producing certain sonic vibrations that are echoes within the fabric of the
glass. There seemed to be a resemblance between that phenomenon, and what
was happening to the crystals. I had Mendez start a scan on all
frequencies, and this is what she found."
He sat the captain before the main control panel, and switched on a
speaker. A strange, deep-throated harmonic began to pulse through the room.
Kirk felt as if his bones were beginning to vibrate in sympathetic
resonance, and his mind was filled with almost hallucinatory visions of
galaxies spinning away into the vastness of space, great suns shuddering in
death as huge novas sent the stuff of the stars back out into the universe
to coalesce once more into the dust clouds that would be the birthplace of
stars and planets. Scott switched off the speaker, and Kirk staggered a bit
as the onslaught of sound vanished.
"What in hell was that?"
"It's a harmonic that's vibrating through subspace. It sets 169
The Tears of the Singers
up a sympathetic reaction in the dilithium crystals, and causes them to
crack." Scott shrugged. "You felt what it can do to living flesh-4magine
what happens to fragile crystal."
"So what's causing the harmonic?"
"That I don't know. In fact, I can't even pinpoint where it's coming from."
"The Klingons?" Kirk suggested.
Scotty shook his head, a quick, negating little gesture. "No, I don't think
so. Mendez has been monitoring their ships, and she's noticed that th ey've
been cutting back on power just like we have. Whatever is causing this,
it's affecting them too. It occurred to me it might have something to do
with the Thygetians." He shrugged. "But I have no proof."
"Have you told Spock about this latest development?"
"Not yet."
"Then do so, and let's get him on it right away."
"Aye, sir. Oh, Captain," the engineer called, stopping Kirk before he could
reach the door. "We still have to discuss how to preserve the crystals."
"Oh, right. Well, what is your suggestion, Mr. Scott?"
"Pull back, sir. I think all of this is linked to that phenomenon. 'Me
farther we are from it the less deterioration to the crystals. "
"How far is far?"
"Out beyond the limits of the solar system."
Kirk shook his. head. "Out of the question. It would leave the landing
party without support, and Maslin separated from the facilities of sick
bay. I just got him back down there; I can't risk losing him. Also there
are those two Klingon battle cruisers to think of."
"We could always inform the Klingons of our suspicions, and urge them to
pull back too."
"And just how likely do you think that will be?"
"Not very," Scotty admitted.
"I agree, so we stay."
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"Sir, we're running dangerously low on power. If we have to fight or run I
can't guarantee the consequences."
Kirk gave him a careless grin. "So maybe the Klingons will stay friendly."
"And just how likely do you think that will be?" Scotty mimicked, throwing
Kirk's words back at him.
"Well, we can hope. After all, we're in this together. Nothing is going to
get solved unless we continue to trust each other. 1P
"I'd sooner trust an Elasian fire devil," Scott muttered to himself as Kirk
strode out of engineering.
"We may have something for you, Mr. Spock," Kirk said, after rzeela
contacted the landing party.
"Anything would be welcome, Captain," Spock's voice came over the speaker.
"Mr. Maslin's earlier breakthrough has led us once more to an impasse. We
have tried every logical line of inquiry, and even some highly questionable
methods, and all to no effect. I must confess that we are very nearly as
far from a solution as when we first landed." The Vulcan's voice held a
wealth of irritation, disgust and even a touch of defeat. For the first
time Kirk began to doubt their ability to solve the riddle of the
Thygetians and the threat of the phenomenon, and that bothered him. Always
before, the Enterprise had handled every problem with a speed and ease that
confounded other starship captains, and Star Fleet itself. 11is time they
seemed to be up against a blank wan.
"Well try this, and see if it's any help," he said, forcing a confidence
back into his voice that he really didn't feel. "Mr. Scott discovered it
when he was trying to locate the cause of the dilithium deterioration."
Kirk nodded to Mendez, who switched on a recording of the subspace
harmonic. Spock listened in silence for several seconds, then said, with
growing excitement in his normally level voice, "One moment while I summon
Mr. Maslin. This
171
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sounds very much like it fits with the Thygetian song, but I would like to
have him verify my conclusion."
There was a babble of voices over the speaker, then Maslin came on. "All
right, Captain, I'm ready." Kirk signaled Mendez, who once more played the
recording. Kirk heard the composer muttering and humming to himself. Then
Maslin gave a loud, inarticulate shout of joy. "That's it! That's itl"
There were low munnurings as Maslin turned aside to speak to the other
members of the landing party. Then suddenly the murmurs became shouts and
whistles, and there were thumping sounds that strongly indicated that an
impromptu dance had begun in the camp.
"What? It's what?" Kirk demanded, beginning to wish he were on the planet's
surface instead of stuck fifty thousand miles away, and unable to take
control of the chaos that seemed to be occurring on Thygeta.
"You see," he heard Maslin's voice rising above the others. "It's like an
incredibly complex canon with a secondary them---"
"Spock!" Kirk bellowed.
"Here, Captain."
"What is going on?"
"I think we at last have the breakthrough we needed, Captain. Mr. Maslin,"
Kirk heard Spock call. "If you could contain your enthusiasm for several
more minutes I would like to learn where Mr. Scott discovered this
harmonic. If you would listen now it would save me the bother of having to
repeat it."
"Ohq of course. I'm here, Captain, go ahead," Maslin panted.
"Scott had been measurin
,g the cracks that were forming in the crystals, and he said
it reminded him of the effect a soprano has on a glass. He
then started scanning, searching for a harmonic that would
resonate on the same frequencies as the crystals and cause
the deterioration. He found this strange sound vibrating
through subspace, but on a frequency 172
The Tears of the Singers
that is never used by any race known to Star Fleet, so our scanners had
overlooked it until now."
"Captain, please tell Lieutenant Mendez to maintain a constant monitor on
the harmonic, and arrange to have the information transmitted directly to
Mr. Maslin's synthesizer."
"T'hank you, Mr. Spock, I hadn't thought of that." Kirk heard Maslin's
voice in the background. "But that win be a help."
"So when
will you have some answers for me?"
"Unknown, Captain. We will need time to evaluate this latest information.
We will get back to you as soon as possible. Oh yes, would you please send
Dr. McCoy down to the camp. I think it might be prudent to have him
available."
"Good idea, and I think I'll come down with him just to see how you're
coming."
"I would advise against it, Captain."
"Oh? Why? Afraid I'll get in the way?"
"I would not have put it quite so crudely, but, essentiallyyes. You lack
the training to be effective in this particular investigation, Captain. Be
assured, however, that we will keep you informed of any progress. Spock
out."
"Right," Kirk muttered, feeling once again useless. He sat in silence for
several moments, then realized that he'd better call McCoy, and get him
down to the Thygetian surface. After all, he thought, pulling a wry face,
even errand boys had to be efficient.
Spock ran the long ribbon of printout through his fingers, and studied the
information contained there. They had gathered in Maslin and Uhura's tent,
and even Kali was present. Spock had sent for her earlier in the day,
feeling it was only right that they kept their allies informed of any
progress.
Guy's head was a heavy weight on Uhura's shoulder, and while Spock
continued to cogitate she whispered to him, --!'Why don't you lie down?" He
stubbornly shook his head, 173
The Tears of the Singers
and with a sigh she went back to her contemplation of the three moons of
Thygeta through the open tent flap.
At last Spock lifted his head and spoke. "Congratulations, Mr. Maslin. We
appear to have the beginnings of a formula."
Maslin, who was still leaning wearily against Uhura, straightened and shook
his head. "No, what we've got is a fragment that still doesn't make any
sense."
"But a fragment that nonetheless gives some hint of the mathematical
progression of the song, which in turn indicates to us how the Thygetian
mind works. I would say that is a distinct improvement over our earlier
situation."
"It's like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle with about half of the
pieces missing," Maslifi muttered, scrubbing his face with both hands like
a child who has been kept up too late.
"So where do we find the other pieces?" Kali asked from where she sat near
the tent opening.
"I'm open to any suggestions," Maslin replied.
"Before we begin throwing out ideas which may or may not have any basis in
logic, let us first reexamine the facts as we know them." Spock lifted one
forefinger, like a professor admonishing a group of students. "First, we
know that the Thygetians are involved in an undertaking that requires the
total energy of the adult population. Second, we know that this undertaking
is in the form of a song, but we do not know what it signifies. nird, we
know that the Thygetians appear to have the power to teleport objects, as
in the case of the fish. And fourth, we know that this song encompasses all
frequencies from the audible to the inaudible."
"And that still leaves us with no idea of what the Singers are doing,"
Maslin interrupted irritably.
"Very well then, let us examine that question. Mr. Maslin, what is your
opinion?" The composer pulled his chin down into the collar of his parka
and shook his head. "Lieutenant?"
Uhura sighed. "I don't know, Mr. Spock. I've analyzed it so many times that
I no longer know what to think."
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"Lieutenant Commander?" he asked, turning to face Kali. The Klingon woman
sat entranced, with her eyes half-closed as she listened in rapt
contemplation to the chorus that swelled and ebbed in the night around
them.
"Wh ... what?" she stammered, pulling herself free from the spell of the
Thygetian song.
"I asked for your analysis of the Thygetian song."
.'It's magic," she said seriously, looking up at him out of cloudy topaz
eyes.
"Yes, quite," Spock said dismissively, then stopped as a new thought
occurred to him. "Magic," he repeated to himself in an undertone.
Uhura cocked her head, and gave him a sharp look. "What is it, Mr. Spock?
Are y ou on to something?. "
"Possibly," he said slowly, then with greater energy demanded, "Mr. Maslin,
would you please describe for me your exact feelings at the moment the
first Thygetian died."
"Well sure, I'll try, but it's all rather fuzzy." He closed his eyes, and
drew a quick breath. "I was trying to improvise on a theme from the song so
I was very deeply involved in the music. Then suddenly I felt as if a part
of me had been . .
He hesitated and looked puzzled.
"Removed?" Spock suggested.
"Yes! That's it. I felt as if a part of me had been torn away, and ... it's
funny, but it almost hurt."
"You did in fact pass out for several seconds," Spock reminded him.
"Yeah, but what's all this got to do with the Taygetians?"
The Vulcan rose, and began to pace the small confines of the tent. "We are
all agreed that the Thygetian song extends through the audible ranges and
even into ultra- and subsonics. We have now found the song vibrating in
spectrum? Even perhaps into warp space and beyond, say, into the realm of
the psychic?"
175
The Tears of the Singers
"That's a pretty amazing theory, Spock," Uhura said guardedly. "What do you
have for evidence?"
"First, Mr. Mashn's reaction to the death of a Singer.99 He looked at the
composer. "I wondered at the time if you might not be a latent telepath."
"I've always tested high on those psi tests they give you when you enter
school, but I never followed up on it. 99
"Hardly your fault. The Earth people tend not to encourage or train for
this gift. However, if you are a telepath it can be easily tested by use of
the Vulcan mind meld. We might find it useful to try at some point."
"Assuming all of this to be true, how do we empirically prove it? My
husband isn't going to accept wild guesses and what he will call
mumbo-jumbo," Kati stated.
"Nor will my captain," Spock countered. "Therefore we must produce the
proof."
"But how?" Kali repeated.
"By using the scanners of the Enterprise to determine if the song is
present in warp space. If so it will give us yet another piece of the
Thygetian song, and enable us, using the computers, to extrapolate how the
song functions on the psychic plane.11
"Why not just mind meld with one of the Taygetians?;' Uhura asked. "Rather
than risking an error of deduction?"
"I hesitate to interfere with the adults, Lieutenant, and I think that a
joining with one of the cubs would only produce interesting, but not very
relevant, information about the cubs alone. As you know they are not
involved in the song, and it is the song that must concern us. Let us try
this method first. We can
always resort to the meld if it should become
necessary. "
"So when do we begin?" Kali asked.
"Immediately. It would help matters if you would duplicate my efforts using
your own computers. The differences in programming between machines might
give us the edge we need.,,
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"All right. I'm sure Kor will agree."
"Uh, Spock," Uhura said, catching him by the elbow, and pulling him aside.
"It's very late, and you know what Dr. McCoy said. Wouldn't it be prudent
to start this in the morning? Or at least let Guy rest while you do the
preliminaries?"
"Time is not something we have in abundance, Lieutenant, and this is the
time when I have most need of Mr. Masls skills. You must set aside your
emotionalism, and allow us to get on with our investigation."
"I am not acting on emotion alone," Uhura began, her voice low, but filled
with a deep anger. "I am referring to your God almighty logio--2'
"Uhura," Guy said softly, slipping an arm around her waist, and turning her
to face him. "It's all right. You agreed to let me finish my work here. The
sooner we ma this last push, the sooner it will be over, and we can be
together." His eyes gazed intently into hers, pleading, reassuring,
cajoling; and at last she reluctantly nodded. "Good lass," he said softly
and, catching her chin in his hand, tipped her head, and kissed her.
Kali planted her hands firmly in the center of Spock's back, and pushed him
firmly out of the tent. "Come along, Mr. Spock, we can begin the setup in
your tent."
"But . . ." he began with a glance back at the two humans, locked in a deep
embrace.
"They will be along," she reassured him, as she hustled him across the sand
to his own tent. "Trust to my greater experience in these matters. This is
one time when logic must take a back seat to sensitivity."
Kirk struggled up through layers of sleep, summoned by the insistent
whistle of his desk communicator. Staggering out of bed, he stumbled to the
table, and pushed the hair out of his eyes.
"Kirk here," he murmured blearily.
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