• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 706 0

to her, but refused to explain further. After a time she must have decided their questions indicated they were nervous about their journey to the sacred mountain. “It is true,” she told them, “that some reach the sacred isle only to be turned back, for the final test comes there. But be not afraid: The gods have chosen you to undertake the journey. That in itself shows their favor. Only one or two of your group will be permitted the final quest to the top of the mountain. I cannot tell you which ones-the gods do not speak to me of you, any more than they foretold your destiny to your own Speaker at home.” She smiled. “Your future shifts with each thought; except for certain foreordained truths, nothing is certain until it happens.” At sunrise the team left the hut, walked back to the beamdown point, and transported up to the Enterprise. Drahanna had conveniently instructed the villagers not to accompany them to the edge of the swamp; whatever the gods were, they obviously did

not want their subjects to see people vanish into thin air. Aboard ship, there was a briefing to decide whether to try exploring another habitat.

“I do not think we shall find further information about the Elysian gods or the power surges among the natives,” Data said. “Mr. Thralen and I did learn that the reason the landing party from the Clarion were driven away was that they attempted to climb the Elysians’ sacred mountain without passing a test of the gods.”

Thralen added, “I’ve played back and carefully studied Drahanna’s words. It appears we would be in no violation of Elysian law if we set an away team down on the island, at the foot of the mountain. As long as we did not attempt to climb it, we might be able to take readings that would tell us something about the power surges.”

“I might be able to see something,” Geordi put in. “Captain, those same undetectable barriers that keep the swamp gases from poisoning the habitats also keep a habitable environment on that island, yet we transport through it as if it weren’t there. As we haven’t been able to detect the barrier, we don’t know how much it screens. Assuming the island is its source, we may be able to find out something there about these mysterious gods.” Picard rubbed his chin. “I would prefer more direct communication from these “gods’ about what they consider acceptable, but we’ve hailed them on every frequency we can transmit: If they don’t want to be found, the very act of attempting to locate them may be deemed aggressive.”

“If so,” said Riker, “how are we any worse off?

There’s no reason to think they’ll do more than order us off the planet, like the Clarion crew. We can give up, file a report, and close this convenient geodesic to Federation traffic because of those damned power surges. Or we can make one more attempt to find the gods-that might even be the test Drahanna spoke of. If we can locate them, maybe they’ll talk to us. If they either control the power surges or can predict their occurrence, they may be willing to send out warnings beforehand, so ships can avoid the area.” Picard nodded. “We need this space lane open if we are to offer protection to our colonies near the Neutral Zone. Very well, Number One. Take Data and Geordi, beam down to that island, and see what you can find out.”

“Request permission to accompany them, sir,” Worf said. “I also recommend that we take phasers. We should not meet any Elysians there, but we do not know what else we may encounter.”

The captain seemed about to protest, but finally nodded reluctantly. Unlike the habitats, the sacred island was barren and gloomy—or at least the side on which they landed was. The mountain was so large that it seemed as if they weren’t on an island at all; rocky beach stretched in either direction as gar as they could see.

Between the swamp and the foot of the mountain there was perhaps a hundred meters of more or less flat beach, but even that was difficult to traverse. It was made up of rocks ranging from fist size up to giant boulders, tumbled haphazardly, their sharp edges unweathered in the still