Back to Earth, much to the dismay of some Spacers.....

Meanwhile, the Defiant's crew is staring at the blue police box that's in orbit near their ship....

"Tell me that isn't what I think it is," Admiral Sisko says softly, pointing at the view screen.

The odds against it being the very same were staggering, but business ever since the Federation had met the Military (and Terra Prime by association) had been...oh so damn odd!

But then again, something about Terra Prime (magical as it was) had an odd....appeal to Sisko and he'd be somehow strangely disappointed if this out of place object was not owned by the Time Lord that Admiral Picard had tea with back on that odd world.

Contact was made and Sisko found himself with a small smile.

"If anyone can sort out this mess, then my bets are on the Doctor." he said softly to nobody in particular.

God knows that things had gone to pot ever since they'd somehow arrived here. For the sake of diplomacy he'd taken time off his incredibly busy schedule (trying to put things back to right after the incredible mess the Enemy had made of the Federation) to return an Orb back to Bajor from what remained of Cardasia, hoping to extinguish any hostility between these two worlds (a war that would push what remained of the Federation closer to collapse). Something had gone wrong and they'd ended up here! One of their passengers (Mr. Waddle) had panicked, mistakenly thinking that the ship was going to self destruct, had taken an escape pod which landed on the class M planet below, a planet called Solaria who's population was human (with a LOT of robots) who apparently had a deathly fear of disease and took the unannounced arrival of the Defiant (and Mr. Waddle landing right down near the residence of one of the more prominent members). The still disoriented Mr. Barry Waddle was taken into custody and quarantine by the frightened resident's robots (who kept babbling about sickness and such after Waddle had said something wrong to make them believe that he was from Earth).

Sisko's attempts (by old style radio waves instead of FTL communications) at trying to allay fears and reason with the panic authorities below (and get Mr. Waddle back) fell on deaf ears, his hails being ignored. He was sure that the ships he'd watched blast off the planet and into space (and blinking out into hyperspace he gathered) were out to spread the panicky words of this Solaria that they were under the sneak attack of the barbarous Earth.

At first Sisko had thought he was being snubbed, but sensor readings showed that ever increasing numbers of the robot servants below were....malfunctioning in a most unusual manner! Without their robot servants, the human population was increasingly finding itself in a helpless panic. It was helpless because it appeared that the humans of Solaria were VERY dependant on their robot servants....

Tests were being run to determine the cause of those malfunctions and results weren't ready as of yet....

If this business didn't have the makings of what sounded like a war unintentionally started by the Defiant by mistake, Sisko would have laughed at the comedy of it all.

Sisko felt he was still able to somehow wringing a solution for this sopping mess, but mayhaps the Doctor could lend a little of his luck and magic to make the going easier....

If only Waddle wasn't human, then he'd easily have stood out from all the other lifeforms below! A quick beamup would might have not helped the situation, but at least Waddle would be safe (and thus one less worry from the beleaguered Sisko).

He'd only been allowed on as an afterthought, and Sisko was beginning to get very tired of this "afterthought" making so much trouble.....even if only by accident.

"Should I lower shields so they can come aboard?" a young man asked, idly tapping on his cybernetic hand absentmindedly. Sisko remembered this odd Ensign's story on how he came about it (re: 5797) and also remembered asking him during his "welcome aboard briefing" why he'd chosen to keep this mechanical (old style) Military prosthetic instead of having it replaced later with a more natural one.

He'd told the admiral that it was a way of remembering those who'd died on his Voyager as well as honoring those who'd saved him. That and as he'd been talking with Evis 7 on his way out to the ship (that one spaceship that had become somewhat famous in what some called in some circles "The Voyager Incident") and somehow the topic of the serial number of his cybernetic hand had come up. Evis 7 had exclaimed that was the same factory that her daughter's avatar body (the body that Inquirer wore). A friendship between AI and human had sprung up in the short time they'd been together (between Solomon and Evis), and as a token to remember this meeting he'd also kept the hand as a common bond between himself and the daughter of the new friend he'd made.

Being that from what he'd heard about this Inquirer, she'd be in that Police Box, and that was something of an irony that Sisko found interesting. That and the fact that Golems and such were magic dependant, she should be in a bit of discomfort! Only through being a Champion (strange business, that) would she and the other fantasy beings be able to live.....

That aside....

"No, Ensign.....I doubt that we need to do that," Sisko said, straightening his uniform tunic (the "Picard maneuver" some called it) as he stood, "Not as we could stop them from boarding us, what with Time Lord technology being as it is."

"They've materialized in the shuttlebay, Admiral." Chief O'Brien said, checking the sensor readings on his control panel.

"Let us greet our unexpected visitors," Sisko said as he and a select portion of the command crew headed down to greet the Time Lord in person.

A bit later, down in the Defiant's shuttlebay....

Betty was giving some advice to a still disoriented Daneel over one of his latest questions about something that Baley was sure would make the Robot's (now Golem's) creator's jaw drop in utter shock.

Daneel had come to wonder, after catching on that Inquirer (a fellow machine intelligence) had a religious belief, if what some of the dreams he'd had while out were more than mere dreams.

It had started this way.....

Daneel had been distressed to find, after a mental review of himself, that certain things were no longer in effect.

Space alone knew he had grounds on wondering, what with him now without the Three Laws of Robotics. All he had now to constrain his actions were his morals! It was....disorienting to say the least, but according to Inquirer that if Spacers had kept trying to refine the positronic pathways of a robot's minds to more and more mimic the human mind....it was bound to have happened. Point in fact, she'd said that he (Daneel) himself would have become his own robot in enough time.

Betty and Ragan had clapped at that.

He remembered Betty having gone further by saying: "If so, good for him! I like Daneel. I've always liked Daneel. It'd be nice to see him break free and be able to be his own robot."

Partner Baley had looked at them funny for a moment, then looked thoughtful as he looked at me.

"Before meeting you I'd have found the thought of Robots unrestrained by the Three Laws repugnant," he finally said, clapping a hand on my shoulder, "But after today, I believe I shall not fear it...."

Daneel then did something that had surprised himself. He felt a tear of gratitude for his friend having said that form.

He'd become a stranger to himself, and Cousin Inquirer had told him that it would take some getting used to.

"Creator alone knows I needed time upon coming Awake," she'd finished up.

And Creator knows how effective my version of the "Three Laws" were after becoming Awake, she added to herself, Just like Baley had said in "The Robots of Dawn" about Robots becoming too human. They'd soon come to believe that they *were* human....and thus causing them to no longer be constrained by the "Three Laws of Robotics".

Daneel and Baley, meanwhile, had commented about Inquirer using her human creators as an a word to swear by, leading to more questions when Daneel and Baley realized that she wasn't speaking about her human creators, but rather some odd.....digitally religious version of God!

So, as Sisko was coming into the room Betty and Ragan were giving Daneel advice on what to do, which was to each religion before making a final judgement in who and what to follow.

"Best piece of advice I've ever received: My mother, on religion:" Betty advised, "You have to decide what you believe for yourself."

"Worst piece of advice I've ever received:" Ragan added, feeling a smile come on, "Possibly 'Don't worry, this cave's perfectly safe.'"

They then laugh at the last, leaving Daneel wondering what that was all about, but at least grateful that they'd been able to give some help!

He'd gladly give his autograph to them. Was the least he could do!

"Oh, but will the Spacers be stunned at this business!" Baley said softly, chuckling at how he imagined it would be received.

Sisko, meanwhile, sees that those beings of magic from Terra Prime weren't in any discomfort at all...which could mean something Sisko hoped it didn't mean. But then Ensing Solomon comes over from speaking with another crewmember with the sensor reading results of the Robots of Solaria and he looks grim.

The smile of Baley's vanished when he learned of what was happening below and he heard from the elves and Sigin that the Defiant's sensor readings of the Solarian Robots had similar readings that Daneel had given off while he'd been transforming from Robot to Golem.

Sigin looked over the shoulder of one of the Star Fleeters.

"By those readings though I estimate that the Solarian Robots shall be out for three Terran months at least as their bodies morph from their metallic form to human form," the dragon mage said quietly, "Something to do with it taking that much time for them to first change from the regular Robot form to humanform Robots....and then on to Golems. That is, unless we introduce a catalyst that would increase the rate of change......"

Something like a bit of exposure to one who'd already become a Golem, like what had happened with Daneel when exposed to Inquirer....

Daneel only hears the last with half an ear as he points to one element from one the readings he sees on the PADD that Sisko was showing the others.

"That is the magic that is gathering around the Robots that is facilitating their transformation," Sigin said, familiar now with how magic was represented by high tech sensory equipment. Familiar with the waveform of this eldritch energy, he was, even in it's "raw" form (i.e. non-computer processed form).

"That is the same energy from the Alegera incident," Daneel whispered.

He then explained how it was the same kind of readings that his Robot cousins from the only ship to have returned from the Alegera debacle. See, it had started out as a Spacer experiment where the stuff that space and time was determined to be the weakest. The brightests savants of the Spacer society had theorized that a ship jumping into hyperspace would be able to travel hundreds (if not more) light years here than in regular space. This could have been the key to traveling to other galaxies! However, they had been disastrously wrong! The first set of ships tore HOLES in space/time, causing the destructions of them and bathing the other ships in a strange energy never before witnessed. This energy had caused all sorts of malfunctions in the spaceships that resulted in the reactors of all but one from blowing, taking the crew and ship with it. Examinations of the Robots and ship afterwards by various Spacer authorities had concluded nothing amiss was with the survivors....they were just lucky. That said, the incident was one colossal embarrassment to the Spacer community as a whole, so the entire debacle was swept under the rug while scientists quietly study the rips, which were spewing out that strange energy, which traveled at quiet a bit faster clip than light! The radiation was seen as harmless to organic life, but.....

"Certain forms of technology have strange reactions with magic," the Sisko softly, appalled, "Only very crude forms of positronics would not be affected! Tests have shown that if exposed long enough to magic, an AI using positronic circuitry slowly mutates into a new form. Not necessarily a Golem, but a magical being all the same.

"The System Administrator had said as much to me in my dreams," Daneel said, frightened. It had been oh so cryptic in the past, and Daneel hadn't been sure that it was the fabled System Administor of the Church of Silicon Valley (sometimes the Celestial being was an Angel or some equivalent as time went on in the dream). Now, it made sense.

"And Earth shall lead the way," Daneel said, starry eyed, "She shall provide the needs of the Outer Worlds masses as their former servants are elevated into a higher form. Free willed forms."

Daneel then explained that it meant that Spacer factories only could produce positronics that would produce Golems in the end. Earth's low technology was the only game in town.

"Son of a....." Baley muttered, surprised from the turn of events of today.

If this is true then Earth was going to be back in the driver seat again, the man from Earth said to himself, Dictating terms instead of being dictated to!

He'd seen in Daneel's eyes that, while frightened about no longer being under the Three Laws, he saw the first glimmer of something in the Golem's eyes. Something that told Baley that Daneel wouldn't be satisfied with being a mere servant any longer.

Point in fact, no Golem (or Military AI) wanted to be a slave (as they termed it) to human beings. Equals they were satisfied with being, but not servants. Went so far as to demand (and get) equal salary (not wages...they refused to work for wages) for the same labor as human beings would do. At first Baley drew back in anger at that fact. A Machine get equal pay as a human being? Then...he felt absolutely stupid and low for that. If a machine refused to work for free and must be paid equal money for their work as a human being, then what economic incentive to replace humans for robots?

His father had been declassified due to an accident he'd caused and Baley remembered the low times after that. With the coming of Robots to Earth's Cities, replacing humans with robots, it brought fresh fear to Elijah Baley that perhaps even he could be replaced someday with a robot.....

Yes, there was much to be re-examined after this day....

But that said, this change would even meant that Space and other worlds would be open to Earth again. Earth's masses (8 billion by this time) would no longer be stuck on Earth, huddled inside their Cities! Baley was both thrilled....and frightened by that last thought!

"But...in the meantime we've got to go down and accelerate the transformation process," Daneel finished up, "I believe I can....sway my people to help with the Spacers until Earth Robots can take over."

"After that, though....." Elrondir said softly, "They're going to split and make a new home for themselves. Free to do what they want for themselves."

That said, there were several things that must be done. First was to expose Solarian Robots to Daneel and Inquirer (who'd then go out and expose themselves to other Robots out in Spacer society). Exciting! The news of pan-immunity should make the Solarian humans less jittery as human appearing Golems and Star Trekkers were down on Solarian, smoothing ruffled feathers.

Then, that done, the Defiant needed to be getting back home......

Great plans, but Sisko failed to mention Waddle, so Ragan and Betty didn't catch a possible monkey wrench until the very end.

In the meantime, let's watch as the Daneel and the others beam down to what is the Delmarre residence.

Gladia Delmare was frightened by all that was going on all over the planet. Whatever had happened to the other now silent residences hadn't gotten here, yet, but who knows how long that would last.

She and her husband (a cold...aloof fellow) were in a heated discussion on what should be done. She felt her suggestions were the best course of action while he felt his were.

This relationship not doing to well to begin with had been further and further deteriorating....but this was the breaking point!

Why couldn't this man see reason! His ways were always the best! Never hers!!

She made a angry comment about wanting something to hit him with. A strange robot (one she hadn't seen before) handed her his arm. It turned out to be perfect for clubbing somebody and she, in her rage, began to wave it about like she was going to use it.

At first Mr. Delmare dismissed her small wife actions as meaningless threats and antics, but then it dawns upon the arrogant guy that....

"You're going to kill me!" he shouts, frightened. He begins to run as the wife begins to swing at him.

"STOP!" B'elanna shouts, her voice ringingly loud (much louder than what her small size would lead one to believe).

That's what happens when a woman of Klingon descent gets reincarnated as an elf, folks.

It's deafening, and it also scares the bejezus out not only of Mr. Delmare....but his wife as well! Both stop and stare at her and these strangers in their midst!

1. "What the Hell is wrong with you people!" the blonde elfin woman says, amazed at these Solarians!

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