At 14:36, if I do nothing to interrupt the situation, Lt. Aksel Møller wanders out of the village and ends up getting bit by a T-Rex. From the few clues I have received, the only reason he doesn’t get bit in half and swallowed is that our uniform has some pretty interesting integrated tech which probably resulted in low grade shock that caused the T-Rex to spit him out. Kind like chewing on a stick of gum without removing the foil. So, if I do the letter campaign procedure, I have just under an hour to make as many letters to the crew as I can, have the computer print them out, which is really easy cause it uses replicator technology and beams the letters, already sealed in an envelope that has no seams, some of them numbered, and some of them addressed to specific crew members, and then hand or computer deliver them. I then slip on my MASH 4077th mail bag, put the bundle of mail in the bag, and rush to the Bridge.
Loxy was on the Bridge, discussing something with Uhura when I arrive, heralded by security. I never get close enough to her to discover what they are talking about because my presence interrupts the conversation. Anyone else, might have been paranoid that it was about them, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t, and even it was, I really didn’t want to know.
“At ease,” I said.
It isn’t necessary for the helm position to be occupied when in standard orbit, but Sacagawea was there, doing one of the routine checks. She was speaking with Lt. Furata, who was at the tactical station.
“Everything okay?” Loxy asked.
“Furata, would you give me an aerial view of the village on the main viewer, please,” I said.
Just outside Summer’s village, the foundation stone had been set, and other stones were just beginning to be transported into place. If you know anything about the wall of Machu Picchu, our version will make that seem like kids making sand castles. Every single stone in the wall we are constructing will be uniquely shaped, and interlocking with the stones around it, and none less than a ton, and a minimum of two meters thick, and the foundation stones that touch the ground have roots. Once the wall is established, it will be heated with phaser to the point that they meld together, but don’t outright melt. There will be patterns in the arrangement of blocks, fun ones like animals of the local environment, a star chart talking about the exodus from Origin, and the location of Crossover One, and instructions on how to dial the Stargate to Crossover One. (Were you aware that ‘Stargates’ were used in the television series ‘Buck Rodgers?’) The stones themselves vary in degrees of hardness, from 7 to 9. Most of them are 8s. Interspaced with the stones are also pure diamonds, rubies, emeralds, quartz, etc, huge two meters thick that will capture sunrise and sunset and make interesting patterns of light both inside and outside the wall. The wall will withstand earthquakes and dinosaurs and short of a direct assault by an asteroid, will likely be here a million plus years. If there is ever a societal reset, like there was with the dinosaurs on Origin, this wall will be waiting for the ones who inherit it.
And if I ever stop cycling, I might get to see its actual completion, as opposed to the recreation of it on the holodeck.
“Can you identify the Away Team, please,” I said. Virtual tags came up.
“Zoom in on Lt. Møller, please,” I said.
The view moved away from the village. Møller was heading back from a tree. Sacagawea asked what he was doing so far out beyond the established ‘safe’ perimeter of the village.
“Probably something stupid, like taking a leak,” I said. “Furata, arm ships phasers, needle beam for surgical strike and wait till I give the order.”
“John?” Loxy asked.
I gave her the ‘shh’ sign, cause what was about to happen was suspenseful. I handed her an envelope. The envelopes I was handing out had a perforated edge on one side, making it easy to open. Loxy tore the end and the scrap part ‘dissolved’ into thin air. The envelope was made from the same material that the shuttle crafts were made from, including half-lives; some bits were designed to disappear when broken. The word I would use for this matter is ‘photonic’ matter, matter made with light, and it would end up sticking. She blew into it the remaining artifact and a knocked out the contents; on releasing the contents, the outer envelope vanished. The remaining item was a smaller envelope, and written in bold print were the words “I love you” and on the edge in small print, “don’t open this yet.” Uhura, reading over her shoulder, smiled at the note.
“He’s running!” Sacagawea said. “Why is he running?”
The forest was moving in an odd way, and just when you might think the suspense couldn’t get much more, a T-Rex emerged from the forest, pausing to orientate, first with smell, then with the sides of its eyes. It locked on to the running man and then it pursued.
“Furata, take out that dinosaur,” I said. “Aye,” Furata said.
Møller fell, rolled just in time to see the T-Rex fall dead at his feet. “Wow!” Sacagawea said. “What luck?!”
“It wasn’t luck,” both I and Furata said. “Yay me,” I said. “Oh, and yay you, Furata. Uhura, please inform the life science department there is a dead T-Rex to be examined. Also, notify the chef and have him secure a descent size chunk of the tail, as the Captain’s table will be dining on T-Rex steaks tonight. After the village has harvested what they will, have our people use as much of it for science or for food as possible, as I don’t want any of it to going to waste,” I said. And not a bit of it was. Some of it went into making cans of pet food for the Inner City’s dogs and cats. “Furata, you’ll be joining me at the Captain’s table tonight, 19:30.”
Furata stood and bowed, very Japanese of him.
“Loxy, I’d ask you to join us, but I understand today you have decided to be vegetarian,” I said.
“How did you know?” Loxy asked.
I pointed to her smaller envelope. Inside was another envelope that said “Because, I love you,” and instructions not to open this next envelope until precisely 15:47.
“What is this?” Loxy asked.
“A very interesting game,” I said. “Staff meeting, in fifteen minutes, all department heads.”
Setting up a staff meeting slash party was pretty easy thanks to site to site replicator technology. Party gifts were ordered and arrived, putting special coffee cup filled to the brim with treats, and one cigar, placed before every seat. There was also a tray arranged with extras for those who would be standing. Additionally, every seat had a special drink, tailored to the preferences of the individuals that would occupy the chair in front of the drink. There was also a variety of foods, pizza, wings, chips, cake, fruits, crackers, cheese bits, just general good fun. Loxy was the first to enter.
“Ahh, Loxy, you’re always first,” I said, hugging her. “What is going on?” Loxy asked.
“I am tracking as close to the ideal day that I can and I am in a really good mood,” I said, pointing to my chair. “I insist that you sit in my chair. It’s going to be a full house.”
Tesla and Jung were next, but I blocked, because behind them others were arriving, and I wanted them to line up and enter one by one, and told them as much, as I had every intention of greeting each of them.
I handed Tesla an envelope from my bag, “Why don’t you stand right over there behind Loxy.”
“You want me to stand?” Tesla asked.
“You always do,” I reminded. “Trust me.” He would understand once he realized that we had a full house and there would be females standing and his OCD would not allow him to remain seated in the presence of a Lady.
“Jung, your usual spot, and you’ll be tempted to open the envelope addressed to you, even though the instructions tell you when to open it, and don’t worry about Aryk, by midnight tonight, he will have gained sufficient self-control that he won’t be stunned, and by this time tomorrow he will be able to hold a reasonable conversation, and you want to know how I know, but we’ll get to that, please sit down,” I said, and turned to welcome the next person.
House! I hugged House. He didn’t protest the public display of affection, but he clearly didn’t know how to respond to the love, I directed him to his normal seat. Bucket entered and I hugged her, too, which caught her completely by surprised because from her perspective I have never even noticed her. “Take Tesla’s seat, please.”
Though everyone got a hug, Midori, Urhura, and Sacagawea got cheek kisses, and I asked Midori to occupy Loxy’s seat. Tyson stood next to Tesla. It took longer greeting everyone in this fashion, but it really did set the tone. The ones that didn’t take a seat, I personally handed them envelopes from my bag, so everyone present had envelopes with instructions when to open them.
That was everyone but Isis. “Has anyone seen Isis since this morning?” I asked, but before anyone could say anything, I answered for them. “Of course you haven’t. But if you do see her, let her know I am looking for her. Okay, here we are. You would think I would have a better intro into this craziness by now, but I call on all of you to draw upon compassion and patience and endure this for a moment, and simply entertain me,” I said, walking around the table. “After all, you all get to do it once. I want to start with a question. Why do you suppose mystery religions were invented?”
“Control,” House answered. He always answered first because he was already into the madness of the game, where everyone else was wanting normality. Normal bored House.
“Good old House!” I said. “Always leading with control and conspiracy. And you’re right. It would be problematic for society if everyone knew the secrets and were all simultaneously enlightened. Markets would crash if everyone was satisfied with who they were and with what they had, and who would listen to authority when everyone is truly equal? But I want to go deeper! Anyone else?”
“Why don’t you tell us what you think?” Jung asked.
“Oh, boringly Rogerian of you, come on, someone, anyone,” I said.
“Because,” Loxy said. “Some things can only be learned experientially. If you knew in advance I was throwing you a surprised birthday party, you wouldn’t have been surprised.”
“Give that a girl a cigar!” I said. Could I be any more Jim Carrey-ish? “Oh, I already did!
But don’t smoke it. In fact, I am taking yours away.”
“Anyone else?” I asked.
“It’s about love,” Uhura said.
“OMG, yes, but expound for everyone, please,” I said.
“Well, even though I agree with Loxy that the mystery religion’s secret that we are celebrating the birth of the individual, the secret of the ritual is that it is the same for everyone, that we all experience the same thing, because we are the same on a fundamental level, and regardless of what or who we are, we all pass through the same gate,” Uhura said. “And so, if I told you I gave something perfectly individualized and yet you found it was the same thing everyone else got, you would feel cheated because you thought you were getting something special, but the thing that’s is special is you’re not really different.”
I was stunned. “Every time we do this, you bring a little more clarity to the table,” I said. I turned about and paced back the way I came, and then turned again. “So, we live a billion lives in order to experience the whole range of human lives so that we learn ‘experientially’ that we are no better or worse than the least or the best of us, and so we love everyone equally, regardless of situation or choices because we, too, have done it all.”
I rubbed my forehead. My head was hurting. “Are you okay?” Loxy asked.
“No, yeah, it’s just hard to remember everything,” I said. I sucked in a huge volume of air and pushed on. “So, we’re all about to embark on a murder mystery tour, only no one is going to actually be murdered, but for the sake of game play, we’re wondering who killed Roger Rabbit, and, for the record, I only slept with Jessica Rabbit once, after Roger was dead, and, back on topic, your envelopes are going to help you sort through this day, and so it is imperative that you follow the instructions on the envelopes precisely. Everyone with me so far?”
No one said anything.
“Oh, come on, this is going to be so much fun,” I said, pulling Loxy’s chair out from the table and spinning her full round and catching her.
Loxy looked like she might vomit.
“Oh, so sorry,” I said. “I keep forgetting.”
“What is going on with you?” Loxy said.
“If I told you that, it would spoil the mystery!” I said. “Here’s what I want to happen. Watanabe, you will clear my schedule, and get Captain Ramirez to cover my shift. Loxy, you will finish your shift and meet your scheduled medical exam.”
“How did you know…” Loxy began.
“Eh!” I said, raising my hands above my head. “For the rest of the day, no one is allowed to ask me ‘how did you know?’ or any variation of “What’s going on with you?” Also, no ‘why’ questions. Anyone who asks such takes a penalty, and I will be keeping score and cashing in.
Any questions? No? Good! Yes, I saw your hand, but I am ignoring you. Well, no, now I am not. Mainzer, we will not be taking a survey team to the 2nd planet.”
“How did…”
“First penalty of the day,” I said. “Concluding this meeting, you will join me in Xanadu for a drink and listen to me drone on and on about following the rules. Anyone else who wants to listen to me ramble, just ask me another off the list question. Uhura, when you finish your shift, join me in Xanadu. Any questions? Oh, wait, wait, wait. Any questions but the questions I asked you not to ask? Alright! Have fun. Try to do something different. Come on, Mainzer. You’re buying.”
I grabbed a slice of pizza on the way towards the door. No one had moved. Not even Mainzer.
“Okay, look, I know that you’re going to sit here and discuss this further in my absence, and this is how it’s going to go. Jung will open his envelope, which will answer the first question, and then that will result in more questions, which will lead to a series of pre-arranged envelopes, and you’re going to try not to follow the directions on the envelope, but it always works out that way in my absence, so have fun. Loxy, for real, don’t miss your doctor appointment, but if you do miss it, throw out the envelope under your coffee party gift, and don’t open that until the time requirement is met. Mainzer, that drink, now, that’s an order based on penalty.”
Mainzer got up.
“Catch you later, Uhura,” I said, hooked my arm in Mainzer and led her out. The door closed behind us. “You really don’t want to be in there,” I assured her.
“I don’t?”
Due to the level of activity on the ship, Xanadu, the ship’s bar which was the equivalent of Ten Forward on TNG, was relatively quiet. There were people having meals and or drinks, but there was no music. I led Mainzer to a table somewhat in the middle, and young waitress rolled by on roller skates. From our table, we could see the observation blister, and several teachers conducting their students, children ranging in age from 5 to 12, through their lessons and observing the planet. Some of them were sitting on the floor, drawing their observations.
“Mainzer, tell me your favorite cookie, quick, quick, quick?”
But it was too late. Xanadu has its own version of Guinan. She reminded me of Betty White. Her name was Eugia, but I still call her Betty, with her permission, even, and she arrived in a mysterious fashion, bringing us two small plates of peanut butter cookies and sat them on the table before us. She also sat down two glasses of milk.
“Oh, thank you! It’s almost like you knew what I wanted,” I said. “How did…”
“You’re really not catching onto the game,” I said. “Betty help her out?”
“Watanabe just called and made an order before you came in,” Eugia said. “And, I don’t understand this part, she said you should open your envelope now.”
“Oh, fantastic,” I said. And then explained it to Mainzer. “They’re actually on schedule.
Thank you, Betty.”
“Are we on for Racket Ball later?” Eugia asked.
“Can we play something I might have a chance of winning?” I asked.
“Dear, I am older, faster, and stronger than you,” Eugia said. “There’s only one game I am going to let you win at.”
“Spin the bottle,” we both said. Eugia kissed me and went on to serve others. Mainzer opened her mouth to ask something but I interrupted.
“Do you really want another penalty?” I asked. I took an envelope out of my bag and handed it to her. I took it back, tore the perforated edge and tossed the end before it had faded away. Inside was another envelope but on the outside was written peanut butter cookies. “Don’t look all freaked out. It’s probably in your file somewhere. You don’t have to speak. Eat your cookies, drink your milk, and when you’re done, you can go back to work and study anything you want, but we’re not going to the second planet. Clear? Now, I am interested in particle collisions. Has anyone ever found evidence of a particle pair that separates by shooting ahead of time, looping back around through the present, only to annihilate itself in the past? I suppose it could swing around through the future then back through the past and spiral back into the present, but if the antiparticle was out of sync, would both particle just keeps looping in the present, like an orbit, and would you be able to discern that? I mean, clearly you wouldn’t know if it annihilated itself in the past, unless your detectors were getting pre-test noise that you couldn’t explain, and you wouldn’t exactly see the particle spinning through the future only to arrive back, but is there any kind of present artifact that revolves its presenting face in such a way that we would know it’s turning through dimensions of time and space so it might be plausible that we could see the future and the past as easy as we see the present? Am I making any sense what so ever? You really should have a cookie.”
Mainzer seemed really worried. She reached for a cookie and was going to miss the plate because she was focused on me, but I slid the plate over and her hand hit the cookies and she realized what I had just did and then wondered even more... “Do you always bring dates to the bars and ask absurd questions?”
“It works more often than you might imagine,” I said. “You really should eat the cookies. Today, and only today, nonfattening. And they’re really good. Extra peanut buttery, just the way you and I like them, because why go half ass with the peanut butter.”
Again she nearly asked me the off limit question.
“Look, I am trying really hard to be nice by not cashing in on an endless barrage of penalty evoking questions, mostly because I know how far down that rabbit hole this can go, and we’ve already had a really lovely day together, that you don’t even remember, and maybe we’ll do it again, or a variation of the above, when I am really stuck on some science question, but today feels like a day for music, and so I promised it to Uhura.”
“This is absolutely bizarre,” Mainzer said.
“Who said reality is not only queerer than you think, it’s queerer than you can think?” I asked.
“Haldane,” Mainzer said.
“OMG, thank you. I always forget that,” I said.
“You can always ask your tricorder,” Mainzer said.
“Siri does have some serious upgrades, but she’s isn’t speaking to me right now,” I said.
“Why…”
“Sorry, penalty,” I said.
“This reminds me of a bad ‘Doctor Who’ episode,” Mainzer said.
“Oh! Yes, absolutely brilliant, and today, and for today only, I get to play the part of the
mad Doctor,” I said, my hands suddenly possessed by the spirit of an Italian channeling Shatner. “I could just kiss you.”
“Please don’t,” Mainzer requested. “You have before,” I said.
“Probably before I saw you kissing Eugia?” Mainzer asked.
I thought through it. “Actually,” I said, factoring that into my future equations.
“You do know, old people like sex, too.”
“Please, don’t ever kiss me again,” Mainzer. “Under any circumstances?” I asked.
Mainzer blinked. “I can’t imagine any circumstances you could place us in that might lead to kissing,” she assured me.
“I’ve found a dozen. They’re all seriously contrived. They’re not likely to happen during the normal course of a routine day. Also, relax. I would never without permission,” I said. Have I? Yeah. Don’t think for a moment that I am anywhere near the perfect man. Even without phasers set to stun, given enough time and energy and knowledge, the pressure of persistence and determination always results in intimacy or arrests. The latter pathway sucks. “But what a lovely concept. Imagine a day with the Doctor. No, better, what if everyone one who ever lived gets to have one whole day with the Doctor, because, really don’t we all need a Doctor?! Oh, very Joan Bradey-ish. ‘God on a Harley!’ Did you ever read that? It looks like a cheesy Harlequin novel, but it is so much more.”
“Are you high on drugs, Sir?” Mainzer asked.
“OMG, I should so make that a penalty question,” I said, making mental list of annoying questions. “I have not done DMT or LSD in months and the effects never linger past the reset point.”
Mainzer clearly wanted to ask what the heck I was talking about but didn’t. I leaned forward, wanting her to ask. To reduce the temptation, she ate a bite of cookie and washed it down with milk.
“Good for you,” I said. “Tomorrow, strip poker day Tuesday, so penalties will really cost you but today is pot luck, anything goes, and I am now going to take one of your cookies.”
“Does bipolar run in your family?” Mainzer asked.
“OMG, drugs and mental health questions, out of bounds. No,” I said. “Mostly depression, PTSD, substance use, but not bipolar. I do feel a little elevated. I wish I knew why. I would like to be able to maintain this.”
“I really think I should be getting back to work now,” Mainzer said.
“Of course you do,” I said, standing up as she did. “You left your envelope in the conference room. You can open the first layer, it’s just about cookies, but open that next one precisely at 16:20. Self-explanatory. Go forth and try to do something different.”
Mainzer backed away, nodding as if she would try, but I really think she just wanted to get away. I finished her cookies, even the one she took a bite out of, and then finished both her milk and mine. And I sat there, arms crossed. I smiled at people. I knew them all by name. I knew their personal struggles and their aspirations, and surprisingly, everyone had their own slant on what it meant to be called to serve the Enterprise and what they hoped to contribute. My ‘high’ from the morning was waning. It occurred to me, everyone here had an idea of who and what they are and how they were going to contribute, but I was still trying to figure ‘me’ out, which was weird, because, I was the Captain and you would think that meant I had the greatest clarity. Was that why I was cycling through time?
Directly aft of Xanadu was the biggest open area for people to gather and mix it up. The immediate deck below were guest accommodations and hotel rooms for the inner city folks to have a night looking at stars. There were gaming rooms that were multifunctional, due to holographic capabilities, and so people were either for playing sports, like racket ball, basketball, or tennis. The larger holodeck hosted various level of group effort games, and there were individual size holodeck rooms, no bigger than a closet for people to immerse themselves in a private reality, but they could also be link for tandem play.
In one of the larger holodeck rooms, I found a game in play with room for another participant. You could tell because the room showed how many were playing and a green light for it being opened, and another light indicating for adults only. I couldn’t resist. I entered and discovered folks standing on the perimeter of a circle, clapping hands and swaying to some odd, tonal music, and basically trying to influence the pattern of flickering lights on the floor. The game was basically a modern version of spin the bottle combine with truth or dare, with lights spinning in opposite directions like a Russian Roulette wheel. When the lights stopped, it was always pointing at two people, usually male and female, but with some exceptions based on personal preferences that were pre-programmed, it wasn’t necessarily limited to male female or even human. Because of the nature of the game, and because I had just entered, one of the lights that would normally be part of the circle highlighted the space around me.
I was compelled by the participants to join the circle, and when I did, they applauded.
Though I didn’t know the rules this time, it was clear, no one comes into the game without playing at least one round.
I knew the person that was participating and refereeing the game. Danika Rehorova, who was technically not crew, but basically the ship’s entertainment director. She was as peculiarly open and loving as Adina Rivers, a youtube love guru, as emotionally aware as a Betazed from TNG, and as hippy-free love as anyone I had ever known, whether in real life or in fiction. She was a natural red head, and typically wore outrageous, rockabilly fashion model outfits, and rockabilly hair styles, and can draw the attention of any male in Xanadu when she entered to serve drinks. In fact, she was in charge of the people who waited tables, helping them find a fun way to dress, whether it was crazy flag costumes representing origin, to theme nights like pirates or gypsy. Oh, and everyone has to serve in Xanadu. There is a minimum of 2 full, 8 hour shifts, a year requirement for all personnel, but there is never a lack of young college students wanting to serve in Xanadu, which is a testament to Danika’s recruitment strategies.
“So nice of you to join us, John,” Danika said. Yes, she could have led with Captain, but they all knew my rank, but per the rules, here, everyone was equal. The Captain was not an exception. “So, this is your first time, you and me are matched, and I am offering you the choice, truth, dare, or consequence.”
“Ahh, Danika,” I said. “You assume this is my first time.”
“I assure you, Sir,” Danika said. “I keep a list of all who play.”
“Group consequence,” I said.
Everyone applauded, and Danika seemed impressed. “Oh, dear, Sir. I feel compelled to pause here and remind you that this is adult theme gamed, and it can be a bit racy.”
“I assure you, my friend, Danika, I know where this is going,” I said.
“And so, because you don’t know about me, I feel compelled to offer you a tap out.”
“I never tap out, Sir,” Danika said. “Then let’s proceed,” I said.
The other player had each secretly chosen our fate on their tricorders. Danika and I followed the pattern of lights on the floor, stepping into the first inner ring, and following the sections around, spiraling us in. Every now and then the light beneath us would turn red, requiring us to perform an act or tap out. The penalty for tapping out was chosen by the winner. On a red square, someone at random on the circle could make a request, or pass. Each red square was a mini game that either brought the two in the circle closer together or further apart. The goal was to get to the inner circle first, because that person had the last choice of engagement or not. And no matter how many times Danika and I played, neither of us ever backed down.
Consequently, I had yet to play where I got to witness a full game, because I always get reset. Believe it or not, there are lots of fun sex games for the single and or open mind folks.
There was one game that one could play from their personal quarters, if you had your own private room. Many of the crew didn’t have their own private room, and so they would spend ship credit on one of the guest accommodations. The game utilized the transporter for secret rendezvous, one night stand hook ups. Because I couldn’t be transported, I couldn’t make myself available to play by beaming to them, but there is always people playing this game. And it’s not just crew, but people from the Inner World. Basically, you make a profile telling the other computer what you want and what your expectations and limits are, and someone choses you based on your interests, or they do it completely random. (Oh, and it has a rating system, so if you beam into someone who isn’t nice, and they get enough negative votes, they can’t play. And at any time if someone says the safe word or taps out, and it isn’t obliged, security gets involved. Actually really cool.)
I have gone to one of the luxury suites and played a round, by choosing random people, and in this way, gotten to know several crew members extremely personably. One of them arrived by transporter blindfolded, because she didn’t want to know who was going to take her. She wanted the mystery. And her instructions were that I was not to speak or in any way communicate to her who I was. And this was OMG crazy, over the top, erotic. I got to explore all sorts of interesting, sensual experiences guiding a willing, but blindfolded person through an amazing couple hours of foreplay before surrendering to my own p