Lt Vylaa zh'Tisav: I Think, Therefore I Am
1 view
Skip to first unread message
Andrew B
May 6, 2026, 12:42:30 PM (7 days ago) May 6
to Gorkon IC
((Moss Fields, Gateside Dimension))
The world kept changing around Vylaa, Sevo and Kairis, and if they were going to get anywhere they needed to understand it. They planned to use a spool of optical fiber to stay in contact while they tested the environment. Vylaa began walking away slowly. The spool had a bearing at it’s center, meaning Vylaa could pinch the whole thing with her glove-thickened fingers and unspool it easily. As she went, the tall Andorian paused at intervals to check that her companions were still there and not swallowed up by the landscape.
Sevo: So far so good here. Your movements align with my scan. Same can't be said for the map.
Kairis: It's changing as we're moving over it?
Vylaa paused to look back, the suit making what would normally be a graceful move a clumsy maneuver.
Sevo: I’m curious, what do you physically see right around you? Are we seeing the same things or different things?
Vylaa looked around. She’d been too focused on not stumbling over her immediate surroundings to do so before, but it looked like a small grove was beginning to sprout.
zh’Tisav: Umm, some saplings, and rocks. ::She glanced back at the Trill.:: That vine behind your left foot wasn’t there before.
Kairis: I see the same thing.
zh’Tisav: It looks like we’re within the threshold for major environmental changes. At least, you two are still there.
Sevo: Yup. Keep in physical contact with each other or the tether. Never let a physical gap break us up. We don't know what will happen if we do, and I'm not willing to find out.
zh’Tisav: I wonder if these things are real or a figment of our imagination…
The mental whispers briefly quickened in pace cadence and intensity before dying back down. Vylaa reached out and brushed one of the saplings. It certainly felt real.
Sevo: Well, it looks real enough.
zh'Tisav: Since when does that matter with our ship?
Sevo: What do your own tricorders say? Can they detect everyone?
Thea scrutinized her tricorder.
Kairis: It's having trouble resolving the geography, but I can see all of you and the marker you placed.
The Tyrellian held the device out to one of the saplings. It promptly lashed out towards her, eliciting a small yelp from her.
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.
zh'Tisav: Response
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.
Sevo: Response
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?
Thea had given Vylaa an idea. Aenar had a level of telepathy called Thalzi. Much like a mental holodeck, participants created a world to communicate in, in which thought became as tangible as the real world. She wondered if the concept might work here.
Sevo / Kairis: Response
Vylaa looked at one of the saplings. Almost as if on instinct, she imagined the mountains near home, and imagined the plant in the middle of the scene, then added one of Andoria’s famous winter gales for good measure. She knew it was working when the spot behind her right eye throbbed in protest. In response the tree’s branches recoiled, twisting back on themselves before they seemed to recover and return to their original state.
zh’Tisav: Interesting…
Sevo / 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.
Sevo / Kairis: Response
The world kept changing around Vylaa, Sevo and Kairis, and if they were going to get anywhere they needed to understand it. They planned to use a spool of optical fiber to stay in contact while they tested the environment. Vylaa began walking away slowly. The spool had a bearing at it’s center, meaning Vylaa could pinch the whole thing with her glove-thickened fingers and unspool it easily. As she went, the tall Andorian paused at intervals to check that her companions were still there and not swallowed up by the landscape.
Sevo: So far so good here. Your movements align with my scan. Same can't be said for the map.
Kairis: It's changing as we're moving over it?
Vylaa paused to look back, the suit making what would normally be a graceful move a clumsy maneuver.
Sevo: I’m curious, what do you physically see right around you? Are we seeing the same things or different things?
Vylaa looked around. She’d been too focused on not stumbling over her immediate surroundings to do so before, but it looked like a small grove was beginning to sprout.
zh’Tisav: Umm, some saplings, and rocks. ::She glanced back at the Trill.:: That vine behind your left foot wasn’t there before.
Kairis: I see the same thing.
zh’Tisav: It looks like we’re within the threshold for major environmental changes. At least, you two are still there.
Sevo: Yup. Keep in physical contact with each other or the tether. Never let a physical gap break us up. We don't know what will happen if we do, and I'm not willing to find out.
zh’Tisav: I wonder if these things are real or a figment of our imagination…
The mental whispers briefly quickened in pace cadence and intensity before dying back down. Vylaa reached out and brushed one of the saplings. It certainly felt real.
Sevo: Well, it looks real enough.
zh'Tisav: Since when does that matter with our ship?
Sevo: What do your own tricorders say? Can they detect everyone?
Thea scrutinized her tricorder.
Kairis: It's having trouble resolving the geography, but I can see all of you and the marker you placed.
The Tyrellian held the device out to one of the saplings. It promptly lashed out towards her, eliciting a small yelp from her.
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.
zh'Tisav: Response
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.
Sevo: Response
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?
Thea had given Vylaa an idea. Aenar had a level of telepathy called Thalzi. Much like a mental holodeck, participants created a world to communicate in, in which thought became as tangible as the real world. She wondered if the concept might work here.
Sevo / Kairis: Response
Vylaa looked at one of the saplings. Almost as if on instinct, she imagined the mountains near home, and imagined the plant in the middle of the scene, then added one of Andoria’s famous winter gales for good measure. She knew it was working when the spot behind her right eye throbbed in protest. In response the tree’s branches recoiled, twisting back on themselves before they seemed to recover and return to their original state.
zh’Tisav: Interesting…
Sevo / 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.
Sevo / Kairis: Response
Lt Vylaa zh'Tisav
Engineering Specialist
USS Gorkon
C238601TB0
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages