Star Trek: The Original Series - 147 - Devil’s Bargain (13 page)

Hannah, who had pressed close to Kirk and wore a tense expression on her face, now smiled at the sight.

“This is she, isn’t it? This is the All Mother,” Hannah said.

“Very perceptive, Chief Advisor,” said Spock. “This is indeed the All Mother, and this chamber has been constructed by the Horta as the final resting place for her. It is a place of honor and reflection for the Horta.”

“What’s this all about, Spock?” asked Kirk. “I presume you’ve gotten to the bottom of it.”

“Both literally and metaphorically,” answered Spock. “This chamber is as low as the Horta have delved. I have been locked in a continuous mind meld with the Horta since I left the chamber above. In fact, they are considerably adept at such
communication, and they have not released me from the meld. I have not attempted to forcefully break it as of yet.”

“Isn’t that dangerous for you, Spock? You might lose yourself in such a situation.”

“It is a risk,” said Spock. “But the Horta seem excited by communicating with an older person and they will not stop asking me questions—questions which I feel obliged to answer. They are asking things such as ‘Why is the sky orange?’ and ‘Why do we have to die?’ Things of that nature. On Vulcan, such questions are not taken lightly.”

“Sounds like you’re in a mind meld with a bunch of eager, inquisitive kids,” said Kirk.

“That is exactly what is happening,” Spock answered. “They do not wish to harm me, but they keep wishing to ask one last question.”

“Still, hours of mind meld can’t be good for your own sanity, can it?”

“I believe I have determined a way to break myself free,” Spock said. “But to do so at this point might harm the Horta, and I am not willing to do that. They are remarkably clever, and there is great wisdom in their cultural philosophy, but these Horta are, for all intents and purposes, adolescent in their mentality.”

“Don’t want to take candy from babies, Spock?” said Kirk.

“I beg your pardon, Captain?”

Kirk smiled. “Never mind.”

“Are they individuals at all, or some kind of hive, like the cloud-dusters of Warburton’s World?” asked Hannah.

“Both, Chief Advisor,” said Spock. “They are a hive mind of sorts, but this seems to be a stage on their way to further development into individuals. I have communicated extensively with the All Mother on this matter.”

“And what does the All Mother have to say?” asked Kirk.

“She apologizes for the impetuousness of her children, for one thing,” said Spock. “And she wishes us to indulge her by listening to their request.”

“Listening, how?”

“Through me,” said Spock. “That is the only way she can adequately express herself, she believes.”

“Very well. What is this request?” asked Kirk.

“The All Mother is in decline. She is in rapid decline for one of her species and will die within a standard year. She explains that she
should
have died earlier.”

“Should have?”

“Her children have been very resourceful,” Spock answered. “They have maintained her past the normal cycle. In any case, her death will not be unusual, but in the natural course of things concerning Horta. She is a specialized being, and only one of her is born in a generation. As soon as her
work is done—that is, bringing forth a new generation of Horta—her biology shuts down.”

“Why is she still alive, then?”

“The mine supervisor is incorrect in her assessment when she claims that the Horta merely wish to consume, and that that is why they engage in trade for the Horta equivalent of delicacies. They are also engaged in keeping the All Mother alive by feeding her exotic minerals from off planet, minerals they know will sustain her, keep her hormone-equivalent systems recharged. This is where the vast majority of the Horta share of the mine’s take goes. The geodes from Earth and various minerals from other planets act as a sort of vitamin supplement for the All Mother.”

“So they’re keeping her alive . . . against her wishes?”

“Not precisely, Captain,” Spock replied. “She is a most caring and indulgent mother, and she has allowed them to maintain their sentimental attachment to her out of love. She believes two and a half standard years is enough time to see them settled, however, and now it is time for her to fade away and to send her children forth.”

“All right,” Kirk said. “I understand.”

“But here is where the request comes in, Captain,” said Spock. “The Horta venerate the All Mother and they want someone to take her place.”

“So . . . one of them can become the new leader?”

“It is not that simple, Captain. In the normal course of things, the All Mother will die and the Horta will carry on, but without the All Mother to combine them into a full hive mind. The hive mind is necessary for rapid group learning at first—this is why the Horta of Janus VI seem to have learned so quickly and been able to take on responsibilities in the mines. It is an efficient way to deal with adolescence and cognitive development, although it does tend to limit individual initiative except in a few extraordinary individuals.”

“Sounds like human teenagers in school,” muttered Kirk.

Spock ignored the comment. “After the All Mother dies, the Horta become full individuals. Although telepathic contact is still possible, especially along Horta clan lines, the hive mind is broken, and the Horta are faced with being alone within their own minds for much of the time.”

“Like us,” Kirk said.

“Precisely, Captain,” Spock answered. “The Horta have observed humans, and these Horta have decided they wish to avoid the loneliness. They do not wish the All Mother to die. And failing that, they want a new All Mother who can maintain the larger hive mind. What they wish for cannot be, however. This is not physiologically possible within the species. A new All Mother can only be bred once in a generation, and her birth triggers the death of the species, but for their eggs.”

“So these new Horta are faced with a dilemma,” Hannah said. “A wonderful childhood they do not wish to leave, but a mother who can’t stay.”

“Yes, quite correct. The All Mother believes that perpetual adolescence will not be good for the Horta,” Spock said.

The surface of the All Mother began to glow as if in agitation. Spock reached over and touched her, and when he did, his voice changed to a sonorous monotone as he took on the persona of the rock creature that spoke through him. “Like many children who do not wish to leave or lose their parents, my children are not ready for my passing. They believe they have hit upon another solution, and, because I’m an indulgent mother, I have heard them out. I would also beg you to hear them out, Captain.”

Kirk put his hands out toward the All Mother Horta in greeting and understanding, even though the words he heard came from Spock. “Of course,” he said. “It would seem that children are the same everywhere.”

The Horta released a small puff of sulfuric steam that Kirk hoped was laughter.

Spock broke contact and took a step back from the All Mother. “What the Horta want,” says Spock, “is to have
me
become the new All Mother.”

“
You,
Spock?” said Kirk. “Somebody’s mom?”

“It is an unlikely proposition,” said Spock. “But I believe what the All Mother is suggesting is that we
play along with them for now. In the end, I think it extremely unlikely that I will be what these young Horta are looking for, and they will recognize that.”

Hannah, standing beside Kirk, laughed. The sound brought a moment of lightness to the otherwise eerie situation. “I think Mister Spock might make a fine mother,” she said.

“Do you indeed?” said Spock. “I would have much to learn, and the prospect is fascinating, but I fear I would make for a disappointing All Mother.”

“And why is that?” Hannah asked.

“Because, Chief Advisor, the Horta, while logical in most ways, are also a very passionate and emotional species,” Spock replied. “I believe they will find my Vulcan mindset to be frustrating and ultimately stifling to their development. The All Mother agrees with me.”

Again Spock’s voice changed, and Kirk understood it was the All Mother speaking through him. “It is time to kick these hatchlings from the nest.”

Kirk looked around. The vast chamber was filled with hordes of Horta. They all seemed to be lost in rapt attention focused on the central tableau of Spock and the All Mother, as if waiting in agitated suspense to find out if a parent would grant a request.

Hannah touched Kirk’s arm. “They need to hear an answer from you,” she said. “Someone outside the hive mind who represents authority.”

“I have no authority here,” Kirk said.

“You have what they want,” Hannah answered. “Spock.”

“I can’t give them Spock,” Kirk said. “It doesn’t work that way.”

“Of course not,” Hannah said. “Not any more than you would give a teenager a new antigrav sled and carte blanche to use it. But you might be able to let them
borrow
the code key to that antigrav sled for a time, let them take it for a spin, and see how they like it.”

“Spock is not an antigrav sled,” Kirk muttered.

“No, he’s not,” Hannah replied. “I have helped lead my planet and have made choices in the past few weeks that I never thought to face. But I do believe that a certain ability to go with the flow is sometimes in order.”

“Are you suggesting that I
use
the Horta, then yank Spock away from them?”

“I’m suggesting that the situation may work itself out, and in the meantime, my people
need
the cooperation of the Horta. Desperately.”

“She speaks the truth,” said Spock in his All Mother tone. “It is a gamble. But what in life is not a gamble? My children need to grow up. They have been clever in keeping me alive, but they must release me of their own accord and allow me to reach a respectable ending. I believe this will be a transition to that time, and it will make of my children a very resilient generation. It is clear they are already
an extremely clever and resourceful one, and for that I am proud.”

Kirk turned and looked over the Horta in the vast chamber. A gamble, the All Mother said. And Spock in the balance, for if a promise was made, the Vulcan
would
find a way of keeping it. As would Kirk. It was a matter of what form that promise might take.

“All right, Spock, ready to translate?”

“Ready, Captain.”

Kirk turned and spoke, addressing the entire chamber, although he made sure that he was facing Spock so the Vulcan could hear him, since the communication channel with the Horta lay through Spock.

“I am Captain James T. Kirk of the Federation
Starship Enterprise
. We have decided to accept your terms.”

Spock raised an eyebrow in surprise. Kirk shot him a suppressed smile and continued. “Now, here are
my
terms. I will require a contingent of your best diggers. We will travel far away to a new rock that must be carefully dug to save an entire planet from destruction. This work will be difficult and must be done quickly and precisely. Only your best effort will do. As a reward for this, I accept your terms, and I will allow Spock to remain as your new All Mother, with one proviso: that you still desire him to do so at the end of your assignment.”

Kirk continued: “You may not desire this when you’re done with your task. You are quite young, with great potential and vigor, but little experience of the world beyond these tunnels. Your All Mother agrees with me, I believe, and I’m sure she has said as much to you as well. It is the belief of myself and your All Mother that when you experience the galaxy full of elements, energies, minerals, and molecules out there—and all sorts of things you never imagined—that many of you will want to go further and explore. Find your place among the stars.

“This we can offer you as payment for your services, and I want you to consider it. When the task is done, those are the choices you will have.

“Now, I ask you to release Spock and allow him to return to his duties aboard the
Enterprise
for the duration of this mission.

“When you have selected those who will accompany us, we will begin the process of beaming those Horta aboard the starship. Remember, the materials that our ship is made of are not unlike those that the humans here on Janus VI employ. You are fully capable of cutting through everything in your path. You must be careful not to cut your way out into space when you arrive.”

Kirk turned to Hannah. “Have anything to add?”

“Only this.” She turned toward Spock and spoke up as Kirk had done. “I and my people will be
eternally grateful should you come to our aid. You will have a strong and faithful ally in us ever after. This I promise as the representative of my poor, threatened planet.”

“Well done,” Kirk said with a smile. He continued his address to the Horta: “You have heard her. Now I challenge you to take on this task and save a world. I believe that this generation of Horta will go down in your history as one of the greatest should we succeed, and that it is one of the toughest and most daring generations, no matter what the outcome. Now please show your assent by releasing my first officer from the hive mind.”

There was a general shuffling among the Horta as Kirk finished his speech. And then slowly the shuffling became a clacking, and the clacking became a raucous din, as of a thousand drums beating in rhythm. After that, a loud whistle began to emerge, as if steam were escaping from a thousand vents at once. Kirk, Spock, and Hannah covered their ears to avoid being overcome by the volume. After it had died down, Kirk asked, “So what was that about, Spock?”

“That, Captain, was Horta applause,” Spock replied. “Furthermore, they have released me. They have agreed to your terms.”

Nine

Spock was back at the science station on the bridge and Kirk was in the captain’s chair. Sulu and Chekov were at their customary stations at helm and navigation. What was unusual was in the shuttle bay of the
Enterprise
: five hundred adolescent Horta who were making their first journey to the stars after having been beamed aboard in groups over the course of several hours.