Fic: The Odyssey, xii. pits
Warning: Scene of mass suicide/human sacrifice.
--
A few days after drifting idly in uncharted space and charting it
the scanners showed a Class M planet
with advanced life forms and warp-capable ships
They all prepared, excited, fluttered, to make a formal First Contact
everyone speculating wildly
what kind of ships this life form had
what kind of culture, buildings, beauty,
what kind of dark and artifice
what kind of language did they use:
prime number, scent, or catalyst
Each First Contact committee was assigned
a message and a beam-down spot
Dr. McCoy insisted on going down
because “What the goddamned hell, why not?
We’ve been stuck staring into blackness
the empty boring void of space
if I don’t get off this ship sometime
I’ll go stir crazy and mistake
Spock here for a real compadre
and that would be a sure sign I’m baked.”
Spock tilted an eyebrow, looked at Jim
Jim looked back smiling and replied, “Sure
go down with Spock’s team to this mountain--
meet and greet some aliens, then go tour
their giant temples and stone altars
Spock says they should be marvelous.
I’m going to be in the next big city
hanging around if things go to shit.”
“Who’s got the conn?” “Sulu and Scotty.”
“Why two?” “If it comes down to it
Scotty will handle ship operations
and Sulu will deal with rescue outfits.
Chris Chapel’s acting CMO-- anything else?
You ready to go?” “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Don’t worry, Bones. It’s fun. You’ll see.”
Nyota’s team was first on planet
and were the first to speak to it
they reported the people were delighted
and overwhelmed, and ecstatic
The other teams had similar stories;
it seemed the planet was ready to greet
other species and intelligences
eager to learn and eager to speak
new languages, see stars, and join in the spirit
of exploring the expanded sphere of their world
Jim smiled so widely, heart breathing happy
because this was why he loved being transworld--
things like this, the moment of Contact
made it worth all the whirl and the swirl.
Spock and Bones, the last team to transport
readied themselves for loud greetings and fits
but when they beamed down to the stone temple mountain
there was silence, and silence, and one giant pit
The silence stretched onward from stone to stone altar
The landscape was covered in grey misting clouds
As clouds disappeared, reappeared, they saw farther--
more deep black pits were scattered around
Each one was perfectly square, black mouth yawning
Each one was perfectly bare except when
a few pits exposed the white roots of black poplars,
and fruit-perishing willow reeds littered the bins
Spock, Bones, and team did not break the silence
fearing some evil, or sacred word in the wind
They smelled before hearing the panicked, “Sir, this way!”
and ran, dreading, steeling themselves for the sight
One great pit, the largest of all of them,
fifty-five cubit, fifteen cubit, fifty-five cubit wide
was filled with the blood, bones, and skin of the beings
they expected to greet on this day planetside.
Spock vomited. There was no way for suppressing
reaction, not when the bones were stacked cubits high
ordered and neatly arranged by type and color
the skin soaked in blood and the blood pooling dry
He did not realize he was on his knees fisting
the grass, grinding stones into palms into thighs
He shuddered to feel a hand on his shoulder
Leonard looking at him with grief in his eyes
Spock stood, inhaled, tried to collect all his feelings,
ordered tricorder readings and research on the lives
of these drawn, quartered dead neatly packed and reordered
premeditated to be scalpelled and whittled to size.
Later, after double shock ran through the planet
and mourning commenced tempering revelry,
the species explained that these were the few who
believed breaking warp would bring tragedy,
invaders, conquerors, destruction of planet
slavery, misery, anarchy, plague
an apocalypse of malevolent demons
broken out of the pits of the black holes of ague
They submitted themselves to be killed on the altars
in old belief that this mass sacrifice
would entice the demons to end the world faster
and spare their souls from suffering twice.
Bones disgusted, Jim resigned, Nyota hurt, Sulu blanking
Pavel grim, Scotty speechless, Carol shocked, Chris stoic
but Spock-- Spock, for once he was scathing
angry and reeling, his words unconfined
“Who were these credulous, vacuous, fatuous people
who commit suicide for specious rite--
my people would kill for a chance to be living
my people were killed without chance for a fight
I would give anything for one more chance to
smell the dry air of Vulcan evening sunlight
I would give anything for one walk up to
the red sacred mountain and once more recite
the prayers of Surak alone in the desert
and find the deep calm of silent starlight.
I would give anything to give them a chance to
escape into life as I escaped into life.”
And in strange alignment of stars and re-verse
Bones was the one to answer him first
“I grieve with you, and hear you and see you
I’m sorry for your loss and the misery
of death haunting you like a terrible shadow
You are not alone. You might never be free
of the pain of the death of your planet and people
this you might carry to forever entreat
but this I can promise, and this only:
You are not alone. This is not defeat.
The universe is wider and older than knowledge
that is the only truth you can meet
Grief is the force bringing chaos to chaos
from death within life, to life of blood’s heat.
But this I will promise, and this only:
You are not alone. This is not defeat.”
--
Or perhaps the mission went like this, we’re not certain
They go to the planet but there are no warp ships
They simply go down to make observation
They transport in teams, nothing special in this
Once again, Spock and Leonard go on the high mountain
Once again, they find a field of square pits
but in this, they don’t find any bones or surrounding
temples, stones, people, or signs of a dig
This time, the silence does not carry evil,
only wonder, amusement, curiosity, and calm
How did these pits come to be on the mountain
How were they dug in perfect squares one and all
and this time, perhaps, Spock would not find sick anger
instead try to find a pattern in the lea
relating dimension, distance, and possible function
to the species who lived on the mount previously
Perhaps he would find trace samples of barley,
wine mixed with water, and stone figurines
Perhaps he could detect milk mixed with honey
poured out on the bottom for something to eat
Were the pits used as pens to keep in their livestock
or as houses due to the rarity of tall trees?
The layout suggests some symbolic importance;
perhaps it was offering for the deceased
The winds would be gentler to his speculation;
experience would fuel his wide reveries;
the doctor would walk quietly among the black hollows
and remember those buried last year by Starfleet
They would return, subdued but not broken
again by the sight of those lying dead
Spock would keep hold of this precious feeling
of walking on old, quiet, hallowed, unsaid
land which once was sacred to someone
returned now to the mountain, forgotten, untread.
--
--
A few days after drifting idly in uncharted space and charting it
the scanners showed a Class M planet
with advanced life forms and warp-capable ships
They all prepared, excited, fluttered, to make a formal First Contact
everyone speculating wildly
what kind of ships this life form had
what kind of culture, buildings, beauty,
what kind of dark and artifice
what kind of language did they use:
prime number, scent, or catalyst
Each First Contact committee was assigned
a message and a beam-down spot
Dr. McCoy insisted on going down
because “What the goddamned hell, why not?
We’ve been stuck staring into blackness
the empty boring void of space
if I don’t get off this ship sometime
I’ll go stir crazy and mistake
Spock here for a real compadre
and that would be a sure sign I’m baked.”
Spock tilted an eyebrow, looked at Jim
Jim looked back smiling and replied, “Sure
go down with Spock’s team to this mountain--
meet and greet some aliens, then go tour
their giant temples and stone altars
Spock says they should be marvelous.
I’m going to be in the next big city
hanging around if things go to shit.”
“Who’s got the conn?” “Sulu and Scotty.”
“Why two?” “If it comes down to it
Scotty will handle ship operations
and Sulu will deal with rescue outfits.
Chris Chapel’s acting CMO-- anything else?
You ready to go?” “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Don’t worry, Bones. It’s fun. You’ll see.”
Nyota’s team was first on planet
and were the first to speak to it
they reported the people were delighted
and overwhelmed, and ecstatic
The other teams had similar stories;
it seemed the planet was ready to greet
other species and intelligences
eager to learn and eager to speak
new languages, see stars, and join in the spirit
of exploring the expanded sphere of their world
Jim smiled so widely, heart breathing happy
because this was why he loved being transworld--
things like this, the moment of Contact
made it worth all the whirl and the swirl.
Spock and Bones, the last team to transport
readied themselves for loud greetings and fits
but when they beamed down to the stone temple mountain
there was silence, and silence, and one giant pit
The silence stretched onward from stone to stone altar
The landscape was covered in grey misting clouds
As clouds disappeared, reappeared, they saw farther--
more deep black pits were scattered around
Each one was perfectly square, black mouth yawning
Each one was perfectly bare except when
a few pits exposed the white roots of black poplars,
and fruit-perishing willow reeds littered the bins
Spock, Bones, and team did not break the silence
fearing some evil, or sacred word in the wind
They smelled before hearing the panicked, “Sir, this way!”
and ran, dreading, steeling themselves for the sight
One great pit, the largest of all of them,
fifty-five cubit, fifteen cubit, fifty-five cubit wide
was filled with the blood, bones, and skin of the beings
they expected to greet on this day planetside.
Spock vomited. There was no way for suppressing
reaction, not when the bones were stacked cubits high
ordered and neatly arranged by type and color
the skin soaked in blood and the blood pooling dry
He did not realize he was on his knees fisting
the grass, grinding stones into palms into thighs
He shuddered to feel a hand on his shoulder
Leonard looking at him with grief in his eyes
Spock stood, inhaled, tried to collect all his feelings,
ordered tricorder readings and research on the lives
of these drawn, quartered dead neatly packed and reordered
premeditated to be scalpelled and whittled to size.
Later, after double shock ran through the planet
and mourning commenced tempering revelry,
the species explained that these were the few who
believed breaking warp would bring tragedy,
invaders, conquerors, destruction of planet
slavery, misery, anarchy, plague
an apocalypse of malevolent demons
broken out of the pits of the black holes of ague
They submitted themselves to be killed on the altars
in old belief that this mass sacrifice
would entice the demons to end the world faster
and spare their souls from suffering twice.
Bones disgusted, Jim resigned, Nyota hurt, Sulu blanking
Pavel grim, Scotty speechless, Carol shocked, Chris stoic
but Spock-- Spock, for once he was scathing
angry and reeling, his words unconfined
“Who were these credulous, vacuous, fatuous people
who commit suicide for specious rite--
my people would kill for a chance to be living
my people were killed without chance for a fight
I would give anything for one more chance to
smell the dry air of Vulcan evening sunlight
I would give anything for one walk up to
the red sacred mountain and once more recite
the prayers of Surak alone in the desert
and find the deep calm of silent starlight.
I would give anything to give them a chance to
escape into life as I escaped into life.”
And in strange alignment of stars and re-verse
Bones was the one to answer him first
“I grieve with you, and hear you and see you
I’m sorry for your loss and the misery
of death haunting you like a terrible shadow
You are not alone. You might never be free
of the pain of the death of your planet and people
this you might carry to forever entreat
but this I can promise, and this only:
You are not alone. This is not defeat.
The universe is wider and older than knowledge
that is the only truth you can meet
Grief is the force bringing chaos to chaos
from death within life, to life of blood’s heat.
But this I will promise, and this only:
You are not alone. This is not defeat.”
--
Or perhaps the mission went like this, we’re not certain
They go to the planet but there are no warp ships
They simply go down to make observation
They transport in teams, nothing special in this
Once again, Spock and Leonard go on the high mountain
Once again, they find a field of square pits
but in this, they don’t find any bones or surrounding
temples, stones, people, or signs of a dig
This time, the silence does not carry evil,
only wonder, amusement, curiosity, and calm
How did these pits come to be on the mountain
How were they dug in perfect squares one and all
and this time, perhaps, Spock would not find sick anger
instead try to find a pattern in the lea
relating dimension, distance, and possible function
to the species who lived on the mount previously
Perhaps he would find trace samples of barley,
wine mixed with water, and stone figurines
Perhaps he could detect milk mixed with honey
poured out on the bottom for something to eat
Were the pits used as pens to keep in their livestock
or as houses due to the rarity of tall trees?
The layout suggests some symbolic importance;
perhaps it was offering for the deceased
The winds would be gentler to his speculation;
experience would fuel his wide reveries;
the doctor would walk quietly among the black hollows
and remember those buried last year by Starfleet
They would return, subdued but not broken
again by the sight of those lying dead
Spock would keep hold of this precious feeling
of walking on old, quiet, hallowed, unsaid
land which once was sacred to someone
returned now to the mountain, forgotten, untread.
--