Lt. Commander Ayiana Sevo - Head Games
Aaron Schimmel
((Moss Fields, Gateside Dimension))
They were testing if the team remained connected to each other amidst the changing landscape, as well as if their geolocation software could be relied upon to navigate. The first seemed to be working well; both Ayiana and the others saw the same things around each other. The latter was less victorious; geolocation markers on their tricorders relied on things like satellite and ship beacons, or terrain markers to establish landmarks to maintain consistency. Since the landscape kept changing, it rendered the tags mostly moot.
Ayiana saw Kairis hold out her tricorder to one of the saplings that had appeared near the pair. It quickly lashed out towards her, causing the woman to yelp. The act reminded Ayiana of the vines in the research labs that lashed out violently at the test of the subsonic pulse.
Kairis: Oh. ::She swallowed.:: Apparently they're as patient with direct scans on this side of the gate as they were back in the facility.
Sevo: OK, so there’s definitely physicality to this place. It’s not ethereal or simulated, as far as we can tell. Not holograms either.
zh'Tisav: Agreed. That still doesn’t answer what’s going on...
Sevo: I have a couple of fringe theories, but they’re almost too outlandish to consider.
Kairis: Sir? ::She looked toward the Andorian.:: What made you think the trees might not be there?
zh’Tisav: Because I can hear them. I can’t fully block them on this side, either they’re too strong, or too numerous. Or maybe it’s the environment, but I hear… I guess I’d call them whispers. That, and the way things keep changing, it gives me the sense that this is a show, or a display.
Right, her telepathy. It was more prominent in Andorians (or at least Vylaa’s bloodline) than Tyrellians, whom a quarter of develop touch-telepathy, though they never develop full thought transference. Trill telepathy is even more limited; the average Trill’s telepathy is practically nonexistent. Only the Guardians with years of training can develop limited touch telepathy to facilitate Symbiote-related exercises such as the zhian'tara.
Sevo: Huh. Hadn’t considered that possibility. You think the place is responding to our thoughts?
Kairis: Unless we all imagined everything that came through the gate on Gibaria, I think we can be certain it's real. ::She paused.:: But... that doesn't mean our minds can't have something to do with what's going on.
zh'Tisav: Interesting. So would that mean we could affect it as well?
Sevo: How? Is it just as simple as thinking “gate” and it appears?
Ayiana looked around momentarily; sadly, the gate did not appear. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy.
Kairis: Response
She watched as Vylaa stared intently at one of the trees next to them for a few moments. At first, nothing happened other than an odd look on the Andorian’s face. But after a few seconds, the tree visibly recoiled away from Vylaa, briefly twisting around itself before snapping back to its prior shape.
zh’Tisav: Interesting…
Sevo: What did you do?!
Kairis: Response
zh’Tisav: I introduced it to what winter feels like back home. It looked like a plant that doesn’t like the cold.
Fascinating.
Sevo: Huh. Cool. Beats my prior theories.
Such theories included things like the dimension being in a sort of quantum superposition; it would explain how things suddenly appeared and disappeared. Another, more wild theory was that the place was four-dimensional, and some unseen higher-dimensional rotation was what caused things to appear and disappear to their eyes. In a way, a mental reaction seemed simpler.
Ayiana decided to try herself. She looked at the ground, and imagined one of the dimension’s saplings growing from the ground. Nothing seemed to be happening, other than giving herself a headache and possible aneurysm at the strain. Then, after a moment, a tiny leaf sprouted from the ground where she was concentrating. Unfortunately, her mental strain had reached its limit, and she lost her concentration. The leaf promptly disappeared back into the ground. Ayiana breathed heavily for a moment as she regained her strength.
Sevo: Whoo. :: Pant. :: Looks like there’s something to it.
Kairis: Response
Sevo: It took all my concentration to do that. The place may be reacting to our subconscious thoughts.
zh’Tisav / Kairis: Response
Sevo: Maybe there’s an overarching intelligence controlling the place, and it is far too strong to overcome, even locally.
zh’Tisav / Kairis: Response
Ayiana addressed Vylaa.
Sevo: I wonder if your stronger mental powers made it easier for you to affect that sapling? I wonder what would happen if a Vulcan or Betazoid tried.
zh’Tisav / Kairis: Response
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Lt. Commander Ayiana Sevo
Mission Specialist
U.S.S. Gorkon
V239109AS0
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