Lt. Fer'at - "Next Steps"
Amanda Nordstrom
((USS Octavia E Butler - Science Lab, Deck 10))
Fer’at was quite fascinated by the situation Yinn and Loq found themselves in. Never in his studies or career had he ever heard of a scenario such as the one that was now presented before him. The scientific curiosity that it was, he also understood it brought many risks to the lives involved, and he could not in good conscience allow them to remain as they were. He, along with Brzezinski, had endeavoured to study them, not just for the purpose for discovery, but in order to ensure a successful and safe separation. Doctor Toz entered not long after they had arrived at the science lab and offered an extremely succinct briefing of the situation.
Brzezinski: Two brains, one mind. The two seem to have become one.
Despite lacking more details, the doctor caught out very quickly, and yet, understandably, did not quite believe what she had been told.
Toz: There’s no such thing.
There was no such thing. That was a small difference, yet a significant one. Although two minds becoming one had not been in the realm of existence before, obviously it was then, for they bore witness to the conjoining of those two distinct personalities.
Loq: We're just causing you so many headaches today, doc.
Toz: Yes, you are. ::frowning:: I am telling you there’s no such thing as two people in one body - when there are clearly two bodies here. ::beat:: Have you notified Lieutenant Commander Peri?
Brzezinski: He did.
Fer’at inclined his head to acknowledge that yes, he had indeed contacted Commander Peri, but although he was certain she wished to participate, she was unavailable, and thus trusted him and the others to do their utmost to succeed at separating them.
Yinn: Just to clear something up, there's one person in two bodies. But that one person is both of us.
Loq: I can see through both sets of eyes, I can move both bodies ::both sets of limbs flailed awkwardly::
Yinn: Not terribly well. And I can talk—
Loq/Yinn (in unison): Through either mouth.
Fer’at found it quite fascinating that though the two had both minds in one, and two bodies that, though separated, still were, in a sense, all that grounded them to their former reality, they continued to refer to themselves as ‘I’ rather than they. Though, why shouldn’t they? Despite being joined, they were still two distinct individuals.
Loq: What I can't do, is make any distinction between my past selves. I remember being Yinn, and I remember being Loq, right up until the moment we beamed down to New Bajor. Since then, I've been both.
Yinn: I don't feel like I'm both of those people, sharing thoughts back and forth. I just feel like one person, who has to learn how to control two bodies at once, and reconcile two sets of memories.
Fer'at: Needless to say, this is not a desirable state and we are endeavouring to ensure their separation.
The description of what Loq/Yinn experienced was rather curious. They weren’t quite one, and they weren’t quite two. Instead, they hovered in between in a strange realm where distinctiveness and ambiguousness coexisted.
Brzezinski: (to Toz) You’re just in time, we were about to run an in-depth molecular scan.
Brzezinski did not waste time, and Fer’at approved. There was no time to waste when minds and lives were at risk. As she initiated the device's start up sequence, Toz stepped forward, while Fer’at offered Loq’s body assistance.
Loq: If you don't mind, I'd like to try this without assistance.
Fer’at: If you wish.
Still, the Vulcan remained close by in order to catch him should something occur and he fell. It would not help if he sustained an injury before they could separate the two minds.
Brzezinski: OK, we’re ready for the first pass.
The Vulcan took on the part of an observer for the moment, as did the doctor. He watched silently while the scan ran through its initial pass, and the two bodies managed to remain perfectly still. The more time they spent in that state, the better they were at controlling their animation. However, Fer’at’s concern was that the more they remained, the order it would be to separate them.
Loq: So, what does it say? Has anything changed?
Fer’at: Lieutenant Brzezinski, what are the results of the scan?
While he suspected Yinn’s theory to be a valid one, he also supported Brzezinski’s decision to do a molecular scan. After all, a theory was only a theory until it could be proven, and any and all tests would only arm them with more information.
Brzezinski: Response
Toz: According to the records, em… you’ve both eaten of the Antari leaves and had, em… conjugal relations. ::long pause:: Those leaves caused some sort of telepathy in some of the crew.
Loq: I should have thought of this earlier. Do we have any Antari refugees on board? If their leaves were in fact the catalyst here, maybe their brains work the same way mine apparently do. Just on a temporary basis.
Fer’at: If there are not, we could contact those who have settled upon a new home.
Loq’s…or Yinn’s…idea had merit. If those who had worked in the mines, especially the Antani, could give them some information, they would be better armed to deal with this rather…annoying crisis.
Fer'at: Agreed. Brzezinski: responses
Yinn: The question is, can we separate safely?
The Vulcan Scientist arched an eyebrow at the question. The question was understandable, but he did not have much of an answer for them.
Fer'at: Currently, we can not determine. It will take more time and tests to know what course of action we should take.
Brzezinski: responses
Toz: Do you want to separate?
Loq/Yinn: response
Fer’at could not imagine a state of being like the one they described, nor did he wish to hypothesise how such a state would feel. He preferred to be of his own mind and body, save for the temporary state of a mind meld - temporary being the key word.
Toz: Well, in that case, we need to make some arrangements. I’m at a total loss here. After all, I’m a physician. You do know that means physical bodies, not brains. Right?
Fer’at: Perhaps not, Doctor, but we still have yet to see the physical consequences beyond difficulty controlling their faculties.
They still did not know how their bodies would react to such a strange circumstance, and while all might be well currently, that could change without warning. Short term, they might be fine, but long term, other issues from that combining of their minds could arise. It was best to be prepared.
Brzezinski: response
Toz: Do what you can. ::beat:: Try not to kill ‘em.
Fer’at: That would not be a preferable outcome.
Brzezinski/Loq/Yinn/Toz: Response
Preservation of life was always a goal. Fer’at turned to the couple who were far closer than they likely ever wished to be, then inclined his head to Brzezinski. The woman had the molecular scan, but before they could proceed, they needed more information.
Fer’at: I believe we should move on to other tests, though we may wish to compare all of them, including the molecular scan, as that will give us the most complete picture.
Brzezinski/Loq/Yinn/Toz: Response
Fer’at: Before I got off the line with Commander Katsim, she suggested we get a Subatomic Resonance Image as well as a Subspace Bio-Analysis, and I concur.
That time, the Vulcan nodded to Yinn, for he had not forgotten the theory that she held about the condition in which she and Loq still found themselves.
Fer’at: If your theory is correct, these would be the most logical scans to take.
Brzezinski/Loq/Yinn/Toz: Response
-- Lt. Fer'at Science Officer USS Octavia E. Butler M239008AD0
