"Opinions Are A Uni-Directional Point Of View Usually The Result Of Someone Asking A Question"
(Previous Post: "Pulling Your Weight")
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Stardate: 60325.1140
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
The creation of a virus capable of disabling not one but over one hundred orbital weapons platform designed to safeguard an entire planet had not been an easy task, but thanks to the help of the Chief Medical Officer the work had progressed much faster than the Chief Science Officer might have expected it to. Although the scientist had initially questioned the aid offered by Doctor Summers, the help had soon proven more than welcomed as the Chief Medical Officer found increasingly ingenious ways of making the virus more lethal. Since the start of their work on this project, the virus had gone through several changes that the Shillian woman kept track of by ways of *versions*.
When the summons from the Chief Engineering Officer reached the bridge, the virus had just been promoted to version 7.0, making it almost twice as dangerous as its predecessor, the level of lethality based on just how much electronic damage it had the potential of inflicting on any system it came in contact with.
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Stardate: 60325.1145
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Stellar Cartography
The Shilian scientist walked in to find the Chief Engineer standing in the middle of the platform looking up at the star filled heavens that surrounded them. With a little bit of imagination anyone could envision themselves floating in the emptiness of space while looking at the awe inspiring sight of countless stars, nebulas and other special phenomenon that defied reality.
"You wanted to see me Lieutenant?" The Chief Science Officer asked as quietly as she could not wanted to startle the stargazing man. The Shillian woman had more than once been in the exact same position so she knew how enthralling the experience could be and how difficult it might be to be brought back to the confines of their ship.
"I wanted your opinion on something," the Chief Engineering Officer replied, requesting a close up view of the SURIAL System with a single touch of the control panel that he had been standing in front of. As the enlarged view appeared on the massive curved wall of the room, the Shillian scientist began to worry as to what this had been all about. Had she missed something during her preliminary study of the system? Had the information provided to Captain Rikar and the rest of the senior staff concerning SURIAL III been incomplete or even worse erroneous? Could there have been cloaked ships present in the system that the extensive research performed by the Marine Commanding Officer and Chief Science Officer had failed to discover? All of the concerned imagined by the scientist were soon tossed aside when Lieutenant Dawson asked a seemingly innocent, although a little strange, question. "Do you believe in *Evil*?"
The Shillian woman took a few moments to register the question that had been asked of her, not entirely certain as to why the Chief Engineering Officer had requested her to be here for it. Without enough information to clarify the reason as to why David had asked the scientist down here for this, or the purpose of said question, the Chief Science Officer thought it best to answer and see where the discussion to lead them.
"I do not personally believe in an all consuming entity that would represent the embodiment of what is referred to as 'Evil', but again I have never subscribed to the idea that any single entity is either purely evil or good. I mean I comprehend the need shared by the greater majority of civilizations to give these non-corporeal ideals a physical form that would make it easier for the general populace to understand and either admire or fear as the case may be, but I believe that all living creatures, be them sentient or not, have the potential of being either and both. There is also the question of perspective from the point of view of an observer against that of a person directly involved in the situation. I mean the term evil is meant to describe something that if offensive or which goes against a set of established rules and ideals, but who is to say that the rules themselves are not evil, making anyone objecting to them stand on the opposite side of the definition making them for all accounts good. I prefer to think of the concept of good and evil as a way of describing something, be it political, historical or philosophical in nature, based on the experiences and values of that person making it a unique opinion that may or may not be shared by others." The Shillian woman said, now more than even curious as to what had made the Chief Engineering Officer ask the question in the first place.
Instead of replying or even acknowledging the answer given to him by the Shillian, the Chief Engineer simply continued to look at the enlarged image of SURIAL III as if the real answer to his question had been somewhere hidden on that world. Since their conversation had come to an abrupt stop, the scientist decided to ask a question of her own. "Lieutenant, may I ask why you ask me down here? Somehow I suspect that it was for more than to ask for my opinion on this philosophical matter as I am certain that Ensign Mei, Ensign Summers or even Lieutenant Commander Serenna would have been a better choice for this purpose."
"Just a question," the engineer said, never meeting the eyes of the Shillian woman with his own thus hiding their red tint from the scientist who would have very likely taken a double take at the sight. "I was curious if you had been able to come up with a way to deliver the virus you and Ensign Summers had been working on?"
Glad to hear that their discussion had moved onto something more pertinent and that her having been called to Stellar Cartography had been for a genuine reason, the Chief Science Officer wasted no time to offer a report on the progress of their work. "The virus itself is almost completed thanks to the invaluable assistance provided by Ensign Summers, I mean you would never have expected there to be so many similarities between the creations of an electronic virus as compared to a biological one, but the general concepts are remarkably alike. That said though I will have to admit that I was not as successful in coming up with an effective method of delivery as the virus would require to be send to a specific target instead of a general transmission to avoid signal degradation cause by the ionization present around SURIAL III. In short, we would need to be able to isolate one of those platforms and specifically target it to be the receiver of our little electronic gremlin." The scientist said with a hint of disappointment. The ANUBIS would soon be within range of the orbital defence net and without a way of delivering the virus that had been created the ship and their rescue efforts would be going nowhere.
"I thought you would say that," the Engineer said, calling an even larger view of SURIAL III, this one focussing on the northern polar region of the planet. "That is why I called you here. Although the platforms are cloaked, we can detect the interference pattern as they travel through the upper atmosphere of the planet. This is very inaccurate which is why we cannot target any specific satellite," the Chief Engineering Officer said looking back over his shoulder at the woman standing behind him, his eyes having returned to their normal colour thus not causing the Shillian to be concerned. "Notice anything special about the interference at the centre of the screen?"
Of all the questions that the Chief Engineer had asked since the arrival of the Chief Science Officer to Stellar Cartography, this one had been the most enjoyed by the Shillian woman, not because of the question, or even the answer, but because of the implication that the answer carried. "The interference is not showing any signs of spatial displacement like all of the others."
"In fewer words," Lieutenant Dawson said with a soft growl still finding it difficult to believe that anyone could enjoy speaking as much as the Shillian scientist did. "Polar synchronous orbit. That satellite is guarding the pole or is coordinating the others, either way we have found our target for the delivery of the virus."
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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 #338
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)
