String Theory_ Fusion (Book 2) - Kirsten Beyer [88]
“I’d like to think you’re right,” the Doctor said caustically, failing to convince either himself or Seven that this was true. “Despite the progress we’ve made over the years,” he added bitterly, “I’m still usually the last to be considered, consulted, or informed until whatever crisis the crew was facing had gotten seriously out of hand.”
Seven found that she could not honestly contradict him and decided that for the moment the Doctor’s energies were best spent addressing Tuvok’s condition, but as she started to return to the cargo bay and complete her work on the nanoprobes on her own, Chakotay called over the comm system, “Attention all personnel, we are instigating a low-level ion sweep of Voyager and the array. It is possible this action will antagonize the creatures we have detected aboard the array. Red alert.”
As the computer responded, sickbay was bathed in a flashing red glow. Seven’s implants tingled as a barely detectable hum cut the air indicating the presence of charged particles.
A few seconds later, the ion sweep was complete and Seven was halted at the door to sickbay by the sound of dismay in the Doctor’s voice.
“Oh, my,” he said.
Turning, Seven immediately saw the object of his alarm. Tuvok’s torso, neck, and head were engulfed in a mass of flowing translucent tentacles that pulsed with volatile energy at several points where the tentacles penetrated his skin.
“Is that the parasite?” Seven asked.
“It is. Apparently it shares the multiphasic properties of the creatures aboard the array.”
Seven shuddered involuntarily. She knew all too well what it was to have her body’s systems invaded by a hostile entity. The Borg had perfected the technique. Though she was about to perform a similar procedure by infecting the Betasis with modified Borg nanoprobes, and was certain that the means did justify the ends in this particular case, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret for the neural network that would be compromised and overrun, just as Tuvok’s body had been violated by this parasite. For a moment, B’Elanna’s initial revulsion at Seven’s suggestion seemed not only comprehensible, but also appropriate.
Nonetheless, Seven completed the modifications within the next half-hour and forced the regret from her mind as she returned to the Betasis to all but assimilate its neural network.
Blessed be the All-Knowing Light. Through Him we are bound to what is and the beyond. Time cannot contain Him, but in its fullness will restore the harmony which was broken. Created in His divine image, we toil as one to expand our knowledge. We suffer as He suffered, oppressed by those who fear His truth. We will not raise our hands in violence against those who are blind. Our war is not with them, but within ourselves. The path to peace is lit by the fires of creation. We must strive daily to keep those fires alive so that when He returns He will find us ready to stand beside Him in Gremadia. Only there will we taste life beyond time. To walk in His presence is to know eternity.
Neelix read these words aloud, pondering their deeper meaning. The Monorhan belief system contained within the poetic images of Dagan was beautiful, to be sure-more lovely than most, he had to allow. In his travels he had encountered many such mythologies. Most races in his experience grappled with a definition of self, and as many as not found it comforting to ascribe their existence to the efforts of some separate but benign entity. Neelix had no personal context for such a belief, as Talaxians had always framed their morals and values around personal responsibility and close family ties.
It had been many months since Neelix had faced his darkest personal crisis of faith. A protomatter explosion had actually killed him, and only through the intervention of Borg technology had his life been restored. He had been raised on stories of the Great Forest and had believed fervently up until that day that when he died he would