we had the knowledge of the known universe available instantaneously at our fingertips in the ship's computer memory banks. Unlike the delegates to the Babel Convention, there was only one planet with three power groups involved.
Maybe this wasn't a hasty agreement after all. Maybe it will work. But the Mercans are going to have to find out for themselves because they're the ones who wrote the Enterprise Agreement, and they're the ones who agreed to abide by it. Scott, Spock, McCoy, and I acted only as advisers, providing the inputs the Mercans wanted from the history of the planets of the Federation.
The Agreement isn't simple. After all, the Mercan culture isn't simple. In our short stay here, we haven't even started to unravel it, much less experience a great deal of it. For example, the Mercans possess highly developed entertainment arts, both passive and performing. They have an educational system, but we haven't had the chance to see it because we've been too busy; it must be a good system, because it trains their citizens well in a complex planet-wide culture tied together by the cheap and instantly available traveler system. Mercan is something like Earth might have been if travel had turned out to be as universal as communications there.
The crux of the matter was going back to the roots of the system that had existed when we arrived here. I'll leave a lot of the analysis up to the Federation xeno-sociology and anthropology teams who will follow. But it's very simple and goes right back to the basic definition of a social organization, something we knew about on Earth for centuries but which was turned into a science when the first space colonies provided a means to test social systems in isolation. In any social organization, an individual relinquishes some basic rights in order to participate in the greater security of the group. This requires some modification of individual behavior, plus some means to coerce an unwilling individual into the proper mode of behavior. This requires laws, rules, regulations, and codes of behavior. I live under several every day and don't even bother to think about them. The Mercans have lived under similar conditions for as long as they can remember.
When the Mercans realized that the end of the Ordeal would not require a complete change of social organization, but a modification of what already existed, it was relatively simple, according to my First Officer, Mister Spock, who has already analyzed the outcome to his logical satisfaction.
Once the Ordeal was no longer a factor in Mercan life, none of the three groups was either a challenge or a threat to the other.
The Guardians were just that: the guardians of the laws of Mercan. It was unfortunate that their remote ancestors, being the intelligentsia of the planet at the time, also discovered the Mysteries of Mercaniad that permitted them to predict the Ordeal. That grew out of proportion with respect to the real role of the Guardians; they are the ones who enact and interpret the rules of conduct between Mercans and their various institutions. Once the Guardians understood that, they became the de facto government of the Abode … as they really were all along. And under the provisions of the Agreement, they'll attempt to expand their ranks. They think they can do it by means of competitive examination once they've learned how our lawyers are trained and then admitted to the legal practice by examination. Well, we'll have to see how it works for the Mercans. . . .
The Proctorate, on the other hand, is the Mercan equivalent of the social organization that enforces the rules of social conduct. Elsewhere, they may be called the police, the military, the guard, or Star Fleet. There was not much need to change the Proctorate under the Enterprise Agreement because they already have their own procedure for selecting, training, and admitting new members. I have no reservations about the possibility of the Proctors taking over; in the first place, as Lenos admitted, they haven't fought in a long time because the code duello takes care of most of the fighting urge of the Mercans of both sexes. (I don't think I mentioned the fact that the Mercan women, including Delin, carry sidearms as well, and that the Mercans protect their women but have no chivalrous code that we humans inherited from the Arabs.) I know why Lenos and his Proctors chose Spock to sit with them; like the Proctors, Spock is basically a very violent man who keeps his emotions under tight control and who doesn't like to fight … except during pon farr, when I personally know that Spock can be very violent indeed. And to some extent, I too understand the Proctors. The military/naval profession is a strange one because of the reluctance of its professional members to engage in the activities of the profession.
The Technic, who thought they were the political saviors of the Abode, discovered when the chips were down they really didn't want the job because they were interested in things, not people. This isn't true of all the Technic members, because those who were the staunchest anti-Guardian Technics would probably have made better Guardians, even though they were rebels. The Technic was afraid of the Guardians who were afraid of the Technic. After all, the Technic was discovering things that didn't match the dogma of the Guardians; the Guardians were afraid that the Technic knowledge would unseat them as "keepers of the faith," so they tried to suppress the Technic. They were a threat to each other. In stabilizing Mercaniad and removing the Ordeal as a factor in Mercan life, we didn't realize at that time we were removing that threat. The Technic knows now that they're free to investigate anything they want to, but they also now realize that this freedom of inquiry carries with it the obligation to openly disseminate what they learn, especially to the Guardians, who, in turn, now realize that they must modify the rules and codes on the basis of new information from the Technic.
I think it's stable. But I'm not sure. The Enterprise Agreement includes checks and balances, and one of the most important of these is the willingness of the Mercans to accept the Articles of Federation of the UFP.
Now, at last, we can get busy putting the Enterprise into shape to return to the Orion Arm. But the best that I can do is look over Scott's shoulder and try to smooth out diplomatic problems that occur. . . .
"Captain, it isn't goin' to work. I canna get these Technic people to follow my instructions. They keep comin' up with their own little improvements," the Engineering Officer complained to Kirk. "I give 'em the worn part … and they give me back three exactly like it: worn out, even to the scratch and rub marks!"
"Well, what did you tell them, Scotty?" Kirk wanted to know.
"I told 'em to make me a new part just like the old one."
"And they did, didn't they?"
"I'll say they did!"
"Why don't you give them a drawing instead?"
"Because their dimensional system is different and their number system is a mess, as I told ye before. Also, their alloying techniques are different."
"Have you tried showing them the warp drive and explaining it to them? Wouldn't that help them understand what you want from them?"
"I did that, Captain," Scotty kept complaining. "Othol understands it perfectly, he says. And he keeps wantin' to make improvements in my engines."
"Well, they've taken a different cut at antimatter power. Will some of the improvements work?"
"I canna tell until we try to exceed Warp Factor One. And if the improvement doesn't work right, it's a kind of final way to do testing. I don't think you could call it 'nondestructive testing' under any set of rules."
Kirk knew that this was just his engineer's way of discharging tension, although he didn't dismiss it entirely from his mind. They were still a long way from a Starbase, and the Enterprise had to be able to sustain Warp Factor Six once under way.
But Kirk was breathing a lot easier. The remaining problems were mainly technical in nature; they could be solved, given enough time. And with the Enterprise Agreement, time was no longer as critical as it had been.
As a matter of fact, it gave Kirk the opportunity to give his crew a little of the "rest and relaxation" that their original scientific survey mission had been intended to provide. It would se
rve another purpose as well, because the Abode would be petitioning for membership in the Federation … and a shore leave by thoroughly briefed Star Fleet personnel would provide an interesting two-way street of information and understanding.
Since Enterprise personnel on the Abode would be subject to the Code, the obvious person to brief them on it was Lenos, Prime Proctor of Mercan. Lenos only had to do it once. Kirk assigned Uhura to make a briefing tape to be shown to all personnel before beaming down. This tape not only provided the necessary information on the ultrapolite Mercan culture for the Enterprise crew members—some of whom were from some planetary cultures that were rather loose and frank in comparison—but also gave Kirk a valuable documentary to take back.
Naturally, there were confrontations, as there always are when two greatly different cultures interface. But Kirk's standing order was to wear hand phasers in sight, set to stun, there being severe penalties for those crew members who fired a phaser on Mercan with any other setting. In spite of the crudity of the Mercan hand weapons, some of the Mercans turned out to be reasonably good marksmen. Bones McCoy had to patch a few holes in some of the crew members and remove steel slugs from others, including the scrutable Mister Sulu, who was not the samurai he thought himself to be. . . .
But Sulu turned up with a magnificent collection of Mercan hand weapons for which he traded part of his collection of Earth swords. Somehow he managed to get several members of Scotty's harried engineering crew to fit out a crude shooting range down in the secondary hull. Kirk didn't discover this until much later, although Sulu regaled his Captain with the glories of collecting Mercan firearms.
Several weeks passed. The repairs to the warp drive were indeed extensive and were not ameliorated by the difficulties of matching Star Fleet technology with Mercan technology.
"I'm taking aboard a large quantity of these lowgrade Mercan dilithium crystals, Captain. We've made up a unit that uses several of them in parallel, and we can operate them as standby units. I dinna want to trust this long trip to dilithiums whose condition may have been strained by the gravitational jump that brought us here."
"When can we plan to get under way, Scotty?" Kirk wanted to know. Things seemed to be working out well on Mercan, and Kirk wanted to get moving again. The sooner they got back to Starbase 4 and the sooner the Federation was able to send a ship back to Mercan, the better. The Enterprise Agreement might be working now, but only Kirk knew how fragile it might become if the Federation did not respond with its presence in short order.
Scott held up four fingers of his right hand. "Four days … if I can make this bloody Mercan technology match with ours. We've got a lot of testing to do. . . ."
"Then everything's been basically repaired?"
"Aye, but I dinna ken it will work, Captain."
"Mister Scott, we will break orbit in six watches and proceed under impulse power so you can make your tests in an under-way situation," Kirk instructed him.
"Captain, if something blows, we're in trouble."
"It won't blow, Scotty. You're too good an engineer to let that happen."
Any chance of engine trouble, Kirk knew, was possible but remote. It would be a concern until the ship passed Warp Factor One, but Kirk was willing to risk it.
He was far more concerned about the course home. If they encountered any of the extreme gravitational turbulence that had brought them to the Abode in the first place, it could mean real trouble with a hay-wired warp drive unit … which is what Kirk considered it to be until Scott had the chance to go over it very thoroughly with the sophisticated equipment of Starbase 4. He put Spock, Sulu, and Chekov to work on the problem of getting back to the Orion Arm in the safest and most expeditious fashion.
"I see no problem, Captain," Spock remarked in an offhand manner. "Having once been through such a gravitational fold, I'm aware of the sensor indications that precede the event. As a result, I can assure you that I will be most vigilant indeed to ensure that it doesn't happen again."
"I know that, Spock. But let's make sure."
The departure from Mercan was, as Kirk expected and wanted it to be, formal in the best sense of Mercan politeness. The first ceremony took place in the atrium of the Guardian Villa overlooking the wine-dark sea around Celerbitan. Gifts were exchanged first, Kirk presenting Pallar with a tricorder in reciprocation for an elaborately decorated traveler control from Pallar. That control unit would be of great interest to Federation technical people, and Kirk knew that the Technic would pore over the tricorder, giving Mercan its first communications/information technology other than the computers of its traveler, commercial, and educational systems. There were no flags, no anthems, no twenty-one-gun salutes; those were not a part of Mercan protocol. But it was different during the second and final ceremony in the recreational garden on Deck 8 in the Enterprise, where Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scotty beamed up with the Mercans. There was an honor guard, the UFP banner, and an anthem. Such things would be part of the diplomatic scene at UFP Headquarters, and Kirk had no real choice but to carry on the tradition here, in spite of its wide divergence from that of Mercan.
Kirk was not surprised when Pallar, Lenos, and Thallan—representing the three major organizations of Mercan—presented the two ambassadors pro tem from Mercan to the Federation: Delin and Orun.
"I know you first met these two as young rebels with the Technic," Pallar explained, "but, as you understand now, they would have been outstanding Guardians except for their excessive curiosity. Under the Enterprise Agreement, it no longer makes a difference. I believe they're open-minded and intelligent enough to properly represent the Abode to the Federation … and I rather envy the things they're going to see and learn about."
"We'll have stories to tell when we return," Delin promised.
"And this time I think you'll all believe them," Orun added.
Once the three Mercan leaders had beamed back down, Kirk reverted to his role of star-ship captain with great relief. But he did remember his diplomatic role enough to ask, "Delin, would you and Orun wish to watch our departure from the Bridge?"
He didn't need to ask.
In the command seat again, Kirk knew they were going home in spite of the strange and sometimes baffling repairs that Scotty had made with Mercan help. Kirk knew his ship. He knew she was ready for star travel. He looked around the Bridge with satisfaction. "Departments report, please."
Chekov did not look up. "Course plotted and laid in."
Sulu did turn and flash a brief smile at Kirk. "Ready to leave orbit, sir."
Kirk punched a button on the arm of the seat. "Mister Scott, how about it?"
"As ready as we'll ever be, Captain."
Kirk turned to face Uhura, who was sitting impassively at her console. "I'm afraid we haven't kept you very busy on this mission, Lieutenant," he remarked.
"That's quite all right, Captain. I've enjoyed the rest," Uhura replied with a smile.
"Well, we'll get you busy again. Put Mercan on the main screen and keep it there as we leave orbit."
"Aye, sir."
Spock was sitting passively with his fingertips together forming a steeple. "Sir, the ship is ready in all respects for star flight."
"Thank you, Mister Spock. Mister Sulu, impulse power. Take us out of orbit. Accelerate to Warp Factor Point-nine-five and report reaching."
"All ahead on impulse power. We have left orbit."
It was slow at first, but the image of Mercan could be seen getting smaller as the Enterprise moved gradually away from the planet under impulse drive.
"You have a beautiful Abode," Kirk told the two young diplomats. "I'm sure that it'll be a most welcome member to the Federation."
Orun's voice was a bit unsteady, and Kirk noticed a tear in the corner of Delin's eye. "It's not at all like using the traveler for the first time; it is more like becoming responsible-old and leaving home to make a new home."
Delin merely rubbed her eye and added, "Well, Orun, is it anything like you imagine
d it to be in that argument that led to your confrontation with Othol … and that was interrupted by the arrival of Captain Kirk?"
The young Mercan looked at his companion. "No, it's not. And please do not remind me of that again, because I missed widely. . . ."
"I'm glad that you did," Delin admitted.
The turbolift door swished open and Bones McCoy walked in, making his usual post-departure visit to the Bridge, a ritual that he rarely missed unless there was serious work to be done in Sick Bay. He stepped to the side of the command seat and watched the image of Mercan grow smaller on the viewscreen. "Congratulations, Jim. It's not every star-ship captain who manages to bring a whole new civilization into the Federation."
"Bones, it wasn't easy."
"Knowing you, I never had the slightest doubt you'd manage to bring it off."
"I did."
"I know you did. I'm responsible for periodically reviewing the captain's log."
Kirk nodded as he watched Mercan grow smaller on the screen. "Bones, in some ways, I still feel like Hernando Cortes or Francisco Pizarro. . . ."
"Really? It seems to me that there were other ship captains who discovered new civilizations and managed to arrange for the amalgamation of those cultures into the mainstream," McCoy observed quietly. "Have you ever considered comparing yourself to Commodore Matthew C. Perry instead?"
Spock left his post at the library computer console and walked over to stand on the other side of the command seat from McCoy. "If it will make you feel any better, Captain, Mercan had a very high probability of being discovered by the Federation, since it lies directly in the path of the Federation's exploration and colonization efforts into the Sagittarius Arm. Our own discovery of Mercan falls well within the three-sigma limit of the probability of its discovery in this century. . . ."
"And I suppose that bit of statistical gobbledygook also falls within the same three-sigma limit you quoted when you wanted to tickle Mercaniad, Spock," McCoy interjected acidly.
"Doctor, I'm surprised that you don't use more statistical evaluation in your medical work. Although I am appreciative of your efforts in rebuilding my right hand, I must say I was appalled when you were not able to give me any probabilities concerning whether or not I would ever be able to use it again. . . ."
