PNPC Lieutenant Zeylinn - Mind to Mind
Laria Herren
((The Saloon - Deck 10, USS Constitution-B))
Well, that explained it. Zee frowned and immediately stopped broadcasting her thoughts out. She had slipped right into the usual routine and hadn’t meant to make the other woman uncomfortable. Her next reply came in a soft, whispery voice with a lot less clarity to it.
Zeylinn: Oh, I am so sorry. I default to projecting my thoughts rather than speaking aloud. Rest assured, I am not trying to intrude upon your mind. I am able to speak aloud if you prefer.
Not that she particularly liked it. Especially being in Starfleet, she had gotten rather used to people being open-minded and welcoming of her way of speaking. It wasn’t like it was back home. Her shreva and her siblings weren’t going to refuse to acknowledge her without using her “out loud words”. And so, naturally, her voice had atrophied.
Stapledon: Actually, I don't know how to say this but... It would be good if you kept speaking to me telepathically. Oh, wait. I'm pleased to meet you. I'm Kim Stapledon.
Zeylinn: ~ Lieutenant Zeylinn. Good to meet you. ~
Kim Stapledon. She committed the person’s emotional aura to memory. Based on what she had just said, that might be a person she would need to deal with more.
Stapledon: Oh, nice to meet you.
Zeylinn: ~ As it happens, I’m actually a telepathic therapist. I might be able to help. ~
Stapledon: That is pretty cool, I didn't realize that.
Zeylinn: ~ It’s not a standard classification. Many telepaths work as counselors, but I have been working to adapt an Aenar therapy technique for use in Starfleet. In addition to being able to function as a regular counselor. ~
Although that was typically better left to the other counselors. She could focus on her particular skillset. It already seemed to be in modest demand, more than she had expected for the first field test.
Stapledon: An Aenar therapy technique?
Zeylinn: ~ And, to reiterate, I am not reading your thoughts. I can passively sense your general emotional state like a Betazoid or other empath might. Your empathic signature. But I do not know what you are thinking unless I actively entered your mind. ~
The thought that other telepaths had previously dug through Kim’s mind was alarming. It was unthinkable. But, she had mentioned it happening when she was younger. Perhaps the telepaths in question were also younger? That was something else she excelled in, helping younger telepaths learn to control their abilities and use them respectfully. Not that they always did…
Stapledon: You didn't just see what I was thinking?
Zeylinn: ~ Of course not. Aenar do not take another’s thoughts without permission. I couldn’t fathom doing otherwise. ~
Stapledon: Oh. ::There was a pause:: I understand.
Zee made an offer. She wasn’t sure if it would be accepted. In fact, she was fairly sure that it would be rejected. But she did want to provide the woman with the option.
Zeylinn: ~ If you want, I can enter what is called Shehan, a telepathic conversation where surface thoughts are read rather than you speaking verbally. A kind of exposure therapy. But there is no need to rush to something that extreme. ~
She made her way back to a table by the far wall, away from the busy musical performance to give them a place to speak without interruption or eavesdropping. Not that anyone was hearing her side of the conversation. When she was speaking to someone specifically, she targeted her projections at that one person.
Zeylinn: ~ I am happy to discuss whatever you would like to discuss. The specifics of your concerns over telepathy, recent events on the ship, or my custom bicycle. Whatever you want to talk about. ~
Whatever she was comfortable with. As long as hearing the telepathic voice helped desensitize her to her fears, Zee would find something to talk about.
Stapledon: Actually, I... ::She thought she was watching herself say it more than saying it herself:: think that would be a great idea to... try entering Shehan.
She smiled, glad to see Kim being brave.
Zeylinn: ~ We can do that, if that’s what you want. ~
Zee took a deep breath in. She focused on Kim’s mind. The rest of the people in the Saloon become a generic background sense. Once she had tuned out the rest she dug a bit deeper as Kim spoke. She picked up on the surface thoughts, a general sense of who Kim was, and… a hovering pink cat? The mental image faded for a moment. She couldn’t help but chuckle. During Shehan she rarely got any visual stimuli. But the visualization had been so clear and focused.
Stapledon: I think it is important for me to... ::Remembering what she'd learned in the past working with Professor Bartholomew and the curious case of Cáemgen during her senior year in high school:: expose my mind to a different example of telepathic interaction.
Zeylinn: ~ The bond is established. All you need to do is think it. I’ll hear you. Go ahead and give me the background on what happened. ~
Normally she wouldn’t ask anyone to discuss something so personal in public. But, with the telepathic bond established, Kim could spill all her deepest secrets and not another soul would ever know.
Stapledon: ~ Well... It's complicated... I grew up on New Cyprus.. I was a bit of a loner... I'd been spending a lot of time creating worlds for myself in the holosuites. ~
Zeylinn: ~ And this leaked out of the holosuite thanks to telepathy? ~
She phrased it as a question. She knew exactly what the answer was already. But she wanted to ease Kim into the whole thought reading thing rather than say what she was thinking before she even got to that point in the story.
Stapledon: ~ I got... emotionally attached to the life I'd created in there and this one Betazoid girl picked up on that I guess. ~
The feelings over that first incident were still raw. She wasn’t that surprised to know that it was a teenage Betazoid responsible for the intrusion. Betazoid telepathic and empathic abilities were variable. Some were extremely potent, others barely had any empathic sense. And while a great many learned to get a handle on their abilities there were some who didn’t do so well. Especially in adolescence.
Zeylinn: ~ That does unfortunately happen from time to time. Mostly with younger telepaths first developing their abilities. ~
Stapledon: ~ Response ~
Zeylinn: ~ There are those with these abilities who do abuse them. But across different species and civilizations, there are some constants. Most of us have our own strong feelings about what is or isn’t moral. ~
Aenar society was the only one she could speak to with any personal experience. But intruding into someone else’s thoughts without permission was the most serious breach of etiquette there was. Even with a collective mind there was a need for privacy. Society would fall apart without respect for each other's mental boundaries. So it was one of the first lessons every Aenar child learned.
Stapledon: ~ Response ~
Zeylinn: ~ I’ve worked with multiple young Betazoids and Deltans and Rodulans and hybrids. There’s already so much pressure caused by the changes that come with growing up. Developing telepathic abilities only adds more pressure. Sometimes, they can’t control the ability itself and get hit by waves of emotions and thoughts they weren’t trying to read. Other times they can control their telepathy but not themselves. It’s a struggle every family with telepathic children has dealt with at some point. ~
Even Zee had her moments when she was younger. She had only begun school a few months before she and her mother were separated from the rest of the Aenar and taken in by mainstream Andorians. And she’d had her own moments being less than perfectly disciplined with her own brain.
Stapledon: ~ Response ~
Zeylinn: ~ What you experienced is unfortunate, but not the norm. Almost any telepath would condemn that kind of behavior. You certainly aren’t likely to encounter it outside of school. ~
Especially not in Starfleet.
Stapledon: ~ Response ~
Zee tried to think of a way to put the incident in perspective. It was a very embarrassing incident, she could see how the mental wound was still tender years later. But she didn’t want Kim to spend the rest of her life running away from every telepath.
Zeylinn: ~ Think back on your childhood. I am certain there were lots of antisocial, meanspirited, or disruptive behaviors you encountered. Do you fear anything that reminds you of anyone who was ever mean to you, like you do telepaths specifically? ~
Stapledon: ~ Response ~
Lieutenant Zeylinn, Ph. D.
Telepathic Therapist
USS Constitution-B
===as simmed by===
Lieutenant Commander Laria Herren
Mission Specialist/Second Officer
USS Constitution-B
A239402AG0