Post by Nola on Jan 19, 2024 4:52:04 GMT
The End
Odyssey Station, Biology Labs, SD 12401.12
"She's just been staring at it the whole time?" asked Dr. Lammers. Kenneth, his lab assistant, nodded.
"She hasn't taken a single measurement, as far as I know," Kenneth added. "Her time's almost up."
Lammers frowned as he looked through the transluminum partition to the odd Orion exobiologist. She'd looked somewhat haggard on their first meeting, her eyes slightly sunken, as if she hadn't been eating. At the time, he'd accepted her explanation of feeling under the weather, but now he was starting to worry.
He sighed to himself as he glanced at the chronometer, and then keyed himself into the examination room. She didn't immediately register the intrusion, her attention fixed firmly on the glowing, biocrystalline sample they'd pulled from the exoship - the massive, biological vessel moored separately from Odyssey Station, apparently the remains of a being from Andromeda.
Lammers approached cautiously. When she still didn't look to him, he moved around the examination table, putting himself in her field of vision. She just continued staring, the orange-red glow of the sample reflecting off her amber eyes.
He was about to ask if she was alright, but she spoke first.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" she asked. Lammers looked to the specimen.
"It's quite a marvel," he agreed. "I suppose a certain fixation is to be expected. It's why most of us are here, after all."
Indeed, this find, this examination, was the buzz of the exobiology world at the moment. The Federation's forays into the galaxy next door was still in its prenatal stages; a sample of a lifeform falling into their lap was phenomenal, and could kickstart those efforts in earnest. Every exo- and astrobiologist in the Alpha-Beta wanted a chance to test the sample, hence the rationing of examination opportunities. To have lost that opportunity due to malady would be a shame.
"I know you've been feeling unwell, Dr. Kaia, so I hope you'll forgive me for suggesting you get some rest," said Lammers. "I'll do everything I can to arrange a make-up appointment so that you can-"
"It's an egg," said Kaia, finally looking up. The Orion still looked malnourished, but her eyes were vivid and alert.
"An egg?" asked Lammers.
"Or a seed; whichever analogy you'd prefer," said Dr. Kaia. "It is life, wrought from decay. A new beginning."
Lammers furrowed his brow.
"From what I've gathered, it does seem to be undergoing some sort of energistic alteration, but I've seen no reports of cell division, or growth," he noted. "It's an interesting bit of conjecture."
Kaia briefly narrowed her sunken eyes.
"Life takes many forms, Dr. Lammers," she replied. "Not all lifeforms are concerned with consumption, or growth, nor are they regimented by something so rudimentary as a cell splitting in two."
Lammers observed Kaia for a moment, his arms folding.
"What is the purpose of an egg or seed if not to blossom into something else?" he asked. "And what data have you gathered to reinforce this hypothesis?"
"Here? None," admitted Kaia. "I perhaps allowed poetry too free a rein. I won't claim to know precisely what it is, or what it will do. All I know is that it doesn't have what it needs here."
Lammers frowned, now starting to take offense.
"We've taken great care in the preservation and containment of this sample, Dr. Kaia," he asserted. "What is it that you imagine we've neglected?"
Kaia arched a brow.
"Oh, it's not neglect," she assured. "Merely ignorance."
Lammers' nostrils flared for a moment, but he managed to keep his cool.
"All you've done with the sample is stare at it, Dr. Kaia, and taken an hour from another team that might've been concerned with actually documenting it," he replied. "How, precisely, would you know better what this sample 'needs?'"
"It told me," said Dr. Kaia. Lammers blinked, and slowly unbristled, as understanding dawned on him.
"I think you might need some rest, Doctor," said Lammers. "Once you're feeling better, I'll arrange for you to get another chance at examining the sample."
Kaia stared at him, her expression blank to the point of being chilling. Somewhere, under years of scientific pursuit and the building of expertise and acumen in his field, a single drop of primal dread sent ripples through his being. The feeling lingered even as the look passed, and Dr. Kaia gave the sample one last look before heaving a soft sigh.
"Perhaps that would be best," she replied. "Thank you for the consideration."
With that, Kaia turned and stepped out of the examination room.
Odyssey Station, Biology Labs, SD 12401.12
"She's just been staring at it the whole time?" asked Dr. Lammers. Kenneth, his lab assistant, nodded.
"She hasn't taken a single measurement, as far as I know," Kenneth added. "Her time's almost up."
Lammers frowned as he looked through the transluminum partition to the odd Orion exobiologist. She'd looked somewhat haggard on their first meeting, her eyes slightly sunken, as if she hadn't been eating. At the time, he'd accepted her explanation of feeling under the weather, but now he was starting to worry.
He sighed to himself as he glanced at the chronometer, and then keyed himself into the examination room. She didn't immediately register the intrusion, her attention fixed firmly on the glowing, biocrystalline sample they'd pulled from the exoship - the massive, biological vessel moored separately from Odyssey Station, apparently the remains of a being from Andromeda.
Lammers approached cautiously. When she still didn't look to him, he moved around the examination table, putting himself in her field of vision. She just continued staring, the orange-red glow of the sample reflecting off her amber eyes.
He was about to ask if she was alright, but she spoke first.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" she asked. Lammers looked to the specimen.
"It's quite a marvel," he agreed. "I suppose a certain fixation is to be expected. It's why most of us are here, after all."
Indeed, this find, this examination, was the buzz of the exobiology world at the moment. The Federation's forays into the galaxy next door was still in its prenatal stages; a sample of a lifeform falling into their lap was phenomenal, and could kickstart those efforts in earnest. Every exo- and astrobiologist in the Alpha-Beta wanted a chance to test the sample, hence the rationing of examination opportunities. To have lost that opportunity due to malady would be a shame.
"I know you've been feeling unwell, Dr. Kaia, so I hope you'll forgive me for suggesting you get some rest," said Lammers. "I'll do everything I can to arrange a make-up appointment so that you can-"
"It's an egg," said Kaia, finally looking up. The Orion still looked malnourished, but her eyes were vivid and alert.
"An egg?" asked Lammers.
"Or a seed; whichever analogy you'd prefer," said Dr. Kaia. "It is life, wrought from decay. A new beginning."
Lammers furrowed his brow.
"From what I've gathered, it does seem to be undergoing some sort of energistic alteration, but I've seen no reports of cell division, or growth," he noted. "It's an interesting bit of conjecture."
Kaia briefly narrowed her sunken eyes.
"Life takes many forms, Dr. Lammers," she replied. "Not all lifeforms are concerned with consumption, or growth, nor are they regimented by something so rudimentary as a cell splitting in two."
Lammers observed Kaia for a moment, his arms folding.
"What is the purpose of an egg or seed if not to blossom into something else?" he asked. "And what data have you gathered to reinforce this hypothesis?"
"Here? None," admitted Kaia. "I perhaps allowed poetry too free a rein. I won't claim to know precisely what it is, or what it will do. All I know is that it doesn't have what it needs here."
Lammers frowned, now starting to take offense.
"We've taken great care in the preservation and containment of this sample, Dr. Kaia," he asserted. "What is it that you imagine we've neglected?"
Kaia arched a brow.
"Oh, it's not neglect," she assured. "Merely ignorance."
Lammers' nostrils flared for a moment, but he managed to keep his cool.
"All you've done with the sample is stare at it, Dr. Kaia, and taken an hour from another team that might've been concerned with actually documenting it," he replied. "How, precisely, would you know better what this sample 'needs?'"
"It told me," said Dr. Kaia. Lammers blinked, and slowly unbristled, as understanding dawned on him.
"I think you might need some rest, Doctor," said Lammers. "Once you're feeling better, I'll arrange for you to get another chance at examining the sample."
Kaia stared at him, her expression blank to the point of being chilling. Somewhere, under years of scientific pursuit and the building of expertise and acumen in his field, a single drop of primal dread sent ripples through his being. The feeling lingered even as the look passed, and Dr. Kaia gave the sample one last look before heaving a soft sigh.
"Perhaps that would be best," she replied. "Thank you for the consideration."
With that, Kaia turned and stepped out of the examination room.