The Evening Reception: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Dialogue - Part 2
The great conference hall on Betazed seemed almost alive. To most visitors it was simply beautiful, a masterpiece of sweeping organic architecture, living vines woven into polished white stone, and vaulted ceilings that admitted the afternoon light in soft amber shafts. But to anyone even remotely empathic, the atmosphere possessed an almost tangible weight. It was as though the air itself carried the thoughts, hopes, doubts, and convictions of hundreds of delegates gathered from across the Federation and beyond. It was the Interstellar Convocation of Faith and Philosophy, and nowhere else in known space could one find such an improbable gathering. Vulcan masters exchanged observations with Klingon monks. Ferengi ethicists debated Trill symbiont guardians. Andorian ice mystics stood beside Tellarite philosophers, while Bolians, Cardassians, Bajorans, and Humans moved through the hall with glasses of brightly colored regional vintages, each representing traditions that had survi...
