Re: Chapter 11
Here follows the last few posts for The Pebbled Sea...
Secure Prison Facility, Ynelav IV, stardate 57283.8
Commander Dhrex walked behind Regent Dolan as they traversed the narrow corridors of the ageing prison facility. The cells they had already passed were thankfully empty but the skeletons and stench of death was plain. It did not make him think these people worthy of membership but he would hold his judgement for now. He was just here to make a preliminary report for the Federation Council. They would decide whether to assign a team of diplomats or a Starfleet representative to assist these people in preparing for membership. They passed through a stone arch and then three heavily armed guards before stopping outside another cell. This one was cleaner than the others, and smelled less, but it was still a medieval cell, even by his people’s standards.
‘Here he is, Commander, the terrorist.’
Dhrex sighed. The man was a cleric who refused to break his vows, and for this he had been imprisoned. ‘He is a cleric, is he not?’
‘He is a terrorist. By refusing to reveal the identities of enemy combatants, he becomes one of them under our legal system.’
‘Regent, if you want to seriously consider becoming a member of the Federation, this legal system will have to change. All Federation citizens have the right to freedom of speech and expression and the right not to be incarcerated for their beliefs. By imprisoning this man for not breaking his religious vows, you are making it difficult for me to recommend this world for membership.’
‘When will you submit your report?’
‘I have been given three local months in order to gather information for my report. If by that time I do not see that your people are ready—or on their way to being ready—for membership, then that will go into my report. Do not look so crestfallen, there have been instances, recently in fact, where a world has been given a second chance.’
‘I see,’ Dolan replied. ‘My problem is that I have not had to deal with anything like this as a scientist. I am not equipped to deal with such things.’
‘That is why you surround yourself with experts on such matters, so that they might guide you into making the correct decision. You will make mistakes, everybody does, but you must make sure that yours are small. Big mistakes will be remembered forever.’
‘Being a leader is hard,’ Dolan muttered.
‘You have the strength of character, just try to believe in yourself.’
Dolan nodded and turned to the cleric. ‘Adept, will you reveal the identities of those who commit acts of aggression against us?’
‘I cannot, Regent. Perhaps when you find the Seer, he will be able to help you.’
Dolan nodded and called for the guards. ‘Release him and return him to the Yotanu Shrine. He is under house arrest and not to leave without my express permission.’
‘Yes, Regent.’
‘Come, Commander, let me show you the Central Library. From here you and your crew can learn all of our history and see how far we have come.’
And how far you have yet to go, Dhrex thought privately. He could see the problems that Dolan would face in the short term, terrorism was always a sore subject, but the civil war which was looming over the religious divide would cause severe issues for membership. He remembered what had happened on Bajor some years ago when a terrorist coup had seized control of the government and ordered Starfleet to leave. The solution to that was somewhat unorthodox and only the revelation of Cardassian intervention stopped the coup in its tracks.
‘I would be delighted, Regent. I have always held a fascination for libraries, places where the records of an entire civilisation can be stored’
‘Unfortunately, most of our records in the early times were held by the clerics, and a number of those shrines have been destroyed over the centuries. Many of the clerics now have been translating the old scrolls and we place those electronic translations in the libraries for the people to read.’
‘Are the translations accurate?’ Dhrex asked, getting the uncomfortable feeling that religious expression was a major stumbling block.
‘As accurate as our interpretations can be,’ Dolan replied. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘Do all the scrolls follow the same sect?’
Dolan shook his head. ‘No, the Seer Scrolls are written in a much older language and few of the clerics can translate them. Even the Adept can only translate the newest Seer Scrolls and they are about ten thousand years old.’
‘I see. The Adept believes that the Seer is returning and will herald a new era for your people?’
‘Something like that,’ Dolan replied distantly.
Dhrex had hit a sore point. ‘Regent, I’m feeling a little tired. Would you mind if we did the tour of the library tomorrow?’
‘Not at all, Commander. Have a pleasant evening.’
‘I will, thank you.’
Dhrex beamed back up to the Weisskopf and prepared an initial report. It would be filed as an addendum to the preliminary report and often carried much weight in the Federation Council.
Here follows the last few posts for The Pebbled Sea...
Secure Prison Facility, Ynelav IV, stardate 57283.8
Commander Dhrex walked behind Regent Dolan as they traversed the narrow corridors of the ageing prison facility. The cells they had already passed were thankfully empty but the skeletons and stench of death was plain. It did not make him think these people worthy of membership but he would hold his judgement for now. He was just here to make a preliminary report for the Federation Council. They would decide whether to assign a team of diplomats or a Starfleet representative to assist these people in preparing for membership. They passed through a stone arch and then three heavily armed guards before stopping outside another cell. This one was cleaner than the others, and smelled less, but it was still a medieval cell, even by his people’s standards.
‘Here he is, Commander, the terrorist.’
Dhrex sighed. The man was a cleric who refused to break his vows, and for this he had been imprisoned. ‘He is a cleric, is he not?’
‘He is a terrorist. By refusing to reveal the identities of enemy combatants, he becomes one of them under our legal system.’
‘Regent, if you want to seriously consider becoming a member of the Federation, this legal system will have to change. All Federation citizens have the right to freedom of speech and expression and the right not to be incarcerated for their beliefs. By imprisoning this man for not breaking his religious vows, you are making it difficult for me to recommend this world for membership.’
‘When will you submit your report?’
‘I have been given three local months in order to gather information for my report. If by that time I do not see that your people are ready—or on their way to being ready—for membership, then that will go into my report. Do not look so crestfallen, there have been instances, recently in fact, where a world has been given a second chance.’
‘I see,’ Dolan replied. ‘My problem is that I have not had to deal with anything like this as a scientist. I am not equipped to deal with such things.’
‘That is why you surround yourself with experts on such matters, so that they might guide you into making the correct decision. You will make mistakes, everybody does, but you must make sure that yours are small. Big mistakes will be remembered forever.’
‘Being a leader is hard,’ Dolan muttered.
‘You have the strength of character, just try to believe in yourself.’
Dolan nodded and turned to the cleric. ‘Adept, will you reveal the identities of those who commit acts of aggression against us?’
‘I cannot, Regent. Perhaps when you find the Seer, he will be able to help you.’
Dolan nodded and called for the guards. ‘Release him and return him to the Yotanu Shrine. He is under house arrest and not to leave without my express permission.’
‘Yes, Regent.’
‘Come, Commander, let me show you the Central Library. From here you and your crew can learn all of our history and see how far we have come.’
And how far you have yet to go, Dhrex thought privately. He could see the problems that Dolan would face in the short term, terrorism was always a sore subject, but the civil war which was looming over the religious divide would cause severe issues for membership. He remembered what had happened on Bajor some years ago when a terrorist coup had seized control of the government and ordered Starfleet to leave. The solution to that was somewhat unorthodox and only the revelation of Cardassian intervention stopped the coup in its tracks.
‘I would be delighted, Regent. I have always held a fascination for libraries, places where the records of an entire civilisation can be stored’
‘Unfortunately, most of our records in the early times were held by the clerics, and a number of those shrines have been destroyed over the centuries. Many of the clerics now have been translating the old scrolls and we place those electronic translations in the libraries for the people to read.’
‘Are the translations accurate?’ Dhrex asked, getting the uncomfortable feeling that religious expression was a major stumbling block.
‘As accurate as our interpretations can be,’ Dolan replied. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘Do all the scrolls follow the same sect?’
Dolan shook his head. ‘No, the Seer Scrolls are written in a much older language and few of the clerics can translate them. Even the Adept can only translate the newest Seer Scrolls and they are about ten thousand years old.’
‘I see. The Adept believes that the Seer is returning and will herald a new era for your people?’
‘Something like that,’ Dolan replied distantly.
Dhrex had hit a sore point. ‘Regent, I’m feeling a little tired. Would you mind if we did the tour of the library tomorrow?’
‘Not at all, Commander. Have a pleasant evening.’
‘I will, thank you.’
Dhrex beamed back up to the Weisskopf and prepared an initial report. It would be filed as an addendum to the preliminary report and often carried much weight in the Federation Council.
