Adaequatio Intellectus Et Rei

Posted on 31 Jan 2013 @ 2:03pm by Lieutenant Kiri Cho

5,756 words; about a 29 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo: LTjg Liyar's Office
Timeline: MD 1 1900

ON:

She was a Trill. Which posed a problem, quite frankly, right off the bat. As a Trill, she needed training by a Trill, at least, in order to receive the full potential she could reach. But Kiri wanted her training done aboard this vessel, which was reasonable, she could not just abandon her contract and go live on Trill. It didn't matter who on board helped her, it would still be a disadvantage. The only thing Liyar could do, and had been doing, was researching the matter as best as he could.

After his meeting with Ambassador Azure, he'd even taken to asking the man if he knew anyone to be spoken with, and had been referred to a clinical neurologist named Kiskath, on the Chesapeake, with telepathic experience from being joined if not any telepathy himself. Talking with the Trill had been a real trip, if he thought Terrans were confusing, the Trill were baffling. After a few hours going through the footage of him stumbling through the conversation with Athlen, he managed to understand a little more than he did. Their language was truly alien to him, something about his own made it very, very difficult to transmute, but he was slogging through the rest of the documents in hand.

Kiri's message beeped on his PADD a while ago, so the reports were abandoned and Liyar set to creating a semi-welcoming environment with the little on hand he had. He didn't know what type of things Kiri found relaxing, in her mind there had been gardens, water, hills. He had none of those, so he dug out some of the meditation aids brought with him from Miri'kahr. Incense, the asenoi or firepot as a focus tool and a cleared out position on the floor with lots of open space. He sent her a return message when he was through setting up, the lights dimmed. I am available to begin your training now, if you are amenable, he typed the initial stages of a return message for her. If you have any possession or belonging that brings you comfort, I recommend you bring it with you as a grounding aid. My office is located on Deck 4, juncture 21. ~ Lt. Liyar. He hit send on the brief response.

Kiri didn't know what to do with regards to bringing a belonging. There was nothing she had that really reminded her of home. There was the sculpture from Sellen but she didn't want to move that. No, she should do this on her own, there wasn't anything that really seemed like it would help. Uniform spotless and hair tied back she arrived at the office promptly. Pressing on the chime. She was going to be training her mind, one of the things she'd work on was being less afraid, more in control.

"Enter," Liyar announced and the doors opened to reveal the interior of the office. The Vulcan had relocated back to the floor, taking the simplistic loshirak position with his legs crossed in front of him. The firepot rested on a small table which sat between him and a space he had set for Kiri, and there were several items also on the table. The most noticeable of which were a row of stones in boxes and a small metallic triangular prism hanging on a miniature frame. There was a small plant, and a few PADDs whose purpose were indeterminate. As for his office itself, it looked as any office would, with stacks of work and stray components here and there. The headset he was building lay half assembled on a shelf behind him, the numerical sequence on the hologrid in front of it paused, revealing a line of yellow-red writing in the mostly darkened room, lit by the small fire from the asenoi and the desk lamp. He gestured to the spot opposite of him, which had a small mat for her to sit on. "Good evening." He did note that she brought back the PADDs which he had given her to study and so he began with that. "I see you have completed reading the Convention. What were your perceptions of the material?" he asked, casting his eyes to them and reaching out to take them and set them aside.

"Good evening," She answered before answering, "Common sense," Looking around she took in the room as she knelt down in the spot he offered her. While the rules were huge and covered just about everything it boiled down to common sense, don't force anyone to do anything and don't try to break into their minds. There were details on a range of situations but nothing that really jumped out at her. Handing over the PADDs she looked at the flames before looking up at him, "Is this normal?"

Liyar knew that question would come at some point and was glad it came sooner rather than later. "To be very honest with you, for the situation that we find ourselves in, there cannot truly be a measure of normal. We are of two separate species, with very separate neurology," he explained to her. There was some more information on the PADDs in front of him, and he picked up one and set it aside for her to take when she left. "The type of telepathic ability I am familiar with will no doubt be different. But yes, there are some universal tenets," he granted, "And our minds are capable of connecting and interacting in an understandable way. That being said, I am confident that you will be able to advance in training, to at least some degree." He set aside a few of the stones and picked up one of the sticks beside him, lighting it and placing it into the firepot. "As a Vulcan, I am only capable of offering you the training that I am familiar with. I cannot guarantee it will be fully useful to you," he warned, "But we will endeavor to see what we can do. For now, I would like to introduce you to the first basic concept of any psionic exercise, tal t'li. This is the first stage, and it involves the most important concepts, which is physical regulation and mental structure. If you would place your hand here." He pressed his fingertips against the stone, indicating for her to do the same on the opposite side.

Placing her fingers against the stone she could feel it was smooth. It was similar to the pebbles she had arranged in her quarters, it was warm by the flames. Any training he offered her would be better than nothing, so she had no regrets in that regard. All along she'd known it would be different than being trained by a Trill. With a deep breath she focused her gaze on the stone, trying to wrap her head about what she might be doing.

"What you are touching now is called a psi-stone. These are telepathic vessels, which are capable of storing memories, experiences, and impressions. This one is a meditative guidepost. An important part of any telepathic training is to consistently monitor what is happening during the process. The ability to reflect upon these memories with an objective clarity is the benefit of these psi-stones. This one is yours," he said, tilting his head. "To explain the process of telepathy verbally is very difficult. To begin, a parallel could easily be drawn between the psi-test and a test of one's intelligence quotient. As you know, the IQ test generates an approximation, a summary, of one's mental abilities, but cannot fully determine the extent of a person's experience. The IQ test is also very different between species," he said. "An IQ of one hundred on Vulcan is not the same as an IQ of one hundred on Trill, or on Terra. This is not due to intellectual superiority or otherwise, but due to the way the test must be measured," he explained.

Kiri nodded, this was a gift then. Though how to use it she didn't yet know, there was also the question of how a stone could store memories.

"The psi-test is similar. As a P3 telepath, your abilities vary greatly from a similar level telepath on Vulcan. It is best to reflect on your own personal perception, rather than what a computer terminal will tell you." He removed his hand from the stone and folded it back with his other in front of his chin. "The first step in tal t'li is body-focus. As in meditation, being in tune with your physical state is the first and best tool you have to begin learning to regulate your mind. This psi-stone is Betazoid, and it is designed for accessibility to nearly every psi-capable individual." There was a small indentation on the side, and he turned it over so she could see it. "To begin, press your thumb into this area here. This will cue the psi-stone to your mental signature, and form a baseline for your tal t'li. It will allow you to experience for yourself what it is to tap into your conscious perception of your abilities. As your instructor, I have also cued this stone to my own mental signature, and this will provide an external bridge between us. Once you have done this, you will be capable of sensing me in a limited capacity. Do you have any questions thus far?"

Rolling the stone into her hand Kiri looked at it closely for a moment. So it wasn't just a stone, there was something inside it? Something she still didn't know or understand but something. Taking in the shape as it flickered in the fire light she nodded, "No, I understand." Pressing her thumb into the indent she could almost feel a pinprick, just for a second. So far though nothing felt any different.

Liyar, apparently satisfied with that answer, replaced his hand on the top of it. As soon as he did, he closed his eyes and carefully exerted a brief spike of energy through it, opening the bridge he had spoken of before. As he did this, between the two of them it felt as if something were growing, tangibly, permeating through them and the room as if some sort of thread were linking them together. It wasn't a mind meld, but it was a new level of Sight, of truly being able to feel the mental presence of them both simultaneously. Not only Liyar, but Kiri as well, separate and connected. Liyar's own mind-space was highly constructed, a quiescent structure of lines and grids and benign patterns, where Kiri's mind was fluid, floating like mist. He looked up as though he would be able to see it around them, palpable as the sensation was. "This is the Beginning," he said simply. "Your body, and then your mind. The floor is beneath you, and the stone can be touched. The table, the temperature around you, they are physical perceptions. They pass through your skin, your neurons, your mind. Your brain recreates the entire universe every moment of every day. Breathing, this way." He was modulating his own physiological response, and he allowed the feeling of the correct posture and relaxation to flow through the connection. "This is your Ground, and one of the most important things you will need to learn. Your Ground is what will protect you. It is the way to controlling what is out there, above." The Mist that was Her, floating through the air, seemed to waft through once again, an odd sensation of being in the looking glass. "To feel this, and to tap into it. It does not feel like much, but your body is as much a tool as your mind." He let a breath pass through them, almost separate, from normal experience, distinctive, a Marker. "You will learn to feel every part of yourself. What you feel, in your day to day existence, is only a fraction of what is there, in even this way."

It was similar to last time they had a session. There wasn't a description worthy of it, a numbness that she could feel? That wasn't quite right but it was the closest she could come. Like being half asleep but still know how everything around her was happening. Before she had been unable to communicate this way, she was still unable to do anything more than add a nod. It was with her real voice she spoke across the flames, "I see," She had no idea how to control any of it though, for now she was purely there. With her feet on a ground and her hands on the pebble, as if she might drop and break it. The understanding that each second was a snapshot of her universe to her head she understood. The brain remembered certain things that came up time and again but the most basics changed every second.

The session stretched on for an infinite amount of time, yet it did not feel infinite, as though they were stretched at a waypoint in between. A place of nothing and everything, existing on a spectrum as though it were directly visible. Liyar carefully organized the connection in such a way that closer to Kiri was the Body and closer to himself was the Mind, a three dimensional space that Kiri could feel and interact with on a subconscious level. He guided them both through the most basic tafar; discipline guidelines. He showed her how to use her body as a tether, a way to enter and exit this world at her own choosing using her body as an anchor to reality, to reach within herself, to calculate how the mindspace around them pulsated to her own heartbeat and led itself back through her Real self. Whether or not they spoke or just understood one another at will couldn't be determined. Liyar did his best to keep the experience as familiar and non-threatening as possible, the real mind precepts were not as ordered, but this was just the beginning, as he had said. "The asenoi, here, that is the firepot. Fire is a living thing. As is this plant." It was time for the lesson itself now that she was more familiar with how it worked. However much time passed since they first sat down couldn't be known. "This is the pulau-tor, the Reaching. As a projective telepath, you take from within your own self and push it outward. You feel this. Your breathing. Your heartrate. Blood pressure. The air over your skin. You feel above." He looked up once again. "See yourself in it. It is with your body that you Reach through." He opened his eyes and it was as if something between them lifted up, spread out through the room. "What is inside of you here," he pressed his hand to his chest, "Resonates with what is without, the Above. Can you recognize it?"

Kiri struggled to follow his words. She felt as if the was missing some of the context, was she meant to be trying to leave her own body? This place was a construct, something between two minds, she hadn't created it that much she knew. It felt sterile, not like when she was in her own mind before. So she had left that much, to reach out above where they were now? It felt like being given directions without knowing what a road was, or where north was. She could control her body if she focused on it, her breathing, her internal muscles, not her heart though. The change that he caused, she didn't know how or what but she could feel it. Her answer was only, "It is different."

This was good. Liyar hadn't expected her to be able to perceive it even as clearly as she did right away. "Your mind and your body always exist simultaneously," he answered her unspoken question. "The task is to reconcile them both. The perception that you see now is merely a tool," the Vulcan explained. "A way that you can interpret what is inside of you. All of this, can feel as much as your hand feels the stone at your fingertips. It permeates the room. As a neuron travels from your brain and identifies stimulus. So too does your mind extend outward, from you, to everywhere here that you can perceive. A neuron will receive stimulus," he started, making a gesture with his hand, "And travel back to the brain. In much the same way, you must learn to recognize your Self in the area around you. The Above, here. Then, your perception widens. You realize there is more than yourself." He guided through their connection a small sensation of what that felt like. The molecules, the living DNA strands, organelles and particles working in universal tandem, moving and breathing all on their own. Life. "Everywhere that your mind can touch, from outside of yourself, you can bring back to your perception."

"Like Sonar?" Kiri was trying to understand but it still wasn't easy. Projecting her mind beyond where it was now inside her head, it felt as practical as asking her fingers to grow several inches. What he was talking about was touching things and sending a response back to her brain, not as sight, sound or smell though, as something direct.

"In a manner of speaking," Liyar nodded. It wasn't quite accurate, but for someone who wanted a linear attribution to everything, it was simplistic enough to make a rudimentary amount of sense. Although, sonar only had one component. This was different. To describe, he gestured above, guiding their dual perceptions upward, like something inside lifted off, and floated away. "This. It is more than what you can see. It is part of you. A sonar sends out a pulse wave which then bounces back. You have the advantage of an opposing force which already exists prior to the wave, as a starting point, to help you find your way. This is that force." It was a humming, within, the perception of Consciousness, of ability itself. "This is what it means to be a telepath. A psi-null individual has only the ability to cast out a perception. There exists no counter-force, nothing from outside themselves."

That made sense, it was more like water than sound. Her ripples hit other ripples and caused disruption she could detect, sort of? While someone who couldn't would only get incoming ripples and no sense of where they were from? This was learning to control her ripples right? The real world would be more like a stormy ocean rather than a still pool. Looking upwards she tried to feel but didn't get any response. Though she did start to feel a little wet.

"Yes," Liyar spoke or perhaps simply intuited through. "You are Receiving now," he said, leaning forward a little with interest. "You have projected," he declared with a sense that wasn't an emotional accomplishment, but it still resonated a little through the air. "You felt that," he guided them back to the experience that just happened. "You thought of water. You extended this outward to the mindspace, and it was reflected back. This is the beginning of learning to perceive." It was a contained perception though, but it was a very good level of progress for a first session.

That, was easy? Was it really that easy? She just had to think of things in the right way and they would happen? It felt more like an accident than anything, then she would have to be careful about what she thought about. Had she learnt anything though? She'd learnt about controlling parts of herself, then more about this alter space though not enough to really comprehend it. It still felt like she was stumbling around in the dark rather than learning anything. Her voice was muted, "So, that's good?"

"It is," Liyar confirmed. He knew that she probably would not be thrilled the first session, but he also knew that he could not go too fast either. Children on Vulcan usually spent years learning how to fully recognize their physical presence, their grounding abilities, biological control, though in most species this only manifested as biofeedback, it was still an extremely important if boring part of the process. Only with the foundation could he continue on. For now, he felt that they had progressed quite enough for the day, and had made some progress. He closed his eyes again and began drawing them out from the otherworld, sucking back all of the strange molecules and the surrounding mist, placing them back in order, recalling everything to its proper place. He untied the threads and allowed them to drift back toward their owners, and slowly they emerged and saw the real world again, and it was then that the difference in perception could easily be felt as a contrast. Liyar pressed something on the side of the stone and lifted his hand from it. "You can remove your hand, now," he said with a nod toward the stone once they were oriented. The flame in the asenoi had flickered out, but otherwise the room remained as it was. "That experience is embedded within the stone now. It is easily accessed, and you will be able to look upon it as an observer. This will allow you to process each session with an objective eye. If you desire, you can write out or note any questions you have if you find that you cannot understand something." The chronometer on the wall said at least two and a half hours had gone by since they started, but Liyar didn't seem to be kicking her out, simply winding down the actual lesson part of it. "If you would have any questions now, I will do my best to answer them."

Kiri was starting to feel rather sea sick now, as if she had been swaying side to side the entire time. Her knees also hurt and her legs were full of pins and needles, slipping to lay on her hip she blinked as her eyes refocused. Did she had any questions? There were millions but she didn't know how to put most of them into words. They weren't even concepts as much as half formed feelings that shied away when she tried to think about them. Placing the stone on the table for a moment she flexed her hands as she took in the time. It generally just felt weird all over, he hadn't pulled at any of her emotions though, not like last time. Finding her voice she looked over at him, "Is there anything I can practice?"

"Affirmative," Liyar said. "The initial stages of what I showed you are embedded within that stone. You need only to access it by placing your thumb into the imprint area. The postures, and particularly the exercises in meditative breathing, are things that you can work on without necessary guidance. Learning to connect with your physical self will be an important part of your training that you can work on in your own time, should you wish it. I would request that you do not experiment with the mind disciplines without the presence of a psi-instructor," he said, stretching his fingertips calmly. "It can be a safety hazard, for both yourself and others around you. As you progress in learning to comprehend these things, you will be capable of doing more and more on your own. But for now, I ask that you rely on our sessions alone to attempt the psionic exercises."

"Okay," Kiri was sure that was a very good idea. The things that she could practice would be fine, they were a little boring though. As long as it helped her develop this new skill though she was fine to try. For now though she didn't think she could walk in any respectable manner. Grateful for the time had given her she shifted her weight and gingerly rose to her feet, "Would you like something to drink?"

Liyar remained seated for a moment and carefully folded up the materials on the table into their boxes and placed them each in a larger box before folding up the small table and the asenoi. They all formed a small portable kit that he picked up and stood with, with much more apparent ease than she had and he placed the larger box on a shelf. "Ah, the replicator," he realized, walking over. "It is -" he tapped a button to turn it on. " - Savas dukal-yel-travek masu -" he spat at it unhelpfully, and it materialized something purple and orange mixed together in a glass " - Programmed for my language. There." He typed in another sequence of buttons and it lit up again, the Vulcan characters on the side screen disappearing to be replaced with Standard. He gestured for her to order something if she wanted it.

Limping a little she took the stone from the table and placed it in her pocket. Her mind was made up to keep it somewhere safe in the quarters were no one else was going to find it. Making her way to the replicator she spoke softly, "Lemon juice, strong, hot," Taking in the smell of the something that Liyar had ordered as she did so. Holding her place against the wall she looked around the lab, "You don't mind me staying a few minutes do you?"

The Vulcan shook his head and swept his hand outward slightly. "Feel free," he said while taking a drink of the juice he held cupped in both hands now. He sat on the edge of his desk and pulled up his feet, sitting straight. "How are you feeling?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"A little tired," Kiri answered and started to stand more upright as feeling returned to her legs. Lately she seemed to being social a lot of the time, it was nice but it wasn't something she was used to. It was starting to drain some of her normal energy.

"I suspect that is to be expected," Liyar thought pensively, both with everything that had happened and what they had just experienced being so far beyond the normal scope of general activities.

Thinking seemed rather hard at the moment so Kiri remained quiet, watching the Vulcan on the other side of the room. After a a minute she spoke up again, "How long do you think it will take to develop to a useful level?"

It was a good question. "It will take some time," Liyar wouldn't lie to her. "But at the ability you have so-far demonstrated, I should say that in a month or so, I believe you will notice a significant degree of perception."

That wasn't very long at all, was it really that easy? She'd have to apply herself but the faster she could master it the faster she could move onto something else. The more useful she could be and the more people would like her, "That's good." After another long pause she asked, "Have you made any progress with your conversion of music?"

Nodding a little, Liyar lifted up some of the components he had stored away. These now resembled a semi-completed structure of a headset. "I have been able to isolate the point of difference. With assistance from Lieutenant Panne and Ensign Nicholas, I have the baseline requirements for the mathematical algorithm that will allow me to compensate for the psionic drop-loss," he said a little text-book style. He seemed a little far away at that point as he thought about the meeting with Athlen and Maenad in the laboratory, but stifled it in a drink and when he lowered the glass his eyes were sharp as ever. He ran through several of the exercises Athlen had been working with him on when small talk was required. He didn't bother to ask her about her health, or about what happened with the take-over of the ship. That was Vulcan etiquette, even though a Terran might find it rude not to ask, Vulcans viewed such questions as intrusive. "Are you engaged in any projects currently?" he finally asked.

"There are lots of detailed scans I will be running while we are in transit, I also have a few ideas to improve internal sensors." Being an assistant department head meant most time was spent organising things for other people rather than running her own projects. There was still some time though, there were also her own personal projects but they didn't really count, did they?

"They do," Liyar said offhand, and then looked down at his wrist unconsciously. "Apologies. I do not make a habit of reading others, but often surface thoughts will arise. That is what these are for," he lifted up his hand. "As part of the Shi'kahr convention, a telepath who is incapable of fully restraining themselves must use these to avoid entering the minds of others unintentionally. Receptive telepaths in particular are prone to the phenomenon. In any case, I should say that your personal work does count."

Her eyes thinning slightly Kiri thought about what he said, "Are they not working then?" She had no idea that he couldn't restrain himself, was that bad? Her reading hadn't given a huge number of examples and while she had said she was okay with him accessing her thoughts when together. This was rather abrupt, it made her uncomfortable.

"They are," Liyar assured. "As you may have read, there is a difference between an unintentional understanding of surface thoughts, such as for instance when a Vulcan is touched or grabbed without warning. Or in my instance, when others simply 'think loudly'. It is known as projection. As a... P11," he said that a little warily, as if he still wasn't used to it, "It is often impossible for me to avoid sensing others completely. It is simply not how my abilities work. Nevertheless, I would not be capable of discerning any deeper meaning, nor any private thoughts, even without the psi-monitors unless I specifically delved for it. This would be a violation of the law. I am afraid I cannot help what I am capable of reading otherwise. I am still adjusting to the monitors," he explained. "With practice, the amount of surface gleaning I will do should lessen to the point of non-issue."

"I think most people would think it rude still, you should try not to react to thoughts." Kiri normally filtered what she said through her head time and time again. Having that process bypassed would mean she wouldn't have control over what people got from her. That was the second part she really disliked about people being able to read her mind.

Liyar nodded. "Yes, that is the general idea." When he was able to discern, he did try. But growing up psi-native had engendered him to a more open policy regarding his psionics. Even he had needed to memorize the more concrete aspects of the Shi'kahr Convention when he was moved to the Embassy, though he didn't voice those thoughts. It seemed a little silly at this point, they had been mentally engaged for quite some time prior, but he also knew the concepts were different. Having one's thoughts plucked out of their head at random versus a knowing connection was different. Consent still applied. But so too did the fact that he often was unaware of the difference, which was his own concern. Instead he merely took another drink and repeated himself, "I apologize if I have distressed you."

"It is okay, I did say that you could do things, I just didn't expect it," Taking a breath she blew down into her cup, "I had dinner with Ensign Peers today." She was less rocky on her small talk than she was before but it was still rather shoehorned in.

Ensign Peers... the chief engineer, if he recalled correctly. Which he did. He sat down in front of his computer terminal and opened the touchpad. As far as smalltalk went, he had even less ability, or desire, than she did. Rather than seem disingenuous, he approached it with the honesty he was known for, "Indeed. Is there a significance to this?" he looked up from the computer, tapping up the beginning economic calculations he'd been working as a loader program.

Not really, but if she stayed here she didn't have to go back to her room. The feeling she was getting was that he wanted her to leave, that was sort of clear. Rather sheepishly Kiri answered, "She is half Trill, we talked about some Trill things, about going there on the holodeck." Moving slightly towards the door she started to drain her cup very quietly.

Distracted a bit, Liyar looked up, realizing she was starting to leave. He picked up the fact that she assumed he wanted her gone, but they'd just been through that, so he didn't correct her as he might have once. "Exposure to Trill society and culture will no doubt be beneficial to you," Liyar said instead, filing that piece of information away as well. If they were to continue training, he would need to understand her as a person, but it was almost midnight and he still had hundreds of pages of data to examine. It was a little bit like kicking a baby sehlat, but Liyar chose logic in the end. "I would be interested to hear any observations you may have as a result of these meetings with Ensign Peers," he started, "When we next meet." Not brilliant, but he tried.

She'd have to ask Peers if that was okay but, "I will ask her if that is okay, thank you." Placing the cup in the replicator and selecting the dematerialise button Kiri shifted back towards the door once more. Bowing her head every so slightly she looked uncomfortable, "Have a nice evening."

Liyar gave her a nod in return. "Good evening, Lieutenant."

OFF:

Lieutenant (JG) Kiri Cho
Assistant Chief Science Officer/Sensor Specialist, SSC
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Liyar
Diplomatic Officer, VDF/SDD
USS Galileo

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