My entry for the AdAstra November Challenge, "The Choice" and a continuation of "No good deed goes unpunished".
Giving credit where credit is due to Pam Pietroforte, the writer of Deep Space Nine episode "Statistical Probalities." The following short story contains dialogue from that episode that had been cut for time.
All the possibilities that can happen, do happen in other quantum realities. Our choices determine which outcomes unfold. It's an interesting premise when considering whether one could have gone left instead of right or if one had made a different order at a restaurant, or maybe had gone to a different restaurant entirely. Could the evolution of sentient life on Earth have taken a completely different course if not for the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago? These are all interesting questions, one that we never know the answers to in our lifetimes. But here is one story of how one person made one very important choice.
They came to Deep Space 9 to meet Doctor Julian Bashir, a product of illegal genetic modifications who was still able to live a normal life. These four were not so lucky. Because of its illegality in the Federation, the black market doctors who performed accelerated critical neural pathway induction on these individuals were not fully qualified to perform this medical procedure. They were institutionalized because of severe mental side effects. Jack was short-tempered, anti-social, and narcissistic. Patrick had the emotional maturity of a four year old even well into his fifties. Lauren was nothing more than a genetically engineered ho-bag who flirted with any sentient life form that had a Y-chromosome. And Sarina was left in a semi-cataleptic state, almost completely unable to interact with the world around her. But they were four of the most brilliant Terrans you would ever encounter. They almost instantly came up with projections regarding the Dominion War that would have taken the experts at Starfleet months to deduce.
Unfortunately, things came to a head when the "Jack Pack"- as they were referred to by some-concluded that the war was unwinnable and that, if the Federation and its allies were to continue to put up a fight, then 900 billion casualties would result. 900 billion. Now that sounds absurd considering the Borg Invasion of 2381 made the Dominion War look like a bar brawl and resulted in only 63 billion casualties. Maybe that figure was the result of Jack's neuroses about the end of the world. After all, his group also became engaged in trying to stop a Big Crunch that will never happen. Their projections were based on a form of mathematics called psychohistory. It is a means of predicting the future based on actions of entire groups of people, not individuals. One individual's actions did put a damper on the Jack Pack's projections. Jack concluded that if they relayed secret military information to the Dominion, then the war and its outcome would be far less bloody. Perhaps only 2 billion deaths would result. Jack, Patrick, and Lauren decided to go ahead with this plan and left Sarina behind to guard Bashir.
Bashir woke up in a dark cargo bay-- converted to a dormitory for Jack and the others-- tied to a chair. They had all left. The padds they were working on were gone. In one corner, he saw Sarina emerge from the shadows, silent and staring blankly. "Sarina, where is everyone?" he asked, still feeling groggy. Perhaps Jack's right hook hurt more than he initially thought. An Augment, after all, did have five times the physical strength of most other humanoids. "Did they arrange a meeting with the Dominion?"
Sarina did not answer. It was as if she did not hear him. Or she just didn't care.
"Listen to me," Bashir persisted. "We have to stop them before it's too late. Untie me, please. Sarina..."
Sarina remained silent for a very long moment. Her lips trembled as if she was trying to speak. "I'm sorry," she blurted out in a voice with no tone, no emotion. Yet something in her voice suggested a crisis of conscience. She wanted to be Jack's compliant little minion, but knew at the same time that what the others were doing was wrong. "I can't untie you," she coldly continued.
"Yes, you can. If you think it's the right thing to do."
"I don't know."
“I think you do. I think that's why you spoke to me just now. You could've stayed quiet, but you didn't. And the only reason I can think of is that you don't want to have the deaths of so many people on your hands."
"Jack would be mad."
"Yes, he would. And I know you don't want that to happen. I've seen the way you look at him when you think no one is watching. I know how much you care about him. Sarina, if you don't let me stop them, they're going to be arrested and charged with treason. Do you know what that means? You'll never see any of them again. You'll never see Jack again."
It was true. They were the closest thing she had to family with Jack at the head of that family. He was like an older brother to her. And as the youngest of the group, Sarina was their shy little sister. They cared for her, and she them in her own little way. After she had undergone a surgical procedure allowing her to interact normally with her environment, she displayed a clear understanding of basic humanoid emotions. But she had no understanding of the differences between familial love and romantic love.
She did know at this very moment how Jack would react if she went against his wishes. And he was angry with her after she untied Bashir, allowing him to derail Jack's plan. But what if Sarina had given in to her own fears? Jack did, after all, threaten to fatally injure her over a relatively trivial matter. What if the rest of the Jack Pack had been able to pas on classified military information and the result was a swift and decisive victory for the Dominion?
For one, the Dominion would have laid waste to entire worlds. The more militaristic races such as the Klingons and the Romulans, and perhaps even the Andorians would likely be marked for genocide. And in that case, a lot more than 900 billion sentients would lose their lives. Jack, Patrick, and Lauren would surely be rewarded for their generosity with valuable roles in a new Dominion-ruled society. But Sarina’s life would most likely be over. The Founders would have deemed her obsolete in the new galactic order. The overall outcome would be far more devastating than the abstract mathematics could have predicted. As much as Jack had a keen understanding of Dominion strategy and tactics, he and his minions could not truly comprehend the Founders’ fear and distrust of “solids”. They could not understand that only those individuals the Founders found to be productive to society would be allowed to survive their takeover of the Alpha Quadrant. And Sarina would never have gotten any chance at having a “normal” life. She would have never gotten the chance to experience love. And her adopted siblings would certainly not be able to live with themselves, knowing they had let that happen to one of their own.
Luckily, none of that transpired, possibly because Sarina listened to the better angels of her human nature. Many other factors contributed to a Federation Alliance victory over the Dominion. But if Sarina had not acted when the right time came, the war could have ended a lot sooner and in the Dominion’s favor. As much as Jack thought he could predict the future with great accuracy, the methodology had one glaring flaw. A single individual made a difference even if the cold hard numbers did not foresee such an occurrence.
Giving credit where credit is due to Pam Pietroforte, the writer of Deep Space Nine episode "Statistical Probalities." The following short story contains dialogue from that episode that had been cut for time.
All the possibilities that can happen, do happen in other quantum realities. Our choices determine which outcomes unfold. It's an interesting premise when considering whether one could have gone left instead of right or if one had made a different order at a restaurant, or maybe had gone to a different restaurant entirely. Could the evolution of sentient life on Earth have taken a completely different course if not for the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago? These are all interesting questions, one that we never know the answers to in our lifetimes. But here is one story of how one person made one very important choice.
They came to Deep Space 9 to meet Doctor Julian Bashir, a product of illegal genetic modifications who was still able to live a normal life. These four were not so lucky. Because of its illegality in the Federation, the black market doctors who performed accelerated critical neural pathway induction on these individuals were not fully qualified to perform this medical procedure. They were institutionalized because of severe mental side effects. Jack was short-tempered, anti-social, and narcissistic. Patrick had the emotional maturity of a four year old even well into his fifties. Lauren was nothing more than a genetically engineered ho-bag who flirted with any sentient life form that had a Y-chromosome. And Sarina was left in a semi-cataleptic state, almost completely unable to interact with the world around her. But they were four of the most brilliant Terrans you would ever encounter. They almost instantly came up with projections regarding the Dominion War that would have taken the experts at Starfleet months to deduce.
Unfortunately, things came to a head when the "Jack Pack"- as they were referred to by some-concluded that the war was unwinnable and that, if the Federation and its allies were to continue to put up a fight, then 900 billion casualties would result. 900 billion. Now that sounds absurd considering the Borg Invasion of 2381 made the Dominion War look like a bar brawl and resulted in only 63 billion casualties. Maybe that figure was the result of Jack's neuroses about the end of the world. After all, his group also became engaged in trying to stop a Big Crunch that will never happen. Their projections were based on a form of mathematics called psychohistory. It is a means of predicting the future based on actions of entire groups of people, not individuals. One individual's actions did put a damper on the Jack Pack's projections. Jack concluded that if they relayed secret military information to the Dominion, then the war and its outcome would be far less bloody. Perhaps only 2 billion deaths would result. Jack, Patrick, and Lauren decided to go ahead with this plan and left Sarina behind to guard Bashir.
Bashir woke up in a dark cargo bay-- converted to a dormitory for Jack and the others-- tied to a chair. They had all left. The padds they were working on were gone. In one corner, he saw Sarina emerge from the shadows, silent and staring blankly. "Sarina, where is everyone?" he asked, still feeling groggy. Perhaps Jack's right hook hurt more than he initially thought. An Augment, after all, did have five times the physical strength of most other humanoids. "Did they arrange a meeting with the Dominion?"
Sarina did not answer. It was as if she did not hear him. Or she just didn't care.
"Listen to me," Bashir persisted. "We have to stop them before it's too late. Untie me, please. Sarina..."
Sarina remained silent for a very long moment. Her lips trembled as if she was trying to speak. "I'm sorry," she blurted out in a voice with no tone, no emotion. Yet something in her voice suggested a crisis of conscience. She wanted to be Jack's compliant little minion, but knew at the same time that what the others were doing was wrong. "I can't untie you," she coldly continued.
"Yes, you can. If you think it's the right thing to do."
"I don't know."
“I think you do. I think that's why you spoke to me just now. You could've stayed quiet, but you didn't. And the only reason I can think of is that you don't want to have the deaths of so many people on your hands."
"Jack would be mad."
"Yes, he would. And I know you don't want that to happen. I've seen the way you look at him when you think no one is watching. I know how much you care about him. Sarina, if you don't let me stop them, they're going to be arrested and charged with treason. Do you know what that means? You'll never see any of them again. You'll never see Jack again."
It was true. They were the closest thing she had to family with Jack at the head of that family. He was like an older brother to her. And as the youngest of the group, Sarina was their shy little sister. They cared for her, and she them in her own little way. After she had undergone a surgical procedure allowing her to interact normally with her environment, she displayed a clear understanding of basic humanoid emotions. But she had no understanding of the differences between familial love and romantic love.
She did know at this very moment how Jack would react if she went against his wishes. And he was angry with her after she untied Bashir, allowing him to derail Jack's plan. But what if Sarina had given in to her own fears? Jack did, after all, threaten to fatally injure her over a relatively trivial matter. What if the rest of the Jack Pack had been able to pas on classified military information and the result was a swift and decisive victory for the Dominion?
For one, the Dominion would have laid waste to entire worlds. The more militaristic races such as the Klingons and the Romulans, and perhaps even the Andorians would likely be marked for genocide. And in that case, a lot more than 900 billion sentients would lose their lives. Jack, Patrick, and Lauren would surely be rewarded for their generosity with valuable roles in a new Dominion-ruled society. But Sarina’s life would most likely be over. The Founders would have deemed her obsolete in the new galactic order. The overall outcome would be far more devastating than the abstract mathematics could have predicted. As much as Jack had a keen understanding of Dominion strategy and tactics, he and his minions could not truly comprehend the Founders’ fear and distrust of “solids”. They could not understand that only those individuals the Founders found to be productive to society would be allowed to survive their takeover of the Alpha Quadrant. And Sarina would never have gotten any chance at having a “normal” life. She would have never gotten the chance to experience love. And her adopted siblings would certainly not be able to live with themselves, knowing they had let that happen to one of their own.
Luckily, none of that transpired, possibly because Sarina listened to the better angels of her human nature. Many other factors contributed to a Federation Alliance victory over the Dominion. But if Sarina had not acted when the right time came, the war could have ended a lot sooner and in the Dominion’s favor. As much as Jack thought he could predict the future with great accuracy, the methodology had one glaring flaw. A single individual made a difference even if the cold hard numbers did not foresee such an occurrence.
