"An Entire Library of Knowledge and Still So Many Questions"
(Previous Post: "An Illusion of Time")
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Stardate: 60333.1500
Thanks to the assistance of many members of the crew, the cataloguing of the archive crystals found inside of the comet which was on a collision course for SENMAAR II had proceeded well. As much as the Shillian Scientist had wanted to experience the unique properties of the crystals, the Chief Science Officer had simply been too busy with managing all of the information she had been given to indulge in her desire. There had been so much data gathered by the volunteers that the Shillian had to return to the bridge in order to use the computer to help with the cataloguing and indexing of all the accounts that had made their way to the First Officer of the HATHOR.
"Looks like things are going well," the hybrid Commanding Officer said, looking over the shoulder of the scientist and the stack of PADDs which still needed to be processed.
"Depends on how you look at it," the Chief Science Officer said sounding a little bewildered by the task that she had inadvertently ended up with following her request to have the crew help with the research on the crystals. "I mean the information contained within the crystal is remarkable and is a true archaeological treasure, and according to Ensign Kea we have only scratched the surface with the crystals that have been beamed onboard. Based on the volume of each crystal and the estimated size of the inside of the comet, taking into account that the crystals are stored literally one on top of the other, we are looking at possibly over three thousand crystals of which we have to far only been able to bring less than a hundred."
Lieutenant Commander Serenna placed her hand on the shoulder of the Shillian woman in a supporting way making the First Officer of the HATHOR look back at the standing hybrid. "At least that way the science team on NEW ALEXANDRIA will not be able to claim that we had all of the fun. Maybe it would be an idea to focus instead of bringing as many of these crystals onboard before it is too late. Cataloguing and trying to figure out who sent them may have to wait."
The Chief Science Officer had been ready to argue for the need to continue with the research but the scientist quickly realised that Lieutenant Commander Serenna had been correct and that gaining a more in-depth understanding of the people who had created these crystal would be useless if their history could not be saved. "I will inform the crew and ask Lieutenant Fairborn and Lieutenant Dawson to come up with a way to speed up our bringing the crystals onboard."
The half Romulan, half Human Commanding Officer of the HATHOR nodded her approval and quietly returned to her seat. As important as this discovery had been for the Shillian scientist it was clear to see that Lieutenant Command Serenna had not shared in the jubilation and overwhelming interest that her First Officer had displayed. Still the captain had been more than understanding and accommodating allowing for the focus of their mission onboard the HATHOR to be momentarily diverted to a more purely scientific nature.
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As hard as it might have been to believe, the Shillian
woman had needed a rest from her work on the bridge.
Thanks to the ingenuity of the engineering staff led
by Lieutenant Fairborn and Lieutenant Dawson the rate
of transport of the crystals had more than tripled
over the last few hours making the Chief Science
Officer feel reasonably comfortable in the knowledge
that they would be able to salvage each and every
crystal before the comet impacted on the planet.
Although the First Officer had no longer been required
to catalogue the content of the archive crystals, the
increase number had forced the scientist to shift her
indexing method so as to match each crystal with the
location from which they had been taken from within
the comet. Based on all that the Shillian scientist
had observed, the location of the crystals inside of
the comet held a particular significance as to their
content, crystals taken from the same area having so
far contained memories or stories gravitating around
the same general subject.
The attention of the First Officer of the USS HATHOR
was diverted away from her reading by the sound of the
door chime which made the scientist bid whoever had
been outside to enter. To her surprise the Chief
Science Officer saw Ensign Mei standing in the
corridor, holding what appeared to be another PADD.
"Thank you Ensign," the Shillian woman said thinking
that the Counsellor had been kind enough to bring her
the latest report concerning the continued beaming of
the crystals to the ship. "I appreciate your bringing
this to me but there was really no need, I am still
trying to make sense of the archiving system used by
the creators of the crystals and comet. Whoever they
were, they employed a very complex cataloguing system
which, at least from what I have so far been able to
gather, seems to have a multi-level cross-indexing
pattern allowing for easy retrieval of the required
item. The only problem is that I have yet to properly
decipher this system which is making this task more
complicated than I could have imagined."
"I am not here to give you more work," Ensign Mei said
handing over the PADD that she had brought with her to
the Shillian woman. "I asked around the ship and
everyone agreed, we will be referring to the comet as
'Maya's Comet' in the official mission log."
The Shillian woman smiled as she looked at the PADD
which clearly displayed the name of the comet as
'Maya's Comet' on the official mission record. "Thank
you, I think," the Chief Science Officer said
displaying a mixture of happiness and confusion.
"You think?" The Counsellor asked, not having expected
the Shillian to react in the manner that she had after
having had such a discovery named after her.
"Well I am touched by the thought and gesture, I mean
it is very sweet of the crew to do this, but I am
wondering if there is not a hidden meaning behind this
decision, I mean the comet is on a collision course
with an uninhabited planet and if we had come here a
few days later the only record of the comet and of its
cargo would have been a massive crater on the surface
of SENMAAR II which we would have scanned from orbit
and given little more attention to."
The Counsellor crossed her arms over her chest and
glared at the Shillian woman, ignoring for a brief
moment that the Chief Science Officer had not only
been a Lieutenant Commander but also the First Officer
of the HATHOR. "Maya, sometimes a turtle is just
that, a turtle. The crew wanted to acknowledge the
discovery in some sort of way, and this was the
simplest and quickest way to do it."
The Chief Science Officer looked back at the
Counsellor and after a few seconds smiled. "All these
crystals, stories, legends, poems and personal diaries
are just making me think too much," the Shillian woman
said, accepting the honour that had been bestowed upon
her.
"Personal diaries?" Ensign Mei repeated with a hint of
interest in her voice, "I did not know that there were
such items contained in the crystals."
"Yes and no," the scientist cryptically explained.
"One of the crystals contained a collection of
thoughts from a large number of individuals. There
was no indication of when that recording took place or
over how many days, but from what some of the people
of that civilization decided to include I am
relatively certain that they knew their world was
coming to an end although none mentioned how or why."
"People who know and have accepted that all they knew
is about come to an end are rarely interested in the
how or why and are more apt at remembering those
instances that meant the most to them," the Counsellor
said using her expertise in the field of understanding
humanoid behaviour to explain why the records had not
shed any more light on what had happened to them.
"That does make sense," the Shillian woman nodded
holding back her tears since she could easily
associate with the feeling having lost all that she
had once known and loved. "When my father sent me
away, he never said why or explained what was
happening to our world."
The Counsellor stepped closer and took the hands of
the Shillian woman into her own. "I am sure he wanted
you to remember the good things that had happened,
just like them," Ensign Mei said pointing with her
eyes to the PADD the scientist had been reading. "It
was likely their last chance to mention what had the
most impacted or affected their lives, and focussing
on the negative would not have changed anything. They
probably hoped that their archive would one day be
found and that people would remember them in a good
way, just like I am sure your father wanted you to
remember him."
"Thank you," the Shillian woman said, grateful for all
that the Counsellor had done for her in not only
explaining the reasoning behind the personal diaries
that had been found but also in better understanding
the last moments that the scientist remembered having
spent with her father.
---
"To see the world in a grain of sand, 2005 post #598
Setting: USS HATHOR, Bridge
Stardate: 60333.1900
Setting: USS HATHOR, Quarters of the Commanding Officer and First Officer
Jessica Solarik { maya_992003@yahoo.com }
Lieutenant Commander Maya
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
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)
