Judgment Rites – Who Watches the Watchers

 by Will Moczarski

In our second mission, the crew of the Enterprise is looking forward to taking leave on a planet called Nova Atar. Just like in the TOS episode "The Immunity Syndrome", that ain't happening. There's a bit of crew banter about Kazakhstanian Cognac, and then an emergency call from the Science Vessel Demeter interrupts all further planning. Demeter was located in orbit around Balkos III when the ship was suddenly scanned. That alone wouldn't be unsettling, however, the Demeter's commanding officer Gellman tells us that the inhabitants of the planet are just entering their own stone-age. Gellman is concerned that they may have triggered an old defense mechanism from a sunken civilisation. In the spirit of "better safe than sorry" he pulled his ship up to a higher orbit and made an emergency call for good measure. 

In Soviet Russia brandy inwents you.

I run some of the new data by the computer - Nova Atar (our original destination), the Demeter, Balkos III (our new destination), Gellman, and the Balkosi - but learn nothing new. Then I check my trusty star map and head straight for Balkos III. I command Sulu to steer the Enterprise into the planet's orbit and assemble a landing party consisting of the usual suspects. 

Don't be coy, doctor.

Upon arrival we are scanned by the unknown entity but that is hardly surprising if you take into account where we landed. This is not a stone-age environment but rather the remnants of a technologically advanced civilisation. Or maybe not even remnants? What is this set-up? As soon as I regain control, the three computer consoles in the room are suddenly protected by impenetrable force fields. It seems that somebody is a little touchy about their personal data while they don't mind scanning us down to the Bones.

It's a full medical, doctor.

The whole episode takes place in just a couple of rooms that look a lot like this first one. It's very easy and very short and you learn about the plot mostly through what Spock relates about the computer data he can find, meaning there's no phasers and a lot of reading involved. It's not always trivial to discern between technobabble and useful information but most of the time Kirk and McCoy clue you in by asking Spock to "rephrase it in English".

But I'm getting ahead of myself. It's time to explore the place. To do that, I let Spock investigate the door opening mechanism. He employs a simple power-interrupt (Kirk and I don't have a clue how he does that but okay) and is now my official First Door-Opener. It is possible to access all of the rooms this way, and the extra click on Spock is not too much of a hassle. 

99 Problems and the bridge is one.

The next room is the centrepiece of the building. There is a viewscreen in the middle but I can't get it to work. Also, the console in the middle of the room just screams central control room. Alas, like the others it is protected by a force field. Spock can investigate for a little bit but doesn't find out anything pertinent. He informs Kirk that the large cone hanging overhead is a distributive optic node to which the captain replies somewhat humorously: "If you say so, Mr. Spock." This is a good example of how much in character the dialog is written. It's simply a delight to read the banter between McCoy and Spock and sometimes Kirk, too. Some sentences are lifted wholesale from the series ("I'm just a simple country doctor, not a magician."), others feel like they were, or maybe they are and I just can't place them, never having quite made it to Trekker status.

"What do you mean by that, Woz? Can I use it with my iPhone, or not?"

The first room on the left has another force field protecting its main feature - however, one of the machines can be accessed. Spock surmises that it's a charging station (and tells the others in so many - potentially superfluous - words). McCoy calls him a "pointy-eared confusion factory" which is kind of funny. When he goes on to ask the Vulcan why he can't for once come up with the simple explanation first, Spock drily retorts that it was not always necessary due to McCoy not always being around. That's harsh! The bickering really lightens up the whole heavy-with-meaning Starcross-style scenario. I appreciate that. 

Relax, Jim. It's entertainment!

In the next room I can finally pick up some stuff. Kirk won't get his hands dirty but innocently asks Spock about each of the items lying scattered across the floor, prompting him to pick them up for him. Is that what they call leadership? This way I help myself to an on/off switch, a sort of connector cube, a portable display, a bunch of interface cables, and a bridge unit for use between function control and display circuitry. Also, there's a machine that's constantly producing small disks and rectangular cards, dropping them in some kind of storage bin. Now isn't this all a little too convenient? 

Spock surmises that the plastic disks are actually super-conductors that will work once they have been placed under pressure. The sole machine on the other side of the room turns out to be a pressure device. Spock also hints that you need to insert a badge into one of its hoppers in order to combine it with some other item. Seems a little easy but I won't complain. In with the disks (batteries) and the cards (badges) and soon enough each member of our landing party is holding a small badge allowing them to roam around the place freely, meaning there's no need for Spock's lockpick skills anymore. 

You're the country doctor, not me!

Unfortunately, it's not quite that easy because the batteries need to be charged first. But since we've already come across the charging station, this is another no-brainer. I go back to the previous room, charge the badges, and now I save one click each time I want to open a door. Neat!

Moving on, there's a room with a giant vat containing several organic compounds but the usual force field is preventing the tricorders from showing more precise readings. There's another console in the room I can interact with due to there being no force field but the controls are locked and even Spock can't figure out a way to change their settings.

CONTEST: Write your own piece of banter
between McCoy and Spock 
for this screenshot! 
(20 CAPs for the winner.)

There are two more rooms to explore, and this time there are no force fields hindering our progress. The first room contains one machine only, as well as a door leading outside but Kirk doesn't allow himself or the others to head out there. There's one more object but it really is part of the background. It drives me crazy that this small rubbish bin that was clearly meant to be an interactive object at some point in the design process is treated like a piece of nondescript wall by the landing party when it's clearly there. 

I don't have much time to reflect on it, though, as soon enough one of the Balkosi enters the room as if it was the most natural thing in the world (I assume that Balkosi is the plural word while Balkosian refers to one individual living on Balkos III but, by all means, correct me if I'm wrong!). According to his attire he's still stuck with his pre-stone age ways - however, he was obviously taught by somebody to collect his food from the machine here. 

It's probably for his own good. No reason to be worried.

Spock suggests that he could restrain the Balkosian once he's finished eating, and I agree that his neck pinch is maybe more humane than the phaser. I let McCoy use the medical scanner on the passed-out Balkosian and he is surprised to learn that the unconscious Balkosian's system is still operating at a much higher rate than would be normal. What are they feeding the Balkosi? And who are they, anyway? Is this one of the "experiment conducted by a superior kind of aliens" plots? 

When I examine the Balkosian again, McCoy suggests that a more thorough examination might be in order. He conveniently remembers that the Demeter's scans noted a medical examination room next door to here - way to pay attention at the briefing, Bones! Two bonus points for you! Also, McCoy mentions that he intends to find out what "the gas" is doing to him. The gas? Yes, it's easy to miss - just before the machine drops what Spock identifies as simple protein-based food, it emits a bit of gas into its immediate vicinity, possibly drugging the Balkosian in exchange for feeding him. 

Three men and a troglodyte.

The in-depth examination reveals that somebody must have been observing the Balkosi. Also, the gas appears to have triggered the aggression-related hormones in them, keeping them in a constant state of stress. But wait, there's more: McCoy finds out that the pheromone in question is perfectly tuned to the Balkosian physiology. He thus suspects that somebody genetically engineered both.

Mr. Spock speculates that the landing party has stumbled in on an experiment. Kirk agrees but suggests that not the Balkosi are the subjects, rather the three of them. The whole thing feels like a set-up to him because they keep finding out just enough to make real choices. This is, of course, a blunt reflexive comment hinting at the game's gating mechanics (lifting just the right force field at just the right moment). Moreover, it alludes to the way the game's developers designed the episode for the player to solve - they are the aliens and we, the players, are the landing party. 

It's people!

Enough of that self-reflexive mumbo jumbo! McCoy finds out that the machine just opposite has apparently been used to synthesise the toxin that has proved so dangerous for the Balkosi. And then... I run out of things to do and wander around aimlessly to find out where the next force field has been lifted. Apparently I can access the console in what I've been calling the centrepiece now. Spock takes a brief look and diagnoses that the console is non-operational - namely, it's lacking controls and a display. Didn't I pick up something like that along the way? How convenient.

The display can indeed be connected to the console, rendering the computer functional. Supporting Kirk's hypothesis, there is only a limited amount of control available and most functions cannot be accessed. Spock points out, though, that the console would be able to control another device if its command circuit were replaced. He can't tell which one that might be, so we're left with another computer puzzle.

I thought we were on McCoy's turf for a minute but it turned 
out to be another Spock mission in the end.

After that it's a simple manner of finding out which computer the observing aliens want us to access next. The force fields in the room we first beamed into are now gone, too, allowing Spock to find out more about the machines in the room. 

The cone on the left turns out to be a transmitter whose signal beam is permanently directed to one area of the galaxy hitherto unexplored by the Federation. That must be the home of the aliens who set this thing up. The bulky thing in the middle is a sensor device that was probably responsible for picking up the geological scan from the Demeter and reciprocating the favour accordingly. The upside-down cone on the right is a scanning device, just like Spock had assumed earlier. 

A country doctor probably knows his way around vats.

The force field around the large vat is now gone as well. I let McCoy scan the contents, and he finds out that it is (predictably, I might add) filled with the pheromone that makes the Balkosi so aggressive. McCoy warns that it could ruin the entire planet for the Balkosi, and condemn them to a world filled with brutal violence. 

Spock concurs that the contents could be released into the planet's ecosystem via the pipes overhead. It seems we will have to shut down this device if we want to pass the test. Speaking of which...didn't we find an on/off switch lying on the ground earlier? Yes, and it fits perfectly. We can now shut down the unit if we know where the appropriate signal originates - but we already figured that out, didn't we?

Doesn't seem fare.

The next step is a bit more difficult. We still got a connector cube, a bridge unit, and a bunch of interface cables we haven't found a use for. I fumble with all of the computers again to find out where the cube might go, and it takes me a while to realise that you can add multiple items to some (well, one) of the consoles. That makes sense in (future) real life, of course, but it's not very typical for adventure games. Long story short, if Spock wants to work the central control unit he needs to apply the connector cube to it as well. He is then able to shut down the force field protecting the generator but surprisingly this prompts a choice for us to either look around a bit more or to do it right now. I am wary of the consequences and decide to take another look around first. 

However, I don't come up with any fresh leads, so I decide to save the game and jump right into it. Spock's attempt to turn off the force field triggers a message from the computer. It wants me to bring a display up on the screen and there's another choice connected to this action. I tell Spock to proceed and am presented with a strange little puzzle. 

Even the cursor is flipping me the bird.

I fail at my first attempt and while McCoy mocks me, Kirk gives me a hint: One of the shapes should make all three lines equal in some way. The second puzzle is different, and easier, too. I solve it right away but was unable to figure out the first one when I restored my save game to give it another shot. Do you know the correct solution, and can you explain it to me? 

Now that the force field around the generator has been lifted I can access what turns out to be the most important computer of them all. Spock is fascinated as usual but when McCoy reacts to his behaviour as tradition dictates the half-Vulcan surprisingly erupts.

Easy, Spock! Don't let your dark half (TM) take over now!

Kirk reacts in kind and asks Spock if he is aware that he's bordering on insubordination right now. McCoy joins the Captain's side and accuses Spock of entertaining the thought of mutiny. I'm used to McCoy acting like a knob by this point in the game but the whole exchange feels out of character for both Spock and Kirk. Does this suggest that the pheromone they were exposed to might have made them more aggressive as well? 

It all blows over in a second, and Spock reports that the generator's circuit appears to have been deliberately damaged, further nurturing Kirk's hypothesis that it's all part of a set-up. Spock also determines that if power is interrupted rather than shut down from that console it will send a signal to that effect. It seems that the decision about the fate of the Balkosi will not be made from the central control room but rather from here. 

Brace yourselves for a round of computer domino.

I attempt to repair the unit regardless just to see what happens. The cable does not work (yet), and Spock hints that I might want to install a read-out unit first. The bridge unit works just fine, and the read-out is now functional again. Spock can now determine that there are other locations on the planet receiving power from this very generator. It's possible that the pheromone would be released in several spots simultaneously if I don't find a way to somehow rig the machine. 

However, I can now apply the cables to the generator, making it possible to shut it down safely. As we have learned earlier, this will affect all of the other equipment in the complex, too, possibly overriding the mechanism that keeps the pheromones in place which would doom the poor Balkosi to live a life of violence. 

You sure, Bones?

Ah well, let's just click on it, then. What's the worst that could happen? We get another choice but because I have saved my game I'm not afraid to pull through. All of the doors open at once, and McCoy observes that we have successfully ended the threat. How does he know? I think what happened is that without the on/off switch the loss of power would have caused the vat to leak, distributing its contents into the planet's biosphere. It's a bit hard to tell, though. The game doesn't do a great job of explaining the outcome, to be honest.  

Scotty beams us up and Spock goes on to analyse the atmosphere of Balkos III, confirming our success as he finds no trace of the pheromone in there. What happens to the feeding machine? Aren't the Balkosi already completely dependent on it? 

Spock and Kirk also suggest that we may have missed opportunities for increasing our knowledge, so it's possible that I've missed something, too. I will try to rectify this once I play through the talkie version. My plan is to beat the floppy version fair and square and then shamelessly employ a walkthrough to reach 100% in each of the episodes - you know, to make playing through the other two versions worth my while.

Simulation theorists ahoy!

Then a final written message from the aliens appears in space somehow, in English, and using the Roman alphabet, too. Kirk was right about us being the actual guinea pigs in the experiment. Will we encounter the superior beings again later in this game and find out who they are? 

Finally, there's the usual debriefing messages. My performance is evaluated at a whopping 95 percent which is...surprising if I really missed something down there. Maybe I didn't. Ah well, I'll take it. The second mission was a lot shorter and easier than the first one. Also, while I didn't quite enjoy it just as much, it was still a lot of fun. So far, Judgment Rites is a delightful game. Let's see how the third mission holds up. Next stop: No Man's Land.

Session time: 0.5 hours
Total time: 2 hours