The Science of Disappearing Part II
Posted on Fri Apr 12th, 2024 @ 4:23pm by Lieutenant Junior Grade Michael Harris & Lieutenant Junior Grade Narin Valen & Lieutenant Junior Grade Jordan Spencer & Lieutenant Junior Grade Sheldon Leonard PhD & Lieutenant JG Mira Jayna
Edited on on Fri Apr 12th, 2024 @ 4:49pm
0 words; about a 1 minute read
Mission:
Episode 15 - The Evil That Lies Beneath
Location: Science Lab 5 - Deck 6 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD004 1400 hrs
Then she looked at the three scientists. "If any of you have an idea to help the doctor, speak up. The entity that called itself Kavicus--if that's even who we're dealing with--appears to need physical contact. I don't know if that's what happened to the senior staff. What could cause someone from this ship to disappear? Where could they have gone? Did they fall through a temporal rift? Did they phase to somewhere?"
As the data played Michael had been drinking however, his eyes widened ever so slightly over his tankard. The drink slipped from his lips slowly and he spoke in a whisper. "A Class Five Non-corporeal Free Roaming Entity."
The intel officer leaned forward, looking intently at Harris. "A what? Please explain."
Michael's brief sign of surprise was quickly suppressed. He stood up and sipped his drink again, his voice now was confident as if he explained something to a child. "A class five non-corporeal free roaming entity. They have been speculated about for centuries. The most anyone has ever encountered in modern times was a class three. These entities are what people in the past would have called ghosts." He began to pace as he spoke, however, at this point he paused to drink again, but more to allow what he had said to sink in. "These beings must take over a corporeal lifeform in order to survive. But at class five they have a body of their own. I suspect we are dealing with two different entities. The one on the video which is most definitely a class five. The other is perhaps a class three or lower, doesn't have a body."
"Would this relate to the paranormal?" What was that she'd heard? Something about a paranormal unit? Yes. It was a discussion she had with Rowena. "If so, I think I know who to talk to."
"Is it paranormal? Yes and no. The correct scientific answer is no this is not paranormal. However, since these entities have been classified as such for centuries you would be correct. I believe Starfleet has a unit that covers this sort of thing. I would caution that if we are dealing with a class three then anyone and everything on this ship could be the entity. There is simply no way of telling precisely who is inhabited and who is not." When he was good, he was good and when he was very good he was very good. Right now, Michael was damn good. He sipped his drink again as he thought about his general slogan. I drink and I know things. he thought.
Shortly after she came aboard, Rowena told Jayna about a paranormal unit she worked with. At least she thought the intel chief worked with them. Anyway, she should be able to look them up and hopefully contact them. The problem was, doing it without her boss finding out. But she might have a way around that, too. "Thank you. Do you know how these entities could remove members of the crew?"
She looked at the other two scientists. "Do either of you?"
"Well, the existence of parallel universes has been proven," Sheldon began. "So has the existence of pocket universes. The problem will be proving if this non-corporeal entity or entities has the capability of moving someone from one plane or place of existence to another. I could look up the most recent papers on the subject." He paused for a moment. "Wormholes are also a possibility, but we'd be able to detect those with the sensors. However, some scientists still believe in the possibility of micro wormholes."
“A wormhole remains a possibility, although Lieutenant Leonard pointed out that our sensors would likely detect such anomalies. Another possibility is the transporter. There are documented cases of individuals moving between parallel universes using this method.” Narin said, recalling incidents aboard Deep Space Nine. “We could review transport logs.”
“We should also consider the possibility that this entity is capable of manipulating quantum phenomena on a macroscopic scale. This entity would have evolved in an environment with different physical laws or developed the ability to interact with quantum phenomena in a way that we are incapable of,” he suggested.
"There's nothing on the transporter logs," Jayna said. She'd checked that early on in her investigation. "In addition, when I first found that Neil was missing, I was getting conflicting information from the computer. My combadge would say he was in one place and my PADD would say he was in another." She shook her head. "I'll leave that piece of the puzzle to you, Lieutenant Valen, as the acting chief. I'm not a scientist. Anything you learn about what may have happened could be important."
Narin nodded thoughtfully, considering this new information. It was conceivable that the discrepancy stemmed from a glitch in the ship’s network, however, it was more probable that the inconsistency was a result of the entity’s interference. Narin made a mental note to investigate further.
Then Jayna turned to the doctor. "Doctor Spencer, your part of this is just as important. If more of the crew gets possessed or disappears, we may lose the ability to fix this."
Spencer raised an eyebrow at the mention of non-corporeal entities, his skepticism evident in his expression. "Ghosts, huh? Well, that's a new one," he remarked, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "And here I thought we were dealing with malfunctioning replicators or a computer glitch. But hey, let's entertain the idea of ghosts haunting the starship."
He leaned back against a console, crossing his arms skeptically. "So, what's next? Are we gonna summon a ghostbusters squad to deal with this?" His skepticism was palpable, but there was a hint of curiosity beneath his dismissive demeanor. After all, stranger things had happened in the vast expanse of space.
Michael had continued to pace as he thought and drank, and drank and thought. "These entities are capable of moving from their home space into our space. So it is most likely that they can send people across the veil of space as well. I postulate that they can not only move between space, and send people between space. But they can create portable universes, pocket universes if you will. If I am correct then that is quite possibly where everyone is." He turned to Sheldon as he spoke, as if to check with the Astrophysicist to see if he was correct in his theory.
"Oh, yes. That is well within the realm of probability," the astrophysicist replied. "We can start looking at recent theories and come up with the most likely. It's also theoretically possible to trace the missing crew if we know their last location." He was beginning to look excited at the prospect of solving this part of the conundrum and writing--or co-authoring--a paper on it.
Following the discussion between the two officers. “Lieutenant Leonard, could you please investigate those recent theories? Lieutenant Harris and I will focus on pinpointing the last known locations of the missing crew. Let’s reconvene later to share our findings. Agreed?”
"I'd also like all of you--especially Doctor Spencer--to look for a way to sour the milk, so to speak," Jayna added. "We need something that will make the crew unpalatable to these entities so they won't want to stay inside any of us. It might also help get whatever is taking over the captain and commander to leave as well." She was repeating herself, she knew, but hped that the idea of souring the milk might spark ideas her other explanation did not.
She wanted to ask if they could meet tomorrow, but wasn't sure how long they'd need for their research, so she turned to Lieutenant Valen. "When do you want to meet next?"
"Let's aim for tomorrow afternoon," Narin proposed. "That should provide us with ample time to generate some meaningful progress."
Jayna nodded. "Same time and place?" She hoped the others would find some information by then. Granted, it wasn't much time, but she had no idea how many more people would disappear by then.
Narin nodded. "Yes, if anything urgent comes up, I'll be sure to contact you."
Spencer listened to the exchange with a skeptical expression, his sarcasm dripping with every word. "Portable universes and ghostbusters squads, huh? Sounds like we're writing a sci-fi script," he remarked, shaking his head. "But hey, if we're venturing into the realm of interdimensional travel, count me in for the popcorn."
He glanced around at the assembled group, his skepticism still lingering in the air. "I'll leave the ghost-hunting to you all. Meanwhile, I'll see if I can whip up a cosmic repellent for these supposed incorporeal hitchhikers." With a wry grin, he added, "Who knows? Maybe we'll stumble upon the next big thing in spectral deterrence."
Jayna nodded politely. "Any help is appreciated." At this point, she'd take what she could get.
She looked around at the others. "Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow."
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Junior Grade Narin Valen
Assistant Chief Science Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant JG Sheldon Leonard
Theoretical Physicist, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Junior Grade Mira Jayna
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Pioneer
Intelligence Liaison, The Cure
Lieutenant Junior Grade Michael Harris
Science Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Junior Grade Jordan Spencer
Assistant Chief Medical Officer, USS Pioneer
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