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(Referee and Robert Morris' player only) |
Mich Saginaw takes his eight hours to check out the ship. Everything tests as fine -- all diagnostics are red, with no blue anywhere.
Helia drops the Nightshade into jump for Goose .
Shark contemplates changing the external
appearance of the ship to something more normal. Unfortunately he
can't even
figure out if it's possible, let alone actually change it to what he
wants.
Once they're safely in jump, Robert and Shark decide
it's time for a fish oil party. Helia moans that she can't take
part -- she considers herself on duty whenever the ship is in flight.
Nevertheless she brings some alcohol to the party, and drinks
that. After his last bad trip, Shark decides to drink rather less
of the klatrin -- he takes
only half a shot, just 20 cc. Robert has been drinking 2 cc
daily,
but treats himself to a full shot tonight.
Shark wakes up the next morning. Robert
does
not wake up -- he's in a full fish oil trance, as Shark finds out when
he
looks in Robert's stateroom. Shark takes him to Sick Bay, where
he
tells Grand Admiral Baron Bridgehead that he too had some klatrin last
night.
Bridgehead says that Robert is just in his normal
state, but tells Shark to check back frequently. The doctor is
not sure about Shark's condition yet; that gets the First Officer
wondering aloud whether he can trust the Imperial noble .
Mich has been studying the manual, and finds that the ship has an alternate color layout. He knows how to engage it now, but nothing says what it is. He reports this to Shark, who is about to join him in Engineering when he passes out. Mich in turn reports it to the Doc, who complains bitterly about Shark's behavior. Teri Cralla is dispatched to pick up Shark and take him to Sick Bay.
Three hours later, Shark wakes up in Sick Bay.
He apparently has not had any sort of mind expanding experience.
Bridgehead tells him that he's charging up heavily.
He says he'll pass out frequently, so he should avoid places
where
he could fall. He adds that Robert's just having the usual brain
chemistry
changes.
Shark can see that in the display -- the changes are
quite extensive now.
At Shark's request, the Doc shows him his own
changes, and how his brain is charging up. Bridgehead doesn't
know how to clear out the charge yet; he suggests that Shark ask Robert
about that.
Shark reports to Misha about his medical condition.
Shark passes out, but recovers consciousness almost immediately.
It is late evening when Robert wakes up. Shark has not yet passed out today when the Doctor tells calls him down to Sick Bay. When he gets there, Bridgehead says he's going to get some sleep, and leaves Robert in the First Officer's care.
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(Referee and Robert Morris' player only) |
Robert is no longer charged up. Shark still
is, and asks Robert what the secret is? Drinking more juice, or
what?
Robert looks at him as if he's speaking Neanderthal.
He goes over to a terminal -- which converts to symbols as soon
as he
gets there -- and invokes the translation system. A disembodied
voice
says, "What are you saying? Type into the terminal."
Shark walks over, and types, "Good morning,
non-galanglic-speaking person." A glyph appears on the terminal
in front of Robert, and he enters something.
The disembodied voice says, "Good morning to you."
"Your brain chemistry has altered to the point where
you have lost your knowledge of our language," types Shark.
"It appears so," says the voice.
"This may pose a difficulty."
"Only for you."
"And anyone you wish to communicate with. What
color is the alternate ship's color scheme?"
Robert brings it up on a display.
The alternate scheme is still black. The
windows, however, are transparent, and it's clear that the stateroom
windows are
either clear or black depending on how they've been set from inside.
On
each maneuver drive pod is a large red maltese cross, taking up most of
the pod. Those are the only differences.
"Black will have to do," says Shark. He types,
"What does the cross symbol mean?"
Robert shrugs. "It's a pleasing pattern.
I will say that a ship landing with obvious windows makes it much
more normal. The doors aren't obvious in either scheme, though."
Shark continues typing, "So I can expect this sort
of change?"
"I assume so."
"Have you completely forgotten galanglic, or is it
your choice not to use it?"
"It's incredibly... difficult. It's so much
easier to communicate using these glyphs."
"Is there a spoken form?"
"I don't know of one."
Shark says it's late at night, and suggests they go
to the lounge so Robert can have something to eat.
Up in the lounge, Robert gets himself a sandwich.
This was part of Shark's experiment -- he wanted to see whether
Robert would
eat Imperial food or what came on the ship.
They sit down in the lounge at a console.
Robert asks Shark about the medical display he had
tried to show him in Sick Bay.
"I was trying to show you what was happening to your
brain," types Shark.
"How did your experience go?" asks the disembodied
voice translating Robert's glyphs.
"Similar but not as advanced. You mean my
experience this time, or the first time?"
"This time."
"As I said, similar but not as advanced. So
how are we going to communicate with you on a normal basis? This
written form of communication is awkward."
"It's the best we have for now. Give everybody
fish oil?"
"I don't believe the Doc will accept that. Can
you set up a verbal to glyph, to add to the glyph to verbal
translator?" At
this point, Shark passes out. He looks comfortable enough, but
Robert
takes him back to his stateroom anyway.
Robert is not sleepy yet, and decides to
investigate the ship further. He works with the computer to try
to find out where the ship was manufactured. It doesn't say
exactly, but it does give some sort of indication. It was built a
long way from here, more towards rimward .
It was then put in storage "just in case." There is no
indication of the age of the ship. Robert muses that it could
well be an artifact.
The other thing he'd been working at was translating
the engineering manuals. This was pretty much done, except for
concepts that are not translatable. Nothing more to do there.
At breakfast, both Robert and Shark turn up in
the
lounge with everyone else.
Shark says to the engineer, "Good morning, Mich.
I like your helmet." He continues, "I want to know, the
brain chemistry, has it altered the frequencies the brain operates on?"
The Baron answers, "It has changed a little."
"Can you get me a new frequency map?"
"You can come down and work one out for yourself."
"I want to know if we can find out if there's a
companion frequency, a harmonic frequency, emanating from the ship."
Mich says, "You mean, the ship was sentient?"
"I'm working on the hypothesis this morning that
fish oil by itself does nothing. The ship itself is not bad.
The
combination of fish oil making the brain malleable and the ship having
a
frequency of whatever base that is, is causing Robert to be less
communicative.
Good morning, Robert."
"Good morning," says Robert.
Shark is taken aback at the sound of Robert's voice.
"So you're... you're... that's interesting. So what do you
think of my theory?"
"I was passing out before we found the ship."
"He's right," says Helia. "It has nothing to
do with the ship. I think his brain's changing in such a way that
his
brain's more receptive to the ship than we are."
She starts a conversation on changing the color of
the ship. Robert shows her the alternate color scheme -- black
with red maltese crosses on the maneuver pods, and window outside
wherever there
is a window inside. Shark comments that this is probably what
they'll
be using.
Shark still hasn't gained any understanding of the
ship's symbols. He wants consoles that he uses to show the symbol
along with the galanglic, to check if he's picking up the script at
all. He then turns to Robert and says, "I've been passing out.
You haven't been
recently, except when you go on a binge. You'll have to tell me
the
secret."
Robert (who has given up his daily tipple) replies,
"You have to go on a binge."
"Really? And that will straighten you out for
a period of time?"
"Yes."
Helia asks, "Do you think I should take more?"
"Yes, I think everyone should take more."
"No," interjects the Baron, "Nobody should take any.
It could be dangerous. Except I suppose he has to now."
He indicates Shark. "I can't predict what the effect would
be for anyone. You might end up like him -- passing out all the
time, or almost dying." Shark is again his cautionary example.
Shark eats breakfast, exercises, and takes a
constitutional, wearing all his suits in turn. He then puts on
his zack with a cloth safety, and drinks a full shot of klatrin.
He goes down to Sick Bay and informs the doctor what he's done.
Baron Bridgehead is disgusted at someone drinking
the noxious stuff again, but delighted to be able to watch as it takes
effect.
They talk for a while until Shark passes into the
fish oil trance.
Shark has left instructions for Teri to shadow Mich
if he leaves the ship at their next stop. Robert, he says, will
probably be OK by himself -- he probably fits in with the weirdoes on
that planet
now. Misha can take care of himself, while the Admiral will not
leave
the ship in high gravity. Helia will probably want to leave the
ship,
but probably would be going with a group. Teri asks if she can
take
the FGMP-15 from the start this time.
Unusually, the Nightshade is not out of
jump. Still, it's within the "normal" range of jumps, so no-one's
worried.
Mich has been examining the jump data with Helia.
They are getting a better feel for the ship's behavior, but
clearly something
was a little different this time. Since the ship modulates the
jump
grid dynamically, this is not unreasonable.