Kirk nodded in agreement:

"Yes, Mr. Spock I am aware of all that."

Spock continued:

"Once we have the cloaking device in our singular effort to attempt to defeat Gary Mitchell, who evidently still has his godlike powers, my next logical question is have you had time to think about what the Enterprise and her crew shall do next?"

Kirk looked pensive but noble:

"Yes, Mr. Spock, I have been thinking about what to do next. May I ask are you thinking what I am thinking?"

Spock raised his eyebrow then replied:

"I cannot read your mind, Jim, but indeed we may be thinking alike."

Kirk smiled:

"Then tell me what you had in mind."

Spock continued:

"It comes to mind there may be one human individual who possesses a similar godlike power, if he is still alive, who might be convinced to help us fight Gary Mitchell."

Kirk nodded:

"And that one individual would be Charlie Evans, of course."

Spock nodded in agreement:

"Charlie Evans indeed, Captain. That is of course if you can persuade him to join our efforts to defeat Gary Mitchell. I don't need to remind you that Charlie, like Gary Mitchell, may very well also blame you for what became of his fate, although he did admire you while he was aboard the Enterprise."

Kirk nodded:  

"Yes, Mr. Spock, I remember well that when the omnipotent Thasians came to collect Charlie and to set right all the negative things he did with his powers while aboard, he begged me not to let them take him back to Thasus where he had already spent his entire life marooned and alone, while devoid of human contact. Twenty odd years later, its possible Charlie might blame me for that situation, but I can tell you he was a young man when he was aboard and now I am sure with the Thasians guidance Charlie has matured a great deal and he may no longer blame me for his fate."

Spock replied:

"We can only hope that is true if you intend to set course for Thasus to try and find him once we have procured and installed the cloaking device."

Kirk agreed:

"That is my intention and I am glad you agree it's the logical course of action to take next. There are also the Thasians to consider as well. They also possess godlike powers. We might be able to convince them to help us, along with Charlie's help."

Spock disagreed:

"I wouldn't count on that being true of the Thasians themselves, Captain. We have encountered omnipotent entities consisting of pure energy in the past such as the pure energy inhabitants of Organia, who refused to choose sides in our conflict with the Klingons, though they did settle that conflict whether we and the Klingons liked that or not. You may soon discover that the Thasians are equally disinterested in what they view as the petty squabbles of humanoid lifeforms."

Kirk again agreed with his science officer:

"Yes, Mr. Spock, that may be true of omnipotent beings like them, but we still have Charlie Evans to consider and we know he's human. Maybe if I offer to rescue him from exile it will cause him to wish to help us fight Gary Mitchell."

Spock was not sure:

"Unless Charlie pretends to agree to help us, and we bring him aboard only to discover he is still dangerous to us all. In which case, we will have unleashed upon ourselves a second human being with godlike powers."

Kirk could see Spock's logic:

"That is possible of course, but that's a risk I am willing to take. In my view, Charlie Evans never considered himself to be a god as Gary Mitchells does. Charlie was merely a human being brandishing godlike powers he was too immature to control, like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Charlie is now in his forties is he not?  He has been living alone in exile all these years on Thasus and Charlie never presented himself with human servants to worship him like Gary Mitchell wanted. I am betting Charlie has already grown out of anything like that, especially if the Thasians have continued to guide his development as an adult man."

Spock raised an eyebrow:

"Indeed Jim, you may be correct in your assessments. I, too, agree that trying to enlist Charlie Evans to help us and if he agrees, to bring him on board is a risk we are forced to take."

Kirk smiled and nodded:

"Let's just hope that's a risk we can all afford to take."       

****

On to Next Page>