Survivors - Jean Lorrah [82]
“I don’t remember anything but the pain,” she admitted. “I … I was born addicted to joy dust, Data, because my mother was. She fed it to me to keep me quiet when I was a baby, but after a while she couldn’t afford enough for both of us. She stopped giving it to me. My earliest memories are of the pain of withdrawal.”
“Tasha, I had no idea-“
“Please don’t tell anyone. Not even Dare knows that. The woman who cared for me after my mother finally abandoned me altogether kept me free of the stuff until I was old enough to understand that a free mind was worth the pain of life, even on New Paris. Data, you said Riatine doesn’t have physical withdrawal symptoms. I say, free the minds of the people of Treva. Let them think for themselves, decide for themselves what to do about Nalavia!”
Data stared into her eyes for some seconds. Then he nodded. “I will provide the information Rikan and Adin require. Rikan is Trevan; he has the right to decide what to do with it.”
Data provided the records of the manufacture and delivery of Riatine. “It would be simplest to exchange it where it is warehoused before use,” he explained. “There are no guards-why would anyone want to steal water purifier? If we had a transporter, it would be child’s play to substitute a placebo for the Riatine; an hour’s work for the capital and all three other major cities.”
“But we don’t have a transporter,” Dare said, putting a casual hand on Data’s shoulder as he leaned forward to study the screen. Yar saw Data glance at the hand-on the Enterprise, only Geordi touched Data that way, as if he were just another person. She felt her lips quirk at the change in Dare’s attitude once he actually met the android; obviously he had already forgotten that Data was a machine.
“Suppose,” Dare was saying, “we ambush the lorries carrying the drug to the purification plants.”
“Right!” said Barb.
“Fine if we just wanted to steal it,” said Aurora, “but we want to substitute something for it. The regular deliverymen are probably known, and they would certainly be missed before the placebo was used.”
“Mmm,” Dare ruminated, “I was thinking of going in fast, hitting deliveries to all three cities in one night.”
“We can do it,” urged Barb. “If we just take the Riatine, they can’t put it in the water.”
Poet responded, “Who ever asks whether the enemy were defeated by strategy or valor?”
“I do!” Barb told him with a glare. “We’re all gettin’ fat an’ lazy sittin’ around here.”
“The better part of valor is discretion,” Poet reminded her.
“Dammit, Poet,” the warrior woman said, “you talk like a coward. If I hadn’t a seen you fight, I’d think you was some snivelin’ worm.”
Data interrupted the bickering. “The moment the Riatine is missed, Nalavia will know you have stolen it. If you replace it, the placebo may not be used immediately. If the drug wears off in only one city, Nalavia will test both the water and the chemical in the warehouse.”
“You’re right,” said Dare. “The scheme will only work if it wears off for everyone before Nalavia realizes what has happened.”
“And we must be ready to take advantage of it,” Aurora added. “A few riots won’t do any good. Nalavia will send her army to quell them, and replace the drugs. Once the people have their free will back, they must be informed of Nalavia’s treachery.”
“If we can take over the radio and video broadcasts,” said Sdan, “the word will spread very fast.”
“And be believed,” said Aurora, “because people will feel the difference in themselves.”
“Why not simply destroy the plants manufacturing Riatine?” Yar asked. “Nalavia would know at once, but surely she could not manufacture enough to poison all the cities’ water again before everyone woke up.”
“That’s the ticket!” Barb agreed.
Rikan said, “Many Trevan people work in those manufacturing centers. I am sure most of them think they are making water purifier. Is there a way to destroy the plants without killing and injuring innocent people?”
“I doubt it,” Dare replied.
“Even if we could, consider Nalavia’s reaction,” said Aurora. “She wouldn’t wait for the rioting