USS Grail - The Great Brightness

Subject: Grail: "The Great Brightness" - 'Killing Time and Myself'

<Ramin's Quarters>

"There was once a Thairian who tried to play guitar" thought Oku when he saw himself with a classic, 19th-Century-Earth's acoustic guitar, in the mirror. Oku wanted to laugh on himself, but pity did its best. He then imagined himself as the 20th-Century Paco de Lucía or 21st-Century Gun Domak. Classic guitar. But all Oku wanted is to play a couple of chords and feel Beethoven.

He sat on a chair in his small living room. He had learned the "A" chord by heart and was ready to play. He then struck the chords with his hand, having the "A" playes with the left. The sound, my fellows... the Klingon opera sound like heaven in comparison.

"Fuck!" cursed Oku. He then felt ashamed for such a colorful figure. He thought that one of the strings was misarranged. He proceeded to adjust the fifth string, but as he ignored on guitars as much as what he mastered in medicine, he did so with a knife. The result, the string cut and whipped Oku... just right into his right testicle.

Imagine Oku's eyes looking one to each other, as if the nose weren't there to keep them away. If Thairians were red-eyed, now try this REEEEED face, inflated cheeks, tight mouth, and a "Ghhmmmm!" sound, of course with plenty, plenty of pain. Oku was kneeling slowly. the guitar was pathetically left to its luck and fell to the floor. Oku also left himself to his luck.

"There was once a Thairian who tried to play guitar... and hit his balls with a string" Oku thought.

Oku could think himself as a male again. He stood up, but the pain was hard. He inspected the holy region, finding nothing but... pain. He needed some pain killers. The best one, of course.

"Computer, Thairian ale, 270 Kelvin" said Oku as he walked to the replicator.

After some chirps and whirls, the replicator left onto its shelf a glass of red liquor.

Oku grabbed the glass and gazed at it, as the contents bubbled inside. Oku said loudly, "Ave, alcohol, morituri te salutant" (i.e. latin for "Hail, alcohol, the ones who are going to die salute you"). Then one move and the liquid was gone.

A "burp" marked the end of the ceremony. Oku left the glass onto the replicator and said "Computer, repeat order". The glass disappeared and another one came to replace it, but full of that nasty-smelling, red, bubbling liquid. Oku took this new glass and sat on the desk's chair.

"Computer, please find free Holodecks for the next 12 hours"

"Holodeck 1 available from 0400 to 0500 hours"

"Computer, make a reservation for Dr. Oku Ramin, authorization..."

"Yeah, yeah" a voice replied "Ramin upsilon two sharky, I know that"

Oku paled. A voice, not inside him but clearly outside his brain. And knew his authorization code! Not even his MOTHER knew his authorization code! Not even Dosha nor the Elders of the Truth knew his code! Oku turned around to the source of the voice.

Then, a man was there. Physically there, sat on a chair, with a white dress, a white cape, white beard, and a voice of "Oku asshole, you think you're cool". The man looked at Oku despectively. It was the same vision, but this time... the second time... it looked more like an enemy than a friend.

Oku said, quite shocked "And who... the hell are... you?"

"HAH!" replied the man. "The poor Thairian doesn't know!" Meet me at Holodeck 1 at 4 am and I'll tell ya!"

Oku looked down to gain strength and when he returned his eyes to the man... he was gone. Oku stared at the glass of liquor, grabbed it and threw it to the wall so hard that he yelled "aaahhh! and hurt his arm on the movement. Now he was breathing fast. He was anxious. If the GQ weren't over yet, he might have taken a phaser and shot his head with the max setting on it. But Oku chose to go to the Holodeck.

<Later>

The lights turned on at 4 am just as Oku told the computer. He was dressed. He couldn't sleep without taking his clothes this night. He took a laser scalpel and left his quarters.

Oku reached the turbolift. "Holodeck 1" he said. The side windows of the turbolift started to show lights moving down, indication of movement.

When the lift reached the corresponding deck, the doors opened. Oku rushed into the aisle and reached the Holodeck 1's door. He pressed the button on the side and spoke "Computer, program the Thairian city of Lurannia, day 4 of Kalpa of the year 572 of the Third Dynasty"

"Program complete, enter when ready"

The doors opened, revealing a town, some 2000 years before Thairia joined the Federation in the 22nd Century. The people were dressed with loose silk pants, spherical hats and short-sleeved shirts. Colors were shiny. Buildings weren't too tall but three-story constructions seemed to show common. Oku entered the scenario just in the middle of the market, the day of the duel between the warriors Kela and Banau. Oku was playing Banau. Kela came that day through the gates of the town. Oku knew the computer had pictures of Kela. Clothes were there for Oku to wear, so he put them on top of his uniform.

Then Kela came. But Kela, the original one, was portraited as a young male, tall and muscular. This Kela was... white-bearded and veteran, but not old.

The armor of Kela, according to history, was far more superior than Banau's. But this time it was exaggeratingly better. It seemed to be made of duranium. And to Oku, it was.

The expected was for Kela to say "Well, at last we'll see". But instead, Kela said:

"Well, you came as I told you, Ramin"

Oku noticed that it was the man in his last hallucination the one that came as Kela. Oku took his sword out of its carcass and set en guarde. Kela did the same.

Oku charged, or to say, rammed Kela. Kela just moved away, so Oku went through and past Kela. Kela then kicked Oku in his back. Oku fell. Townspeople around the fight scene, noises up and cheers to Banau, the Defender of the City of Lurannia.

Kela then said "If you scan your very tiny brainy you'll find me"

Oku turned around with his sword and got it through Kela's chest. Kela laughed. Like nothing.

Oku feared. Then he said "Computer, freeze program!"

The motion around them got still. Frozen. But Kela didn't. He kept laughing with the sword from side to side, cutting his chest.

"Ah, fool" said Kela "You'll never learn that the only way to kill me is killing yourself in the process"

Oku couldn't get it. A computer malfunction? Maybe, maybe not.

"Computer" replied Oku "end program and erase it"

"Acknowledged" replied the machine.

Then the usual yellow grid on the black walls appeared after the scenery vanished. But Kela was still there.

Oku fell to the floor. "Go away" he said, frightened to death.

Then the figure kept laughing as he started to vanish as well. "Find me" were his last words to Oku.

Oku cried.

<later>

Oku reached his quarters and dressed for bed. He was worried. He needed the counselor or an antipsychotic drug. But it wasn't the time. Not at this moment."Tomorrow" Oku thought, "I will see the counselor. But not now."

Oku fell on his bed and fell asleep.

Alfonso aka Oku Ramin