"Analysing Nothing Is Not As Easy As It Might Seem"
(Previous Post: "Looking Onto The Darkness")
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Stardate: 60324.1150
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 19, Brig
Mathematically, and even scientifically speaking, nothing can come out of nothing, Adding zero to zero, even if the operation is repeated a billion times, still leaves you with zero and since matter is neither created nor destroyed, it is impossible to create something out of nothing. Using some of the scientific mechanism common to today's age, it is possible to give the impression that matter is created out of nothing; like in a replicator or transporter. The truth is that matter is not created out of nothing but rather transformed from an energy to a physical state. Therefore, and in accordance with the laws of science as they were known at that precise moment in time, there would have been no way for the Shillian scientist to scan the creature and receive a reading of *nothing* on her instruments.
So it was not surprising that the Chief Science Officer of the USS ANUBIS gazed with disbelief at her tricorder as she scanned the motionless black coloured form of the creature from every angle without being able to get any sort of readings. As far as the instruments had been concerned the creature that had been dispatched by Lieutenant Dawson and brought here from Main Engineering did not exist despite the fact that both the women present inside the force field were able to touch it.
"Nothing," the Chief Medical Officer said, summarizing the entirety of the data so far collected on the creature. "How is this possible?"
"I do have a hypothesis that would explain these strange readings," the Shillian scientist replied. "I mean there is really no way for me to confirm or deny this hypothesis since we have so far been unable to get any sort of readings from the creature, but using common sense and what we do know of this truly alien creature we should be able to come up with a relatively accurate explanation."
"Maya," the Chief Medical officer said, "do you *ever* get to the point?" The question had primarily been meant to voice frustration but as the two women shared a short glance, the gesture soon turned into a welcomed break in the tension that had been accumulating.
"The sensors, both internal and external, detected some very unique readings coming from a realm of sub-space that we did not know was there," the scientist said, getting to the point as quickly as she could. "It is clear to see that these creatures are not from a domain known to us and given our inability to detect anything about these creatures it is safe to claim that they have come from another dimension."
"All right," Ensign Summers said with a sigh, "I'll bite. Why would they come to *our* dimension and attack us? Also, if our recorders cannot pick anything up on these creatures, how did our internal sensors identify that we had intruders in the first place?"
"Why they have chosen to attack is unknown," the Shillian woman replied. "For all we know they might have felt threatened as did Species 8472 almost a century ago. As for your second question though, I do have an answer, which may well be the only true answer that we have to pin on this increasingly mysterious mystery. The internal sensors of the ANUBIS are designed to pick up on a wide range of information including sub-space distortion and motion. As much as our recorders are unable to detect *anything* at the moment, when the creatures were moving about the ship the sensors would have been able to detect the movements of these pockets of *nothingness*."
"So do you explain that all of the creatures vanished?" Ensign Doratheva asked, having been watching and listening to the two women inside of the force field with a mixture of interest and curiosity.
"Being from another dimension these creatures were likely anxious to return to their realm," the Chief Science Office theorized not having any facts to use to answer the question. "When the ANUBIS moved away forcing the sub-space apertures out, the creatures were faced with either behind stuck in our dimension or make a haste retreat back to their domain."
"From the reports that I have received, we should consider ourselves lucky," the Chief of Security said, glaring through the force field at the dead member of this strange race. "They seemed pretty much immune to everything we sent at them including pulse rifles set at maximum. The only reported injury suffered by them was inflicted by Lieutenant Dawson."
"The molecular structure of these creatures is so different from what we know that it makes perfect sense that none of our weapons would be able to hurt them. I mean Species 8472 had a body density nearly thirty times what we consider as the norm, this gave them a natural protection against our weapons. Since these creatures as even more different, it is easily conceivable that there is nothing in our arsenal that could hurt them regardless of setting." The Shillian scientist said, not realizing just how bad of a picture she had been painting for the Chief of Security and the rest of the security forces present in the Brig. Fighting a larger and more powerful adversary was hard enough, but going against something that could not be hurt by standard weapons would prove to be a position that Ensign Doratheva did not envy in the least.
"Stop everything!" The Chief Medical officer said, bringing everyone in the room to a complete stand still. "My tricorder is picking up *something*."
"Where?" The Chief Science Officer asked, curious to see what sort of readings the Chief Medical Officer had detected instead of the nothing that had been plaguing them since their arrival.
"I have a faint DNA reading," Ensign Summers said, bringing her tricorder to nearly touch one of the spikes sticking out from one of the claws the creature used as legs.
"You have identified a DNA segment from the creature?" The Chief Science Officer asked, finding the discovery truly amazing. With a sample of DNA and the equipment available to them, the scientist and Doctor would be able to peel away the layers of unknown surrounding the creatures and their origins.
"Not unless these creatures are deformed Humans," the Chief Medical Officer said, studying the readings she had just obtained with great interest. "The DNA I have detected was located on the tip of that spike and is likely transfer from one of the officers in Main Engineering that came in contact with it," Ensign Summers explained taking every precaution to secure the sample she had collected. "I will have to run the sample against our databanks to confirm its origins, but at least it is something for me to do other than scan *nothingness*."
"I would greatly appreciate it if you would permit me to accompany you," the Shillian woman said. "There is very little more that I can do here."
The Chief Medical Officer seemed not at all displeased with the idea of having the Chief Science Officer accompany her back to Sickbay where the DNA comparison would be done. If for one reason or another the sample proved to be anything more than what it had been first thought to be, it would be a great asset to have the Shillian nearby.
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Stardate: 60324.1225
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
=/\=Ensign Sumemrs to Captain Rikar,=/\= The voice of the Chief Medical Officer was heard saying, bringing everyone to stop what they had been doing. The news of the discovery of a DNA sample had spread through the ANUBIS like wildfire and everyone had waited with great anticipation for the results of the comparison being done by the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Science Officer.
"Rikar here," the Commanding Officer replied, "what do you have for us Doctor?"
=/\= The DNA sample was extremely small but Lieutenant Maya and I have been able to identify its source, =/\= Ensign Summers said. =/\= Although the sample is Human in origin, it is not from anyone on the ANUBIS. =/\=
"Not from the ANUBIS?" The captain asked, stunned by the news. "But you said that it was Human, so if it is not from the ANUBIS where is it from?"
=/\= We compared the DNA profile with that of the crew of the MERCURY and we came up with a match, =/\= the Shillian scientist replied, taking over the Chief Medical Officer for the latter part of the report. =/\= We had to account for a sub-atomic distortion of the molecules, likely caused by the passage through the dimensional aperture, but we were able to confirm with a high level of probability that the sample did come from the First Officer of the USS MERCURY. Although we cannot explain why, what this does tell us is that the crew of the MERCURY have been, for one reason or another, brought to another dimension. =/\=
Captain Rikar seemed unimpressed by the news which in no way had made their task of rescuing the crew of the fallen GUNDAM-Class ship any easier.
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Jessica Solarik { maya_992003@yahoo.com }
Lieutenant Commander Maya
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
"To see the world in a grain of sand, 2005 post #288
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
