Timetrap (Star Trek: The Original Series Book 40) by David Dvorkin

Author:David Dvorkin [Dvorkin, David]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Pocket Books/Star Trek
Published: 2000-09-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

“I ASSURE YOU, JIM, “Morith repeated patiently. “She will be all right.”

“But I just don’t understand! What could have happened?”

Morith hesitated and then said, “Have you ever heard of theQong-Hegh?”

Kirk repeated the word, fumbling with the Klingon consonants. “No.”

They were in Morith’s cramped office just off the bridge, and Kirk was sitting in a chair in front of the desk, Morith behind it.

“Not surprising. It’s something we don’t discuss with non-Klingons—or with each other, for that matter. I suppose the best translation would be ‘sleep death.’ It’s a hereditary disease that has been around since before our recorded history began. It’s rare, and it used to be inevitably fatal.”

Kirk jumped to his feet.

Morith held up a hand to forestall him. “Used to be, I said. We can control it with drugs, nowadays. Haven’t you noticed Kalrind taking pills every day?”

Kirk thought about it. “Why, yes, I have. I asked her about it once, and she said it was some sort of vitamin supplement because of a metabolic problem she had inherited.”

Morith laughed. “Not that far off the truth, except that what she inherited was a fatal disease, not a metabolic problem, and the pill isn’t a vitamin supplement but rather the medication that keeps her alive.”

“But why did she lie to me?”

“As I said, we don’t discuss it. We’re ashamed of it,” Morith amplified. “It was always associated with the lowest classes in the old Empire, and even though we New Klingons profess not to care about any of that old social structure, there’s still a great deal of shame attendant upon proof that one’s ancestors were members of those classes. InheritingQong-Hegh is virtual proof of such descent.”

Kirk shook his head. “It’s foolish of her to be ashamed!”

With a rare flash of anger, Morith said harshly, “It’s easy for an Earther to think so! You are not a product of our history, our warrior tradition. You can’t understand how we feel!”

Kirk looked at him in mute surprise.

“Forgive me, Jim. The stress of running this fleet It’s not at all the work I was trained for.

“Anyway, to continue. In the old days, a child who displayed signs of theQong-Hegh was simply allowed to die of it. That usually happened during adolescence, which is when the disease normally first manifests itself. Not that much could have been done even if anyone had wanted to save those children. It wasn’t until the New Klingon takeover of the Empire that the situation changed, and that was only possible because of our breakthroughs in chemistry and biology, which together enabled us to design a drug therapy.”

“But the breakthroughs came because the New Klingons chose to direct their research in that direction,” Kirk said thoughtfully.

Morith nodded. “A good point. Be that as it may, however, our immediate problem is Kalrind. The doctors report that her response to the drug is still normal. At first, they feared that it was losing its effect with her. That would be the first such case. However, she’s returning to

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