Dana leaned forward, putting her hands on the table. “It sounds like you’ve already made up your mind about him, Captain. Why did you call the meeting then? Are we simply rubberstamping your choice?”
“He’s the captain, as you just pointed out,” Riker said gruffly. “He doesn’t need a rubberstamp. He can simply give us an order.”
“I’m well aware of the captain’s authority,” Dana told the sergeant. “I’d like to know why he’s bothered with the charade of a meeting.”
“Fair enough,” Maddox said. “You’re right that I’m in no doubt about what to do with Ludendorff. I don’t understand him or his motivation. I respect his deadliness and have no illusions about besting him a second time.”
“You didn’t best him the first time,” Meta said. “You got lucky. We all did because he went crazy at the Builder base. The drones beat him, not you or us.”
“True enough,” Maddox said. “We were Ludendorff’s prisoners until he decided to set us free. My point is that I’m not giving him another chance to do that again.”
“What if the professor is the only chance Earth has of surviving the doomsday machine?” Dana asked.
Maddox nodded. “Now we come to the crux of the matter and the reason for the meeting. If Ludendorff was right about the planet-killer—”
“Just a minute,” Dana said, interrupting the captain. “Before we proceed, I want to know if you think he lied about the doomsday machine or not.”
Maddox eyed the doctor. “I believe him.”
“Why?” Dana asked.
“Because he fixed the disrupter cannon and helped us defeat the New Men’s invasion armada in the Tannish System.”
“Then keep trusting him,” Dana said.
“I will run my ship,” Maddox said. “I will not willingly hand it over to anyone else, including Ludendorff.”
“You’ll keep to that even if your stubbornness means the death of Earth?” asked Dana.
“Is Ludendorff our only hope?” Maddox countered.
“Who knows more about the Builders than him?” Dana asked. “Which means, who knows more about the planet-killer? Yes, I think the professor is our only hope.”
“What are you driving at, sir?” Valerie asked the captain.
Maddox studied the others. It was time to broach the topic. “I believe Galyan could be a different avenue to victory. I’ve just learned that the professor kept part of the AI’s computer systems disengaged. Maybe it’s time for us to reactivate those systems. Maybe it’s time for us to see what else needs fixing aboard the starship.”
Dana began fidgeting as the captain spoke. Now she blurted, “That seems like a remarkably stupid idea. Firstly, before Ludendorff shut down those systems, we were the AI’s prisoners. Or have you forgotten that?”
Maddox said nothing.
“I haven’t forgotten,” Valerie told the doctor.
“Thank you,” Dana said. She regarded the captain. “Turning those systems back on could reverse all the good the professor did. Secondly, I have a lot of history with Galyan before the AI became nice. Remember, I ran the team that studied the starship in the Oort cloud. Ludendorff knew far better than I or anyone else did how to fix the AI. We’re too ignorant to make a wise decision in this area. The last thing we want is for Galyan to become our enemy again.”
“Why do you think the AI would do that?” Meta asked the doctor.
“Due to the sheer fact that Ludendorff kept those systems turned off, and Galyan has been cooperative since,” Dana said.
There was a moment of silence in the chamber as the thought sank in.
Riker glanced at Maddox before asking the doctor, “Here’s something I’d like to know. Did Ludendorff have a good reason for making us prisoners aboard our own ship? Did the professor have a good reason for letting a sadist loose against Meta?”
Dana glanced at Meta, as she said, “No. That was wrong.”
Meta folded her hands on the table, looking troubled.
“Then why can’t the professor be wrong about Galyan’s systems, the ones he kept off?” Riker asked.
“Is that a serious question?” Dana asked the sergeant. “Am I the only one who sees the obvious connection? I just explained it, but I’ll try again. Maybe the AI will become monstrously intelligent with the reengagement of the systems. Maybe it will make the computer hostile like before. The point is that we’re taking a huge risk putting the systems back online. Galyan’s previous behavior proves me right. And I’ve already said that Ludendorff knows more about Adok technology than anyone else does.”
“Ludendorff is smart,” Riker said. “We know that. But the professor’s previous behavior proves the captain is right about distrusting the man.”
“As to that,” Dana said, “I’d rather trust a human than a deified Adok AI.”
Another moment of silence ensued until Maddox cleared his throat. The others gave him their attention.
“Either course strikes me as dangerous,” the captain said. “Ludendorff might have had solid reasons for disengaging the selected computer systems. We’d have to know more about the professor to be certain, though.”
“No, no,” Dana said. “It’s obvious. Before we fixed the computer, Galyan was hostile.”
“Due to a Swarm virus,” Maddox said.
“That’s an assumption.”
“It’s hardly that,” Maddox said. “Both you and the professor agreed the virus existed and had warped the AI.”
“Yes, but—”
“That would indicate the professor kept the other computer systems offline for a different reason than the one you’re postulating,” Maddox said.
“It indicates nothing of the sort,” Dana said. “Frankly, I simply don’t understand your certainty against the professor. You must have other evidence against him. Yes. That must be it.” Dana leaned toward the captain. “What aren’t you telling us about Ludendorff? Why do you distrust him so much? I think it has more to do than simply the backdoor and Villars.”
Maddox leaned back in his chair as he tapped the table. “That’s a reasonable question. As to the rest, we have all the data we need concerning Ludendorff’s trustworthiness. To me, the critical fact is that he set Per Lomax free.”
“Ludendorff told you why he did that,” Dana said; “in order to stop the planet-killer from destroying humanity. The scope of his reason trumps your desire of holding Per Lomax prisoner.”
“I agree that’s what the professor told us,” Maddox said. “But I don’t find myself rushing to believe a liar.”
“What lies?” Dana snapped.
“The professor claimed certain New Men told him about the doomsday machine’s activation and destruction of the Wahhabi Homeworld.”
“Perhaps they did tell him.”
“How did the New Men achieve this feat?” Maddox asked. “We haven’t found the supposed long-distance communicator. I also doubt the professor’s story about a faction of New Men operating against the Throne World.”
“But that’s ridiculous,” Dana said. “Every group has factions. Look at us around this table. We’re disagreeing. Besides, I’d like to know what we know about the New Men to make anyone certain the professor is lying about them. The truth is that we know nothing about our enemies.”
“You’re wrong,” Maddox said. “We know they’re genetic supremacists. That makes me seriously doubt that any New Man would run to Ludendorff for any reason.”