Star Trek - Blish, James - 07

by 07(lit)

  There could not have been any system-wide natural catastrophe, or the astronomers would have detected it, and probably even predicted it. An interplanetary war would have left a great amount of radioactive residue; but the instruments showed only normal background radiation. As for an epidemic, what disease could wipe out two planets in a week, let alone so quickly that not even a single distress signal could be sent out- and what disease could wipe out all forms of life?

  A part of the answer came almost at once as the ship's deflector screens snapped on. Something was approaching the Enterprise at multi-warp speed: neces-sarily, another ship. Nor did it leave a moment's doubt about its intentions. The bridge rang to a slamming jar. The Enterprise had been fired upon.

  "Shields holding, Captain," Scott said.

  "Good."

  "I fear it is a temporary condition," Spock said. "The shields absorbed energy equivalent to almost ninety of our photon torpedos."

  "Ninety, Mr. Spock?"

  "Yes, Captain. I may add, the energy used in repuls-ing that first attack has reduced our shielding power by approximately 20 percent. In other words, we can resist perhaps three more; the fourth one will get through."

  "Source?"

  "Something very small... bearing 123 degrees mark 18. Range, ninety thousand kilometers. Yet the sensors still do not register any life forms."

  "Nevertheless, we'll try talking. They obviously pack more wallop than we do. Lieutenant Uhura, patch my audio speaker into the translator computer and open all hailing frequencies."

  "Aye, sir... All hailing frequencies open."

  "To unidentified vessel, this is Captain Kirk of the USS Enterprise. We are on a peaceful mission. We mean no harm to you or to any life-form. Please com-municate with us." There was no answer. "Mr. Spock, do you have any further readings on the alien?"

  "Yes, sir. Mass, five hundred kilograms. Shape, roughly cylindrical. Length, a fraction over one meter."

  "Must be a shuttlecraft," Scott said. "Some sort of dependent ship, or a proxy."

  Spock shook his head. "There is no other ship on the sensors. The object we are scanning is the only possible source of the attack."

  "What kind of intelligent creatures could exist in a thing that size?"

  "Intelligence does not necessarily require bulk, Mr. Scott."

  "Captain, message coming in," Uhura said.

  The voice that came from the speaker was toneless, inflectionless, but comprehensible. "USS Enterprise, This is Nomad. My mission is non-hostile. Require communication. Can you leave your ship?"

  "Yes," Kirk said, "but it will not be possible to enter your ship because of size differential."

  "Non sequitur," said Nomad. "Your facts are uncoordinated."

  "We are prepared to beam you aboard our ship.

  Kirk's officers, except for Spock, reacted with alarm at this, but Nomad responded, "That will be satisfac-tory."

  "Do you require any special conditions, any par-ticular atmosphere or environment?"

  "Negative."

  "Please maintain your position. We are locked on to your coordinates and will beam you aboard." Kirk made a throat-cutting gesture to Uhura, who broke the contact.

  "Captain," Scott said, "you're really going to bring that thing in here?"

  "While it's on board, Mr. Scott, I doubt very much if it will do any more shooting at us. And if we don't do what it asks, we're a sitting duck for it right now. Lieutenant Uhura, have Dr. McCoy report to the Transporter Room. Mr. Spock, Scotty, come with me."

  The glowing swirl of sparkle that was the Transporter effect died, and Nomad was there, a dull metallic cylinder, resting in a horizontal position on the floor of the chamber. It was motionless, silent, and a little absurd. There were seams on its sides, indicating pos-sible openings, but there were no visible ports or sensors.

  Spock moved to a scanning station, then shook his head. "No sensor readings, Captain. It has some sort of screen which protects it. I cannot get through."

  There was a moment's silence. Then McCoy said: "What do we do now? Go up and knock?"

  As if in answer, the flat inflectionless voice of Nomad spoke again, now through the ship's intercom system. "Relate your point of origin."

  Kirk said, "We are from the United Federation of Planets."

  "Insufficient response. All things have a point of origin. I will scan your star charts."

  Kirk thought about this for a moment, then turned to Spock. "We can show it as a closeup of our system. As long as it has nothing to relate to, it won't know any-thing more important than it does now."

  "It seems a reasonable course," Spock said.

  "Nomad," Kirk told the cylinder, "If you would like to leave your ship, we can provide the necessary life-support systems."

  "Non sequitur. Your facts remain uncoordinated."

  "Jim," said McCoy, "I don't believe there's anyone in there."

  "I contain no parasitical beings. I am Nomad."

  "Och, it's a machine!" Scott said, brightening.

  "Opinion, Mr, Spock?"

  "Indeed, Captain, it is reacting quite like a highly sophisticated computer."

  "I am Nomad. What is 'opinion'?"

  "Opinion," Spock said, "is a belief, view or judg-ment."

  "Insufficient response."

  "What's your source of power?" Scott said.

  "It has changed since the point of origin. There was much taken from the other. Now I focus cosmic radiation, and am perpetual."

  Kirk drew Spock aside and spoke in a low voice. "Wasn't there a probe called Nomad launched from Earth back in the early two thousands?"

  "Yes. It was reported destroyed. There were no more in the series. But if this is that probe-"

  "I will scan your star charts now," Nomad said.

  "We'll bring them."

  "I have the capability of movement within your ship."

  After a moment's hesitation, Kirk said, "This way. Scotty, get our shields recharged as soon as possible. Spock, Bones, come with me."

  He led the way to the auxiliary control room, Nomad floating after him. The group considerably startled a crewman who was working there.

  Spock crossed to the console. "Chart fourteen A, sir?"

  Kirk nodded. The First Officer touched buttons quickly, and a view-screen lit up, showing a schematic chart of Earth's solar system-not, of course, to scale.

  "Nomad," Kirk said, "can you scan this?"

  "Yes."

  "This is our point of origin. A star we know as Sol."

  "You are from the third planet?"

  "Yes."

  "A planet with one large natural satellite?"

  "Yes."

  "The planet is called Earth?"

  "Yes it is," Kirk said, puzzled.

  An antenna slid from the side of the cylinder, swiveled, and centered upon him. He eyed it warily.

  "Then," said Nomad,, "you are the Creator-the Kirk. The sterilization procedure against your ship was a profound error."

  "What sterilization procedure?"

  "You know. You are the Kirk-the Creator. You programmed my function."

  "Well, I'm not the Kirk," McCoy said. "Tell me what your function is."

  The antenna turned to center on the surgeon. "This is one of your units, Creator?"

  "Uh... yes, he is."

  "It functions irrationally."

  "Nevertheless, tell him your function."

  The antenna retracted. "I am sent to probe for bio-logical infestations. I am to destroy that which is not perfect."

  Kirk turned to Spock, who was working at an exten-sion of the library computer. "Biological infestations? There never was any probe sent out for that."

  "I am checking its history," Spock said. "I should have a read-out in a moment,"

  Kirk turned back to Nomad. "Did you destroy the Malurian system? And why?"

  "Clarify."

  "The system of this star, Omega Ceti."

  "Not the system, Creator Kirk, only the unstable
biological infestation. It is my function."

  "Unstable manifestation!" McCoy said angrily. "The population of two planets!"

  "Doctor," Kirk said warningly. "Nomad, why do you call me Creator?"

  "Is the usage incorrect?"

  "The usage is correct," Spock put in quickly. "The Creator was simply testing your memory banks."

  What, Kirk wondered, was Spock on to now? Well, best keep silent and play along.

  "There was much damage in the accident," Nomad said.

  Kirk turned toward the crewman, who had been listening with growing amazement. "Mr. Singh, come over here, please. Mr. Spock, Doctor, go to the briefing room. Nomad, I will return shortly. This unit, called Singh, will see to your needs."

  There was no reaction from the cylinder. Kirk joined Spock and McCoy in the corridor. "Spock, you're on to something. What is it?"

  "A Nomad probe was launched from Earth in August of the year 2002, old calendar. I am convinced that this is the same probe."

  "Ridiculous," McCoy said. "Earth science couldn't begin to build anything with those capabilities that long ago."

  "Besides," Kirk added, "Nomad was destroyed."

  "Presumed destroyed by a meteor collision," Spock said. "I submit that it was badly damaged, but managed somehow to repair itself. But what is puzzling is that the original mission was a peaceful one." They had reached the briefing room, and the First Officer stepped aside to allow Kirk to precede him in. "The creator of Nomad was perhaps the most brilliant, though erratic, cyber-neticist of his time. His dream was to make a perfect thinking machine, capable of independent logic. His name was Jackson Roykirk."

  Light dawned. "Oho," Kirk said.

  "Yes, Captain, I believe Nomad thinks you are Roykirk, and that may well be why the attack was broken off when you hailed it. It responded to your name, as well as its damaged memory banks permitted. While we were in Auxiliary Control, I programmed the computer to show a picture of the original Nomad on the screen here."

  Spock switched on the screen. On it appeared, not a photograph, but a sketch. The size and shape indicated were about the same as the present Nomad, but the design was somehow rougher.

  "But that's not the same," McCoy said.

  "Essentially it is, Doctor. But I believe more hap-pened to it than just damage in the meteor collision. It mentioned 'the other'. The other what is still an un-answered question. Nomad was a thinking machine, the best that could be engineered. It was a prototype. How-ever, the entire program was highly controversial. It had many powerful enemies in the confused and inefficient Earth culture of that time. When Jackson Roykirk died, the Nomad program died with him."

  "But if it's Nomad," Kirk said, "what happened to alter its shape?"

  "I think it somehow repaired the damage it sus-tained."

  "Its purpose must have been altered. The directive to seek out and destroy biological infestations couldn't have been programmed into it."

  "As I recall, it wasn't," McCoy said. "Seems to me it was supposed to be the first interstellar probe to seek out new life-forms-only."

  "Precisely, Doctor," Spock said. "And somehow that programming has been changed. It would seem that Nomad is now seeking out perfect life-forms... per-fection being measured by its own relentless logic."

  "If what you say is true, Mr. Spock," Kirk said, "Nomad has effectively programmed itself to destroy all non-mechanical life."

  "Indeed, Captain. We have taken aboard our vessel a device which, sooner or later, must destroy us."

  "Bridge to Captain Kirk," said the intercom urgently.

  "Here, Scotty."

  "Sir, that mechanical beastie is up here on the bridge!"

  "On my way." Kirk tried to remember whether or not he, as the misidentified "Creator," had given Nomad a direct order to stay in the auxiliary control room. Evidently not.

  On the bridge Uhura, Scott and Sulu were on duty; Uhura had been singing softly to herself.

  "I always liked that song," Sulu said.

  As he spoke, the elevator doors opened, and Nomad emerged. It paused for a moment, antenna extended and swiveling, coming to rest at last on Uhura. It started towards her. (It was at this point that Scott had called for Kirk.)

  "What is the meaning of that?" Nomad said. "What form of communication?"

  Uhura stared; though she knew the device had been brought aboard, this was the first time she had actually seen it. "I don't know what you-oh, I was singing."

  "For what purpose is this singing?"

  "I don't know. Just because I felt like singing, felt like music."

  "What is music?"

  Uhura started to laugh-there was something in-herently ludicrous about discussing music with a machine-but the laugh died quickly. "Music is a pleasant arrangement of musical tones-sound vibrations of various frequencies, purer than those used in normal speech, and with associated harmonics. It can be immensely more complex than what I was doing just then."

  "What is its purpose?"

  Uhura shrugged helplessly. "Just for enjoyment."

  "Insufficient response," said the machine. A pencil of light shot out from it, resting a spot of light on her forehead, between and slightly above the eyes. "Think about music."

  Uhura's face went completely blank. Scott lunged to his feet. "Lieutenant! Get away from that thing-"

  The elevator doors opened and Kirk, Spock and McCoy entered. "Scotty, look out-" Kirk shouted.

  Scott had already reached the machine and grabbed for it, as if to shove it out of the way. There was no movement or effect from the craft, but the engineer was picked up and flung with tremendous impact against the nearest bulkhead. Sulu leapt up to yank Uhura out of the beam of light.

  Kirk gestured toward Scott and McCoy strode to him quickly and knelt. Then he looked up. "He's dead, Jim."

  For a moment Kirk stood stunned and appalled.

  Then fury rose to free him from his paralysis. "Why did you kill him?" he asked Nomad grimly.

  "That unit touched my screens."

  "That unit was my chief engineer." He turned to Uhura. "Lieutenant, are you all right?... Lieutenant!... Dammit, Nomad, what did you do to her?"

  "This unit is defective. Its thinking was chaotic. Ab-sorbing it unsettled my circuitry."

  "The unit is a woman," Spock said.

  "A mass of conflicting impulses."

  Kirk turned angrily away. "Take Mr. Scott below."

  "The Creator will effect repairs on the unit Scott?"

  "He's dead."

  "Insufficient response."

  "His biological functions have ceased." Kirk was only barely able to control his rage and sorrow.

  "If the Creator wishes," Nomad said emotionlessly, "I will repair the unit."

  Startled, Kirk looked at McCoy, who said, "There's nothing I can do, Jim. But if there's a chance, it'll have to be soon."

  "All right. Nomad, repair the unit."

  "I require tapes on the structure."

  Spock looked to McCoy. The surgeon said, "It'll need tapes on general anatomy, the central nervous system, one on the physiological structure of the brain. We'd better give it all the neurological studies we have. And tracings of Scotty's electro-encephalogram."

  Spock nodded and punched the commands into the library computer as McCoy called off the requirements. "Ready, Nomad."

  The device glided forward. A thin filament of wire extruded from it and touched a stud on the panel. Spock tripped a toggle and the computer whirred.

  Then it was over and the filament pulled back into Nomad. "An interesting structure. But, Creator, there are so few safeguards built in. It can break down from innumerable causes, and its self-maintenance systems are unreliable."

  "It serves me as it is, Nomad," Kirk said.

  "Very well, Creator. Where is the unit Scott now?"

  "Bones, take it to Sickbay." Kirk snapped a switch and said into his mike, "Security. Twenty-four hour two-man armed surveillance on Nomad. Pick it up in Sickbay." He turne
d to Spock. "Nomad is operating on some kind of energy. We've got to find out what it is and put a damper on it. Surely it can't be getting much cosmic radiation inside the Enterprise; we're well shielded. Let's feed in everything that's happened so far to the computer, and program for a hypothesis."