Infinite Bureaucracy is a a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine short story by Anne E. Clements. It was published in Strange New Worlds VII. It is told in the form of various official business papers and transcripts of subspace radio communications.

Summary[]

Quark orders a glerint of self-sealing stembolts from Flem on Tzenketh Okl!a. After various incidents, the stembolts end up in the Oort cloud of the Aeolian system.

References[]

Characters[]

Flem • V'kreza O !nragtha Nenzeth • Quark • Rom • Sibek

Referenced only

Birk • Li Yuan Fitzsimmons • Goln • Jancy Venkataramani • Nirrep V'tetsoh

Locations[]

Aeolia Penta • Aeolia Prime • Aeolian system • Alpha Centauri • Bajor • Cardassia • Deep Space 9 • Ferenginar • Fromaginar II • Starbase 201 • Starbase 247 • Tzenketh Okl!a

Starships and vehicles[]

Wings of the Morning

Referenced only

!!iikb& a'na 21 • Vilossia Twilight • Zippy One

Races and cultures[]

Aeolian • Ferengi • Tzenkethi • Vulcan

Referenced only

Cardassian • Terellian

States and organizations[]

Tz'grtha n!hing ko • Starfleet • United Federation of Planets • Smith Freightways • Vulcan Science Academy

Other references[]

Aeolian plumule • daytonite • duranium • feliform • Ferengi Rules of Acquisition • Ferengi language • Fourth Claw • Giffla-37XZ • glerint • gold-pressed latinum • homeworld • Oort cloud • robe • salvage reclamation form • self-sealing stembolt • smuggling • stardate • Tzikaa!n

Chronology[]

Appendices[]

Background[]

• The author commented on their inspiration for the story: "We had a bit of a regime change at my day job, and the new management team brought in a host of new procedures and controls—all well-intentioned and ultimately productive, but there was a certain period of, shall we say, adjustment required. At that time I found myself wandering the halls muttering 'Infinite Bureaucracy in Infinite Combinations!'— unfortunately, very few people there got the reference, but it occurred to me that it would make a wonderful SNW story title. After all, in a Federation composed of thousands of technologically advanced civilizations, let's face it, despite Mr. Roddenberry's utopian biases, that is exactly what you'd get". (Voyages of Imagination)

Connections[]

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine collected short stories, novellas and short novels
The Lives of Dax	"Second Star to the Right..." • "First Steps" • "Dead Man's Hand" • "Old Souls" • "Sins of the Mother" • "Infinity" • "Allegro Ouroboros in D Minor" • "The Music Between the Notes" • "Reflections" • "... and straight on 'til morning"
Prophecy and Change	"Revisited" • "Ha'mara" • "The Orb of Opportunity" • "Broken Oaths" • "... Loved I Not Honor More" • "Three Sides to Every Story" • "The Devil You Know" • "Foundlings" • "Chiaroscuro" • "Face Value" • "The Calling"
Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	Volume One ("Cardassia: The Lotus Flower" • "Andor: Paradigm") • Volume Two ("Trill: Unjoined" • "Bajor: Fragments and Omens") • Volume Three ("Ferenginar: Satisfaction is Not Guaranteed" • "The Dominion: Olympus Descending")
Strange New Worlds	I ("Life's Lessons" • "Where I Fell Before My Enemy") • II ("Research" • "Change of Heart") • III ("Ninety-three Hours" • "Dorian's Diary" • "The Bottom Line" • "The Best Defense..." • "An Errant Breeze") • IV ("Captain Proton and the Orb of Bajor" • "Isolation Ward 4") • V ("Fear, Itself") • VI ("Fabrications" • "Urgent Matter" • "Best Tools Available") • VII ("Infinite Bureaucracy" • "Barclay Program Nine") • 8 ("Trek" • "Gumbo" • "Promises Made" • "Always a Price") • 9 ("Shadowed Allies" • "Living on the Edge of Existence" • "The Last Tree on Ferenginar: A Ferengi Fable From the Future" • "The Tribbles' Pagh") • 10 ("So a Horse Walks into a Bar..." • "Signal to Noise") • 2016 ("The Façade of Fate" • "The Manhunt Pool" • "The Dreamer and the Dream")
Star Trek: Explorer	"A Night In" • "By Special Request" • "The Mission" • "Things Can Only Get Better" • "Frontier Medicine" • "The Victim" • "You Can't Buy Fate" • "Lost and Founder" • "A Year to the Day I Saw Myself Die" • "Academy Acquisition" • "The Snake and the Worm" • "The Needs of the Many"
Misc. short stories	"The Badlands, Part IV" • "The Second Artifact" • "Mirror Eyes" • "Requital" • "The Officers' Club" • "A Terrible Beauty"
Misc. novellas & short novels	"Horn and Ivory" • "Saturn's Children" • "Seeds of Dissent" • "A Gutted World"

Timeline[]

published order
Previous story: Solemn Duty	Strange New Worlds VII	Next story: Barclay Program Nine
Previous story: The Calling Prophecy and Change	DS9 short stories	Next story: Barclay Program Nine Strange New Worlds VII
Previous story: first Star Trek story	Stories by: Anne E. Clements	Next story: most recent work
chronological order
Previous adventure: Emanations	Pocket Books Timeline	Next adventure: Prime Factors
Previous adventure: Visionary	Deep Space Nine Adventures	Next adventure: Distant Voices