Lt. Taelon - Object Permanence

[Alison Hardwick]

((Science Lab 6, Deck 7, USS Gorkon))

Finch: Decades I’ve had these enhancers. Bloomin’ decades. ::She huffed.:: Apparently jumping across timelines was an adventure too far.

Taelon thought she meant that literally, as in the timeline had affected them, before his brain caught up with him.  It's a metaphor, you fool, he thought.

Taelon: I - you said you had them repaired. Do you know what they did? What parts they replaced?

She took the time to think about it. Taelon got the sense there was something else, too, but he didn’t pry; maybe he was just being presumptuous in thinking she seemed kind of sad. But he worried nonetheless.

Finch: ::She roused herself out of the thought, eyes glittering.:: A few things here and there. Primarily the bottom layers of the biocompatible interfaces, the substrate, you know, the coating itself.

Taelon: Hmm. Those do seem to be newer, and less of an issue. So…

He trailed off as he considered, running a hand through his hair.

Finch: Then it must be the material itself. ::She tutted.:: I’ll always try my hand at something new, but I'd decided that a task like that I wouldn’t mess around with; bio-optical engineering needs a specialist, is what I thought.

Taelon: That’s - yes, that was my thought. It’s likely simply age, if I had to guess? Microscopic changes from the length of use wouldn’t be surprising - everything degrades, after a time.

Finch: Why don't we collaborate? Craft some designs together in a longer term project. Upgraded enhancers, just without all of the—::she looked at the mans head, then ARIA and wiggled her fingers.::—cellular embedding.

So no cybernetics. Taelon was disappointed, of course; what wonders he could create if people just let him! But it was her body and her choice, and he wouldn’t have dreamed of trying to pressure her into something she didn’t want.

Besides -

Taelon: I’d, um, love to. And.. you said you’d like to keep these ones. So we can try to find a solution that preserves as much of the original pieces as possible?

Finch: Response

Taelon smiled - his usual gentle, shy expression - and padded Doz on the hand in a mirror of the same gesture she often employed on him.

Taelon: Objects are important because we make them so. And…well, my original suggestion was going to be to melt them down and use the material in the new ones, so - your solution is better.

Finch: Response

He flushed a bit, and turned to ARIA, pointing to its golden antler-like headcrest. It had golden accents and tips across its body, but the major concentration was on its head. The 'bot tilted its head towards him, tapping the end of its horn on his finger tip. 

Taelon: It’s like, um, the gold used here, for example…it’s very old? It was my mother’s, and her mother’s before that, and her mother, and so on…we each shape it to our own needs, but the gold, and the spirit in it, survives. But, um, reforming something someone made with care…it’s understandable you want to keep them as they are.

Finch: Response


Lieutenant Taelon
Science Officer
USS Gorkon
O239303T10