Council Transcript - Soltan Absorption

[OdileCondacin 0]

Skrov: Let's return to the subject of this 'Soltanization' you keep referencing. What, precisely, is it you mean by that?

 

Condacin: It's almost like a Borg transformation, though this happens on a biological, cellular level. The Soltans are literally able to convert other beings to their own species.

 

Skrov: That seems rather far-fetched, Commander. How exactly does the process work?

 

Condacin: It basically rewrites the DNA on a cellular level. It's a virus, technically. It toys with the chromosomes, and after a certain amount of time, the former human or whatever turns blue, grows an extra set of arms, and has virtually none of the personality it possessed before.

 

Skrov: Let's be clear here, Commander -- you're talking about an extensive genetic change, and neurological processes?

 

Condacin: I am. If "extensive" is taken to imply "nearly complete ".

 

Skrov: How were you able to identify... Soltanized... individuals? One Crewman Burne, I believe?

 

Condacin: The Y'l'Sai entity -- Burne's Soltan persona -- still retained certain memories of Burne. There are still traces of the prior individual. Unfortunately as the Soltanization process is more... complex... than the introduction of the Borg's hive mind and implants, the individual may not be as retrievable as those recovered from the Borg Collective. A point to ponder is that this makes the Soltan more potentially dangerous and certainly more frightening than their cyborg comparison-counterparts. Another point of interest is that while chromosomal, nuclear DNA is destroyed, mitochrondrial DNA is left untouched.

 

Skrov: The identification of Y'l'Sai as Burne was then based on the mitochondrial DNA?

 

Condacin: Correct.

 

Skrov: What is the infection pattern of the virus?

 

Condacin: The infection is spread through physical contact. Over approximately three days, though this is not by any means a proven estimate, the DNA is replaced with Soltan genome. The previous individual fades until it is replaced with the new Soltan identity.

 

Skrov: And what progress has been made on preventing or reversing such an infection?

 

Condacin: Some. A medical-science initiative was put forth on Agincourt to attempt to reverse the virus. Unfortunately, this has not succeeded on a live subject.

 

Sands: Wryly. It's succeeded on a deceased one?

 

Condacin: We had some success when dealing with material not currently alive, yes.

 

Skrov: Interesting. What process did you use?

 

Condacin: There was a combination of attempts and methods. We took the most recent "normal" genetic scan of the individual and used it as a base from which to "repair" the DNA. That had more limited success than the retrovirus, which basically worked to literally reverse the effects of the Soltan's virus.

 

Harrison: What about preventing infection?

 

Condacin: Avoiding physical contact is the most we've done. Preventative measures haven't been as much of a priority as "fixing" the problem, Sirs.

 

Skrov: You have no leads on how to protect planetary populations against this threat?

 

Condacin: No. Not as of yet.