003 - A Long Trip

Publish date: 24nd Oct 2019

Perspective: Loe
Note: Will be using third-person from now on.

Tom has been typing away on his portable computer for some time now, almost singular in his focus.
He'd repeatedly insisted to Loe that "I want to show you something", but gave no indication of what that was.
Finally, after what felt like hours, he broke the silence.

Tom: You should get a message shortly, it will explain everything.

Loe: You're being awfully vague...well, more than usual.

Ping!

[PERIOD 16 - MOMENT 712] Confidential message from The Endurance to Oda ambassador Loe

Loe,
After careful consideration, you have been granted access to all areas of The Endurance.
You will find your official documentation attached, as well as your authorization codes.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.

- Captain Riker

Loe was only more confused by this. What was The Endurance? Was she now a combatant for the Human military? Was she expected to fight alongside them?

Loe: I don't understand.

Tom, careful not to have anyone else hear, leans in and speaks softly.

Tom: The Endurance is a battlecruiser, it's sitting at the edge of the system.
I'm going to show you some of our war tech, I want your people to be as armed as possible for the conflict that will surely follow.

Loe: I see.

A battlecruiser? Loe hadn't heard that class of ship before, but now she understood the secrecy.
Tom probably doesn't want anyone else knowing they have cutting-edge tech just sitting there, practically already in their hands.
She still doesn't know what's expected of her, but that can wait.

Loe realises that, given the distance, they're going to have hours alone.
Ideal circumstances, she'd wanted to show Tom her big secret for some time now.

Loe: How long will it take to get there?

Tom: Since we need to be discrete, I would say 40 periods.

Over a day and a half, more than enough time.

Loe: Will we be alone?

Tom raises an eyebrow at this, it has to look quite suspicious from his view.

Tom: Do you have something planned?

Loe: A secret for a secret. You'll see.

Loe and Tom both enter Tom's shuttle ship, emblazened with "Scuttlebug" on the side.
Loe notices that there's been a few odd changes, most notably a switch on the ship's beacon.
Covert indeed, can't be having anyone tracking your exact movements.

Tom powers up the ship, it's strangely quiet, almost haunting.
No deep hum of the drives, but it can still be felt. The lights are not bright white, but dim blue.
The large capacitors in the back start charging. They're absurdly oversized, but Tom probably wants to shut off the generator during the trip.

With everything set into motion, the ship lurches out of the docking bay, heading in the wrong direction altogether. For now.

Tom: Autopilot is on, Scuttlebug will fly out and fake a hyperjump once the capacitors are charged before heading towards The Endurance.

Loe: Perfect.
I've wanted to show you this for a while, but it requires a completely safe environment. If we're separated, the results are fatal for both of us.
The Oda have the ability to...integrate with other species.

Tom's face scrunches up, as he goes into deep thought.
He needn't think so hard about intentions, it will become clear.

Loe: We call it Melding, the best way of describing it is that it allows us to share our thoughts, feelings, and memories.

Tom quickly exhales, clearly he had something worse on his mind.

Tom: How much control would I have?

Loe: Tom, I want to be as clear as possible before we start, if I wanted I could forcibly take control of you.
I have no desire to do so, you will be completely in control up to a certain level of melding.

Curiousity spreads across his face. Loe knows he's going to agree, but she still has to put him at ease first.
Loe realises she's forgot to mention something important.

Tom: A certain level of melding?

Loe: I should first note that the process can be quite painful to start. I have to expose nerves.
Given your biology, you would heal after a few days.
I would be burning off the top layer of skin, but that would be enough to gain access.

Tom: I can handle that.

Loe: At first I'll only be melding via your finger, enough to share basic emotions only.
As long as you remain comfortable, I'll slowly continue melding.
Once I envelop your hand, we would share full emotions and surface level thoughts, as if we were telepathic.

He's absolutely interested.
Loe can see it, and as far as she's concerned, she may as well paint the full picture in advance.

Loe: At your elbow, we would be able to share mental images, as well as memories.
At your shoulder, we would have full access to one-another, being capable of exploring each-others memories unchecked.

Tom: That sounds...intense. Is it dangerous?

Loe: No, but we would both be changed.

Tom: Is this why the Oda are herbivores?

Loe: Yes, we don't have a choice with melding.
Any exposed nerves are connected to.
Our attempts at eating animals were not pleasant.

Loe begins extending an appendage, shaped roughly like a finger but inverted at the tip.
Loe needs to show him this, it had been burning inside her for years. He needs to see her for what she really is.

Loe: When you're ready.

Tom sighs, extends his finger, inhales, and grits his teeth, before finally making contact.
A short gasp escapes Tom as Loe begins eating her way through, searching for nerve endings to mingle with.
She finds some, and now feels the intense pain Tom feels from having his finger burned.
She also gasps, her breathing now ragged and shallow.

After what feels like hours, but was more like 5 seconds, the pain subsides.
There's a vague sense of wonder flooding out of Tom. No fear, no concern, just child-like wonder.

Loe: What do you feel?

Tom: I feel...larger. Like I've found another part of myself.

Loe: Can you feel my emotions?

Tom: You're...happy. In what way I can't be sure, but it's there.

He's not wrong.

Loe slowly begins to spread, now covering three fingers and some of his hand.

Tom: This is amazing, so much more emotion sitting in reach...

Loe: I'm glad you think so, your sense of wonder is quite enjoyable.

Tom: Woah...

Child-like wonder, a desire for more, admiration of what the Oda can do. It's all there.
She's waited too long to experience another species, but the pay-off was worth it.
She continues spreading, now reaching about halfway down his forearm.

Loe: I'm surprised you don't feel pain from this.

Tom: I do, but...oh...

Loe knows what he found, it's what she wanted him to know.

Tom: My god...you're ancient!

Loe: You could say that.

Tom: I...but...I can see memories a millenia old!
I can see...I can see so much...

Loe was growing concerned, she hadn't even reached his elbow and he could already dive back millenia.

Tom: No, it's fine, keep going.

A brief glance was exchanged between them, and they moved in tandem to a more comfortable spot.
They would be here for an hour or two, and they both understood that he'd lose the ability to stand.

As Loe reached his elbow, Tom briefly enters a state of shock, his breathing abruptly stops for a moment.
Tom can feel it now. He can feel her memories. All of them.
Memories stretching back over the ages, before Humans were even Humans to begin with.
Loe wasn't just ancient, she was millions of years old, and yet 500 years ago she couldn't make bronze.
He understands now that Oda aren't born, they never have been.
When more are needed, Loe subdivides, the memories imparted onto both.
When the population is too high, they starve themselves and merge, becoming one again.
Every single Oda was one and the same, they were all Loe.
They all share memories frequently, no wonder they advanced so quickly.

Meanwhile, Loe is having her own existential crisis, Humans are the exact opposite of her.
Tom has so few memories, and yet so vivid.
Her own memories were fleeting glances of the past. A vague painting, hastily done in minutes by a shoddy artist with somewhere to be.
His memories were sometimes that, but other times they were clear as day, dripping with emotion.
Intense joy when his girlfriend of 10 years finally proposed, he had said yes immediately.
A distinct smell of cinnamon fills the air. A gentle breeze, a warm summer day.
Contentment, when they relaxed in bed together, thinking of the years past as well as to come.
His feet are cold, poking out from the quilt, but his left arm is warm, residing under her.

Confusion and sadness, with hope in the mix, doctors have found a tumerous growth. The air turns cold.
Anger with no target, and despair. It's cancer, terminal, she has weeks.
The smell of cinnamon returns, but burnt. Tainted by the foul intrusion.
Complete emptiness, devoid of emotion. She's gone. Tom is sitting in his bedroom, the flowery wallpaper now grey, the sun shining a somber light into his room, no colour finds its way in. There's no smell.
A flood of determination, he has to do something, anything. He signs up for the army. The ink shimmers under lamplight as he signs his full name, Tom Robert Alberto.
Anger, tinged with amusement, one of the other cadets stole his boots. He'd find them soon enough.
Excitement, he was offered a trip to Mars. It would be the 17th trip, they needed people to help terraforming operations, and he was a good pilot. He sees a fresh start.
Surprise, he's intercepted on-route by an unknown ship. An Oda ship. It's Loe.

Static, Loe find herself unable to go deeper.

Tom: I...

Loe begins to remove herself from Tom, revealing first-degree burns across his entire forearm and hand.
It will heal in due time, but for now Tom would have to deal with the unpleasantness.
Loe can't contain her excitement, it was like living a whole other life.

Loe: Your memories are so rich, I never thought that such intense moments could be preserved like that!

Tom: You're quite the enigma yourself, to think that you're over a million years old...

Loe realises she's rather deeply intruded on his memories, she stopped paying attention once the first wave of intense emotion hit.
She really hopes Tom isn't against further exploration, and perhaps actually becoming one for a short while.
Tom looks exhausted. She thinks she's ruined her chances, getting drunk on his emotions.

Loe: I...I must apologise, I lost control once I started feeling your memories.
I fear that I may not have stopped.

Tom: It's alright, I just need to rest.
We can continue some other time.

Loe: Great, I had fun.

Tom: Me too. Me too...

Tom lies down on the hard floor, and just like that, he's out cold.
Loe has a lot to think about, but fortunately, she doesn't need sleep.
She glances at the autopilot.

ETA: [13 PERIODS 199 MOMENTS] [14 HOURS 43 MINUTES 15 SECONDS]

Had they really been melding for over a day?