By Nathan Warner
Data is forced to land his shuttle on a planet where murder seems to be a way of life
On a dark, tempestuous night, Commander Data successfully lands on an unexplored planet, in the back garden of a country estate called End House, while fleeing a particular nasty nebular entity that was attracted to his shuttle's warp core.
Seeking shelter at the estate, under the care of a Lord Henry Bastille, Data is surprised to discover a culture patterned almost exactly like the early 20th century literature of Agatha Christie. The society seems structured around mystery and murder. It seems this is all his host is interested in discussing - the murders that have happened in the house.
And on the first night of his visit, Data stumbles on a maid throttled in the hallway. The local police detective, a Mr. Andrews, comes by to investigate, but chalks it up to "the Man in a Brown Suit" - it seems this enigmatic suspect is seen in the whereabouts shortly before all the murders occur - indeed, a guest, Mrs. McGinty said she thought she saw a man in a brown suit in the garden in the storm before the murder. Data seeks to question Mr. Andrews on the history of this case, and learns that the murders have been going on every night for hundreds of years!
Data suspects there is an ulterior motive to the cultural acceptance of murder. Population control, perhaps? And as it seems Mr. Andrews' job ends at attributing all murders to this brown suited character, Data throws his hand in the ring. Drawing on his extensive experience with deductive reasoning and his Holodeck character of Sherlock Holmes, Data decided to try his hand at solving the murders that have plagued the village on every night.
Who do you think is responsible and how will it be stopped? Is it an extraterrestrial being? Perhaps a cult that perpetuates the murders across generations? Regardless Data intends to find out. Or is this too much interference in a culture that has adapted murder into its way of life?
