Letters Home

Chapter 8

Letters Home chapter 8

                                                                                                                       November 1, 2153

My Devious Daughter,

Why did I begin with this salutation?  Well you might ask.  Well you probably know.  We have both avoided talking about certain subjects by deftly skirting around them, haven’t we?

A few letters back you asked for my reaction to the species that tried to extend their existence by creating a virus that would change members of other species into their own species.  How selfish.  Their time was over.  They were one of the universe’s failed experiments and should have accepted their fate with dignity.  That is how life works – evolution creates a thousand dead ends to every viable life form that succeeds.   Even if you can admit that reaching sentience and maintaining a civilization for a time is a success, all life forms have a life cycle which eventually ends.   For us Vulcans too, the cycle will end one day.   This species was wrong to use other species to extend its time when its time was over.  Harsh as that may sound. 

Now about your female spy.  It seems she outsmarted your humans and almost outsmarted you.  Yes, I think your humans are right that her information will damage your efforts to find and render harmless these Xindi.   At least their recognition of the danger shows the humans are thinking somewhat logically.  And with that, there is hope that all of you will find a way to succeed in the goals of your mission.

I am vindicated in the intelligence of our species that it was you who used logic to deduce that it was these spheres that are creating the anomalies.  Now the question you must address is why.  Why would someone go to the enormous effort of creating such a deleterious condition in a substantial region of space?   This is a war on not just humans but a whole quadrant of space.  Take care. 

You have been writing more about this Trip than about your captain.  I used to be concerned about your relationship to your captain.  Now I am concerned about your relationship to Commander Tucker.  Who should I be concerned about next?   Must I remind you that humans, like pet sehlats, are shorter lived than our hearty Vulcan species?  Also, like pet sehlats, I am still not convinced the humans are our intellectual equals.  People can make sentimental fools of themselves over pets.   Do not let this happen to you.

Remember, pets are good training in emotional control and responsibility.   You have to feed and house pets.  You have to let go when they finally die.   That instills the discipline you need when a close family member dies.   Your pet sehlat dying helped train you to handle your father’s death.  It will one day help you adjust to my death, though I do plan to live many decades more, at least to see my grandchildren grow up.  I think you will need my help with the grandchildren.  Enough on this subject.  For now.

And enough for this letter.  Is there anything I missed?  If so, next letter then.

Your Straight to the Point Mother of a Devious Daughter  

                                                                                                                                           November 29, 2153

Esteemed and to the Point Mother,

Respectfully, I think you actually are missing the point.  Or points.   About preserving the last of a species, all experiments are worth preserving if possible, because ‘dead ends’ may one day prove to hold some value that we are yet unaware of.   And humans are not ‘pets’.  The analogy does not hold.  Also, I will raise my own children, thank you very much.  If...I decide to have any.  But we concur on the effect of the female spy and the need to discover the reason for the creation of the spheres and the anomalies.

Now for something you have not been so forthcoming about and only hinted at.  ‘Casual company?’  With this male named Tasik?   Define ‘casual company’ further, please.   And is the fact that he does not cook  going to keep him to casual company status?    Can you trust him enough to pick up your off-world correspondence for you?   You need to keep me thoroughly informed on everything about this man.

I have avoided telling you the details about something else.  You must remember that I worked for a year aboard the Seleya and that we came upon it in the Expanse shortly before it was destroyed.   We witnessed the explosion.  It happened after we returned to Enterprise from being onboard the Seleya trying to help a doomed crew.  We could not save even one person.  This was not a human call, but the expert advice of our Denobulan doctor that all aboard the Seleya were beyond saving.  So do not think it was in any way an abandonment by the humans, though I am sure Uncle Soval will see it that way.  I believe this will come back to haunt us through Uncle Soval.

But I truly believe we could have done nothing more, though the faces of those people on the Seleya haunt me.  The fate of those people, some of them I knew extremely well, was sealed before we arrived on scene.   I still grieve for their loss.  Privately.  Logic dictates I keep thoughts of this loss from my human companions as they have enough to deal with right now.  The only person I share any of this with is Trip.  He has had a great personal loss too.  He understands.  Neuropressure continues and benefits us both.   I can almost feel you objecting across the practically infinite distance between us.  Do not.  It will avail you not.  But this does not mean you are off the hook about Tasik. 

Now for a quick run through of recent events:

We found a planet with a group of humans in residence, who had been abducted 300 years ago.  At that time, humans had projectile fire arms and steam engines as their furthest advanced technology.  They still are at this stage of technological development on this world.  However, early on, the tables were turned on the enslaving species, the Skagarans, who were over powered by the humans and their space faring  technology destroyed.  Most of the Skagarans were killed.  We were able to establish a truce between humans and what was left of the Skagaran population, which by the way, was interbreeding with the humans.  We left them with the knowledge that one day, we would return, either to take them back to Earth or help them with more advanced technology on their new world. 

My Trip was injured in an engineering accident and Dr. Phlox was able to create a clone of Trip using a living mimetic substance and Trip’s own DNA.  Unfortunately the clone was sentient and had to be sacrificed for material to treat Trip.  None of us were comfortable with this necessary sacrifice.  Before this sacrifice, it seems the clone had developed Trip’s memories and revealed them to me.  I am grateful for this further understanding of a human for whom I have great respect and affection.  Yes, affection, Mother, an emotion we all feel which underlies compassion and even our own IDIC principle.  I deeply regret the sacrifice of Sim, (yes, a sentient creature deserves a name) but I am greatly relieved the ship has regained its badly needed chief engineer.     

Time travel again entered the mix.  And it has helped save Earth.  I am now completely convinced of its existence, but take it as you perceive it.   The captain and I were sent back to the Earth of 150 years ago to stop the creation of a biogenic weapon the Xindi were developing to destroy the human species.  The mission was successful.  We destroyed the toxin they had created and captured several Xindi prisoners.  I have no idea how the Xindi managed time travel but it was fortuitous that we had it too.

We then rescued a ship of religious fanatics who turned on us and temporarily took over our ship.  We managed to take the ship back and also return these misguided people to their world.  Unfortunately, the whole planet had been devastated by two factions fighting over a minute point of religious doctrine.  I sincerely hope the small group of survivors can rebuild their civilization from the little that remains to them.  It will take centuries before we hear from them again – a good thing.  Remember how long it took us Vulcans to obtain sanity and logic after those nuclear wars?   Hopefully these people will have a second chance like we did.  But we had Surak and I doubt the leader they have can be transformed into a Surak.

With all these distractions, it is taking us longer to deal with the Xindi than we thought.  But we and the ship are in relatively good shape, still, so our mission continues.

Your Affectionate Daughter, T’Pol

PS:  I do not want to hear any backtalk about my use of the word ‘affectionate’.

                                                                                                                                          December 15, 2154

Once again Disobedient Daughter,

Casual company is just that.  In other words, no sex, if that is what you mean.  Tasik is reliable as a purveyor of letters because the situation is mutual.  I have taken written complaints about his immediate supervisor, to his supervisor’s supervisor for him.   I have been warned that Academy computer private messages are monitored.  So much for respect and privacy in academic life.   Consequently, other means of communicating privately have been developed.  The relationship with Task will remain casual.  He has a boyfriend.   

Your ship has either been very busy in the last month or you and your humans have been hallucinating from this dangerous trellium.  I have asked your uncle if there is any way to protect Vulcan ships in this Expanse.  He was doubtful until I pointed out that he is being illogical because you are still alive.  I told him to have humans do the trellium application to Vulcan ships.  He suggested it to the High Command.  That august body said no, let the humans succeed or fail on their own.  I am beginning to have a little sympathy for the humans. 

What is this about ‘your’ Trip?  I thought he was under Captain Archer’s command and not a personal possession of yours.  I am sorry that he was injured, if he is that important to your ship.  No one on a Vulcan ship is irreplaceable since all positions have backup functionaries.  And this neuro-pressure needs to stop.  Instruct him in memory repression techniques over this loss of a close family member and do so yourself over the loss of your friends on the Selaya.      

There are two things I do agree with you on.  One, that this insane alien religious leader is no Surak.  No alien world has an equal to our Surak and never will.  Two, that sacrifice of that Sim creature was regrettable but necessary.  Three, I agree those people on the Selaya could not be saved.  Four, I reluctantly agree that humans are not pets. 

Okay, that was four things we agree on.

Your back talking (and proud of it) Mother

PS: I do not want to hear any of YOUR back talk about Tasik.  And yes, I know pride is an emotion.  Stuff it.