Personal Log: Ben Versteegt

At last, I have arrived on Pandora Station. From here, I will spread my message of hope through the entire quadrant. I have yet to decorate my temple on this station, but I already have received two visitors. They, however, did not seem to be receptive to what I had to say. The first was a Starfleet Lieutenant by the name of Janssens. He is an atheist, and quite unredeemable at the first glance... But that's what makes him a challenge. May the Prophets give me the strength I need to redeem the unredeemable, to bring the will of the Prophets to those who refuse to listen to them. May I stay true to the path the Prophets have intended me to follow, and may I lift the veil of ignorance from those who choose to remain deaf.

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Lieutenant Janssens is, I think, the model of the type of people I am going to meet on this station. Most of them will not be easily convinced of the truth I speak, but I will not bend nor budge. I shall make the people on this station hear the truth, even if I have to smack it in their faces.

The other person whom I have met in my still unfinished temple today, was the remarkable Izhal. Although she is just a seven year old child, she possesses an intellect of a thirty year old, trapped in the ailing body of a 12 year old Bajoran/Cardassian/El-Aurian hybrid. As if this wasn't incredible enough, she seems to focus more on spirituality than on playing with, for example, Palooka dolls or with other children. It is as if she has acquired so much knowledge about the physical, material universe, that she has lost all interest in it. She struggles with questions that even I have only begun to explore in my mid-thirties. Can you imagine that? A seven year old trying to find answers to life's greatest mysteries? Yet this is exactly what Izhal is doing.

As if the Prophets strived for some sort of balance in young Izhal, the child's incredible intellectual powers are compensated by an illness that makes her body as frail and weak as that of a one hundred year old. I fear that if I had slapped her on the back for whatever reason, I would have broken her spine.

Izhal continues to suffer from her condition every day, and in me, her situation raised questions about why the Prophets had done this to her. She is religious, although not as I would like... Still, her faith is that of the Prophets. Why should they punish her for that? I know that we, mere mortal beings, cannot begin to fathom the reasonings of the Prophets, but I cannot get the thought out of my head that a great injustice has been committed. On the one hand, she has been gifted with a superior intellect, but on the other hand, she suffers from her illness.

However, knowing that the Prophets would not bring injustice upon those who did not deserve it, I began to explore alternate possibilities. It was clear from the start that Izhal is part Cardassian. Her Cardassian family may have committed atrocities against Bajorans -- in fact, it is most likely that they have. They are Cardassians after all. That heritage, that cursed part of Cardassian history, is part of Izhal as well, since she is part Cardassian. It is my theory that the Prophets have inflicted this disease upon Izhal to 'burn out', so to speak, the Cardassian part of her. By making her this ill, she must overcome the challenge that comes with the illness, and focus on matters of the mind more than matters of the body. By facing and, eventually, overcoming this challenge, Izhal will come to know herself deeply, and will find all the good within her as well as the evil in her Cardassian self. With her intellect, she will triumph over this evil, and the good will remain. The Prophets have foreseen this; that is why they brought this disease upon Izhal in the first place.

I have shared my theory with Izhal, but she refuses to see things my way. She appears to be as stubborn as she is intelligent. She shares my conclusion that her Cardassian side may have something to do with this, but there the similarities between our two theories end. She believes that her Cardassian genes may be responsible for the disease; that somehow the merging of Cardassian and El-Aurian DNA have awoken some slumbering Cardassian genes which were carrying the illness. It might be a plausible theory, if it didn't entirely rule out the Prophets' interference. Naturally it is clear that they have meant for this to happen; thinking in terms of genes and DNA to explain the illness is too material. Frankly, I am surprised that Izhal would even arrive at such a theory herself. She seemed more interested in the realm of the spiritual and theological than in that of the material. It is up to her how to proceed, however. May the Prophets help her take the right path. If she happens to be so stubborn to walk the wrong path, may the Prophets guide her and help her back on track.

In terms of redemption, Izhal is a lost cause. She does believe, however, that the Prophets exists, and has even made her own earring to honour them. I will not interfere in her religion, even though I know mine is the right one. After all, isn't it obvious that the Prophets are not exclusively for the Bajorans. All species in the galaxy must witness and worship their greatness, and it is my job to make sure that they do. Starting with Pandora Station, I will endeavour to spread their message of love and greatness to all corners of the quadrant... one star system at a time. Today; Pandora Station, tomorrow; the galaxy!

But, of course, first things first. I need to set up my temple here and draw a good crowd first. When I have gathered enough followers here, I will move on. The Prophets are patient, so I will be patient as well. May the Prophets watch over us all and guide us to the path they wish us to follow.

Prophets' Blessings,
Belin.

Categories: Nivas Belin