squales’ beaks when they’re called. Maybe even doing more complex work. The molluscoids with prehensile digits could give the squales the fine manipulative capability they lack, explaining how they were able to achieve a lot of this engineering.”
“So how did they domesticate the molluscoids in the first place?” Ra-Havreii asked. “Without the capacity to confine or handle the animals…”
“It wouldn’t require any technology,” Pazlar countered. “As long as one species could control another’s movements well enough to regulate who they did or didn’t mate with, then selective breeding would be possible.”
“Well, how do you do that without fences or walls?”
“We did it all the time back home. Plenty of Gemworld sports depend on it.”
“So the bottom line,” Troi said, interrupting the building heat between them, “is that the squales are definitely intelligent.”
“I have no doubt of that,” Eviku said. “Not only intelligent, but technological, in a manner of speaking: capable of selectively breeding other life forms to serve as their tools.”
Pazlar sighed and turned to the captain. “And they’re aware of us, sir. Since the bugeye piscoids have been observed calling to the squales, I think it’s a safe bet that they’re like the weather balloons, and probably like those small shelled creatures we’ve seen being carried by piscoids flying overhead. They’re probes, sir. Sensors. And they’ve been hovering around our away teams since day one. The squales may have been keeping their distance, but they’ve been watching our every move down there.”
The room fell silent, except for a hushed “Oh, my God” from Christine Vale.
Finally, Eviku asked, “How does the Prime Directive apply in a case like this? Should we just…leave and hope no real damage is done?”
“They’ve been watching us for the past ten days,” Pazlar said. “We’re not just some sighting they can dismiss as a trick of the mind.”
“But they’re not a technological people,” Vale put in. “Without written records, the knowledge could fade into legend.”
“Don’t count on that,” Ra-Havreii said. “If they’re anything like my people or the Alonis, they may have a means of preserving detailed oral histories and passing them on exactly. Indeed, I’d say they must have such a thing, in order to preserve the complex bioengineering skills they possess.”
“We have no way of knowing how we may have inadvertently affected their society,” Troi said. “We mistakenly breached the Prime Directive, but just pulling out now would be an abrogation of our responsibility. We have to try to make contact, see if there’s a way to mitigate the damage.”
“How do we know it will damage them?” Lavena asked. “If they’ve been watching us so closely, maybe they’re fascinated by us. Maybe they’re eager to learn.”
“Then why have they been so careful to avoid us?” the captain asked gently.
“This is a world without metal, without plastic,” Troi said, both answering and reinforcing her husband’s point. “They’ve never seen anything that isn’t alive. I can hardly imagine how alien we must be to them. There’s no telling what kind of fear or crisis of belief we could provoke. We have to try to establish communication so we can assess the effects of our presence and try to mitigate it.”
“Increase our interference to reduce its effects?” Ra-Havreii asked. “That hardly seems logical.”
“There is precedent,” Troi said. “On Mintaka III, when the presence of Starfleet observers was accidentally exposed to the natives, they reacted badly with a religious fervor that almost became destructive. Since the people had only fragmentary information and no understanding of what it meant, it left them confused and frightened, provoking aggression and intolerance. Captain Picard resolved the situation by making open contact and explaining our true nature. Giving them more
“So how did they domesticate the molluscoids in the first place?” Ra-Havreii asked. “Without the capacity to confine or handle the animals…”
“It wouldn’t require any technology,” Pazlar countered. “As long as one species could control another’s movements well enough to regulate who they did or didn’t mate with, then selective breeding would be possible.”
“Well, how do you do that without fences or walls?”
“We did it all the time back home. Plenty of Gemworld sports depend on it.”
“So the bottom line,” Troi said, interrupting the building heat between them, “is that the squales are definitely intelligent.”
“I have no doubt of that,” Eviku said. “Not only intelligent, but technological, in a manner of speaking: capable of selectively breeding other life forms to serve as their tools.”
Pazlar sighed and turned to the captain. “And they’re aware of us, sir. Since the bugeye piscoids have been observed calling to the squales, I think it’s a safe bet that they’re like the weather balloons, and probably like those small shelled creatures we’ve seen being carried by piscoids flying overhead. They’re probes, sir. Sensors. And they’ve been hovering around our away teams since day one. The squales may have been keeping their distance, but they’ve been watching our every move down there.”
The room fell silent, except for a hushed “Oh, my God” from Christine Vale.
Finally, Eviku asked, “How does the Prime Directive apply in a case like this? Should we just…leave and hope no real damage is done?”
“They’ve been watching us for the past ten days,” Pazlar said. “We’re not just some sighting they can dismiss as a trick of the mind.”
“But they’re not a technological people,” Vale put in. “Without written records, the knowledge could fade into legend.”
“Don’t count on that,” Ra-Havreii said. “If they’re anything like my people or the Alonis, they may have a means of preserving detailed oral histories and passing them on exactly. Indeed, I’d say they must have such a thing, in order to preserve the complex bioengineering skills they possess.”
“We have no way of knowing how we may have inadvertently affected their society,” Troi said. “We mistakenly breached the Prime Directive, but just pulling out now would be an abrogation of our responsibility. We have to try to make contact, see if there’s a way to mitigate the damage.”
“How do we know it will damage them?” Lavena asked. “If they’ve been watching us so closely, maybe they’re fascinated by us. Maybe they’re eager to learn.”
“Then why have they been so careful to avoid us?” the captain asked gently.
“This is a world without metal, without plastic,” Troi said, both answering and reinforcing her husband’s point. “They’ve never seen anything that isn’t alive. I can hardly imagine how alien we must be to them. There’s no telling what kind of fear or crisis of belief we could provoke. We have to try to establish communication so we can assess the effects of our presence and try to mitigate it.”
“Increase our interference to reduce its effects?” Ra-Havreii asked. “That hardly seems logical.”
“There is precedent,” Troi said. “On Mintaka III, when the presence of Starfleet observers was accidentally exposed to the natives, they reacted badly with a religious fervor that almost became destructive. Since the people had only fragmentary information and no understanding of what it meant, it left them confused and frightened, provoking aggression and intolerance. Captain Picard resolved the situation by making open contact and explaining our true nature. Giving them more
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