Lt. Cmdr. Drex - Pattern of fears
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Drex Drex
Apr 22, 2026, 11:35:03 AM (23 hours ago) Apr 22
to sb118...@googlegroups.com
((XO’s Office - USS Eagle-A))
Drex: That is also part of why I asked you here. I read the facts on the reports, but I want to understand what the data did not show. ::A short pause:: How the situation evolved from your perspective while you were in it.
Kim nodded, collecting her thoughts.
Stapledon: Broadly, I could see someone categorizing what happened as biological warfare. That would be a fair categorization. ::She sighed:: But there was something more to it than that.
The first officer rested his right elbow on the armrest and his chin on the palm of his hand, listening carefully to the lieutenant's words.
Drex: More like what?
Stapledon: It felt psychological, as though the system knew it was dealing with humans or human hybrids. It... the system was somehow vectoring animals that had originally evolved on Earth to intercept us.
That was an interesting observation. Yet Tholin was Andorian, he had nothing to share with Humans, but no Andorian animals were incited against them. Maybe because he was badly injured and the AI did not consider him a threat or maybe it was because the Collectors cared only about Humans and their ecosystem, so those were the only animals the AI could use.
Drex: Please go on.
Stapledon: Well at first it seemed like the kinds of animals you might expect. The bear was standard. So were the large spiders. These were animals that would seem threatening to a human. Human evolved neural correlates coded for them. Bears have sharp teeth. Spiders look alien and have fangs. Recognizable monster archetypes in any terran nightmare. But then things changed.
The Denobulan did not interrupt, giving her the space to continue without pressure.
Stapledon: ch'Clex's leg was a big turning point. There was a biological vector that was able to rapidly change tissues, build new organs. It um.. started to locomote.. uh move around on its own, using small red appendages.
Drex’s expression tightening only slightly at the familiar detail. He had read Doctor Lim’s report, and the clinical description had already been unsettling on paper. Hearing it framed from an observational standpoint made it no less so. His gaze dropped briefly as he processed the implication.
Drex: That aligns with what Doctor Lim documented.
Stapledon: And then there were the giraffes we encountered. Those are prey animals. Sure they're large and they can use their heads as clubs but they're not... well they're not monsters in an ordinary sense of the term.
He shifted slightly in his chair and began drumming his left hand fingers slowly against his thigh, as he followed her reasoning.
Drex: When the obvious threats are no longer enough, it starts creating something unexpected to generate real fear.
Stapledon: Response
Drex: If our assumptions linking what was found on Ondo to what was found on Nifal are correct, the AI wanted to terraform the moon to make it habitable for humans. A new zoo, perhaps, or some other experiment. ::A thoughtful pause:: Or a circus show. Humans versus wild animals...
Stapledon: Response
The Denobulan let the corner of his mouth lift into a faint, dry smile as he raised his head slightly. His right hand moved off the armrest..
Drex: We do not know enough, strange to say, is it not? ::A brief, almost sardonic pause:: Maybe it was just a coincidence that you encountered those animals. They were not created explicitly for you, yet... ::He took a slow breath:: We know it wanted to get rid of you.
Stapledon: Response
Drex: On Nifal we were never put in real danger. Yes, we were stuck on the planet, isolated, but even when we entered the control room, nothing really attacked us. So this is rather an evolution or an ancestor of what we found on Nifal. I know Tanner was able to decode some of the data last year, maybe... maybe you could take a look at them...
Stapledon: Response
Drex: That is also part of why I asked you here. I read the facts on the reports, but I want to understand what the data did not show. ::A short pause:: How the situation evolved from your perspective while you were in it.
Kim nodded, collecting her thoughts.
Stapledon: Broadly, I could see someone categorizing what happened as biological warfare. That would be a fair categorization. ::She sighed:: But there was something more to it than that.
The first officer rested his right elbow on the armrest and his chin on the palm of his hand, listening carefully to the lieutenant's words.
Drex: More like what?
Stapledon: It felt psychological, as though the system knew it was dealing with humans or human hybrids. It... the system was somehow vectoring animals that had originally evolved on Earth to intercept us.
That was an interesting observation. Yet Tholin was Andorian, he had nothing to share with Humans, but no Andorian animals were incited against them. Maybe because he was badly injured and the AI did not consider him a threat or maybe it was because the Collectors cared only about Humans and their ecosystem, so those were the only animals the AI could use.
Drex: Please go on.
Stapledon: Well at first it seemed like the kinds of animals you might expect. The bear was standard. So were the large spiders. These were animals that would seem threatening to a human. Human evolved neural correlates coded for them. Bears have sharp teeth. Spiders look alien and have fangs. Recognizable monster archetypes in any terran nightmare. But then things changed.
The Denobulan did not interrupt, giving her the space to continue without pressure.
Stapledon: ch'Clex's leg was a big turning point. There was a biological vector that was able to rapidly change tissues, build new organs. It um.. started to locomote.. uh move around on its own, using small red appendages.
Drex’s expression tightening only slightly at the familiar detail. He had read Doctor Lim’s report, and the clinical description had already been unsettling on paper. Hearing it framed from an observational standpoint made it no less so. His gaze dropped briefly as he processed the implication.
Drex: That aligns with what Doctor Lim documented.
Stapledon: And then there were the giraffes we encountered. Those are prey animals. Sure they're large and they can use their heads as clubs but they're not... well they're not monsters in an ordinary sense of the term.
He shifted slightly in his chair and began drumming his left hand fingers slowly against his thigh, as he followed her reasoning.
Drex: When the obvious threats are no longer enough, it starts creating something unexpected to generate real fear.
Stapledon: Response
Drex: If our assumptions linking what was found on Ondo to what was found on Nifal are correct, the AI wanted to terraform the moon to make it habitable for humans. A new zoo, perhaps, or some other experiment. ::A thoughtful pause:: Or a circus show. Humans versus wild animals...
Stapledon: Response
The Denobulan let the corner of his mouth lift into a faint, dry smile as he raised his head slightly. His right hand moved off the armrest..
Drex: We do not know enough, strange to say, is it not? ::A brief, almost sardonic pause:: Maybe it was just a coincidence that you encountered those animals. They were not created explicitly for you, yet... ::He took a slow breath:: We know it wanted to get rid of you.
Stapledon: Response
Drex: On Nifal we were never put in real danger. Yes, we were stuck on the planet, isolated, but even when we entered the control room, nothing really attacked us. So this is rather an evolution or an ancestor of what we found on Nifal. I know Tanner was able to decode some of the data last year, maybe... maybe you could take a look at them...
Stapledon: Response
TAGS / TBC
============
Lt. Commander Drex
First Officer
USS Eagle-A
D240011D14
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