Prologue Supplemental: Blueprints

Posted on 20 May 2023 @ 7:36am by Lia Quil & Marcus Mulder
Edited on on 06 Jun 2023 @ 4:59pm

1,995 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 18 - Cold Station 31
Location: Pleiades Cluster, Cold Station 31
Timeline: 2392

[ON]

Marcus Mulder's face was without any real expression as he made his way to the Xenobiology lab of Cold Station 31, holding one of the many transfer PADDs. When his team had gone through their siloed files, he had found one from the previous research team on Xenobiology. It did not belong in astrophysics, but with the lack of computer transfer between the labs, he had decided to hand deliver it.

It was also a break from his team, which he found subpar to what he had expected. They were loud. Their focus was not absolute. And he hated yelling, so instead he had coldly made his point known. They were there to work. If they did not have the passion, they could leave, but he wanted them to focus on what was in front of them, not whose bed to crawl into next to chase away loneliness in the darkness.

He rang the chime, waiting for the chirp before stepping inside. This part of the lab as the office area, the real work happened further in, where it was sealed. He understood why. Safeguards. "Doctor Quil," he spotted her, walking over with purpose. "I have something here that you may find...interesting. Although I doubt useful."

"Hm?" Lia didn't look up, reading the screen in front of her intently. Her blonde, wavy hair was loose, tucked behind her ear. Her casual nature was compounded by the sage green sweater she wore rather than any kind of uniform or work clothes.

He chuckled, watching her before he placed the PADD down. "This was on the Astrophysics files. It belongs here, with you," he said, studying her for a moment before he went to stand a little behind her, to watch her screen with curiosity and a small smile. It was not his true passion, but he had a good understanding of the sciences. This was not so different, he just found it boring so had never applied himself.

"Oh..." she reached out for the padd, glancing at it without really seeing what was on it. "Thank you," she said politely, but at the same time as chucking it into the recycler without accessing the information.

He chuckled, nodding as he moved to be in her line of vision, if she chose so. "If only I had known...I would have deleted it for you," he said lightly. "You're starting from scratch, aren't you."

"If you copy work of unknown standards you also copy mistakes and assumptions," she said quietly, lifting her head to look his way, engaging more with a question that was about their work.

"Clever," he said, his voice quiet as he considered it. "I did the same. I started spotting errors. Small ones, abbreviations. Sloppy. It was sloppy." He deliberately didn't look at her as he moved to sit down. "I am going to need your assistance. I noticed how siloed everything is. It will slow us down."

"Why did they do that?" she asked him with obvious faith and expectation that he should know the answer.

"I think they were worried about their own individual pieces so much, that they didn't realise it is a tapestry," he said, looking towards her before he shrugged. "They do not matter. What we do, that matters."

Lia paused before nodding in agreement, turning to rest back against the desk, tucking her hair absently behind her ear. "Unless we fail too. Then we don't matter either."

He watched her for a long moment before he nodded. "In my experience...the employers never care," he said bluntly. "So you have to make your time matter to you, and whatever you are interested in exploring. Transwarp beaming is...well. It is what it is. But there is scope for you to dabble in your interests within it."

"Inside-out people?" she suggested lightly, her features remaining still. She wasn't good at making jokes. But it had been one.

Marcus smiled, chuckling as he gave a small nod. "I suspect our first few attempts will result in that," he said, but there was a rare warmth to him as he looked at her.

"You look like you could be anywhere," she said bluntly, the switch up not unusual in how she spoke. She said what came into her head, as it came into her head.

"I feel as if I could," Marcus said, lightly, watching her. "What matters to me is being able to do my research, without...anyone looking over my shoulder. I have no time to be micromanaged. I suspect you are a kindred spirit in that."

"I have been told that I need to...work on my collaboration skills," she admitted quietly, giving an awkward shrug as she tucked her hand further into her sleeve.

"You're not good at sharing information?" Mulder asked, before he leant closer. "Or are they trying to impose their social interaction standards on you, little bird?"

Lia finally looked to him with a small, awkward smile, nodding lightly. "The last one," she said quietly. "They said it's a key part of research. Working well with others."

"Hm," he considered it before he shook his head, looking down at her hands. "Don't let them tell you that. Don't let yourself believe them. It isn't. The results are all that matters." He looked at her, giving her a small smile back. "Don't let yourself be locked in their cage of social expectations."

"Is that what you do?" she asked bluntly, glancing over him with curiosity. He'd clearly gone far. He must have achieved a lot in his work.

He laughed softly, nodding as he watched her. "Yes. People have tried to make me conform to their expectations. I won't let their social expectations keep me back from what I do. My specialism is a lot of theory. I am always trying to put it in practice."

"Why astrophysics?" she leant back against the desk to half sit on it, watching him with a slight, thoughtful frown. "It seems so...indefinite," was the only way she could think to describe it.

"Because it is...all around us, barely understood," Mulder admitted as he looked at her, before he looked down. "It is the foundation of life. If we could harness the power of the universe, imagine what we could accomplish. Every new discovery brings us closer, each theory we can test and disprove..."

"A lot of uncertainties," she added with an arched eyebrow, pursing her lips as she tilted her head. "But...that's what you thrive on," she nodded slowly, as if putting it together. "Because then when you discover a certainty, it makes it remarkable."

"Exactly," Mulder chuckled, looking at her for a moment. "When the theory is no longer theory, because you've proven it...it is a thrill. It's an accomplishment."

"Making certainty out of chaos," she nodded slowly, looking to the viewport as if she could see it if she looked hard enough. "I can get behind that..." she tried out a phrase she'd heard.

Marcus nodded, watching her for a long moment. "Why Xenobiology?" he suddenly asked. "Mind like yours, you could have done anything. Why that field?"

"It is as it is," she said quietly, shaking her head with a slight frown at trying to put words to it. "The universe is chaos. Somehow, in all the chaos, organic life formed and evolved, as brilliantly as any well laid blueprint."

"A strange order, to be figured out," Marcus' voice was oddly gentle, unusual for him, as he watched her. "Some would call it the miracle of God."

She tilted her head in acknowledgement to his suggestion. "I have read a lot of scientists who have come to the same conclusion. It is....truly intriguing."

"And what do you believe?" he asked her, curious about what she thought. She was a fascinating woman, and he was curious what made that mind work.

Lia fell silent at that, thinking as seriously on the question as she would a problem to solve. "I think that there has to be design behind this blueprint. It's more than we can possibly understand yet, but I appreciate the symmetry. It makes...sense."

"I can understand that," he said, with a small smile before he nodded. "And perhaps, that is enough to keep you entertained. You have a brilliant mind, little bird."

"I think I am seeing there is a lot more to learn," she motioned to him, as if to use his experience as an example. "But that is a relief too."

"The years will help," he finally said, clearly thinking it over. "For me, it made me care less and less about what those around me thought. Hence why I walked away from my life to come here."

"Do you think it will be worth it?" she asked bluntly, clearly trusting his opinion, his ability to reason.

"Honestly?" Marcus gave her a small smile, unable to stop it. "Some of the variables are unreliable. It is a gamble, but sometimes...that is science. Taking a risk and seeing what happened. Did you know what they used to do, in ancient times on Earth, when trying to figure out critical mass for an atomic chain reaction? They would have two hollow spheres of beryllium around a mass of fissionable material. They would then have two one-inch spacers between the upper hemisphere and lower shell...that was all the safety measures to keep from inadvertently do a critical assembly..." he raised an eyebrow, the smile fading slightly. "And they would remove the spacers to let one edge of the upper hemisphere meet the edge, with a screwdriver to lower it. And with some...crude radiation monitor, they'd measure radioactivity. And that was it. A screwdriver and someone's hand between...finding those numbers, or a slow and painful death." He let out a low whistle before he chuckled. "They called it tickling the dragon's tail. It was a gamble. A gamble that gave humanity the atomic bomb, and in turn nuclear energy. What we do here? There is a gamble. We too will be...tickling some sort of monster's tail. But what we can give to the universe may be worth it. Or it may kill us. For science. So is it worth it? To me...it is. Because this is a new world of scientific discovery and I want to be here and do it."

Lia was silent for several moments as she absorbed all he had said. She hadn't heard of what he'd spoken about. Maybe because she was born on Betazed? It was fascinating and horrifying at the same time. How many of those kind of examples resulted in actual progress, and how much of it was just nerds playing, just because they could. She may well have been one of them. It wasn't unknown for her to just do something to see if she could. "Then maybe I should congratulate you for still being around?" she finally said. Her features were still, looking as if she was unbothered whether he realised she'd just made an age joke at his expense. In her own way, at least.

He looked at her before he started laughing, bowing his head forward and hiding his face as his shoulders shook. "I think you should! I honestly have no real idea how I am still here. Perhaps this will amend that..." he winked, sitting back and stretching.

"I hope to learn more from you," Lia replied openly, nodding with certainty, presenting the simple words as fact. "I think you may have a lot you can teach me."

Marcus looked at her with surprise at the words. He had not expected it, but he smiled at the idea. "I hope I do," he said, meaning it. They might have different specialisms, but they did speak the same language; science.

[OFF]

--

Doctor Marcus Mulder
Senior Researcher
Cold Station 31
[PNPC Rice]

Doctor Lia Quil
Senior Researcher
Cold Station 31
[PNPC Blake]

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