"Seekers At Work"

[Aidan Driscol 0]

"Seekers at Work"

A Log by Shadow and Midshipman Aidan Driscol

 

 

 

 

Reaching into the Merril's hand was an interesting experience for Shadow, as he had never dared to reach into a biological for fear of injuring it, perhaps even killing it. So when the Merril invited him to try, he was both excited and fearful. His greatest challenge in doing so was not the reaching in, but in estimating the amount of energy a biological could endure as he did the "reaching". So he reduced the amount of energy in what looked like his own hand and he reached in. What he found was puzzling.

 

As the Merril was not alarmed and seemed to endure the examination without injury, Shadow investigated what he presumed were biological tissues - bones, sinews, muscles, blood, neurons (the most easily recognizable), but when it came to differentiating among them he found he had no knowledge base.

 

However, as the Merril invited him to investigate the Gareem patient, he did so. He found the same problem. Just as a blind person is asked to examine various objects to assess their usage without having any knowledge of them, so Shadow was being asked to examine totally foreign objects. He felt many things - but could not differentiate. Which was bone? Which was muscle? And more importantly, which was supposed to be there and which was not - specifically, the virus.

 

Realizing his deficiency, he turned to the Driscol, also a Seeker, to teach him these things.

 

Aidan looked up at Shadow as they walked into the science lab after being more or less thrown out of sickbay. "What is it? You've been looking contemplative ever since you asked me to help you."

 

"I am a Seeker. As a Seeker I should know many things. But in your dimension there is much that puzzles me. I am distressed because, as energy, I am immune to this virus of which you speak, yet I am powerless to detect it or manipulate it."

 

Aidan shook his head and sat down at a desk. "Shadow, you surprise me."

 

Shadow stared, confused.

 

"Well, you call yourself a Seeker but you expect to be a... hmm... for want of a better term, a Knower." Aidan smiled, he liked Shadow, helped him to think outside the box and he was very pleasant to talk to.

 

"A Knower. That is what a Seeker seeks to do. To know. There is indeed much for me to learn to become a Knower in your universe."

 

Aidan got up and shook his head. "Of course we seek to know, but it's the process of seeking that provides the thrill, isn't it?" He went over to the sample storage drawers and thought about what they should start with first.

 

Shadow watched with interest. If he could learn, then he could help. He was bonding with the Driscol, and believed the bond would be a good one.

 

"So Shadow, what would you like to start with? Basic life forms? Some bacterium maybe? Or something more complicated?"

 

He stood there, stunned. Not quite knowing what to answer, he said nothing.

Aidan looked at Shadow. "What's the problem?"

 

After another minute, Shadow answered, "Let us begin where I can do the best work for the Merril. Teach me to know a virus and teach me the basis of your life forms, what you call the DNA.”

 

Aidan frowned. "Well, I don't know how well that will work, as a virus contains DNA, although... you might be onto something." Aidan got out a sample of DNA and a sample of a harmless virus and presented them to Shadow. "There you go."

 

Shadow looked at Aidan, then eyed the samples. "I will not harm these if I introduce my energy?"

 

Aidan shook his head and chuckled. "Even if you do, neither is alive, if you destroy them we have back up, I wouldn't present you with anything unique, at least not at first."

 

His fears set aside, Shadow reached into the samples. They were complicated, but no more complicated than anything else he had so far encountered in this universe. After a while he was able to formulate an algorithm of sorts that would help him distinguish among different strands and structures. While investigating, he looked to Aidan, "Perhaps if you could furnish this within a humanoid tissue sample I could attempt to find and assess it."

 

"Well, we have some infected tissue samples, for sure, as far as DNA goes the samples will provide you with that." Aidan didn't dare to ask whether it had worked or not but just went and got a suitable sample and put it on the desk on front of Shadow.

 

Needless to say, it was an interesting investigation for Shadow. He was beginning to realize how valuable he could be to these beings. He was a Seeker - what these beings called a "scientist" - and he was able to investigate things that were beyond the scope of their investigations. He could investigate things that were dangerous for them.

 

It took him some time, but he soon could differentiate among various strands of DNA, healthy strands and damaged strands, and he felt he could detect the virus. To test his theory he accessed a console and manufactured an illustration of what he was "seeing" with his energy. "Is this what you are looking for?" he asked.

 

Aidan took a look at what Shadow was seeing and he frowned. "Well, it certainly does help, but I can't tell you if it helps at this point, because I'm still waiting for the test results which should provide us with more information on the virus. But this is still... amazing to say the least."

 

Shadow could tell it would take more investigation, but at least he knew he was on the right track. For the first time he felt he had accomplished something that would assist these beings, and in so doing he felt he could honestly say he was becoming a contributing member of the crew. Then a thought occurred to him that had never occurred before. He had always thought of the Agincourt and her crew as his captors, but the bonds were forming, much like they formed among his own. The crew, in the bonding, were becoming his co-workers. They were his friends.