Of Cullture and Goo

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Sal cupped his tea and slowly walked over to the lounge area where the cushions had barely been used in the last couple of days. There was some trash that another crewmember had left lying on the table and he set his tea down, scooped up the rubbish and placed it in the recycler. He had learned long ago that the old adage of 'Another man's treasure' was always in full enforcement onboard any starship. Matter was matter no matter what. Also, he was a bit of a neat-freak and most of his crewmates had seemed to be less than that. He took no offense to this, knowing that it was mostly his preference that drove his tidiness.

 

He continued his dissertation without missing a beat on the Zoalus culture.

 

"The Zoalus must have been an extremely religious people. Not that they were idol worshippers, might you. They believed that philosophical thinking began with the subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living individual. In existentialism, the individual's starting point is characterized by what has been called "the existential attitude" or a sense of disorientation and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world."

 

He noticed Pher's eyes begin to glaze over, "What I mean is, they believed in themselves. The experience that I had encountered in that rotunda was extremely profound. I was shown things about myself that I had never realized existed. I knew deep in my thoughts however that everything was true. Like the love for my wife and daughter even though they are many light-years away. I felt and still feel their omnipresence.

 

"This makes me believe that the Zoalus were also a peaceful race. There was no evidence of conflict with themselves or any other race. They were or probably thought themselves to be very alone in the universe.

 

He thought a moment and then asked, "So tell me about this goo that lives. And the others that you had found down there...."

 

"The goo that lives. I've seen it, I think, in two forms. In its pure form it is a a thick black substance, somewhere between a oil and a paste. They seemed to be growing it in a pit. During the tail end of the fight it grew tentacles, and seemed to be reaching out to grab at us. It never succeeded, so I can't judge the strength with which it moves. I believe we have a sample of it. Anyway, it was aware enough to attack, which implies at least an animal intelligence.

 

 

"It also seems to live inside hosts. Audrey, loop life energy scans from just before the recent fight on the planet." Pher settled in next to Sal, and twisted her wrist so he could see Audrey's display. "Ethan and the three Rainmakers were weak, showing low life signs and looking visibly ill. Their complexions were dark for their respective races, and their veins showed the same sort of black tint you'd expect of the goo. I'm assuming that larger life forms can be infected by goo; that it reproduces inside other life form's bodies somehow.

 

 

"Towards the end, as negotiations turned into threats and demands, their leader started to posture like a villain in a kid's adventure show. I was half expecting mutant super powers, but if so said power doesn't include immunity from large chunks of metal hitting him at high speed. I walked in with my phaser barrel powered down to indicate peaceful intent, but a solid round in the slug thrower barrel. I don't know. I was pretty spooked at that point, and might have been imagining things. I do have some sense of scientific curiosity, and a professional interest of sorts in mutant super powers, but there are limits as to how far I give my curiosity free reign before my weapon goes off."

 

 

Pher sighed. "If I allow my imagination and paranoia to flow freely, I can come up with explanations for a lot. The goo might be infectious and deadly, the cause for the demise of the large land based animals on Zoalus. The unmodified drones running around killing large land based animals might be some sort of defense against the goo, eliminating the disease by killing all the patients. The Rainmakers might be here as anything that clears a planet of animal life forms would make a great terrorist weapon. The origin of the goo? Don't know. Experiment went wrong? Doomsday weapon? It Came From Outer Space? If what you said about the Zoalus avoiding conflict is true, I'd lean towards it coming from the outside. Perhaps the geeks can tell us more when they get a sample to the lab. I'm guessing there was an alien invasion a long time ago, and both sides lost. Just a guess."

 

Sal had thought he'd become immune to the wiles of the Orion. The many years he had spent in service had honed him and he was always keen to their ways. Somehow, this moment was different. He sipped his tea and listened to the woman he'd been distancing back in his mind as she spoke of the black substance, the mysterious lifeform they had encountered on the surface. Sal's scientific mind was lured by its physiology but Sal, the man, was more interested in Pher, the woman.

 

He wasn't sure that his attraction had become obvious to her as she spoke of 'guns blazing' and 'barrels hot'. This wasn't his gig and yet he had succumbed to her seemingly unintentional advances. He struggled to concentrate and focus on her comments and not her unmistakable beauty. He hadn't been with a woman since he'd left K'Normia and Harry and he'd just assumed that since they (his wife and he) had no issues with that respect that he would not have to fall back on techniques he'd learned back in Star Fleet; techniques that numbed one's animal behaviors.

 

"True? My dear, it is merely a theory. We can only speculate on the demise of the Zoalus civilization at this point. If this black goo is everything you say it is then it could very well have lead to a self-sacrifice of the Zoalus people in an effort to cleanse their society of a wide spread disease. They might not have been fully aware of the goo's sentient status until it was too late. And perhaps that was its intentions from the beginning, from the moment that it had found Zoalus."

 

He looked into the Orion's eyes and followed them as they examined the content of her cup and then slowly rose to meet his. Sal wasn't staring or at least he didn't believe that he was. Yet, he was clearly disinterested in the topic of conversation; more interested in his own masculine agenda. This was the first time that he could recall that the two of them had ever been alone and in a relaxed environment. It was oddly comforting to him and he eased back into the sofa, crossed his legs and forced himself to continue.

 

"So, in your opinion, this is some kind of parasitic lifeform that forms a symbiotic relationship with its host. That is not unreasonable. In my years spent with the Federation, we had encountered several races of similar circumstances. There are also records of strange lifeforms that thrive on emotional energies as if they were tangible.

 

"Tell me, did the conscious Rainmakers seem to be controlled by the goo? Did they show any sign of internal conflict when they spoke to you?"

 

Sal knew that the Rainmakers were not known for their peace-loving benevolence but he was curious whether they were simply swayed or completely overcome by the goo. She had said that their appearance seemed weakened which would lead him to believe that the symbiosis process was most likely still in an incubation stage of development. If this were indeed a sentient lifeform, then it would be unlikely that it would drain all of the life-force from its host. It would need the host for its own survival, he reasoned.

 

"What I am most curious about is whether it is truly a disease or a sentient form of life, Pher. There are thousands of diseases that have displayed animal-like behaviors while attacking yet their attacks were indiscriminant, without emotion or intent. It was simply a knee-jerk reaction of the virus in an effort to survive and replicate. A virus is not self-aware and one cannot let themselves believe that they are. Just think of where modern medicine would be today if we fell into this trap, followed the rabbit down that little hole..."

 

"That's right. Stay skeptical. I'll just say that the vat full of goo stayed pretty much quiet until the humanoids started giving us orders, then attacked. The impression that I got was that the goo responded to some form of prompting, and that it can tell friend from foe, but that was a quick assumption of the worst under fire. It seemed like a good time to assume the worst. So long as you start out taking precautions like I might be right, I don't mind being proven wrong. Please do, in fact."

 

"Hmm..." Sal replied, "I think I might just pay a visit to Ethan and the good doctor after we're underway. I would like to see the stuff and its effects for my self. As for the Zoalus, I am afraid that we have merely added to their mysterious past and uncovered little for history to record. I think a true fully-funded expedition backed by the Federation is in order. That's the only way we are ever going to get to their truth."

 

Sal was saddened by the statements that he'd made and rose from his seat. "Speaking of which, I should probably find out exactly where the captain intends to go. Being the navigator of this vessel, I finally have related work to do."