At the table, Gauss was briefing Fermat, Wiles was briefing Gauss, and Ramanujan was scribbling in a notebook. Marilyn tried to join in but she kept confusing "diaphanous" with "Diaphantos" and "geodesy" with "Jodeci" and soon turned her attention to the other end of the table. Smullyan joined the group on the right when Wiles caught them up on logic and Godel(neither of which Gauss or Fermat seemed to care much about), but seemed to be having more fun with Marilyn and her new friends, and kept rearranging the matchsticks in front of him. "Geordi," said Barclay. "The guy with the equations scribbled all over his jacket. He believes he was Archimedes in a former life." "Mmm-hmm," said Geordi. "And Phar Lap," added Barclay. "A DOS extender?!" "The racehorse. And the woman across from him--she thinks she is the communicator of Galois." "Communicator?" "Data?" "Communicating. Similar to channeling. A late 20th century phenomenon whereby the spirit of a dead person is temporarily embodied in that of a living one. The most famous of these channelers was a woman by the name of J. Z. Knight, who channeled an ancient Indian deity called Ramtha. She was championed by Shirley Maclaine, whose best-selling book, _Out on a Limb_ was followed by the less well-received _Out of My Fucking Tree_. J. Z. Knight made a small fortune before a photographer took pictures of her practicing in front of a mirror." Counselor Troi whispered to Picard, "Notice how Ludwig and Hollystone avoid making any eye contact with each other." "I noticed that, Counselor. Have you ever dropped bad Tellerian acid and then looked in a mirror?" Troi noded and said, "Also, have you noticed how Data just rambles on and on...?" "Data without generalization is just gossip." "How prescient of Robert Pirsig..." Gauss and Fermat had very quickly assimilated most all of the mathematics that had developed between the time they had died and 1993. Ramanujan seemed not to care very much and was just scribbling away. Occasionally, Ludwig would get up, walk around and look over his shoulder, but Ramanujan never noticed him and Ludwig quickly returned to his seat, visibly shaken. "Data," said Barclay, "you're on." Data walked down to the table. "Would anyone care for some tea?" said Data. "Coffee?" Gauss said, "A beer, thanks." "Champagne?" "Ceylon tea." "Coffee. Black." "The same." "Diet Pepsi." "Tahitian Treat. Flat." "Eau de toilette. Chaud. Tres, mais pas trop." "You're weird," said Data. "I heard Galois spoke quietly." "Very weird." "Tres, mais pas trop." "Si vous le dites," said Data. "Is something wrong with the universal translator, Barclay?" asked Riker. "No, Commander. This whole universal translator conceit is rather tenuous, so I'm letting them say whatever they like. Besides, sometimes the universal translator robs speech of that certain jenesaisquoi..." "Point taken." "And the first few times I ran this simulation, the ship's computer spent so much time trying to understand Ludwig and Hollystone that life support on decks three through nine was compromised." "So then Galois and Fermat will speak French, Gauss German, and the others English?" "Doubtful," said Barclay, "since the only German word the author knows is 'mittelschmerz'." "Carry on, Broccoli" said Picard. Hollystone stood up and cleared her throat. "Uh oh," said Troi, "I feel weirdness." Hollystone said: "The Tao of Twin7 7 is 7 7 is not the 7 7 is the day 7 is the night 7 is the sound 7 is the silence 7 is the planet 7 is the star 7 is a cycle 7 is a measure 7 is a prime 7 is also a twin 7 is the spiner 7 is the source Twin7 together breeds the life 7 is the beginning 7 yet, is not the 7 ...... The Tao can be told is not the Tao The Way can be told is not the Way The Word can be sound, is not the word The Name can be named, is not the eternal name." "Is that Lao-Tse?" said Riker. "Of sorts," said Data. "Did she say 'Spiner'?" Worf said, "Lao-Tse surely had Klingon blood in him. Did he not say that a warrior's best weapons were 'cunning, exile, and silence'? Smart man." "Actually, that would be James Joyce," said Data, "speaking not of warfare, but about writing." Worf growled. "Yet, I am speaking 7," said Hollystone, sitting back down. "Can I change my seat?" said Ludwig. Data said, "There was a song by Prince called "7". If I may--" He sang, "All 7 and we'll watch them fall They stand in the way of love And we will smoke them all With an intellect and a savoir-faire No one in the whole universe Will ever compare I am yours now and u are mine And together we'll love through All space and time, so don't cry One day all 7 will die." Picard cringed. "Who was this *Prince*?" UN-altered REPRODUCTION and INSEMINATION of this IMPORTANT Information is a MORAL IMPERATIVE. RICHH