USS Excalibur Sim Log - 10.22.17

[Cdr Miranda Hawthorne 0]

MISSION BRIEF: Picking up from where we left off, we have a guest aboard who is a bit of cranky cat, literally. He will be helping us track down the source of the power grids failure, in theory.

 

Cptn Swain: BEGIN SIM

Cptn Swain: BEGIN SIM

Cptn Swain: BEGIN SIM

 

William Chocox: ::works in Engineering::

Maryse Dubois: ::Reluctantly in the medical lab.::

Hakran K'hal: Dazim> :: engrossed enough in his work in the medical lab that he hasn't called Maryse "hey you," or "girl" in at least 15 minutes ::

Hunter Matheson: # ::Tennessee Valley, with the other guys waiting for the cargo shuttles to finish their decon thing::

Hakran K'hal: Dazim> How familiar are you with Irumodic Syndrome?

Indaura Ryssan: :: In sickbay ::

Hunter Matheson: # [Nasty stuff, K'hal]

Rhan K'hal: :: on the bridge, having a hushed back and forth subspace conversation with Commander El Tahir at Starbase 39 Tango ::

Maryse Dubois: ::Examining the sample of goo in front of her. She pauses a moment to look over at her guest.:: I'm familiar with it.

Cdr Miranda Hawthorne: ::Still holding down the bridge while Swain immerses himself in boring Science-y stuff, Miranda was staring at the back of Rhan's furry head, listening to him have a hushed conversation with someone.::

Hakran K'hal: Dazim> Getting around the fact that this looks like someone stuck it in a plasma oven and baked it for a casserole, the more intact traces I've tested are showing a similar end result of what I remember from my studies of that particular disease. There are a number of others that can cause synaptic degradation, but the... completeness I'm seeing here is reminiscent.

Hakran K'hal: Dazim> :: pushes back from where he was hunched over looking at results, waves a paw at the console inviting Dr. Dubois to examine the results herself ::

Cptn Swain: ACTION> Several additional patients are brought into sickbay. These appear to be more complex cases with several alien species not widely represented on the planet.

Rhan K'hal: :: quietly thanks Cdr El Tahir and closes out the channel - sits and frowns at his console for a minute ::

Maryse Dubois: ::Rolls her chair over, taking a look at the data.:: Yeah I see it here. :;Frowns:: The problem though, if it is similar to Irumodic Syndrome, there is no cure.

Indaura Ryssan: :: In sickbay :: Well, let me see what is wrong with you today :: to a young man sitting on a biobed ::

Hunter Matheson: # ::word comes down from above that the shuttles are ready and they file out, picking up the manifests on the way, passing them to the loadmasters to check out, and taking PADDs for preflight:::

William Chocox: Hm... ::examines some more of the data:: Could have something here.

Rhan K'hal: Commander, I have that search data you originally requested a few days ago. :: voice is oddly stilted and subdued for him ::

Hakran K'hal: Dazim> True, but if memory serves it's something that usually results from a structural defect in the brain. How does a pack of gel manage to come down with something like this, and as we've determined it's not pathogenic, how the hell would it spread?

Cdr Miranda Hawthorne: ::Raises an eyebrow at Rhan.:: Yes? And?

William Chocox: ::continues looking at his data::

Hunter Matheson: # ::checking the ship's exterior, marking sure it's space worthy:::

Indaura Ryssan: I'm going need to ask your species...

Tandaris Admiran: ::enters engineering after a busy time doing busy things, which are none of your business::

Maryse Dubois: Hmm...Chemical contaminant is starting to seem unlikely now. Perhaps it was manufactured with the defect.

William Chocox: Commander? ::looks around::

Rhan K'hal: Yeah, uh... The gel expert /was/ a researcher on Cait at Sahrimet Biotech University until he was booted for unethical research practices.

Rhan K'hal: Last known Federation data on him was information that his visa request to Alpha Veras II was approved and he moved there just over 3 years ago. His name is Dazim...

Rhan K'hal: K'hal.

Hunter Matheson: # ::he comes to a sudden stop, eyes hull damage, then calls the shuttle captain over, along with the bay chief:::

Tandaris Admiran: ::Chocox:: Any breakthroughs?

Indaura Ryssan: :: Scanning injuries ::

William Chocox: I might have something. ::points at what he’s been working on::

Hakran K'hal: Dazim> Guess we're going to have to demand samples from the production facilities. They're supposed to keep some aside from every production run.

Cdr Miranda Hawthorne: ::Frowns.:: Another K'hal? What's he to you? An evil cousin or something? The black sheep... er... cat of the family?

Cdr Miranda Hawthorne: Are there any Ciats that *aren't* Khals?

Hunter Matheson: # ::they have a long, involved conversation that ends in checking out the other shuttles:::

Maryse Dubois: ::Nods.:: An unused sample might be very useful.

Cdr Miranda Hawthorne: Because, at this point, I'm beginning to wonder.

Tandaris Admiran: ::turns to look at it:: Huh.

Tandaris Admiran: That’s a fairly involved data analysis. Walk me through it.

Rhan K'hal: :: frowns :: The Excalibur's experience to the contrary, K'hal isn't a common Caitian surname. Which means he's likely related somehow, but I've never heard of him. Hakran may know more.

Cdr Miranda Hawthorne: What sort of unethical behavior got him booted?

Cptn Swain: ::Feels a disturbance in the force as he puts his tea in the fresher, as if a thousand mice cried out at once and were suddenly silenced by a pack of rabid Caitians::

Hakran K'hal: Dazim> I suppose that's my job, playing gofer between you delta-wearing types and the bureaucrats down below. Lucky me. Got a comm signal I can use without getting arrested?

Indaura Ryssan: :: Looks concerned :: I think this will require minor surgery.

Rhan K'hal: Um. Apparently he was taking brain samples off still living higher-order proto-Caits like the nu'Khaja... without bothering much to care what happened to them afterward. :: looks rather ill at the thought ::

Maryse Dubois: ::Goes to a terminal nearby, activating a comm channel.:: Here you go. ::Sends a text to Rhan, filling him in.::

Hakran K'hal: Dazim> :: goes over to the terminal and starts going through the governmental channels that were set up for him for this thankless task ::

Hunter Matheson: # :::end result is something caustic enough to pit exterior shuttle hulls has just grounded most of the shuttles:::

William Chocox: What do you think?

Cdr Miranda Hawthorne: ::Her eyebrows creep upward.:: Sentient, intelligent creatures? Self-aware?

Tandaris Admiran: Well, I *think* you’ve discovered a disturbing fractal-based pattern of information flow just prior to the timing of the grid failure.

Tandaris Admiran: I’ve seen this before.

Indaura Ryssan: :: Sees someone with an obvious injury, but not an obvious species ::

Tandaris Admiran: Where have I seen this before ...

Rhan K'hal: Yes. To put it in Terran terms, potentially akin to homo habilis or homo erectus.

Hunter Matheson: ::he returns to Excal, HAZMAT gear and all:::

Rhan K'hal: :: looks back at his console at the beep :: Speak of the devil, Dr. Dubois just cleared him for a communication back down to the AVII government, apparently they need to get control samples from the gel factories for comparative study.

Tandaris Admiran: ::begins typing furiously as he accesses the library database::

Cdr Miranda Hawthorne: I see. ::She scowled.:: Well, security is watching him and all comms are monitored. If he so much puts a single claw out of line, you let me know.

William Chocox: Why am I worried that you’ve seen this before?

Hakran K'hal: Dazim> This is going to take a while. If you want to check in with his Spotted Superior and see if they've done anything useful other than temporize.

Hunter Matheson: ::enters the lift and steps out at sick bay - does not pass go, does not collect 200 credits:::

Rhan K'hal: :: nods :: In the meanwhile I'll talk to Hakran and see if he remembers any family scuttlebutt. He's been around longer than I have.

Tandaris Admiran: ::brings up what appears to be a 3D connectome showing neuronal firing in a human brain:: Look.

William Chocox: ::looks:: Looks like a brain.

Hunter Matheson: ::when he enters, he holds up his hands to stop anyone from touching him,then asks::: Doc Dubois around?

Tandaris Admiran: Yes, but if you isolate and slow down the neuronal firing patterns *between* the various lobes and cortices ... ::adjusts the model::

Hakran K'hal: Dazim> :: mutters something about not being a researcher and not a damned secretary as he waits to get transferred on his call ::

William Chocox: Ok?

Tandaris Admiran: Look, same fractal pattern. Smaller synapses firing, connecting, setting off larger groups of them, building and building upon each other into a brilliant orchestra of ... thought.

Maryse Dubois: ::Steps away from the terminal, going towards the back of the lab. +Tandaris+ Dubois to Tandaris, any luck on your end.

William Chocox: Huh

Tandaris Admiran: Look, a single gel-pak is just a primitive neural network. It can process information, but it has no capacity for thought...

Rhan K'hal: +Hakran+ K'hal calling K'hal. :: has trained the computer on what to do when he does that ::

Maryse Dubois: Nurse> :;Stops to look at Hunter.:: She is out at the moment, but Dr. Ryssan is in.

William Chocox: But a lot of them?

Tandaris Admiran: But ... +Maryse+ Lieutenant Chocox has been analyzing the grid as a whole, and we’ve made a disturbing discovery.

Maryse Dubois: Nurse> ::Points to Indaura.::

Hakran K'hal: +Rhan+ :: looks up from the journal he was reading :: Go ahead.

Tandaris Admiran: A lot of them, together, should still just be a primitive neural network.

Hunter Matheson: That works.

Tandaris Admiran: They shouldn’t be doing ... that.

William Chocox: Huh...

William Chocox: That’s weird.

Rhan K'hal: +Hakran+ Um... you don't happen to recall someone in the family named Dazim? Got booted from the scientific community on Cait for carving up live nu'Khaja?

Tandaris Admiran: That looks like thought: complex, ordered, distributed processing via specialized nodes. ::points at the data analysis:: Vision, language, emotion: well, not necessarily those things. But you get the idea.

Maryse Dubois: +Tandaria+ Well we found a "what," working on a "why" at the moment. Have you heard of Irumodic Syndrome?

William Chocox: It’s alive?

Hakran K'hal: +Rhan+ Hmm... Dazim? You mean the Dazim that's our government contact here?

Tandaris Admiran: +Maryse+ Yes, the degenerative neurological disorder?

Rhan K'hal: +Hakran+ Yes, that one. Pale as sand, just as course.

Hunter Matheson: ::standing still, waving folks off, making sure they don't touch him, he turns to Indaura::: Doc? Think we need to talk.

Tandaris Admiran: It was *thinking*. Or at least, attempting to do something roughly analogous to that.

Maryse Dubois: +Tandaris+ Yep. That's the one. The gel packs have it. We just don't know why.

William Chocox: Ah damn.

Tandaris Admiran: +Maryse+ Hang on, I’m sending you a copy of our analysis for a second opinion. ::transmits the data analysis to Maryse to see what conclusions she draws::

Hakran K'hal: +Rhan+ Rings a bell... lemme think. :: sits back, rubs his pointy beard :: Yeah, I think Dad mentioned it a few years back. And I remember a pale teenage Cait with a bad attitude from a family trip to Cait. You were still pouncing on balls of yarn at the time.

Tandaris Admiran: +Maryse+ If I’m right, that might lead to the "why"

Hunter Matheson: ::waiting:::

Hunter Matheson: ::looks lost::: Doc Ryssan? Hello?

Indaura Ryssan: So many new cases...

Maryse Dubois: ::Loads it on the console in front of her. Frowns:: +Tandaris+ I know you may not like it, but I think you need to come up to the lab.

Rhan K'hal: +Hakran+ :: scowls :: I didn't pounce on balls of yarn, I pounced on Mren. Okay, so he is family then... no wonder he growled at me.

Tandaris Admiran: +Maryse+ Understood.

Hunter Matheson: ::hears her talking to herself:: Doc?

Hakran K'hal: Dazim> :: has a loud but short conversation with a number of cutting insults and words that don't make it onto the Tamarn Family Network's programming, but manages to make his point and get to his intended contact ::

Tandaris Admiran: ::Chocox:: Get in contact with the Tennessee Valley and tell them that whatever they do, they can’t reinitialize the grid’s automatic control system. Everything will have to stay on manual control for the time being.

Rhan K'hal: +Hakran+ Thanks, bro. Rhan out.

Rhan K'hal: :: swivels back to Miranda :: Did you catch any of that, Commander?

William Chocox: Aye sir. ::gets on the comms with the Tennessee Valley::

Cdr Miranda Hawthorne: ::Glancing up from her report, she nodded.:: Yes, I did. And I don't like what I'm hearing, but he's serving a purpose at the moment.

Rhan K'hal: What about our team? Dr. Dubois and the rest working with him. Are we going to cue them in?

Hunter Matheson: ::Ryssan:: MGS Matheson, ma'am. Just got back from Tennessee Valley and they got some weird stuff going on with their shuttles, not to mention the crews that were on planet. Think you better check me out.

Hakran K'hal: Dazim> :: orders some samples from the production run controls and orders them for delivery ::

Tandaris Admiran: ::makes his way to the medical lab, talking to himself along the way:: So how? Spontaneous? Induced? Cognitive scaffolding? Was the Irumodic syndrome a symptom or a cause?

Hakran K'hal: Dazim> :: leans back, looks around for Maryse :: Hey you! They're going to gather the samples and send them to one of your Starfleet sites for transport.

Tandaris Admiran: ::enters the medical lab:: Tell me I’m wrong, Dr. Dubois. Tell me I’ve made a mistake, and there’s a simpler explanation.

Maryse Dubois: ::Ignores how she was addressed for now.:: Good. Maybe we can get some answers. ::relieved to see Tandy.:: I wish there was.

Hakran K'hal: Dazim> :: looks over, sneers at Admiran :: Explanation for what?

Hunter Matheson: :::still waiting:::

Indaura Ryssan: Sorry...Matheson is it?

Hunter Matheson: Yes, ma'am.

Indaura Ryssan: What can I do for you?

Hunter Matheson: Just got back from Tennessee Valley and they got some weird stuff going on with their shuttles, not to mention the crews that were on planet. Think you better check me out.

Hunter Matheson: We went through decon, but now shuttles are grounded from something that's pitting the hulls.

Indaura Ryssan: :: Nods :: Let's place you in the scanning bed...hop on.

Tandaris Admiran: ::Dazim:: The gel-paks, the Irumodic syndrome. The grid failure.

Hunter Matheson: ::hops up, still in HAZMAT D gear:::

Hakran K'hal: Dazim> :: flattens his ears :: Really? And here I thought you were talking about today's brunch. Get on with it.

Indaura Ryssan: :: Starts up the scanning system :: It can even scan through that...by design.

Tandaris Admiran: They were thinking. The gel-paks that controlled the power grid somehow *specialized* enough that the grid, as a whole, started having *thoughts*.

Indaura Ryssan: :: Watching as the scans work on Matheson :: Oh my...

Indaura Ryssan: :: Taps some more ::

Maryse Dubois: Which they obviously are not supposed to do.

Indaura Ryssan: :: Scanner still working :: I wish you had come to me sooner..

Hunter Matheson: Just got back to Excal, ma'am.

Indaura Ryssan: I'm afraid to have to tell you...

Indaura Ryssan: :: stops the machine :: That you are...

Indaura Ryssan: fine

Hakran K'hal: Dazim> :: ears rotate forward to perked :: Really? We're obviously going to have to figure that one out, it could be useful. :: pauses a moment :: Dangerous, uncontained of course. :: sounds mildly annoyed by that problem ::

Cptn Swain: ...and...

Hunter Matheson: ::nods::

Hunter Matheson: Clear for duty, then?

Tandaris Admiran: ::Maryse:: Are you sure this one hasn’t had a Scorpiad ship implanted in his brain?

 

Cptn Swain: PAUSE SIM

Cptn Swain: PAUSE SIM

Cptn Swain: PAUSE SIM