Most interesting."

The soft beep of the intercom interrupted the conversation. "Picard here. Lieutenant Commander Data, to the bridge conference lounge."

Data tapped his communicator badge.

"Data here, sir."

"I have some free time now, and I would like to hear about your second meeting with Dr. Feat-as well as that theory of yours, if it is ready for presentation."

"It is, sir. I am on my way."

"Captain Picard, this is Amba.s.sador Undrun. If this is about Thiopa, I'm ent.i.tled to hear it, too." Then the confidence drained from his voice. "If you don't mind, that is."

There was a moment of hesitation from Picard's end.

Undrun's unaccustomed meekness had caught him by surprise. "[*thorngg'f course. Mr.

Data, bring Amba.s.sador Undrun with you.

I'll be waiting. Picard out."

Fingers interlaced, Picard rested his hands patiently on the long table. "So she didn't hesitate at all in giving you access to their weather records?"

"No, sir."

"What exactly were you looking for?"

"Patterns."

"What kind of patterns, Commander?" Undrun asked.

"Anything that would indicate the true state of Thiopa's overall ecology. How much of their current crisis is natural and how much is the result of their abuse of resources and natural corrective capacities."

Picard looked at his android officer.

"Presumably you found such a pattern?"

"I did, Captain. And the news is not good.

Thiopa appears to be reaching the most critical stage of a cyclical drought phase. Most planets go through such cycles. On some planets they cause considerable dislocation of plant and animal life, but other planets have sufficient reserve capacities of vital resources-water, for instance-to withstand the drought cycle with little permanent effect on existing life forms and topography."

"Topography-meaning the shrinking of forests, deserts, the expansion of that sort of thing?" Picard asked.

Data nodded. "Exactly. On Thiopa, the past forty years of rapid development proceeded with a total disregard for conservation."

Picard's mouth quirked uneasily. "Meaning .

"For example, sir, a change in rainfall patterns or an overall reduction in precipitation need not be critical if reservoirs and subsurface aquifers have been maintained at high capacity. But the Thiopans used up much of their freshwater reserve, and they have allowed toxic substances to leach into and poison the underground water supplies."

Undrun waved a dissenting hand. "They've got seawater. Desalination should solve whatever-was "There is much more, Amba.s.sador," Data said gravely. "I combined all available information on Thiopa's weather and the rate of environmental degradation caused by pollution, resource exploitation, and other negative inputs to create a model depicting Thiopa's condition fifty years from now."

Picard exhaled slowly. "Let's have it, Data."

"Computer," said Data, "please display appropriate charts."

The graphics appeared, suspended above the table, as Data continued. "The current trend in weather patterns shows a further dehydration of northern fertile zones, with additional rainfall in deserts."

"Won't that convert the deserts into arable land?"

asked Picard. "No, sir. In most places it will simply cause flooding and accelerate erosion. The soil is not of sufficient quality to permit large-scale agriculture. In addition, all rainfall on Thiopa now is highly acidic, due to industrial pollutants.

Acidic precipitation kills plant life, and when it collects in smaller bodies of water, such as lakes and rivers, it kills aquatic flora and fauna. That same industrial pollution, coupled with combustion of fossil fuels in energy production and transport vehicles, will result in a fifty percent increase in carbon dioxide levels. This will, in sequence, lead to a greenhouse effect, which will force the planet's mean temperature to rise by four degrees centigrade-a greater increase in only half a century than in all the twenty-two thousand years since Thiopa's last ice age ended.

Polar ice caps will melt, 202 resulting in an eight-foot rise in sea level and inundating coastal zones and islands.

Since storm intensity is linked directly to oceanic surface temperatures, there will be a fifty percent increase in severity of storms."

"Translating," Picard said, "that means it won't be uncommon for tidal waves to wash over coastal communities not already flooded by higher sea level?"

"Correct, sir. And there are interesting paradoxes. Higher air temperatures will cause more evaporation of seawater, which must then condense into precipitation. But none of Thiopa's major land ma.s.ses are situated so as to benefit from the extra rain. As a result, areas that are now populated will become increasingly more arid, and rivers, lakes, and aquifers will dry up. There will be a total disruption of life cycles and fragile ecosystem balances."

Picard's forehead creased anxiously. "That's quite a catalog of environmental horrors."

"Oh, there's more, sir."

"I've heard enough. What will all of it mean to intelligent life on Thiopa fifty years from now?"

"If these trends are not arrested by ma.s.sive corrective action now, almost all Thiopan land ma.s.ses will be uninhabitable by anything more than a small population. Millions of Thiopans will starve to death, and their civilization will crumble."

"Do the Thiopans have the technology to reverse all this?" asked Picard, his tone grim.

"No, sir-but we do. I have created a comprehensive a.n.a.lysis, with long-term corrective measures, including the desalination of seawater as Amba.s.sador Undrun suggested, pollution controls, alternatives to fossil-fuel usage, changing land-ma.s.s structure to rearrange rainfall patterns and rebuild water reserves, revival of degraded farmland... Shall I continue, sir?"

"No, I think we've got the picture, Data," Picard said, reflecting on the enormity of Thiopa's dilemma. "Do you think Dr. Keat is aware of this looming disaster?"

"No, sir. She is an influential member of Thiopa's government hierarchy. If she were aware of the situation I have described, it is likely she would have been able to convince Protector Stross to initiate emergency corrective measures."

"Yes, one would think so. A potential disaster of this magnitude should certainly transcend political bickering."

Undrun fidgeted in his seat, as if capping an incipient eruption. "This is it," he blurted, "the confluence of circ.u.mstances we need!" "For what?" Picard said.

"Once the Thiopans know about all this, they'll have to let us help them!"

"They don't have to let us do anything, Mr.

Undrun."

"What choice do they have, Captain? If they don't listen to reason, they're condemning their whole world to another dark age. We can put them back on the road to self-sufficiency."

Picard sighed, speaking softly to counterbalance Undrun's excitement. "Conclusions that seem apparent to us may not match Thiopan conclusions based on the same set of facts. I don't think their situation could have reached this crisis point without a highly developed ability for self-delusion."

"Then we'll just have to make them see these facts the same way we do."

Data slipped back into the conversation.

"Captain, I was also able to pinpoint the area most afected by the drought. I memorized Dr. Keat's charts and maps and have already entered them into our computer."

Picard stood. "Then let's put them on the main viewer. I want Mr. Worf and Counselor Troi to see this, too." Undrun and Data followed him through the lounge door and out to the bridge. Worf, as usual, was at his aft security console, and Deanna Troi sat with Dr.

Pulaski in the lower command center. Picard acknowledged Pulaski's presence with a perfunctory nod. "Doctor, you might as well see this, too.

Your medical services may be needed. Mr.

Data, proceed."

"Computer," Data ordered, "display Thiopan surface map on main screen."

The computer replaced the orbital view of Thiopa with a sectional map of the entire planet.

"The Endrayan Realm is the area suffering most seriously from the drought. It had the lowest annual precipitation level of any of Thiopa's densely populated realms even under normal weather conditions. So its agricultural output was at best precariously balanced."

"And most easily upset," Picard said.

Wesley swiveled away from his console.

"Captain?"

"Something to add, Mr. Crusher?"

"The Endrayan Realm-that's where the Sojourners'

Sanctuary Canyon is located."

"And where they are probably holding Commander Riker," Picard said, completing Ensign Crusher's thought.

"We could mount a rescue party," Worf suggested. "We could also beam into a totally unknown situation and lose Commander Riker as well as the away team," Picard said evenly.

But Worf s bullheaded determination had already kicked in. "Then what about sending a recon team down first to survey the area and evaluate the chances for a successful rescue."

"A better idea, Lieutenant. Mr.

Data, prepare a detailed chart of the Sanctuary Canyon area for Mr. Worf."

"Already done, sir," Data said, handing a computer disk to Worf. "It includes...o...b..tal views from the Enterprise, scaled to show objects as small as six inches across."

"Mr. Worf," said Picard, "study the terrain and come up with a suitable recon plan for my approval. Be prepared to lead a scout team down at planet dawn."

Frid Undrun had circled the back of the bridge and taken up an un.o.btrusive position near the alcove housing the door to Picard's ready room and the forward turbolift. Unnoticed, he was studying the maps of Thiopa as they flashed on the viewscreen and, using his schoolday skills, committing coordinates to memory. Moments later, still unnoticed, he sidled into the turbolift and left the busy bridge. After the doors slid shut, he stood without saying a word.

"Destination, please," the computer voice prompted.

"Umm-destination? Uh, the Ten-Forward lounge, please."

When he arrived, the lounge was nearly empty.

He moved first toward the interior corner where he'd sat on his previous visit. Then he stopped and looked toward the expansive observation windows, slanting out and offering a wide vista of s.p.a.ce. The mist-edged face of the planet below, the stark, star-dusted infinity of blackness beyond-this time they drew him close, and he eased into a booth within arm's reach of a window, facing out.

"Glad to see you've reconsidered." Guinan's tranquil voice came from behind him. "It has a certain magnetism."

He answered without turning away from the panorama. "Yes, it does. Mesmerizing ...

as if you could see tomorrow if you looked hard enough." "I don't know about tomorrow, but you can see yesterday."

"Hmmm?" He still couldn't, or wouldn't, look away from the view. "Starlight. We're seeing stars that are hundreds and thousands of light-years away, so we're seeing light that's hundreds and thousands of years old."

"That's easy to see, Guinan. Seeing tomorrow takes a bit more effort."

"Can I get you something, Mr. Amba.s.sador?"

"A gla.s.s of that Kinjinn wine, if you don't mind."

Guinan brought him his gla.s.s and he thanked her.

Then she turned away. "I think you and the stars need to be alone together," she said. She was right, Undrun thought. How did she know? He wondered what else she knew about him. Could these starship people just look at him and know how much he envied young Wesley Crusher for the kaleidoscope of opportunities that were his to choose from, and for the encouragement given by his teachers who invited him to explore whatever struck his fancy? 207 They gave Wesley and the other children on the Enterprise the most precious gift of all: the chance to fail, and to learn from failure without fear of reprisal.

Could they know how much he admired Captain Picard and William Riker for their unerring sense of when to adhere strictly to the rules and when to bend them? Or how sorry he was, and how responsible he felt, for Riker's capture?

Did they have the slightest inkling of how much Frid Undrun, Federation Aid and a.s.sistance envoy, youngest person to achieve this rank in the A and A Ministry, felt like a disaster waiting to happen? And the Thiopan mission, he feared, would reveal his true nature-an ineffectual, utter humbug. Did anyone know that he dreamed of being a maverick swashbuckler winning the day with wayward brilliance?

Ha! Not a likely transformation ...

Why not? he argued with himself. I'll tell you why not-you let them beat every shred of original thinking out of you when you were a boy ... let them lock your feet to a track that had to lead to success of a sort-just not the right sort. "By the book, was Data had said. A machine has more self-awareness than I do! If the Thiopans were going by the book, they'd have accepted this d.a.m.ned aid and you'd be done with it-and you'd be able to keep going through life under the delusion that that was enough. This is the first time you've ever had to consider that it's not enough. Talk about rude awakenings!

Did any of the officers here understand how desperately he wanted to help the people of Thiopa solve their problems and feed their hungry and repair all the heedless damage they'd done to their world? 208 Beneath his sh.e.l.l of mediocre, self-important conformity, IJ-NDRUN knew he had one n.o.ble impulse-he really and truly wanted to help where help was needed and he could provide it. Which left just one monumental question: Do I have the nerve to do what I should do instead of what's expected of me? "Did you and the stars find the answers you needed?" Guinan was behind him again, and yet he knew she hadn't been there a moment ago. Again she had somehow sensed when he was ready to talk.

He slid out of the booth. "Yes ... yes, we did." He paused for a flicker of doubt. "I think so. Thank you again, Guinan."

She tilted her head in a farewell nod and he hurried from Ten-Forward with a purposeful spring to his step.

The initial twinkling of a transporter beam took shape in Kael Keat's lab office. In a few seconds the shimmering shaft of energy became Lieutenant Commander Data. She sat perched on the edge of her desk, wearing a beige lab coat over shorts and a loose-knit blouse. Her eyes glittered with guarded curiosity.

"I didn't expect to see you again quite so soon, Data."

"I did not expect to be back so soon."

"What's so urgent? Is it about that theory you were working on?" "Yes. I did say I would discuss it with you once it was properly researched. I was somewhat surprised to find you in your lab this late in the evening."