Seeking Answers.
Kira still had a smirk on her lips as she turned the corner into the primary hallway of the ship, able to see Marianna and Thomas standing there, which caused her to stop in her path. They where both looking towards Tilly who had passed them a few moments ago, and there was clearly visible concern on Thomas face, like that of a Father that worried for his daughter.
It did not surprise Kira, Thomas, the former Terran Diplomat was Tilly’s guide when she the former drone turned individual, and they had a close bond, much like parent and child, something that surprised many Siren’s as both his lacking knowledge of their culture, and Tilly’s relationship towards him was something unlike what most of them had experienced.
“ This is going to be troublesome.” Marianna, Queen of the Sirens, and mother to most of the Siren’s of Eden, mused. She kept her eyes on Tilly for a moment, and then looked at the Grey haired man, and how his gaze followed Tilly’s animalistic form until she moved around the corner, towards the crew cabin that was re-purposed for her temporary stay on this strangers ship.
She was watching his reaction, part curiosity as Siren’s, like Nah’Rahan, had either a purely intimate relationship, or something akin to a friendship to human males. But what Thomas and Tilly had before this was neither and both.
“ You are worried. “ Marianna softly spoke towards Thomas, which drew his attention back to Marianna, and while turning to look at her, he took note of Kira who now stood nearby and waited, herself to watch his reaction with a similar curiosity then her Mother, and it made him keenly aware that his worry may have been worn to openly.
“ Well, yeah. I guess it is a Natural development for a Siren, but it feels different with Tilly somehow. “ He responded, a nod given towards Kira before he looked at Marianna’s piercing yellow eyes.
Marianna, taking the hint that they where no longer amongst themselves through Thomas nod, turned to look at Kira, and now her own expression shifted from curiosity to one of concern.
“ So, how is our guest ? “ Marianna asked Kira, whom finally had lost the signs of her open amusement, approaching the pair to share her observation more comfortably.
They where trying to find out any possible motivations or intent for his appearance here through observation. His presence alone was, strange. Improbable even with how their prolonged sleep system should have been unable to preserve his life for as long as it apparently did. But the involvement of a new First, something that seemed just as impossible to them, prompted them to act cautious.
“ Calm, too calm perhaps. “ Kira responded, judging his reaction towards his current circumstances as somewhat, unusual.
Sure, his reactions towards the issue with Tilly was within her own assumptions, but overall, he accepted his situation to readily. It was something that may have been expected of someone with a kind of, military training, but for someone from a civilian background, it felt off.
“ By Maggie’s estimate, he has been alone and awake on the ship for about six month, we can assume that his mind adjusted to his current situation, a form of survival mechanism. “ Aria chimed in.
It prompted Marianna to return her gaze towards Thomas, who himself had psychic abilities, an occurrence that was rare, but that caused worry amongst Terran leadership as it projected an uncontrollable power-shift, where only one Psyker could potentially uproot their whole power structure.
It was the reason why he ended up turning from Ambassador, to a defector, and traitor in the eyes of the Terran Commonwealth. If they had known beforehand that he was a psychic, they would have incarcerated him, researched the cause of change, and if he was lucky, used him with stringent controls imposed on him.
“ Maybe.” Thomas mused when he took notice of how expectantly Marianna looked at him, the wordless request for his input on their guests unexpected behavior.
“ I mean, he is a psyker, and he clearly does not seem aware of it. Nor does he appear to have the means to shield his emotional state, or my probing. “ Thomas spoke, though he seemed uncertain of his claim.
His own ability revolving around the emotional state of another as he could sense what someone was feeling, and extrapolate through it what likely reactions or thought patterns the other might have from it. It wasn’t always accurate, but it was an ability that made him one of the best when there was a negotiator needed.
“ His psychic ability may have had a hand in characteristic changes, but It may also be the other way around. By my limited knowledge, the form a psychic ability may take, is tied to the persons most dominant needs or desires. Something that donates a high value in his mind, and it may be a purely subconscious quality.” He exclaimed, and then looked between Marianna and Kira.
“ So, your saying we need to figure out his ability before we can know more ? “ Marianna asked.
“ I guess, I might find more substantial hints when we talk with him. What I am sensing so far suggests near psychopathic qualities. I can not make any useful assumptions on that, yet. “ Thomas responded, originally meaning to find out if he truly was whom the Maggie AI claimed him to be.
“ Psychopathic ? “ Kira asked with a look of worry on her face.
“ Yes, well, not exactly. If I have to try and pinpoint it right now, I would put him between Introvert, and psychopath. Socially functional, but there is a sort of, disconnect, and he seems used to it, like it has been there for a while, and not recently developed. “ Thomas tried to explain.
“ Which means, if it is influenced by his psychic ability, it must have grown for a while. Before the Hope set out even. “ Kira guessed.
“ No, I think it is the other way around. I think, his ability may have surfaced and grown while he was asleep. From what I can sense, his psychic energy is quite substantial, if he had been awake, it would have consumed him a long time ago, or he would have learned to understand and control it, least to some degree. “ Thomas suggested.
“ Is that even possible ? “ Marianna asked.
“ The prolonged sleep system they use keeps stimulating the brain, amongst other things, supporting low level activity to prevent brain death from occurring. So, under the assumption that the brain is part of a Psychic’s development, he may have had hundreds of years of passive growth. “ Aria summarized.
“ Yes. “ Thomas mused, now considering that option more thoroughly as he had overlooked this detail, it could constitute far more growth then a mind that was, mostly inactive. It explained why he could sense so much energy from him, it made the assumption that this man survived asleep for so long, actually plausible.
“ Which means, the construction of his psychic-plane, it may have happened right during his growth, perhaps even with the very onset of his ability. “ He guessed under this new perspective now.
“ How so ? “ Marianna inquired, recalling the sleep capsules on Jonathan Cole’s ship, her first bond-mate. Like any Siren, she could copy it, but failed to understand it’s inner workings, her kind did not bother trying to understand the things they used, even less so when they had no use for these themselves.
“ If they kept low level activity within the brain going, they may have had a sort of, dream state. And for him, what he may have considered a dream, may in part have been his growing ability, having given him the, accidental chance to grow and shape his ability, without even realizing it.”Thomas towards Marianna.
“ Usually, the psychic plane does not form properly until you consciously trained and grown your ability, to the point that the psychic plane takes shape out of necessity or choice. “ He suggested.
“ What purpose does it serve ? “ Marianna asked, knowing less about human Psychic abilities then Tilly, and Tilly’s knowledge came from living with Thomas for a while. And what knowledge she held on Psychic’s may not at all be applicable on humans.
“ It’s multifaceted, a means to train your ability, to learn and understand it. But also a battlefield, a Psyker can invite a non-psyker onto it, though not harm them. For another psyker though, you can force them into it and wage a battle of psychic energy, and the looser might just loose part of his power, or, well, die. “ Thomas explained, trying to keep it short.
“ There is more to it, but it would take some time to explain properly. “ He added, suggesting indirectly that he could explain more if desired, once the current situation is resolved.
“ I am having a feeling his appearance here may not be by accident. “ Marianna suggested then.
“ You mean, that Nah’Rahan brought him here ? “ Aria asked.
“ Yes. “ Marianna answered, and seeing the question in Thomas eyes, she inhaled deeply, putting together a quick and easy explanation for him.
“ Low level Telepathy. “ She begun.
“ We have a sort of network, like a hive mind, just minus the control. It allows us to sense one another, even at great distance. And, if we want to, permit a limited exchange of thoughts. I can sense even our first through it, though she is able to mask everything else from us. “ She described, closing her eyes for a moment to reach into the Telepathic network of theirs, just to make sure.
“ But this one, this Vixen, she is not present. But I have a feeling she can still look inside and use the network. “ Marianna spoke as her eyes opened again.
“ So, in short, she sensed your world, and that you have a Psyker amongst the human’s with you. “ Thomas summarized, though more for himself to wrap his mind around it.
“ That sounds awfully intricate for something that supposedly runs on base instincts right now. “ He added towards Marianna.
“ She is a first, whats basic to her, may rival what passes for active intellect in others. “ Marianna countered.
“ Well, I be damned. I guess that answers if we have any choice in that matter, huh ? “ Thomas muttered, piecing together that, not helping their guest, may cause the Nah’Rahan to be pretty upset.
“ Yeah, pretty much. “ Marianna admitted.
“ Let’s assume Maggie’s claim is right, and assume for now that his ability is to, reset the state of something, like for instance his Sleep-Capsule and his body, so that he was able to stay alive. “ She summarized what they assumed so far.
“ What is the worst case scenario of him losing control over his ability ? “ Marianna then posed the question that was most prominent on her mind.
“ From what I can sense, psychic shock-wave, powerful enough to blow up this ship and any other vessel within closer proximity, and in space, it might reach a distance of nearly 1 AU. Worst case scenario it might destroy even Lyria, possibly even cause deformations and warping to objects and organisms in half of the system. “ Thomas mused, considering for a moment.
“ That, does not sound very save to have around. “ Kira uttered with visible concern.
“ There is too little understanding about Psychic abilities, and the Commonwealth’s approach towards Psykers is not helping that matter. The Sylph leaf’s should help keep him stable for now, but that is only a stopgap.
His lacking control, that amount of power, it makes the effect hard to predict, but certainly not minor “ Thomas explained, the Sylph leaf’s coming from a plant that itself seems to have a psychic sensitivity, something he had brought along to Eden when he was assigned here as ambassador, something he used to train and grow his power.
And that was the problem, it helped calm psychic energy, but also grew it to some degree. The growth effect should be minimal for Anthony, but it still meant that, long term, it may only increase their problems.
“ So, stabilizing his ability is a priority, I kind of dislike the idea of empowering him, he is an unknown, as is the Nah’Rahan. “ Marianna admitted.
“ She could be of assistance though, if the commonwealth decides to attack in force. “ Kira suggested.
“ Maybe. “ Marianna uttered, looking around for a moment to take in the sight of the Hope’s hallway, giving some thought to the ship.
“ He’ll be stuck here for a while. And there is no telling what this First will do if she wakes up. She might actively help him, or loose interest entirely. “ She then noted, basing her words on the assumption that her current mark on him was based on her current animal appearance. There was still the option that, as a person, she holds no interest in him, though that chance was admittedly slim.
“ Do you have any idea how there can be another first ? “ Thomas asked, a question that kept bothering him as he learned from Tilly that their entire species originated from one unique entity.
“ Natural occurrence is outright impossible, unless. “ Marianna started, but then paused for a moment.
“ No, I think there is only one option. Our first created her. “ She spoke then, though Thomas had a feeling there was something about the first option that made her feel, uncomfortable to even share that suggestion.
“ I thought the creation of your kind always comes with a loss of ability for the newly created daughter. “ Thomas inquired, pointing out the flaw in her statement, or what he perceived as flaw. If this Nah’Rahan was another first, then that implied her to be on the same level then the original first.
“ That is a design choice. “ Marianna corrected his assumption, and seeing his questioning look, she would try to elaborate further.
“ We are essentially immortal. Our first alone has created, who knows how many daughters, who themselves create more daughters, and so forth. Every generation is created weaker, due to the first having restricted the ability to create a daughter at the same ability level as her Mother. It’s like, a hard coded instruction that we can not circumvent directly, though we can recover part of our abilities over time. “ She explained.
“ Then, your first herself is not restricted by this ? “ Thomas asked.
“ No, she never did so before, but, it is within her capacity to create a new individual on her level. Or, an entirely new version of herself. “ Marianna responded.
“ Then, what do you think might be her reason to do so ? “ Thomas asked.
“ Boredom ? Though, I doubt she would go that far. It is more likely that she is planning something, and whatever it is, we inevitably became part of her plans. “ Marianna answered, visibly frustrated at that prospect.
“ Implying that we would not only upset one first, but both in case this guy blows up on us. “ Kira blatantly suggests.
“ And I am guessing there is no denying your original first ? “ Thomas asked then.
“ Purely on power-scale, No. That would be a very bad idea. “ Marianna answered him.
“ Point remains, we best get to work. Let’s see if we can find out anything from this, Anthony character. Do me a favor and keep your eyes on his psychic energy. And, see if you can get anything from the Nah’Rahan while you are in there. “ Marianna decided, she was growing uncomfortable with the whole subject now, frustrated as she felt cornered and forced to play part in whatever ploy their First had devised.