The Abode of Life

by Lee Correy

  The Mercan social-purpose weapon was inaccurate, difficult to use, and deadly only if the bullet happened to hit a vital organ. This was borne out when Orun took them to a practice range. At ten paces—about ten meters—accepted by the Mercans as the standard distance where one squared off against an opponent, only Kirk could hit the silhouette target the size of a Mercan. McCoy passed up the opportunity for target practice, saying that he wouldn't be using the weapon under any circumstances. Besides, he found himself busy attending to the sore wrist of Janice Rand caused by the tremendous recoil of the hand weapon.

  "It makes a lot of noise and leaves a big cloud of stinkin' smoke smellin' of hydrogen sulfide, but ye can't hit a thing with it. It wasn't really designed to be lethal. Either Sulu or I could make a better firearm than this in the ship's machine shop … or we could modify this one so that it'd be accurate with a muzzle velocity that'd really hit hard," Scotty observed. "However, it does one thing very well indeed: it gives ye the satisfaction of having complied with the rules … loudly and vigorously."

  "Which means we'd better not give these people hand phasers until they give up dueling," McCoy observed, "or there'll be wholesale slaughter on this planet."

  They had visitors waiting for them when they returned to their quarters below the Guardian Villa. Pallar was there with six other Guardians, three of whom were Mercan women.

  "Good day, James Kirk … Janice Rand … Leonard McCoy … Montgomery Scott … Orun ar Partan," Pallar greeted them as they entered their villa.

  "Good day, Pallar." Kirk returned the greeting as graciously and politely as Pallar. "We were not aware that you were to visit us. I'm sorry that we weren't here. I hope you haven't waited long."

  "Not at all. No offense, James Kirk," Pallar replied. The long-winded mannerisms of Mercan bothered Kirk, but he remembered that he was now armed with a Mercan sidearm, a fact that was not lost upon Pallar.

  "Ah, I see that you are again armed. . . ."

  "No, Pallar, we're armed with your weapons for the first time, because we didn't wish to violate one of the basic customs of Mercan," Kirk explained. "We haven't met your colleagues, Pallar."

  The Guardian One rectified this immediately, introducing each as a Guardian of varying rank—Tombah, Noal, and Johon were the men; the women were introduced as Aldys, Parna, and Jona. Pallar did not elaborate on their rank or their individual interest or specialty. However, Kirk did note that none of them were introduced by any name other than what appeared to be their Mercan given name, in contrast to Orun, who bore the lineage name of "ar Partan." Someday, Kirk thought, he'd get all the customs sorted out. However, he wasn't even certain of all the customs of a well-known place such as Vulcan yet. The xenosociologists were certainly going to have a field day on Mercan, if the Guardians would permit it.

  "And to what do we owe this visit?" Kirk wanted to know.

  "My colleagues here are experts and specialists in both the operations of the Technic and in the history and interpretation of the Code of the Abode, particularly as it relates to our legends of the Beginning," Pallar explained. "We wish to question you about your origin and the Technic procedures that produced you."

  "Guardian Pallar," Orun spoke up, "I'm a member of the Technic and proud of it. I tell you in all truth that these four are not of the Technic, nor did the Technic produce them through bio-engineering."

  "That's quite impossible!" Guardian Johon snapped. "They're obviously not normal Mercans. Look at them! They're short. They're more heavily built. They don't have our skin color. And they're dressed in clothing that's different from anything worn anywhere on the Abode. If they're not the result of Technic work, where else could they have come from?"

  "Guardian Johon," Kirk snapped, his hand going to the butt of the Mercan pistol he now wore at his right side. The Guardian who had spoken so sharply reacted in a like manner. "Your Code requires that a person be ready to back up his manners with his life; we are now prepared to do so if necessary. Your Code, if I understand it correctly, also requires that a person speak the truth as he knows it. I'll tell you the truth as the four of us know it. If you'll accept it as the truth after you hear it, even though it may strike at the very roots of your basic beliefs, we can then proceed to discuss what we can do so that the facts we present to you may have the least impact upon your way of life. Will you listen?"

  "We'll listen, Technic," said the woman Guardian Parna. "However, be aware of the fact that we believe the Technic capable of manipulating minds as well as physical bodies."

  "We're capable of doing neither," Orun put in. "What we're able to do with animals is one thing. With people, our technology isn't to that point yet … and probably won't get there. . . ."

  "These four mutants tell us otherwise," Guardian Noal growled.

  Kirk faced him as well. "Will you listen, Guardian?"

  "Reluctantly, James Kirk."

  The star-ship captain turned to their leader, Guardian One Pallar. "Your Code speaks of manners and polite treatment of people, Pallar. The actions of your Guardians seem to be otherwise. We haven't threatened you, even though we're capable of controlling power far beyond anything I've yet seen on the Abode. We wish to cooperate, yet we're answered with insults. We have no desire to unduly disturb the life of Mercan, and we offer to assist you in reducing the effects of our visit here. I have no interest in seeing either the Guardians or the Technic prevail in the struggle that seems to be growing between your two groups. I don't expect you to change your beliefs at once, but I'd like the opportunity to tell you who we are, where we came from, and why we're here on the Abode. Under those conditions, will you instruct your colleagues to withhold their comments and attempt to maintain open minds?"

  "Tell us your tale, James Kirk. My revered colleagues, I entreat you to listen so that we may discuss it later."

  Chapter Seven

  It was probably one of the most difficult tasks ever faced by Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise. He'd encountered more advanced races, such as the Organians, as well as primitive humanoid races, like those on Neural. He'd dealt with Klingons, Romulans, and other alien creatures, such as the Horta. But never before had he encountered an advanced, sophisticated humanoid culture like that of Mercan, isolated from the rest of the Galaxy since beyond the memory of any inhabitant and relying only on legends that had probably been garbled far beyond their original meanings by telling and retelling over the ages. Insofar as there was time at Star Fleet Academy, he'd been exposed to many aspects of xeno-sociology and diplomacy, even to the extent of running simulations of hypothetical incidents.

  There were going to have to be some changes made in the Academy curriculum in this regard, Kirk thought. He knew he was literally facing the Mercan equivalent of the Holy Inquisition here … and it had been a long time since Earth humans had had to undergo such an ordeal. As he recalled, it took 346 years for religious leaders on Earth to pardon and forgive Galileo. Kirk hoped that it wouldn't take that long on Mercan.

  Kirk began by asking, "Your legends of the Beginning say that Mercaniad and the Abode came from the Ribbon of Night, sometimes called the Spiral of Life, correct?"

  Pallar nodded. "Our remote ancestors came from the Ribbon of Night once the Abode was completely equipped to serve as the Abode of Life in the Universe … and it's been our duty to maintain the Abode of Life as the sole place where life exists in the Universe. . . ."

  "But all this started in the Ribbon, right?" Kirk persisted.

  "Unquestionably," Tombah interjected. "I've made a study of the ancient legends from the remnants of the records that are still in our sacred possession here. There's no question of the fact that Mercaniad and the Abode, with everything on the Abode as you see it today, once came from the Ribbon of Night."

  "And, Guardian Tombah, since you're a recognized expert on the subject, how were Mercaniad and the Abode formed in the Ribbon?" Kirk persisted, trying the approach of asking questions in such a way that the answers of the Guardians
would eventually lead them to the final conclusions Kirk desired—an old trick of debate that he'd learned the hard way from Lieutenant Commander John Woods, one of the most irascible and brilliant of his professors at the Academy those long years ago.

  "By accretion of the glowing rocks of vitaliar material of which the Ribbon is composed," the Guardian replied without pause. "Much of the Abode is made up of this vitaliar material. The same phenomenon that cause vitaliar to glow with light in the dark provided the energy to assemble the basic building blocks of life, the spiral molecules that contain the genetic code. . . ."

  "Have you been able to duplicate this process?" Kirk wanted to know.

  "Of course not. We are here to ensure that life survives, not to attempt to duplicate it other than by natural processes," Tombah snapped back.

  "The Technic has done so," Orun put in. "It is no secret that we can now reproduce the spiral molecule from basic chemicals. However, we cannot yet assemble such molecules to produce a living organism as simple as a mud-worm."

  "Why, that is a gross violation of the Code of the Abode!" It was the first time that the woman Aldys had spoken up, and it was with high indignation.

  "We are creating life, not destroying it," Orun pointed out.

  Pallar raised his hand. "Honored colleagues and guests. We, the Guardians, came here today to ask questions and get answers. Instead, we have been answering questions. And we have been telling these Technic people things that every Mercan knows from the time of learning-old. James Kirk, you're intelligent and clever. But we will ask the questions."

  "Honored Guardian," Kirk fired back, "you gave us permission to tell our story of where we came from. You didn't stipulate how we were to tell that story. I choose to do so by an ancient technique known to us as the Socratic Method. When I finish, you'll know where we come from and why. May I proceed?"

  "You speak of methods we know not of," Aldys replied.

  "In that case, perhaps you'll learn as much from us as we're learning from you, leading to a closer friendship because of shared information," Kirk said smoothly. "I'm certain that Guardians don't stop learning things once they have attained the status of Guardianship."

  "Proceed, James Kirk. Whether your story is true or not, I must state a fascination for your logical thinking processes," Pallar admitted.

  "I wish Spock had heard that," McCoy muttered to himself.

  "Very well, Guardians of the Code of the Abode, the four of us look different and speak differently because we came from the same place that you came from: the Ribbon of Night, which is truly the Spiral of Life because it contains billions of stars like Mercaniad and places like the Abode." Kirk held up his hand to quell the explosion of emotional comments that started to come from all the Guardians at this remark. "This information doesn't invalidate the Code of the Abode. The Abode is indeed the only place where life exists in this part of the Universe. But life does exist elsewhere in the Ribbon of Night where your ancestors came from. Some of this life is similar to you—as you can see. We all come from an abode called Earth or Sol III. There are several hundred more of us who together have come to the Abode by accident from the Ribbon of Light in the same manner that Mercaniad and the Abode were transported here. Our traveling world that we built ourselves is in your sky now, and we can make it visible to you tonight as it passes overhead. We're prepared to prove to you, Guardians, the truth of every word I've said. Doctor Leonard McCoy is prepared to work with your Guardian medical and health experts to show you that we're similar to you and yet different. . . ."

  "This is gross nonsense!" Johon snorted. "Guardian Pallar, must we listen to such obvious fabrications of untruths that fly in the face of the Code of the Abode and all our legends and truths of the Beginning?"

  "There is nothing incompatible between your beliefs and what I've told you," Kirk put in quickly. "It is perhaps an extension of your beliefs—additional information, if you will. But we have no intention of attempting to undermine your authority on the Abode or to destroy your cultural heritage because that is contrary to our basic code of behavior."

  "The Technic manipulation of their bodies and minds has rendered them all quite insane, Guardian Pallar," Noal broke in. "I submit that it's quite proper for us to detain them as animals and to undertake a thorough biological examination of them in order to assess this latest Technic development. Since there are four of them, this provides us with sufficient samples to perform autopsies on one or two of them while at the same time leaving live ones for psychological probing. . . ."

  "Over my dead body!" Scotty growled.

  "Shut up, Scotty. That's the way it may be," Kirk told him quietly.

  "It's gettin' a bit out-o'-hand, Captain. Time we showed them what we can do."

  "No, Scotty, they'll just consider it to be another Technic development that they didn't know about," McCoy observed.

  "Don't worry, they're not going to use us as guinea pigs," Kirk promised. But he knew he was going to have to think fast to work his way out of this one. If he couldn't work with the Guardians as the political-social leaders of this planet, he'd have to work with the unknown Technic, whose only contact with them at this point was their fellow prisoner, Orun.

  But why hadn't the Technic shown up to rescue Orun?

  Pallar was still considering the remark from Guardian Noal. "That would take a full conclave of the Guardians. Permission to do such things to a life form that so closely resembles us would be a matter of utmost concern and would require considerable discussion. I cannot order what you suggest, Guardian Noal."

  "Then I request that messengers be sent to convene the Guardian Group," Noal replied.

  The Guardian woman Parna held up both hands and spoke for the first time. "Guardian One, it will be difficult to comply with Guardian Noal's request. Observations of Mercaniad indicate that a major Ordeal will occur before we'll be able to convene. Our efforts will have to be diverted to the Protection of Life against the Ordeal. We must begin moving people into the Keeps before Mercaniad dips below the horizon at Celerbitan tomorrow."

  "Duty before all else," Pallar sighed.

  "I therefore suggest that these Technic constructs be detained in the Guardian Keep until the Ordeal is finished. Then we may proceed with our conclave and studies," Guardian Jona suggested.

  "I have a better idea," Guardian Noal put in. "As the Guardian expert on health and medicine, I submit to you that these constructs may have been designed by the Technic to withstand the Ordeal. I think we should leave two of them on the surface to find out if this is true and take two of them into our Keep for later study. If two of them survive on the surface, we'll still have four to work with. If they don't, we'll have two of them that have been protected in our Keep."

  Kirk felt that it was time to assert himself as a Mercan if that was how the Guardians were going to treat him. "Guardian Noal," Kirk growled, slowly and deliberately moving his hand toward the butt of the pistol hung from the baldric at his right side. "The four of us take offense at being labeled animals. We demand an immediate apology or satisfaction. All four of us demand this!" He noted with pleasure that Scotty took the hint and had moved his hand to his gun, followed by Janice Rand and Bones McCoy.

  Pallar quickly stepped between Kirk and Noal.

  "Guardian Noal! You will refrain from such comments! Even if these four are Technic constructs, they are still Mercan and are behaving according to the Code of the Abode … regardless of their beliefs. They are much too valuable to be allowed to engage in a duel with you or anyone else. Should you prevail over any of them, I would be forced to declare that you had destroyed a valuable individual and that you had provoked the engagement. Unhand your weapons, all of you!"

  "I don't understand your classification of them as valuable, Guardian One," Noal said, removing his hand from his gun.

  There was a sly look on Pallar's long face. "Consider it in this light, fellow Guardians: they are Technic people. As Guardians, we have the age-old rig
ht to deny traveling to the Keeps during the Ordeal. We will therefore deny them this right. . . . and deny Orun as well. The consequences will certainly fall in our favor. . . ."

  "Of course." Guardian Johan brightened. "If we make this known—and it will be the first time in many Ordeals that persons were denied the safety of the Keeps—the Technic is certain to attempt to rescue them."

  "At which point we'll be able to secure additional Technic people for questioning, perhaps some whom we do not know of at this time," Guardian Jona added.

  "And if they're not rescued by the Technic, we'll find out whether or not these Technic constructs can withstand the Ordeal outside the Keeps," Guardian Noal said with head held high in approval. "However, may I suggest that we deny the Keeps to only two of them, Guardian One? If they don't survive, we'll still have two."

  "Who do you suggest should be denied?" Pallar asked.

  "James Kirk, who's voiced these heretical statements, and the obvious Technic member of the group, Engineer Montgomery Scott," Tombah recommended.

  "Very well," Pallar said in obvious conclusion, and drew himself up to his imposing full height. "It is the ruling of the Guardian Leaders One through Seven that James Kirk, Montgomery Scott and Orun ar Pathan be denied the protection of the Keeps during the forthcoming Ordeal because of their refusal to fully accept the tenets of the Code of the Abode and their belief in the heresies of the Technic. So be it!" He spread his hands before the five literal prisoners, mannered as usual in the Mercan tradition, and added, "We must now unfortunately take our leave. Proctor Lenos and his squad will arrive for McCoy and Rand shortly after Mercaniad rises tomorrow."

  Immediately the Guardian group left, Kirk took out his communicator and flipped it open. "Enterprise, this is Kirk. Let me speak with Mister Spock."