Educating the Masses
by Terry L. Gardner
TOS, Sarek/Amanda
Rating: T (NC-13)
Disclaimer: Paramount & Viacom own Star Trek and its characters, I
just write about them.
Summary: A practical joke backfires but is Spock the guilty party?
Note: In the name Xaivior, the x is pronounced
like a z and the name is pronounced Zayvyour.
~oOo~
Spock finished his assignment on the computer at school and forwarded it
to his teacher’s terminal and was about to start his next assignment when his
terminal let him know he had an important message waiting for him. He quickly
checked to see what it was and was pleased to see that the UFP Annual
Championship 3-D Chess Tournament was coming up. Many members of his clan
competed in the tournament including his father, grandfather Skon and
great-grandmother T’Pau, who all had won the trophy in the past. The tournament
had an age rule that stated that you had to be at least twelve years of age to
enter it. He had 5.8 long years to wait before he could qualify but he always enjoyed
watching the tournament. He forwarded the message to
his father and grandfather then got back to his studies. The last thing he
needed was to get into trouble with his teacher, especially now that he was
trying to improve his reputation before his participation in his kahs-wan.
~oOo~
Sarek had just finished teaching his fourth period astrophysics class
and decided to check his computer for messages before partaking in mid meal.
There was only one, forwarded to him from Spock, about the annual chess
tournament. He had won the tournament last year and was pleased that he would
not be off-world on a diplomatic assignment so he could participate this year.
Perhaps he would be able to put this year’s trophy alongside last year’s on the
shelf in his study at home. It was a very challenging tournament with worthy
opponents and the participants had to be true chess masters to participate. He
had barely won against his father last year.
He saw an ad at the bottom of the message for information on new chess
techniques and clicked on it but the only thing that happened was that a spot
of light flashed on the screen and then there was an error message. He checked
for possible damage to his computer and programs but everything seemed fine. He
decided to forward the message to his old friend Bishop Du
Four who was taking a year-long sabbatical on Vulcan and was a 3-D chess
master. Sarek had met Xaivior Du
Four when he was the Vulcan ambassador to Earth and he had many fond memories
of playing chess with the cleric.
~oOo~
Skon forwarded his manuscript on Pre-Reform history to his publisher and
decided to check his computer for messages before partaking in mid meal. There
was only one message forwarded to him from his grandson, Spock, about the
annual 3-D chess tournament. He had won the tournament twice in his lifetime.
It would be quite an accomplishment if he won again; he had come up with some
new strategies that might possibly give him an advantage over his opponents. He
clicked on an ad, a spot of light flashed on the screen and then there was an
error message. He checked for damage to his computer and programs but
everything seemed fine. He decided to forward the message to his mother, T’Pau
and to Dean Stenn of the
~oOo~
Dean Stenn sat down at his computer to check
his messages. There were several, but the one that caught his attention had
"UFP 3-D Chess Tournament" in the subject line. He clicked on it and
read the information with great interest and wondered how he would fare this
year against his two closest friends and chess opponents, Skon and T’Pau. He
saw an ad about chess techniques, clicked on it, a spot of light flashed on the
screen and then there was an error message. He checked his computer for viruses
but everything seemed fine. He forwarded the message to several friends and
relatives.
~oOo~
After mid meal Sarek called the dean’s office and asked for an
appointment to discuss the next term’s curriculum. The secretary informed him
that the dean had left instructions that should Sarek call for an appointment,
to make time for it as the dean also wished to discuss some new curriculum
possibilities with him. She asked if it would be convenient to meet with the
Dean in twenty minutes and Sarek readily agreed. He went to his office and
gathered up his proposal and lesson plan and walked over to the administration
building. He stood before the secretary for two minutes, then
cleared his throat, finally getting her attention. She looked up and he asked,
"Is the Bean dizzy?"
Her eyebrows shot up skyward as she asked, "I beg your
pardon?"
"Is the Dean busy?" Sarek blushed slightly in embarrassment and
alarmingly wondered what had caused him to make such a verbal mistake.
"Yes, Sarek, but he should be finished momentarily."
Just then, Professor James Martin exited the dean’s office and
remarked to himself, "He’s a fart smella."
Professor Martin blushed furiously and left as quickly as possible. Both
Sarek’s and the secretary’s eyebrows disappeared into their hairlines. Dean Stenn instructed his secretary to send Sarek in
immediately.
~oOo~
Bishop Du Four was just finishing officiating
at a wedding in the chapel of the Earth embassy and said, "I now pronounce
you man and wife. You may kiss the bride." He suddenly realized that the
young groom was so nervous that he didn’t comprehend what he had said and so
the bishop softly called his name and got his attention. When the groom looked
up, the bishop said, "It is kisstomary to cuss
the bride." The embassy staff struggled to keep from snickering; the
bishop was shocked and terribly embarrassed but the groom was so nervous and
flustered that he didn’t notice the verbal flub and lifted the veil from his
bride’s face, took her gently into his arms and kissed her. The bishop
recovered quickly and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my very great
pleasure to introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. Robert Masterson."
~oOo~
The door chime sounded at Skon’s family estate and T’Lara opened the
door. The deliveryman announced, "I have a special delivery package for
T’Lara, wife of Skon."
"I am T’Lara, wife of Skon."
He handed her his padd and said, "Press
your right thumb here."
She did as he instructed, handed his padd back
to him and received her package. "Live long and prosper."
"Peace and long life," he answered.
She closed the door, removed the envelope attached to the package,
opened it and took out the card and read it.
Greetings Daughter
I was purchasing a new computer today and found
something that I and my wife know you need. We know that you are most capable
of appreciating this gift since it will fit your smaller hands. We know you
will put it to good use.
Live long and prosper
Solkar
T’Lara opened the package and was very pleased to see two new toolkits
for repairing computers. She had planned to replace her old ones the following
month when she would have time and was very gratified that would not be
necessary. She went to the study to show Skon the wonderful gift from his
parents and they rejoiced together. "I will thank your parents for their
gift when we go to their house for end meal this evening."
~oOo~
The guests for end meal were all seated at the dining table at T’Pau and
Solkar’s grand estate. Solkar sat at the head of the table with Skon and T’Lara
to his right, then Dean Stenn
and his wife T’Pel, and T’Pau sat across from him. On
his left was Sarek and Amanda, then Silek and his son
Selek. They had just finished an excellent meal and repaired to the living room
for pleasant conversation.
As T’Lara and Skon approached Solkar and T’Pau, T’Lara said, "Thank
you, Mother and Father, for your generous gift to me. It is most appreciated
and will be put to good use. You have shown me a great kindness."
"You deserve it, Daughter," replied Solkar. Turning to his
son, he asked, "Have you seen them, Skon?"
"Indeed, my father, she showed me her cool tits this
afternoon."
"Skon!" said a scandalized T’Lara as his parents’ eyebrows
flew up in shock.
Skon’s face tuned dark green with embarrassment as T’Pau huffed in
disgust, Solkar, with amusement in his eyes, held up two fingers and said,
"My wife, attend," and led her away to speak with their other guests.
As they approached their grandson Silek, his son Selek and Dean Stenn, they heard Stenn say to
Selek, "Now hiss and leer, young man." Dean Stenn
closed his mouth abruptly and blushed furiously. He looked up and saw T’Pau and
Solkar and said, "I beg forgiveness, I have no idea why I said that, but I
understand that this has been happening to several other members of our clan
today and even to some humans."
"Indeed?" asked Solkar who turned to his wife and communicated
through their marriage bond, ‘I would have said that this is an attack on our
clan but with humans suffering, also, what do you think,
my wife?’
‘I do not know, my husband, but
it is imperative that we find out.’ "There is no need to beg forgiveness, Stenn. No offence was taken."
Sarek, who was standing near by, said, "We need to find out who
started this malady, how it has spread and how to stop it. I find it
fascinating that the Dean and faculty of the Vulcan Science Academy were
affected by it first."
"Indeed, it is quite embarrassing for our clan," replied
T’Pau. "For thousands of years the members of our clan have been meducating the asses." T’Pau looked extremely
startled, then her eyes narrowed down to slits.
At first, no one dared to say a word and everyone thought, thankfully,
that they were not the one to cause this catastrophe. Woe, be to the one that
was! One by one, they all pledged to the Matriarch to do their best to
investigate and catch the culprit.
~oOo~
Before the guests left for their homes, it was decided that Sarek would
lead the investigative team and that everyone would report their findings to
him. Amanda stated that they should find out what all the victims had in
common. After some discussion, it was determined that they were all 3-D chess
masters. Sarek, Skon, T’Pau and Dean Stenn suddenly
looked up and said at the same time, "The spot of light!"
Sarek turned to T’Pau, "May I use your computer, Grandmother?"
"Of course, Grandson."
They went into the study, to T’Pau’s desk, and Sarek sat down at the
computer. He called up the message about the chess tournament, set up a program
to filter out and trap any hidden messages and clicked on the ad about chess
techniques. The program trapped the hidden message for them all to see. It consisted
of a modern computerized version of an illegal form of Vulcan mind control
through the use of an ancient auto-suggestive technique dating back to
Pre-Reform Vulcan times. Sarek then began to trace the message back to its
source. The trace ended at a student computer at the
"Perhaps you are right, Sarek, I have been watching him closely of
late and his behavior has been honorable. I am confident that he will pass his kahs-wan and become an honored addition to our clan. There
must be a way to trace this message back further to find out who has tried to
implicate Spock"
"Agreed, we will work on that and seek out possible witnesses at
the
Everyone wrote down the information and handed it to Sarek before
leaving. Dean Stenn walked up to Sarek and said,
"I will do a thorough examination of this illegal program to determine its
style so that we may make a comparison of it to the style of programming of the
students and faculty of the
"You can really tell who designed it that way?" asked Amanda.
"Indeed, Lady Amanda, I can. Even if you give a classroom full of
students an assignment to write the same exact
computer program, you will find minute differences unique to each individual.
If the culprit is especially brilliant, it will be very difficult to determine
who they are. Instead, we will end up with a short list of suspects. I will
take my leave of you now. Live long and prosper Sarek, Lady Amanda."
"Peace and long life, Stenn,"
answered Sarek and Amanda.
~oOo~
Early the next morning Spock went to meet with Sarek in his study for
the daily lesson in the Disciplines of Surak. To Spock’s surprise his mother
was there too. She and Sarek were seated in the two chairs in front of Sarek’s
desk facing toward him. Spock walked over to his parents and stood before them
with his hands clasped behind his back. Sarek looked into his son’s eyes and
something in his father’s expression, as well as his mother’s presence, told
Spock this would not be a lesson as usual. The boy’s assumptions were proven
correct when his father spoke.
"Instead of the lesson, Spock, we have some important questions to
ask you regarding the message you received about the chess tournament. Did you
notice an ad at the bottom of the message about new chess techniques?"
Spock tilted his head, wondering what his father was trying to get at.
"Yes, Father," he answered carefully.
"Did you click on the ad to read what it was about?" Amanda
asked.
"No, Mother, I was in class and didn’t want to take an inordinate
amount of time away from my studies."
"Should you not have waited until break time to read the
message?"
"Yes, Mother, but my computer indicated that the message was
important so I decided to read it."
"You made the right choice, Spock."
Sarek nodded in agreement, "I concur. We are going to delay today’s
lesson so that you may assist me with a very important project at the Academy
before classes start."
Spock was slightly puzzled about the sudden change in the topic but he
was also pleased and delighted to assist with a project because that meant
spending more time with his father. "It
will be a great honor to assist you, Father."
"First, we will have first-meal, then I
will explain the project to you on the way to the Academy."
~oOo~
Bishop Du Four was quite relieved when Sarek
had called him late last night and told him about the hidden message in the
chess ad causing everyone exposed to it to speak with spoonerisms. He had been
seriously worried about his health and was relieved to know that Sarek could
help him resolve the situation. Early the next morning he left his apartment,
got into his rental flitter and headed for the Vulcan Academy of Science. He
was making a right turn into the Academy multi-level parking facility when the
flitter behind him hit his bumper. He turned into the facility to clear the
entrance as did the flitter behind him. Flitter accidents were nearly unheard
of on Vulcan but they still happened on occasion. Why did it have to happen to
him, especially at a time like this? Both drivers got out of their flitters and
met to exchange information while waiting for campus security to arrive. The
security guard arrived within two minutes and began to take their statements
about the minor accident starting with the bishop. "Tell me precisely what
happened, Bishop Du Four."
"I was making a right turn into the parking facility when the young
lady bit my humper."
The guard’s eyebrows flew skyward. "I beg your pardon?"
"I’m having wouble with my turds. That is, I mean to say that the young lady hit my
bumper." Xai’s face turned scarlet as he
silently prayed that the good Lord would help him out of this situation as
quickly and painlessly as possible before the security guard could decide that
he was demented and arrest him.
~oOo~
A small Vulcan boy stood in a corner of the Elementary Academy lobby,
pretended to be immersed in reading a large data padd,
his features carefully concealed from view to hide his display of rage and
insecurity. The fingers of his hidden left hand curled into a tight fist.
Something had gone terribly wrong! That halfbreed earther, who dared to call himself a Vulcan, had not done
what he was supposed to do. How stupid was he? All Spock had to do was to click
on the ad and within a short time he would have shown all how inferior he was
and would be suspended from the Academy, if not expelled. The hidden program
was designed to delete itself after being activated by Spock. He had been so
sure that Spock would click on it that he had not designed the program to
handle other alternatives. That was a serious mistake. How could he, a
full-blooded Vulcan, make such a serious, illogical mistake?
Spock had forwarded the message to his father and grandfather and they,
in turn, forwarded it to others. Many members of the faculty of the Elementary
Academy and the Academy of Science had been affected by it and most serious of
all, the dean of the Science Academy. He thought that was the worst of it until
he overheard a conversation between Osavensu Sovik and Professor James
Martin – T’Pau was affected! An investigation was underway to catch the culprit
headed by Sarek. What was he going to do? He did not know except that he could
not allow panic to overtake him. He suppressed the panic, slowed his breathing
down to normal and went to his first period class.
~oOo~
Osavensu Sovik
entered Computer Lab 1 and immediately spotted Sarek and his son Spock. They
had finished their project and was, no doubt, heading for the dean’s office at
the Academy of Science to report what they found. He raised his hand and
greeted the twosome, "Live long and prosper Sarek, Spock."
"Long life to you, Osavensu Sovik," Sarek
answered.
"Did your project succeed in tracing the origin of the
message?"
"Indeed, my son Spock developed an advanced tracing program which
breached the block in the program of the message and discovered that the origin
was the computer in Carrel Twelve of this lab. We still don’t know who the
culprit is but be assured, Osavensu Sovik, we will succeed."
"That is good to hear, Sarek." He looked at Spock,
"Congratulations, Spock, may you continue to follow in your father’s
footsteps."
Spock stood even straighter at receiving such high praise from the
ancient one. "Thank you, Osavensu Sovik, I will do my best to continue to follow my Father’s
example."
Sovik’s eyes locked on Sarek’s with approval,
"There is nothing more satisfying than an obedient child and how content
you must be that he has inherited your computer skills, too. You have taught Spock
well, Sarek. I am sure he will succeed in being an honorable member of our
clan"
"You are most kind."
"Not at all, you are my kinsmen. Give my regards to the Lady Amanda
and tell her to expect an invitation for end meal with T’Von
and me in two days. Peace and long life to you both."
"I will, my kinsman; live long and prosper."
As students began to enter the lab for class, Sarek escorted Spock to
his first class just down the hall. Sarek paused outside the classroom and
turned to his son. "I am very proud of you, my son. You will, indeed,
succeed in being an honorable member of our clan. You have learned your lessons
well and have been a great help to me in this investigation. You have my solemn
promise that the identity of the culprit, who tried to blame you for his
misdeeds, will be discovered. Although you must not neglect your studies, I
would be gratified if you would assist me further in the investigation during
your free time."
"I appreciate your trust and confidence in me and will be very
pleased to assist you, Father. I will not fail you in this endeavor."
"I have complete confidence in you, Spock. Come to the dean’s
office at the
~oOo~
Dean Stenn had just finished doing the comparison
of program styles on his computer and compiled a short list of suspects when
his secretary informed him that Sarek had arrived for his appointment.
"Send Sarek in immediately, T’Pria."
As Sarek entered the dean’s office, Stenn
looked up from his suspect list and noted Sarek’s confident demeanor.
"Good morning, Sarek, please be seated. I have had some success in
narrowing the suspects down to three students. Did your joint project with
Spock meet with success?"
"Indeed, Dean Stenn, we now know that the
message originated from Carrel Twelve in Computer Lab1 at the
Dean’s list:
Sarek’s list:
1. Sofek
1. Sevik
2. Stonn
2. Sofek
3. Sevik 3.
Stonn
Both academicians suddenly looked up at each other and Sarek spoke
first. "Fascinating."
Dean Stenn continued, "Indeed, most
interesting. I am not aware of any motives that either Sofek
or Sevik would have for committing this misdeed but I
do know of one possible motive that Stonn would have.
I believe you have concluded a bonding agreement with T’Pring’s
parents. Did you know that Stonn’s father also sought
a bonding agreement with them?"
"No, I did not. That is a very plausible reason. I know of possible
motives the other two boys could have for committing this misdeed, however. Sofek and his two closest friends go out of their way to
torment Spock because of his mixed heritage. Sevik’s
father, Sedak, belongs to the Separationist
Organization, much to his wife’s dismay, and may have swayed his son into
accepting his beliefs despite T’Pia’s
objections."
~oOo~
The small Vulcan boy sat in the
~oOo~
Amanda walked as quickly as possible, without appearing to be hurrying,
to the Oasis Café to meet Sarek for mid-meal. She could hardly wait to find out
what progress had been made in the investigation. The sooner they found out who
had framed Spock the better. Their son had a difficult life as it was, learning
the Disciplines of Surak and striving to walk in his father’s footsteps without
having a vicious bigot throwing a monkey wrench into the works! She’d like to
get her hands on the cowardly brat! No, that would solve nothing. It would be
lowering herself to the boy’s level. She utilized the Vulcan disciplines she
had learned to calm herself down and entered the café. She spotted Sarek at a
secluded table toward the back and made her way to him. He stood up and pulled
her chair out for her, then pushed it forward as she seated herself. As Sarek
took his seat, the waiter came to their table to take their order. As soon as
the waiter left, Amanda looked at Sarek and noted his confidant manner. Her
pulse quickened as she asked, "You know who did this don’t you?"
"Not precisely, my wife, but we have narrowed the suspects down to
three students. I assure you. We will discover which one is guilty."
"Who are the suspects?"
"Sofek, Sevik and Stonn."
"Stonn? That shifty-eyed,
jug-eared, son of a…"
"Amanda!"
"I was going to say lematya.
I have no doubt that he or Sofek could be guilty. I
found out, through the grapevine, that Stonn’s
parents also sought a bonding agreement with T’Pring’s
parents and Sofek and his friends have been
tormenting Spock about his mixed heritage for a long time. I don’t know if Sevik is capable of doing this or not but his father, Sedak, is a bigot of the worst kind. I found that out first
hand the other day at the Academy. I was walking to my first period class when Sedak came out of a side hall, not watching where he was
going, and nearly knocked me down! He stopped for a moment, glared at me, then went on his way. No apology, just that ugly glare that
made chills go up and down my spine."
"Why did you not tell me this before, Amanda?"
"I intended to but didn’t have time as I was late getting home and
had to quickly get ready to go to dinner at your grandparents
estate."
Sarek responded with urgency in his voice, "You saw Sedak at the
Amanda’s eyes widened as she said, "Yes, I did! You don’t suppose
he has converted his son, Sevik, to his beliefs and
helped him with the hidden program, do you?"
"That is one possibility. It is also possible that Sedak did it alone, copying the programming idiosyncrasies
of several students to cover his tracks."
"But surely he knew his own son would be implicated in the
misdeed."
"Most assuredly, my wife. It may be his way
of breaking his son’s spirit and getting him to accept his beliefs."
Seeing the look of horror on his wife’s face Sarek added, "That is only
one possibility. Sedak’s presence may only be a
coincidence."
"I hope so for the sake of Sevik and his
mother."
~oOo~
Spock sat eating mid meal and was speculating on which of the three
suspects might be guilty of framing him. Sevik was
the first student to use the computer at Carrel Twelve. Sevik
was not a friend to him but he was not his enemy either. He had never tormented
him with the other boys, although the opportunity to do so was plentiful. Sofek, on the other hand, tormented him often along with
his two best friends. Stonn had ignored him most of
the time but had recently begun to go out of his way to make bigoted remarks
about him, usually in front of T’Pring. He thought Sofek
and Stonn were the most logical suspects. What he
didn’t understand was why? It went against the Vulcan way of life.
The very core of Surak’s teachings was IDIC, infinite diversity in
infinite combinations. He knew he had a long way to go in mastering ‘The Way’
but what of the behavior of the boys who tormented him? They were of pure
Vulcan ancestry yet they behaved otherwise! He tried so very hard not to react
to their taunts but it was very difficult, especially when the insults included
his mother. He loved his mother, loved her more than life itself. He could
never speak the words, of course, though he knew she longed to hear them. It
wasn’t the Vulcan way. Suddenly, his time sense kicked in and he realized it
was time to clean up and go to his next class.
~oOo~
Sedak sat at his desk in his study and went over the
various points of the investigation that was progressing too quickly for his
liking. He had a tremendous admiration for the boy that created and implemented
the program to try and discredit the halfbreed whelp.
Why could his own son not see what an abomination Spock was? Oh, that his son
could come to understand this! The plans they could make together to rid Vulcan
of the human vermin! No matter what he said, no matter how logical his
arguments were, his son refused to embrace his separationist
philosophy. It didn’t help that his wife, T!Pia, not only disagreed with him but had more
influence over their son’s beliefs than he did! That wasn’t right! He would
find a way to change that if it was the last thing he ever did!
Meanwhile, he was trying to think if there was a way to help the real
perpetrator, a young gangly boy, from being found out. It was quite fortunate,
after assisting his son with his report and escorting him to class, that he had
returned to the lab to do a little research. He had finished and was about to
leave when he noticed the boy in Carrel Twelve was behaving in a nervous and
covert manner. He set up a hacking program to observe what the boy was working
on. He only caught a glimpse of the program as the boy had finished it and sent
the message on its way. He realized that the boy had not taken proper precautions
to protect himself. He helped him by tampering with
the security camera and computer log in the lab, without the boy’s knowledge.
The boy was not a very bright separationist but that
was good in a way; he could be molded by an expert such as himself. He would
definitely get together with this boy as soon as possible and in secret.
Unfortunately, unless he could think of something to help him further, the boy
would be found out. Fortunately, no one knew that he had helped to hide the
boy’s identity.
His thoughts then turned to his own problem with his wife and son. There
were a couple of unbonded women in the Separationist Organization that would be a far more
suitable wife for him than T’Pia. She would never
give up their son into his custody, however, so he would have to dispose of her
and make it look like an accident. He and his new wife would work together to
convert his son to the separationist philosophy.
~oOo~
Sevik sat in the reception area outside of the dean’s
office of the Academy of Science with his mother after school. They had been
sitting there for twenty minutes and both were speculating on why they had been
detained and sent over to the Science Academy. Sevik
looked up at his mother and asked, "Do you think they believe that I have
done something wrong, Mother?"
"I think that they might, Sevik. I think
they suspect you of creating the hidden program." Sevik’s
eyebrows nearly disappeared under his hairline. She quickly assured him,
"I know you would never do such a thing but your father’s bigotry is well
known and they may believe that he has succeeded in converting you over to his
philosophy."
"Never! You have my solemn promise, Mother. He will
never succeed to win me over nor force me to embrace his bigotry. Although I am
still in training for the kahs-wan ritual, I have
made my choice to accept the Vulcan way of life and to follow in the footsteps
of Surak"
"I have complete confidence in you, my son. I am very proud of you, however, we must not underestimate your father’s fanaticism
and desire to have you under his will. He has become even more determined to
have his way, to such an extent, that I am seriously thinking of seeking
sanctuary for us at Gol."
Before Sevik could ask her to explain what she
meant, the door to the dean’s office opened and T’Pria
asked them to come in.
~oOo~
In another room sat Sofek and his parents, Sefek and T’Pona. They had been
detained after classes also. Sofek noted his parents’
displeasure at the situation and became very curious. Did they know what he had
done? He could sense his father’s displeasure increasing with every minute that
went by and he squirmed and quickly looked away when Sefek
looked at him with disgust burning in his eyes. Surely they were not angry with
what he had done? They often made bigoted remarks about Spock and his mother.
Perhaps his father was displeased because he had been found out.
In the room just across the hall sat Stonn and
his parents, Stann and T’Pran.
Stann looked into his wife’s eyes and communicated
through their bond. ‘You do realize that our son is a suspect in the
investigation of the hidden program, my wife?’
‘Indeed, Stann, but why? Stonn
has always been an obedient son.’
‘I concur, but he was in the lab,
using the computer in Carrel Twelve, during the time period the incident took
place. The fact that he wanted T’Pring to become his bondmate, as we did, and T’Pring’s parents chose Spock instead, makes him a logical
suspect.’
‘That is true, but we did not raise our son to do anything so illogical as seeking revenge. It is not the Vulcan way.’
‘We did not exactly suppress our displeasure at Spock being chosen over
our son, T’Pran. We both made disparaging remarks
about Spock’s dual heritage.’
‘We are not bigots!’
‘Are we not, my wife? We never intended to be, but surely you see how
easily we got caught up in its web after losing the bonding agreement? If we
are going to continue to be true followers of Surak and the philosophy of IDIC,
we must spend much time in meditation and recenter
ourselves in The Way.’
‘You are right, my husband,’ she
relented. ‘What of Stonn?’
Stann looked at his son and Stonn
quickly looked away. That was not a good sign! "Look at me, Stonn."
Stonn hesitated a second, then slowly turned and
looked at his father.
What Stann saw in his son’s eyes disturbed him
greatly.
~oOo~
As Sevik and T’Pia
entered the office, T’Pria guided them to the far
left of the room to two chairs facing the conference table. Seated on the far
side of the table facing them was the investigative
team, including Dean Toval of the Elementary Academy,
Spock, and T’Pau. The Lady Amanda was also there seated between her son and
husband. Sarek was seated at the right end of the long table and after the boy
and his mother sat down, he stood up and leisurely approached them.
"The two of you have been detained after classes to solicit your
cooperation in the investigation of the hidden program. Someone tried to frame
my son, Spock, of this misdeed, unsuccessfully. The
investigative team that you see before you have all worked diligently to
uncover the true culprit in an expeditious manner. Dean Stenn did a comparison study between the programming style
of the illegal program and the program styles of the students and faculty of
the
Sevik and his mother had remained calm throughout
Sarek’s opening statements of the facts. Sarek stepped closer to the boy and
looked him straight in the eye and continued, "Furthermore, your father
was seen leaving the Elementary Academy 1.25 hours after assisting you with
your report."
A look of surprise flashed across Sevik’s
face. "But that does not make sense! Why would he stay after assisting me
with my report and escorting me to my early morning Independent Study class in
the Disciplines of Surak for Philosophy Majors?"
T’Pia chose to answer her son’s question as Sarek
suspected she would. "One possibility is that your father created the
hidden program in an attempt to discredit Spock because of his dual heritage.
It is no secret that your father is totally fanatical in his bigoted philosophy
of separatism. What is not known to anyone but me, is how deranged he has
become. Even I am not one hundred percent positive if he has become a dangerous
threat to those around him." She then looked at Sarek, "When did you
remove my son’s name from your list of suspects?"
"After having a private discussion with Osavensu Temann, his teacher in the Disciplines of Surak. A second
possibility is that Sedak assisted one of the other
two suspects on the list. Have you noticed if any other boys have been spending
time with Sedak?"
"Not to my knowledge, Sarek."
"Sevik?"
"No, sir, but he was with me when Sofek
dared to taunt Spock about his dual heritage while still on the Academy grounds
and also when Stonn made bigoted remarks to Spock,
about Spock and his mother, to T’Pring. He encouraged me to join in the
taunting but I refused to do so and he berated me all the way home."
"Interesting."
Dean Stenn responded from the conference
table, "Indeed, that is most interesting."
~oOo~
Sarek turned back to T’Pia. "You stated
earlier that you cannot be certain that Sedak has not
become a danger to those around him. Do you believe he is capable of covertly
converting Sofek or Stonn
to his brand of separationist philosophy?"
"Yes, most definitely."
"Do you believe he has become a danger to you and your son?"
"It is possible that he might be. I request sanctuary for me and my
son, at Gol."
T’Pau spoke from her seat at the conference table. "Thy request is
granted. Thee and thy son shall be escorted to Gol by two members of my personal guard within the
hour."
~oOo~
T’Pria entered the room where Stonn
and his family were waiting. "Come with me." They stood up and
followed her down the hall to the dean’s office. She opened the door and led
them to the conference area, to three of six chairs facing the conference
table. Sofek and his parents were seated in the other
three chairs. Stonn and his parents sat down and Stann noted that T’Pau was seated at the left end of the
conference table. Seated to her left were the investigative team and the
Lady Amanda sitting next to Sarek at the right end of the table. He
struggled to suppress his fear for the fate of his son that threatened to
overtake him. One thing he knew for certain; for the rest of his life, he would
never forget the fanatical look of anger and rebellion that he had seen in his
son’s eyes.
Sarek stood up and addressed the two families before him. "You have
been detained after school and brought here to solicit your cooperation in the
investigation of the hidden program. It has been established that yesterday
morning Sevik and his father, Sedak,
entered Computer Lab 1 at the Elementary Academy and logged onto the computer
in Carrel Twelve. Sedak assisted his son in the
completion of a report that was due that morning. He escorted Sevik to his classroom and returned to the lab. According
to the log, he proceeded to do some research on the computer in Carrel Fifteen.
He logged out one hour later but was not seen leaving the Elementary Academy
until fifteen minutes after that.
"The perpetrator of the hidden program tried to cover his tracks.
Despite his efforts to do so the investigative team has uncovered the following
facts: the message with the hidden program was not sent by Sevik;
there were two other students that used the computer in Carrel Twelve during
the time the misdeed was done; a comparison of the programing
style of the hidden program and of the style of the two other suspects match.
The sabotage done to the security camera and the computer log of Carrel Twelve
was technically beyond the abilities of the boys in question. Sedak was the only adult in the lab during the time and
possesses the technical skills necessary to accomplish these acts. The two
other suspects are Sofek and Stonn.
I will now discuss possible motives."
Sarek walked up to Sofek and looked him
straight in the eye, keenly aware of the intimidating affect he exuded. The boy
looked away, blushing all the way to the tips of his ears. Sarek continued
stating the facts of the case. "Four days ago, bigoted remarks were made
to my son by you in front of witnesses. Do you deny this?"
Sofek bowed his head, unable to look Sarek in the eye
and answered in a small voice, "No, sir, I do not deny it." Sofek lifted his head and looked at Sarek but didn’t quite
make eye contact. "Even so, sir, I give you my word that I did not send
the hidden program. You probably do not believe me, but I swear to you, on the
honor of my forefathers, that I am not guilty of that offence."
Sarek stepped away from the boy and relief swept through Sefek and T’Pona. Although their
son was guilty of expressing his bigotry on the Academy grounds and in front of
witnesses, it was a minor offence compared to the misdeed of sending the hidden
program. They did not delude themselves. They knew their son was in serious
trouble and would be punished in a logical manner appropriate to his crime. It
was one thing to make bigoted remarks in the privacy of their home but to say
them publicly on campus, of all places, and in front of witnesses was blatantly
foolish and illogical.
Stann and T’Pran had a
small measure of hope for their son when Sarek had begun to question Sofek. Their hopes were raised when the boy admitted to
tormenting Spock on campus. When Sarek finished questioning Sofek
and stepped away from the boy, they could no longer remain in a state of
denial. Together they suppressed the despair that threatened to overtake them
and resigned themselves to the inevitable.
Sarek walked up to Stonn and looked him
straight in the eye. Stonn did not avert his gaze but
stared back in defiance. Sarek was not surprised. Jealousy combined with
bigotry was a dangerous combination and always ended up blinding the person
obsessed with them. These emotions caused destructive behavior that eventually
led to that person’s downfall. He intensified his unwavering look of stern
disapproval, finally staring down the boy. He then preceded
to question him. "Three days ago, you also made bigoted remarks about my
son and his mother in front of witnesses. Do you deny this?"
"No, sir, I do not deny it," Stonn
answered defiantly.
Sarek straightened. "It appears you are not repentant about your
illogical behavior. In fact, you are projecting your scorn of my wife and son
to all in this room. It was you who created and sent the hidden program
and attempted to point the blame on Spock."
Stonn leaped to his feet, visibly shaking with rage.
"You think you know everything, but you do not. Yes, I sent the message
with the hidden program. It was not meant to affect others, only Spock.
But that stupid halfbreed Earther
did not click on the ad as he was supposed to. If he had, only he would
have been affected and the program would have deleted itself after he
accessed it." Stonn looked directly at Spock.
"The wormy little vermin would have shown how inferior he is compared to
true Vulcans and would have been expelled from the Academy. Then T’Pring’s parents would have chosen me for her bond
mate!! "
T’Pau abruptly stood up and commanded, "KROYKAH!!" Everyone in the room froze at her command and Stonn was stunned into silence. T’Pau approached him, her
eyes narrowed, but her anger fully in control and he fell backwards, sitting
down very hard in his chair.
T’Pau spoke in a deceptively calm and quiet voice. "Thee has
comported thyself with dishonor. Thee has no understanding
of what it is to be a true Vulcan. Thee do not possess
the true Vulcan heart nor the Vulcan soul. No honorable Vulcan parent would
choose thee to become the bond mate of their daughter. No respectable daughter,
least of all T’Pring, would want thee for her mate. Because thou art still a
child, not having gone through the kahs-wan, thou
shall be punished as a child. Stand before me, Stonn."
Stonn barely managed to stand up. All his arrogance
and false courage had melted out of him, leaving him shaking and fainthearted.
"Thee shall go to Gol
to be retrained in The Way. Thee shall be allowed to
go through thy kahs-wan, at the time appointed. Thee shall not be allowed to become bonded until after thy
tenth year if thee are able to find a female willing to accept thee."
T’Pau looked at Stann and T’Pran.
"I charge thee to be more vigilant of thy son’s behavior and choice of
friends. It has been discovered that Stonn fell under
the influence of Sedak, a follower of a dangerous
sect of the Separationist Organization. Thee have my solemn promise that Sedak
will be apprehended and brought to justice. Do thee
wish to accompany thy son to Gol?"
"We do," replied Stann, as two
adepts came forward to take charge of their son.
"Thee may do so." T’Pau waited until
they had left the room and addressed Dean Toval.
"I shall leave the punishment of Sofek in thy
capable hands." She turned to Sarek and looked on him with approval.
"I shall take my leave of thee." She lifted her hand in the ta’al and
said, "Live long and prosper."
"Peace and long life, Grandmother." Sarek waited until T’Pau
had left the room, then turned control of the proceedings over to Dean Toval and sat down.
Dean Toval looked at Sofek
and his parents. "Come and stand before me." When they had done so, Toval addressed Sofek. "You
are hereby suspended from school for three days. You will, however, keep up
your studies and grade point average by completing assignments sent to you.
Additionally, you will write a 1,000 word report entitled: The Illogical Path
of Bigotry. You will be retrained in The Way by your father. You will make a
formal apology to Spock and his parents at this time."
Sofek turned and faced Spock and his parents at the
right end of the conference table. He looked at a point just above their heads,
unable to look at any of them in the eye. "I beg forgiveness for making
bigoted remarks to Spock about his dual heritage."
"My parents and I forgive you, Sofek. Let
us speak of it no more."
Toval looked at Sefek.
"I charge you to be vigilant while retraining your son in The Way."
"I swear in the name of my forefathers that I will do so."
"Very well. You and your family may go." After Sefek and his family left the room, Toval
turned the proceedings over to Sarek for dismissal.
As the members of the investigative team began to leave, Sarek turned to
his son and said, "Your behavior throughout this ordeal has been
flawlessly logical. You have stood firm against an unmerited accusation and the
taunts of illogical bigots. To say that I am proud of you seems inadequate.
Stay true to the path you have chosen, my son, and you will succeed in
becoming an honorable member of our clan."
Spock stood even straighter at receiving such high praise from his
father. "I promise to do my best to stay true to The Way, Father."
As they left the dean’s office, Amanda brushed away a lone tear from her
face. It was a good day, a very good day.