Star Trek: Orders of Magnitude

[Chapter 6 onward; note that intense character development and insights will continue to be threaded through this narrative in similar fashion to their use in the five sample chapters.] The Traveler is subdued and taken to sickbay, where many injuries are being treated after all that is happened. Perrim is released back to duty after emergency treatment, but Crusher urges her to return for a full diagnostic as soon as possible [Perrim's symbiont and potential troubles/struggles with it can form the basis of a B-plot if desired, and can be unified with the main plot at the end]. As when they first met [TNG: Where No One Has Gone Before, Remember Me, et al], Crusher is unable to provide much insight into the Traveler's condition. She manages to stabilize him; his distemper appears to clear somewhat on its own. Picard calls a meeting for personnel not fully occupied with emergencies. The Traveler is called on to explain what he knows about this situation. He indicates that existence itself is threatened by the phenomenon here.

What unfolds in the following couple of chapters is an exposition of the first layer of the scientific problem here, studded with various crises of personal and shipwide import. The crew discovers that the Uncertainty effect is spreading out from a central point inside Saturn.

Data estimates that it could end all quantum phenomena in the galaxy within 300,000 years, which leads to sighs of relief until he points out that the effect will reach Jupiter in 6 hours [will properly calculate all these times based on some specific sublight velocity for the effect], Mars in about 18 hours and Earth in about 24 hours, rendering all technology useless. Millions will die immediately; billions more will die within days.

The quantum effects also raise unsettling questions for the crew about the nature of consciousness and the human "soul," especially in light of Data's out-of-body experience during the outage, which continues to trouble him deeply. The Traveler is highly relevant to this discussion since he believes and is evidence of the connections between time, space and thought (as outlined in his appearances during the series).

The Traveler can outline some of the parameters of what is happening, but not its entire ramifications or its historical cause. He says the Uncertainty effect is only the first part of a larger and even more dramatic phenomenon. He is evasive when pressed to provide more details and suggests that more data must be collected.

Due to the Uncertainty effect, there are limits to sensor usage (and the ship's warp drive is offline). A specialized probe is considered, but Data proposes personally flying a specially equipped shuttlecraft into the Uncertainty zone. Crew members question whether Data is allowing his personal interest in his OBE to affect his judgment, but after debate they conclude that the strategy is for the best. They speculate that Data may be able to collect useful information in an OBE state, but stress that he must return to them in order for the information to save the system. Counselor Troi accompanies him, in order to evaluate the effect on her empathic abilities.

The probe is dispatched. Data again has an OBE in which he hears the voice of his father, who tells him several things presented in a decidedly biblical tone. On returning to the ship, Data is convinced that these statements hold keys to understand their situation, but the other crew members are unsure. During the mission, Troi senses a powerful and unfamiliar type of mind, perhaps something nearing birth. The sensor logs reveal a null spot over one of Saturn's poles and the ship proceeds in that direction to investigate.

The Enterprise finds the dead shell of the 350-year-old Exeter in tight orbit over the planet's north pole. Its logs are examined remotely. From these investigations a story emerges which is told in flashback form (likely no more than 2 chapters worth). In the early 21st Century, genocidal madman Col. Green [TOS: The Savage Curtain, need to coordinate this against Pocket Books continuity, can substitute original villain if necessary] exploited brilliant scientist Roger Barclay to develop advanced artificial intelligence systems.

During this effort, Barclay stumbled across a fractal equation, which then seemed to take on a life of its own, dampening quantum phenomenon in its vicinity. Green wishes to use this technology for world conquest and takes Barclay's pregnant wife hostage in order to assure Barclay's compliance.

When the equation starts demonstrating unstable effects which make it unsafe to keep on Earth, the algorithms are stored in a specially designed computer and Green sends the ship to Saturn, farther into the solar system than man has traveled so far, so it can be stored safely but retrieved if needed for a doomsday weapon. Christopher uncovers the plot and determines the only way to save his family and thwart Green's plans is to end the mission in a seeming "accident," crashing into Saturn's atmosphere.

The equation, however, had developed sentience by this time, unknown to the Exeter's crew. In addition to residing in the ship's computer banks, it also resided in Roger Barclay's mind, fusing with the iterative fractal function of his genetic code while they were back on Earth (which was thus passed on to his son). Still early in its development, the equation had only a limited ability to affect physical reality. It was able to keep Exeter from disintegrating in Saturn's atmosphere. The ship instead descended into Saturn's liquid metal core, where it was hidden from later explorers, and the equation downloaded itself into the liquid metal, as if it were a gigantic memory core.

With Roger Barclay dead, the sentient equation's ability to grow was limited. It needed the iterative function of Barclay RNA to evolve to the next stage. At times in the ensuing centuries, carriers of Barclay RNA/DNA passed near to Saturn, but never close enough to activate the next phase of the equation's life cycle. The equation tried to draw the DNA to it by bending statistical probability when Barclay DNA was near. It never succeeded (until now) in drawing the source close enough for it to expand, but its efforts may have tampered with the "probability trajectory" of the Barclays -- with the unintentional effect of causing extremely improbable things to happen to Barclays, the "Barclay luck."

When the Enterprise moved into close orbit around Saturn, it activated the equation's next phase, resulting in the Uncertainty wave that washed over the ship. The wave is clearly the preliminary to something, but what?

Rapidly working with the Traveler and what instruments are still functioning, the crew determines that the sentient equation is preparing for a "big bang" -- it is overwriting the math (and thus the reality) of the existing universe (in both regular space and subspace) in favor of a new universe organized along entirely different lines. The Uncertainty Wave is actually a symptom of the failure of the mathematical basis for the current universe; one the current equation is zeroed out, the new equation can simply write over the old one.

The Traveler implies (but stops short of definitely confirming) that the current universe was born in much the same way -- an original central sentience that exploded like a seed pod into a million billion fragments of potential. The Traveler's people, understanding this dynamic, have appointed themselves to help guide these seeds into safe development (as he has been doing with Wesley Crusher [TNG: Journey's End]), seeking to prevent just this kind of disaster.

Because the equation is sentient life, and a nascent universe, the Enterprise crew is forced to wrestle with an ethical dilemma. Even if they could find a way to simply shut down the mathematical "big bang" going on around them, they would not only be killing the sentient being but they would also be exterminating a universe in the making, a universe which may in fact already contain multitudes of sentient awarenesses, depending on how far the process has progressed.

After more challenges, the crew finally arrives at a solution. The crew will re-create the static warp bubble once accidentally unleashed by Wesley Crusher, which at the time created a crisis that the Traveler helped resolve [TNG: Remember Me]. In that incident (episode), the static warp bubble thrust Beverly Crusher into a series of universes that were shaped by her thoughts at the time. Because she had been thinking about losing friends, the universe in which she was trapped was shaped by her thoughts, contracting around her until (at the end) she was the only living being occupying it. By transporting the equation to that same "empty" universe, the crew will give it a plane of its own in which its "big bang" can explode into natural development without costing the lives of the current universe's occupants. The Traveler will then (as he did in "Remember Me") help create a gateway to retrieve the team from the empty universe.

But, of course, it's not that easy. An away team is assembled. Crusher, because she is the only one who has been to the empty universe. Barclay, because the equation will only follow his DNA. Picard, who the Traveler indicates has evolved sufficiently to help guide the "birthing" process [TNG: All Good Things...], and Data, whose OBE's provide a way to communicate with the equation's sentience (in the hopes of explaining the situation to the equation]. The away team is dispatched and the equation follows them into the static warp bubble.

Because the static warp bubble is shaped by the thoughts of those trapped within, the journey to the empty universe becomes intensely complicated by the away team's mental states. They travel (either together or individually) through crisis points shaped by each of their experiences -- Crusher, Barclay, Data and penultimately Picard.

Each of these crisis points forced the character into a moment of confrontation with a key internal existential/psychological conflict which has been externalized into physical reality by the nature of the static warp bubble. In the end, Picard must use his gift of synthesis and his ability to transcend normal human logic (as in "All Good Things...") to resolve the paradoxes created by their journey and take them safely to their destination.

Back in the "real universe," the situation is equally dire. The departure of the equation has created a "mathematical black hole" in Saturn's core. As the Uncertainty wave collapses on itself, bizarre and disastrous effects arise.

The remaining crew determines that they must "reset" the mathematical structure where the equation once resides, in Saturn's core, or else the planet itself could implode into a bizarre phenomenon that would threaten life throughout the solar system. Because of the continuing uncertainty effects, it is determined that the only way to correct the situation is by using electrical impulses through direct contact to clear the remnants of the equation from Saturn's metallic core.

The pressures of the planet’s atmosphere would destroy a shuttlecraft or probe; their only recourse is to reconfigure the Enterprise's systems for maximum structural integrity and fly THROUGH Saturn's liquid metal core. They will transmit the necessary electrical impulses through the hull.

Needless to say, this is beset with great danger and difficulty. Instruments are virtually useless in the core; the pilot determines that the best way to navigate is using enhanced visuals and that the most intuitive way to transmit that information is using Reg Barclay's holobridge.

With the assistance of Geordi's technical wizardry, the Traveler's strange abilities and the incredible piloting skills of Perrim, as Riker makes the difficult choice to pass the baton, the daring plan succeeds, accompanied by spectacular visuals, enhanced by the holobridge, which climaxes with the Enterprise flying through and out of Saturn's atmosphere streaming liquid metal and colorful atmospheric gases behind it.

While all this is going on, the away team's crisis has been continuing and deepening. They finally reach the empty universe and Data makes contact with the equation in a profound and at times frustrating dialogue which veers at times into philosophical questions about reality and specifically about Data's true nature. These questions are thought-provoking but do not reach a final resolution as to what kind of soul Data might or might not possess [of course, given the events of "ST: Nemesis," we may WANT to give some final clarity to this issue, and this would certainly be a nice opportunity to do so].

Having succeeded in contacting the sentient equation and encouraging its release into the "empty" universe, the away team waits for the Traveler to retrieve them. But back in the "real" universe, the Enterprise is badly damaged from its ordeal, the Traveler is drained and everything is behind schedule. The crew works with the Traveler in a heroic effort to establish contact with the away team. They succeed only at the last moment and with additional efforts by Picard, requiring him once again to draw on all he has learned in order to elevate his consciousness above normal human functioning.

With all the crises finally overcome, the book ends with the main characters processing all that has happened, each struggling to redefine their relationship to reality and the possibilities of their own existences. This is particularly difficult and melancholy for Data, who feels as if he has literally sacrificed his "soul" during this ordeal. He is comforted by his friends, who respect the magnitude of his loss.

For Barclay too, these events feel like a fundamental change, and Geordi points out that since the "Barclay luck" was a measurable phenomenon with a specific cause, perhaps Reg's luck has finally changed. Moments after this observation is made, Barclay spills a cup of coffee all over Picard's uniform (or some such). Well, maybe not.

We end with the Enterprise setting a course back to Earth for much needed repairs. Picard calls once more for the holobridge, which is activated and Reg shows off an additional feature which he never got the chance to demonstrate earlier -- a holographic wheel, just the wooden wheel on an old-fashioned sailing ship, with which the Enterprise can be steered on impulse power. Picard delightedly takes the wheel as our heroes sail off toward their destinies....