Ensign Morton: The Weight of Other Faces
James
((Cockpit, Runabout Kindred))
Commander Lhandon had assembled a small team of scientists to study the remains of the wormhole and investigate whether there was a way to send all the alternate universe people home to their own universes. The team had triangulated their first point and marked up the location. Before they could lay in a course to other points of interest they found a Starfleet Valkyrie drifting nearby. They quickly found out that the pilot, Vivi, was not from their universe. Thankfully, they appeared uninjured but the question remained about what to do with them, which prompted the science officer’s next line of thinking.
Morton: Should we escort them back to the Butler?
Brzezinski: (under her breath) Or the Thor.
Nilsen: No, not yet. I don’t even know where our universe's Thor is. I’m going to have to check the fleet listing. Let's get him to the Dow, they’ve got medical facilities. Then, when we’re all ready to return to the Butler and actually have something that resembles a shore leave, we can bring Vivi along. =/\= Vivi, I’m expanding comms, so you can hear what we’re talking about. =/\=
Vala didn’t know why they would take Vivi along to the Butler, or if that was even appropriate. If anyone was the expert in that area, it was Iliac. Morton glanced around but saw no objection and who was she to complain? Then again maybe she was one of the few objective people here? Could it be that Lhandon and the others had clouded judgement due to meeting their own counterparts so recently. Still, the pieces didn’t quite fit. She had no idea who Vivi was, but it seemed the others may know more than she did, so she held her tongue.
Tasen/Saa: Response
Brzezinski: I think it’s worth noting that his body and his vessel largely have differing quantum signatures. Well, he’s chimeric, but mostly he doesn’t match his craft.
Iliac: Likely due to prolonged exposure to atoms in another reality.
They didn’t teach you this at the Academy! Vala took a solid look at the readings, checking the external environment hadn’t suddenly shifted on them and that they were still within safe parameters. She kept a close ear on the situation though, keen to learn what she could.
Iliac: So if he ate food in that reality, when he metabolizes it, he’ll exchange his own atoms for that in the food and water. The longer you are in a given reality, the more your body’s quantum signatures will be altered to match it.
Nilsen: Of course. Quantum stomachs. Why wouldn’t that be a thing? ::beat:: Does that mean the longer you're away? The less chance you have of getting home? =/\= Vivi, how long has it been since you’ve been home? =/\=
Tasen/Saa: Response
Iliac: It means you may not be able to find the proper quantum signature for your original reality if you’ve been away for long enough.
That sounded pretty dire to Vala. She wondered if any of the other alts that were looking to be returned home came from the same universe as this Vivi.
Brzezinski: Given the lack of matching quantum signatures in his body, I’d estimate he was in a non-native universe for a year or two.
Nilsen: =/\= But we now know what universe he’s from, he told us himself, can we not just use that? ::To Saa:: Any experience with that mate? =/\=
Morton: Are there any other stranded alts from the same universe? Maybe Vivi could just… go along with them?
Tasen/Saa: Response
Iliac: Well, I think it makes it more problematic…
Nilsen: =/\= Vivi, did that make sense to you? =/\=
Iliac/Brzezinski/Tasen/Saa: Response
Vala realised that there were a lot of technical concepts flying around, and she didn’t want to make any assumptions about what scientific knowledge Vivi, Lhandon or anyone else had. She hoped to relay this valuable information in simpler, layman's terms. It was also a good check for herself because the best way to see if you truly understand a thing is to explain it to someone else. If she understood poorly she had no doubt her more knowledgeable and experienced colleagues would correct her.
Morton: Our bodies are made up of cells that are constantly dying and being renewed. The new cells contain the signature of the universe the individual is in. Picture it like this: Your body is like a garden where plants naturally die and new ones grow. If you move your garden to a different climate, the new plants that grow will be adapted to that climate. Stay long enough, and your entire garden reflects the new environment.
Nilsen: =/\= What we'll do is let you follow us back to the Unity Dow. I'm going to order you to land in the shuttle bay, and they'll see to your medical needs. They also have facilities for repair, and I'll make sure you get to oversee that. Then after all that, and after we've finished here, we'll take you back to our ship, the Octavia E Butler and, erm... see if you want to meet your sister.=/\=
Sister! Now all the pieces were starting to fall into place. Though if this Vivi was from another universe, then were they really sisters? The thought gnawed at her—somewhere out there was a Sev who had shared birthdays and scraped knees and whispered secrets with this Vivi, just as she had done with her own. But that other Sev had also watched her sister disappear, maybe mourned her, maybe still searched for her. And this Vivi... did she carry the quantum ghost of loving a different Sev entirely? Meeting her might feel like embracing a beloved memory made flesh, or it might feel like staring into a mirror that reflected all the wrong things. Either way, the reunion would belong to other people. People who happened to wear their faces.
Iliac/Brzezinski/Tasen/Saa: Response
As he did that, he had ordered another shuttle to take their place while he had turned the course and spoken to the others.
Nilsen: =/\= And to you folks, I promise, we’ll get back to the science shortly. Vivi, I’m going to enjoy getting to know you, buddy. =/\=
Iliac/Brzezinski/Tasen/Saa: Response
Unity Dow: =/\= Unity Dow to Commander Nilsen, new orders, you are to return to flight control. The Kindred can remain out there, we’ll beam over a replacement pilot. =/\=
Nilsen: =/\= Acknowledged. Vivi, I'll see you on board =/\= Duty calls, Brzezinski, this is your mission now. Folks, don’t break any universes or temporal things while I’m gone. And don’t go and meet your grandma :beat: that’s an important one.
Morton: Well, that was weird. I suppose weird is the new normal around here though, eh?
Iliac/Brzezinski/Tasen/Saa: Response
Morton: So. Where were we?
Iliac/Brzezinski/Tasen/Saa: Response
Morton: Ah yes. We’re still within parameters but the picometers per torus manifold is rising as we head towards the centre. We’re at two point eighty-one.
Iliac/Brzezinski/Tasen/Saa: Response
Science Officer
USS Octavia E Butler NCC-82850
O240205VM3