Trinity College School - Record Yearbook (Port Hope, Ontario Canada)

Page 22 text:

COUNSEL FOR THE PROSECUTION: CAPTAIN CHRIST: COUNSEL FOR THE PROSECUTION: COUNSEL FOR THE DEFENSE: competition and local energy sources when they try to finite a new race. Our first scan of Sol 3 showed that the Romulans had indeed got there before us. They had developed a sub-culture of the earthmen tas we called the inhabitants of this planet! whose ideals were based on conquest. This sub-culture, known as Romans, had learned to worship many 'gods' but none of these was solar. It seemed clear that the inhabitants of this planet were well on the way to becoming finite and the three leaders of our party discussed the options. My plan was adopted. I introduced a new faith to the highly superstitious people, a faith which l named after myself. This faith incorporated the twin themes of cooperation and solar powerg the brotherhood of man and worship of the sun. I took care of the details and even transported myself to the planet's surface where my advanced technology appeared as magic to the people. I even put a phase shift into my molecular vibrations so that I ap- peared to die, to disappear and to re-appear. In this and other ways I tried to set up a faith that would be stronger than any other on the planet. Our on-board computers were convinced that this plan would work so it was with quiet confidence that we returned to report to G.O.D. If your mission was such a success, then why did you return to that planet and destroy it? It is 'Department' procedure to leave a drone satellite in orbit around a planet to report on that planet's technological developem . . . The regulations for potentially infinite planets as dictated by the Galactic Organization Department, which you so disrespectfully refer to as the 'Department,' is common programming to us all. .lust answer my question and . . . l really must object! Counsel is trying to suggest that my client was being disrespectful when all he was doing was trying to save time.

Page 21 text:

The Courtmartial of Captain I. Christ A report on the proceedings of the Galactic High Court, star date 34 456.28 PRESENT WERE: THE PRESIDENT: CAPTAIN CHRIST: THE PRESIDENT: COUNSEL FOR THE PROSECUTION: CAPTAIN CHRIST: COUNSEL FOR THE PROSECUTION: CAPTAIN CHRIST: JUDGEMENT COMPUTER: The defendant, Captain J. Christ The President of the Galactic Organization Department tG.O.D.7, General O.U.R. Father The Head Technician of the Authority for Nuclear and Gravitational Energy Lasers tA.N.G.E.L.J, Mr. Arch Michael Counsel for the Prosecution, Mr. U.R. Guilty Counsel for the Defense, Mrs. Ima Knott Judgement Computer, series Y R U B4 Me You are charged that on stardate 34 456.264 you deliberately destroyed an inhabited planet without prior clearance with G.O.D. How do you plead, guilty or not guilty? If you mean did I do it, the answer is yes. However, as you will soon see, it was no crime. We shall take that as a plea of 'not guilty.' Counsel forthe prosecution may begin. Let me understand you clearly, Captain Christ. Did you destroy the planet, S0137 Yes You said just now that you thought this was no crime. Please explain yourself. As you may know, I had visited Sol 3 quite a long time earlier. I have written about my exploits there in my book, Trinity on Sol 3. There were, of course, three leaders of this expeditiong this is the usual plan for such explorations. This is a courtmartial not a programme to advertise books. Be relevant. CAPTAIN CHRIST: If you would let me quote from my book l could give the background for my recent action. May l continue? l quote front chapter 4. Even before I left for the distant, blue orb known as Sol 3 fthe natives called it Earthi I had the distinct feeling that this was to be no ordinary assignment. We were to check on the natives' progress toward infinity but rumour had it that the Romulans, selfish and destructive as always, had sent agents in disguise to Sol 3. They would try, as they have tried elsewhere, to prevent the inhabitants of this planet from reaching infinity. Let me explain. As we all know, it is only a matter of time before the star at the centre of any planetary system changes. Sometimes it shrinks to a white dwarf and its orbiting planets receive no more energy. Sometimes it Hates into nova destroying its planets in a fiery holocaust. ln either case all life on the planets is destroyed . . . unless the inhabitants have developed intergalactic travel. Then, and only then, will the inhabitants achieve in- finity. When a race achieves infinity. its members become part of the Galactic Organization Department, sharing the wealth of the galaxy and the burden of guiding less developed races toward infinity. The Romulans have no intention of sharing anything with anyone and so they constantly try to finite all new races they meet. We feared that they had already started their destructive practices on Sol 3, and our ex- pedition was designed to discover the facts. According to Nordamian's Law of Parallel Planetary Evolution, there is only one way that a race can achieve intergalactic travel and thus reach infinity. The process is complex and the details may vary in different space-time frames of the universe but there really is only one way. one way with two absolute requirements: total interorganism cooperation and solar power. The historical records of every race belonging to the 'Department' show a total commitment to these two requirements. This is why when messengers from the 'Department' reach a planet whose organisms have potential in- finity, they emphasise cooperation and solar power. The Romulans, of course, stress I7

Page 23 text:

.IUDGEMENT COMPUTER: COUNSEL FOR THE PROSECUTION: .IUDGEMENT COMPUTER: CAPTAIN CHRIST: COUNSEL FOR THE PROSECUTION: CAPTAIN CHRIST: We all know how valuable time is to the excellent Judgement Computer. I thank Counsel for the Defense: it is good to be appreciated and so often I am treated as just a box of electronic circuits. Counsel for the Prosecution will stop inferring things about the defendant. If you mean 'impIying,' then I shall be glad to comply. It would help matters if someone could check the speech-grammar circuits on all series Y R U B4 Me computers before a trial begins. After all, words are important! And time is also important. Can the defendant continue to answer the question? I-Ie was explaining why he returned to Sol 3. As I was saying, the drone satellite reported on the technological developement of the planet and soon it became clear that there had been a terrible mistake: a confusion of nomenclature. I had, as I said, established a faith which included worship of the local star called 'sun.' Unfortunately the inhabitants of Sol 3 use that same word, with a minor difference in spelling, to mean the male offspring of a mated couple. The people had been worshipping the wrong sun. All this is most interesting, and it will doubtless be part of any sequel to your original book. You still have not explained why you returned and why you destroyed the planet. I went back to try to change things. In my second coming I hoped I would be able to redirect the course of their history. 1 could not. Matters had gone too far. Without the directing force of a faith based on total cooperation and solar power, the people had concentrated on competition and local energy sources . . . many of which were highly destructive to their environment. They had some form of thermal energy and elementary nuclear energy, but both of these are very destructive to the environment. Cooperation between races was nonexistant. The ideas I