Metamorphosis - Jean Lorrah [117]
But where the Konor had recently conquered, as in the city of Eskatus, the scans recorded graphic scenes of slaughter. “Surely telepaths could not treat people so,” Deanna Troi said in disbelief.
“They would feel their pain, their deaths.”
“Perhaps they do,” Will Riker said grimly. “Perhaps they are psychotic.” Further scenes provided nothing to counter the hypothesis of telepathy as the Konor means of communication, and also confirmed the contention of the Samdians that they took slaves. But … the children they saw caged like animals did not look like Chairman Tichelon and the other people of Dacket. They were slender, willowy beings with green-gold skin and lavender hair, like the Konor. Data accessed his memory banks for information on Samdian biology-and started in amazement. “Captain!” he interrupted the briefing. “We have missed something Chairman Tichelon obviously wanted us to overlook: The Konor are not an alien species recently arrived from some unexplored area of the galaxy. They are simply another group of Samdians!” “Explain,” Picard ordered.
And Data did.
“So,” Picard said ominously, “Chairman Tichelon lied to us. The Konor didn’t “take’ the planet Jokarn, but originated there.”
“If our conclusions are correct,” Data continued, “the Konor are a branch of Samdians who have recently developed telepathy. There is no indication in our records of high levels of ESP among the Samdians.”
“Perhaps,” said Picard, “the Samdians will be willing to tell us the truth now that we have penetrated their deception. This is not an attack by outside forces, but a civil war.”
“And so we cannot offer assistance other than as mediators,” Riker added. “And that only if both sides agree.”
“I’ll have another talk with Chairman Tichelon,” said the captain. “Data, Thralen, study the rest of these records. Look for what motivates the Konor, other than conquest.
If we are to act as mediators, we will need leverage. Obviously the other Samdians don’t have that key, or they would have used it.”
Data and Thralen ran the records several times, but found nothing. Thralen said, “We must be overlooking something.”
“What else is there?” Data asked. “Our records are extremely sketchy, as the Samdians have always been isolationist.”
“There must be another approach,” Thralen said, his antennae extending and retracting in frustration.
“We need to know why Jokarn suddenly attacked Dacket. The people of Jokarn must have recently developed telepathy. Yet … telepaths are normally nonaggressive.”
“What if not all of them developed it?” Data asked. “The name “Konor’ does not appear in the historical information on the Samdians. Could the powers of a few have frightened the people of Jokarn?
Galactic history certainly provides enough instances of people with new powers being persecuted. Could the Jokarn have hurt them so badly that they were driven to revenge on all Samdian non-telepaths?”
“Possibly,” Thralen agreed. “Giving a group of people a new name is a way of distancing them, making them less than yourself so you can mistreat, even kill them.” — “Computer: language banks.
Morphemic structure of the Samdian language.”
“Working.”
“What is the historical meaning of the word “Konor’?” After several prompts, the computer concluded it meant “People: sentient, sapient organic beings. Persons, as opposed to animals.”
Data frowned. “Why would the Samdians call
Konor that? It must be the Konor’s own word for themselves.”
Thralen was not satisfied either. He prodded the computer to even deeper analysis. Finally the reply came. “Root derivation of “konor’ is “those who possess souls.”” “Gods,” Thralen whispered, the blue of his face paling to a washed-out hue. He pushed himself up out of his chair, and began pacing behind the terminal.
“If that’s what we’re up against, we haven’t