Lt. Robin Hopper: Hole in Your Soul
Robin Hopper
((Medical Center, Crusher Wing, Conference Room))
Hopper was eager to learn what Reade had discovered by looking through the Kwando’s transporter logs – and was particularly interested to learn more about this “MST” project… and how it had been affected by tachyon particle bombardment! In reality, there was very little about this that did not catch and hold her complete attention. In short, she was riveted.
Hopper: ::Putting her hands out on the table and leaning forward in anticipation:: It’s tachyon displacement, isn’t it? ::To Kivik:: I just know it.
Reade: Well, after looking at the logs. I see two things that seem to stand out. ::To Hopper: You are right Lieutenant, there is some tachyon displacement, but the more worrying thing is that the transport logs show one Wil during the transport start, but then it broke into the two Wil’s that we know now.
Wong: Which accounts for the split we’ve seen. I suppose in theory, that split could have happened in a variety of different ways. There is one such case that comes to mind - in the 2260s, there was a captain who was also split like this. Only he was fully human and the split came down to a more ah… for lack of better words here - a good side and an “evil” side. Although in that case, no one got MiSTed.
Robin smiled and shook her head in disbelief. The 2260s had been, in many ways, a complete ‘wild west’ age – space exploration was a much more chaotic and dangerous business then, with tech only barely up to the task most of the time. It was surprising that such incidents weren’t more common.
Kivik: That is very interesting.
Hopper: Is there anything else unusual?
Reade: Well, some of the logs show some transporter corruption as well.
Robin noted as Ikaia drummed his fingers on his chin in thought – a mannerism he’d carried with him since his academy days, though she’d seen him look just as pensive over rice bowl toppings as he looked now considering the fate of Amity’s first officer. Her stomach grumbled. oO Not now… Oo She shouldn’t have had that chai latté. Caffeine always made her hungry.
Wong: Likely, the corruption is from the tachyons that we encountered.
Hopper: ::Nodding:: That seems likely. I understand many of the Independence-B’s ships systems went down when you entered the gravity well. Tachyon particles are highly unstable and there’s no reason to think they wouldn’t affect transporter technology too.
Kivik: We haven’t had much time to physically study the system, with most of the available engineering personnel focused on Indy-B repairs. ::A look to Reade:: Scotty?
Reade: Is there a way that we can look at the transporter itself? I want to see something in person.
Wong: As far as I’m aware, you still have access to the Indy, right?
Kivik: Yes – but as a reminder, the transporter we used was on the Kitty Hawk’s shuttle, the Kwando. So if we want a look, we’ll want to request access via Captain Rahman. I believe the shuttle has been grounded temporarily to allow for exactly that kind of follow-up.
Hopper: I’m happy to tag-along on a trip to a Galaxy Class if that’s in the cards. ::To Reade:: What are you thinking, Lieutenant Reade?
Reade: I have a hunch. I want to explore
Wong: Go ahead, Reade. What’s your hunch?
Reade: Response
Kivik: Well it certainly warrants investigating. ::Tapping at nir PADD:: I’ll send the request to Rahman’s desk right now. Hopefully we’ll hear back quickly.
Wong: What else can you tell us about this?
Reade: Response
Ikaia turned to face the two science officers in the room. Seeing that Kivik was finishing nir request to Rahman, Hopper focused her attention on Ikaia’s question first.
Wong: Kivik, Hopper - what are your thoughts?
Hopper: Well, it sounds like we have some solid avenues for investigation laid out in terms of the physical and mechanical components of this incident. Figuring out the “how” and “why”. We can continue looking through the transporter log, and we’ve got upscaled modeling data to work with. Kivik’s requesting access to the Kwando so we can investigate Reade’s theory…
She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. It felt a little like the more information they brought to the table, the more questions they raised.
Hopper: But I’m also curious about the biological component of all this. How did the transporters make an entire person out of 25% of a man’s DNA? ::A glance to Kivik, completing nir PADD request:: And that’s your area of expertise moreso than mine.
Kivik: Well, genetic hybridization is a complicated process – whether it’s happening biologically or with some technological assistance. We might need to look more into Commander Ukinix’s genetic make-up to understand. But, as a quick thought, I’d suggest that thinking about him as “one quarter Betazoid” is likely giving us an inaccurate picture of things.
Hopper: How so?
Kivik: Well, firstly, 25% of someone’s DNA could still be so fragmented and scattered all over their body throughout various systems. It’s not so siloed that he would have, say, purely-Betazoid Irises but a purely-Human nose. Each part of his body could be represented by a mixture of 25% Betazoid genetic material.
Wong/Reade: Responses (optional)
Kivik: But, aside from that, we also need to consider that being “one quarter Betazoid” in heritage does not necessarily equate to an exact 25% representation in DNA. That’s a probability ratio. Biology just isn’t that regimented. One has to account for factors like dominant and recessive genes, genetic redundancy, epigenetics, and even random chance. Someone might have only one grandparent that is Betazoid but still express many more traits in common with them than their other grandparents.
Robin nodded along again. The J’naii was making good points. They couldn’t look at this like a simple math problem involving easy ratios… The truth was probably far more muddled.
Hopper: Well, I sort of follow what you mean… Basically, Commander Ukinix’s make-up might be harder to ‘piece apart’ than we’ve been thinking. And that could also have contributed to the transporter confusing him for two entities.
Reade: Response
Wong: Alright. That brings us to our next question - how do we reverse it? We already know that tachyon interference was at play when Ukinix got separated. I suspect they are the key to this puzzle.
Kivik: And that’s where I’m a little baffled, Ikaia. I doubt it’ll be as simple as going back to the gravity well and reverse-transporting him back into it. ::Sighing:: Though the thought is rather tempting.
Hopper: Sadly, no. I think we’d probably find ourselves with a worse mess than we have now. ::Smirking:: I think we can also rule out sticking both heads on one body and calling it a day.
Kivik: Goodness!
Hopper: Sorry, bad joke. ::Patting her stomach:: I’m just getting loopy because it’s lunch time. I guess the place to start is completing as much of the investigative work as possible first. Let’s figure out, to the best of our combined abilities, exactly what happened – from a physical, mechanical, and medical perspective. Then we can try to figure out how to reverse the process.
Reade/Wong: Response
Kivik: ::Checking nir PADD:: Well it looks like our request to take a look at the Kwando has been approved, so why don’t we adjourn the meeting and head over there now?
Reade/Wong: Response
Hopper: Sure. No time like the present! ::Pausing for a moment:: Uhh, but I’m just going to replicate a snack ‘for the road’.
Tapping the console at the center of the table, Robin sheepishly put in her order.
Hopper: Medium box of curly fries, crispy… And some paper napkins. ::As they materialized:: Anyone else want anything?
Reade/Wong: Response
TBC
