Starship Armstrong - Season 3

Part 13 - The Statue Of Dr. Kang (XII)

Keely brought Captain Littlecrow to the edge of town where there was a simple covered well. The roof was mud-packed thatch suspended over it by gathered wood. The edge was surrounded by unworked stone. It was about as low-tech a well as the Captain could imagine.

"This is our well," said Keely. "Digging it was the first thing Dr. Kang showed us how to do. He also taught us to cover it to keep it clean. We have fresh water so close to the village now. It changed everyone's life. Everyone. When I first saw this I thought maybe he really is who he says he is."

Her voice was melancholy.

"It's a very fine well," said the Captain. "He's obviously helped you a lot."

Littlecrow exchanged helpless glances with Mitzner. They were both sympathetic to what they thought Keely was feeling. Littlecrow didn't relish taking Dr. Kang away from these people but she had to look at the big picture. An Uplift Team would eventually arrive on this world, but there were hundreds of uncontacted lost colonies still out in the periphery. She couldn't afford to spend the Armstrong's considerable resources on one small village.

"Could I ask you a question?" asked Keely. It was already a question.

"Certainly," said the Captain.

"Dr. Kang told us the most stable form of government is a planet- a planetary government," said Keely. "Is that true?"

"It's the most common form of government, a relic from the days of the Empire, but it's hardly universal. There are all kinds of stable governments. People have to figure out what works for them."

Keely nodded her head, looking pensive.

"You look like you have something else you want to ask," said Littlecrow.

Keely looked at the Captain, summoned all her courage, and asked what she really wanted to ask.

"Dr. Kang has been making weapons in his workshop, the most dangerous weapons I've ever seen. He intends for us to attack the nomads who live at the edges of our territory, to force them to join us so they can help Dr. Kang build his tools. Is this really the only way we can recapture the glory of our ancestors? What is the true price of that glory?"

"He what?" demanded Mitzner.

"Take us to him," said the Captain. "Now."

She was finally angry.

* * *

Dr. Kang could see the Captain approaching, her yapping lap dog Mitzner not far behind, and Keely as well. He motioned to Yig to get the workers to cease operations. It would have been impossible to talk otherwise over the noise. They did so.

"I heard about your plan to forcefully absorb the nomadic tribes into this village," said the Captain, seething.

"You little snitch," said Dr. Kang to Keely.

"You're not talking to her you're talking to me," said the Captain.

"I don't have enough population to get my work done in a timely manner," said Dr. Kang. "It's in your best interest for me to get this finished too."

"I finally reached my limit with you. You gave weapons technology to a primitive culture. That's illegal. You induced a primitive culture to war. That's a war crime. I'm not going to waste any more of my ship's valuable time ferrying you back and forth to Mars to stand trial. So as far as I'm concerned you've just renounced your Foundation membership in favor of citizenship of this world. That means you can interfere with it all you want. Give me your insignia."

"No," said Kang.

"Give me the owl," said Littlecrow, holding her hand out.

"Absolutely not," said Dr. Kang.

The Captain made deliberate eye contact with Dr. Kang.

"I'm going to give you one opportunity, Doctor," she said, as cold as winter, "get in the shuttle immediately and come back with us to the ship."

Dr. Kang glared at the Captain, and she glared back. There was a long moment of tension. The locals watched, comprehending the battle of wills even through the language barrier that separated them from the Armstrong crew. There was no sound but the wind.

Kang broke. Wordlessly and with obvious frustration he walked over to the shuttle and got in.

Littlecrow held out her hand to silence Mitzner, and the two silently returned to the shuttle themselves.

* * *

Wagner and McAfree, with nothing better to do, were hanging out in the Science Department. Dr. Kang hadn't shown his face around it since returning to the ship so it seemed like the best place to go to avoid him. McAfree wasn't looking forward to *that* conversation.

"I don't get it," said Wagner, leaning against a large piece of equipment. "Why did they build a statue of Dr. Kang in the first place?"

McAfree was perched on a chair with her legs half crossed.

"That's the, uh," she said, pointing at what Wagner was leaning on.

Wagner leapt away from it like a scared cat.

"You obviously *don't* get it, which is weird because you were there for the relevant parts," said McAfree. "They didn't build a statue of him. You saw the statue, it was barely a person. Whatever vague resemblance there was to him was a complete coincidence. Nobody is going to build a statue of Doc because literally every human in the galaxy hates him."

* * *

On Manticore they had a large copper statue of Dr. Heliodore Kang breaking a chain in front of delighted children.

On Sagan Major the statue was made of bronze and Dr. Kang holds a torch representing the light of knowledge in one hand, and a sword representing military might in the other.

And as far as the citizens of Zethes knew, watching over the shore in the center of the capital city was a grand colossus of Dr. Kang protecting them against the unknown.

The Statue Of Dr. Kang: End