DEEP SPACE: "Vortex" - REV. 1/13/93 - ACT FOUR           32.

47   CONTINUED:

					CRODEN
			For why they came that night.  I 
			never was told.  And to this day, I 
			don't know.  They broke into my home 
			just before dawn.  By the time I 
			stopped them, they had already 
			murdered both my wives...

	Odo turns and studies him... Croden's eyes look through the 
	window into the past...

					CRODEN
			You see, on my world, the punishment 
			for being an enemy of the people is 
			the death of your family.
				(beat)
			I had no sophisticated weapon... 
			only a short, slaughter knife that I 
			used for cutting the necks of fowl 
			we would prepare for supper.  Imagine 
			my surprise when I discovered that 
			the necks of the security officers 
			were no more difficult to cut than 
			the birds'... even the sounds they 
			made when the blade crossed their 
			gullets were similar...

	The silence fills the cabin for a long beat... Odo turns 
	back to his controls...

					ODO
			I'm supposed to believe this appalling 
			tale...

					CRODEN
			Would it make a difference if you 
			did?

					ODO
			No.

					CRODEN
			Then believe it.  Because it's true.