I Have a Theory

Posted on 26 Oct 2021 @ 3:43pm by Verity Thorne
Edited on on 29 Oct 2021 @ 6:43pm

1,900 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 2, Mess Hall
Timeline: MD 06, 0745 hrs

[ON]

Callin had arrived for breakfast a little later than most of the Alpha shift today, way earlier than he liked to be up, but he was here with a plan! He'd been staying up late recently, his thoughts churning around and around, vague notions that seemed to only half-develop, never anything clear or tangible he could do anything with. There was some science to it, a lot of guessing, and a whole lot of intuition he tried to use to create a coherent idea. So it had been a glad surprise for him when he'd seen that the ship had a chaplain, hopefully exactly who he needed to see. If only he hadn't missed the guy here in the mess by hitting snooze on the alarm twice.

The young man turned from the replicator with his tray - oatmeal with some preserves, toast, a big cup of coffee - and scanned the room to see if he could spot the gentleman's face he'd seen in the personnel files: a strong jaw, full lips, and eyes that seemed to stare through a photograph and into the soul.

The man in question was in fact seated in the far corner of the room, a cup of coffee in hand. There was also a book on the table, but a real one, open and with his finger on the page to both keep the page down and to move with the words on the paper. He seemed relaxed and comfortable with his surroundings, glad to have people around him as he prepared himself for the day.

Callin paused just a moment when he saw the one he was looking for. More impressive in person than on a picture, too. It was easy to put on a smile and walk over, balancing his tray with both hands as he weaved through the crowd, "Excuse me, sir? I was wondering if I might join you, or if I should make an appointment, or what?"

Verity looked up with mild surprise, but a warm smile quickly followed. "Please, join me, this is a nicer backdrop than an office anyway," he chuckled as he popped the bookmark in and closed his book to show the other man had his full attention.

"Thanks!" Callin didn't waste time and slid into the seat across from the chaplain. He glanced at the book to see if he could make out what it was titled or about; it wasn't everyday one saw an actual bound book with paper. Once seated though, he paid little attention to his own breakfast throughout their conversation, "I'm Callin, sir, from Science. It's nice to meet you."

"And you, Callin, I'm Verity," he offered in return, smiling warmly as he nodded gently to him. He followed his gaze, seeing his interest in the book. "War of the Worlds," he said softly before chuckling at the irony of it. "I...was thinking of adapting it into a script. For the theatre group," he added, feeling the need to explain why he would be reading something like that whilst stuck out in the far reaches of space.

"Is that about the Dominion? Or maybe the Romulans, before the Federation was founded?" Callin asked, quite clueless of the science fiction classic from Earth. It wasn't really what he'd come to discuss, but now that he had a chance to bring up what was on his mind he hesitated.

Verity shook his head before leaning forward to him, resting his chin in his hand. "It's based in Victorian England, Earth. Creatures from Mars invade without any warning. For the time it was written, it was really rather extraordinary; the concept of aliens that might come and try and take over the world. Giant creatures that seem to leave them with no hope of survival. Bows and arrows against the lightning, as one of the characters puts it."

"That seems a little dark for a chaplain," Callin mused, really not meaning to offend but bluntly honest as he could often be. "But maybe that means you really can help me with something. Not to ignore you script. I'd be glad to come see this play I'm sure!"

"I'd like that," Verity smiled warmly at the prospect, but pushed the book firmly out of the way, so he could give the other man his full attention. "What is it that I can help you with?"

"Well..." Callin took a breath, tried to put his strange ideas in some kind of order. "So, you know how the universe tends to organize itself, from the largest of scales to the smallest. I guess one could make the argument that we, you and me and everyone else in all of the universe, are parts of the universe knowing itself too. I really used to like that idea. But there's also this understanding that if we can know enough about something we can accurately predict what will come next. With enough data the future becomes knowable. Simulations might fail but that's because we don't know enough about something's background, or external influences, or just how to build a computer that can run the numbers for us." A roundabout way to get to his point, but he did like to talk. Nervous though, he lowered his voice as if that might help as he spoke blasphemy, leaned forward to stare at Verity intently, "So, where does that leave the Divines? If we keep learning more, and more, it seems like maybe They really don't have any place in the universe. Terrible things happen that go against everything They're supposed to stand for, and according to all the math and science I know always were going to happen too."

"For example," Callin's voice grew even softer, just a whisper now, "...Genesis."

Verity watched him with a gentle, measured smile as he talked through his thought processes. He could hear the scientific concerns in there, but it seemed to be underpinned with an age old conflict; if there was a God, how could He let bad things happen. It was still a thought that troubled so many people. He'd felt it too. "What about Genesis?" he asked softly, not wanting to put words into his mouth.

"I wish I never found out about this technology, Verity," Callin shrunk in on himself a bit, dominated by the way he saw it, though the chaplain's easy going methods certainly helped him from shouting in terror. The Betazoid was afraid of his own thoughts, adrift on an existential crisis. "Life from lifelessness. What if it is inevitable? That galactic civilizations are going to figure it out, over and over and over again. That we - I mean, sentient beings - are going to create more and more life. I have a theory what that means, and I really don't like what it predicts."

Verity tilted his head as he listened with interest. It was a new point of view on an older worry. "I suppose that to many, the meaning of life is to create life...albeit in a more traditional way. But what does it mean to you? What is your theory?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

"That life is hastening the end of the universe," Callin said. "That we're speeding up entropy by creating more and more life. Consuming, breaking down, causing damage to space itself even. Oh sure, even at the scales we estimate of how much life exists in the whole universe, our impact is only a small percentage of tending towards lower and lower energy states. But over time, over astronomical numbers I'm talking, and then you throw Genesis into the mix! The simulations start getting a lot worse." He gave the chaplain a pleading look, as if Verity would have some simple, wise answer he could cling to here.

Verity searched his eyes for a long moment, considering how far down the rabbit hole he should lead this man. He wasn't sure what sort of faith he really held, or how deeply he may or may not hold it. All he could do was offer his own thoughts. "Isn't that life?" he said softly. "Think about a simple apple. Pure, perfect. Once it falls from the tree, nature will take hold. Either it will be eaten...consumed by another form of life, enjoyed and savoured, and passing its life and energy on. Or, it is just left on the ground. It lasts longer, but it is a slow and lonely decay."

The young man's expression went from worried to thoughtful, black eyes a touch sad as he stared back and listened to Verity's quiet tones. The simple imagery helped to calm some of that fear, grounded Callin in smaller, more manageable ways than trying to grasp the end of something as big as the universe itself. "Yes, that's inevitable too I guess," he sounded defeated maybe, but at least not so stressed. Then his own voice grew soft, just a whisper really. "I hope I never see Genesis again, Verity. Ever."

"What do you think disturbs you so much about it?" Verity asked gently as he leant to him, so the other man could keep his voice low if he wished. He hoped if he thought about what specifically worried him so much, it might help him break it down a bit. If they could work through the why, maybe it would help him accept how he was feeling about it. "What would you change if it were up to you?"

Callin thought about the questions for a moment, silent and still, then let out a sudden laugh loud enough that drew some eyes to their table. He grinned at those faces for a moment, then turned back to the chaplain. "Sorry, sir. The first thing that actually came to mind? Go back in time and prevent it from being invented in the first place. But then I remembered how I nearly failed temporal mechanics, and that would cause even more problems of course!" He grew a little more sombre then. "I guess I sort of feel that...reshaping whole worlds, generating life from nothingness, or worse, destroying life to replace it with a different design on such a scale...that shouldn't be up to us. This is what the Divines do, and we - I mean people - aren't anywhere near wise enough or responsible enough to be trusted with it. Maybe ever."

Verity nodded slowly as he took the words in. He couldn't deny agreeing with some parts of it. Especially around responsibility. "Unfortunately, there will always be some people who can't be trusted with such responsibilities. If you break it down to much simpler ideas, I can't tell you how many parents to be or new parents I've spoken to, who worry that they won't live up to that responsibility. The burden of creating and guiding new life the right way. Terrified that they'll get it wrong. But you know what I think? So long as we have people like that, and like you, who understand how important the burden is, to worry as you do, and make sure that it is done the right way...well, the scales of life will be balanced."

[OFF]

--

Verity Thorne
Chaplain
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Blake]

Ensign Callin Mastrel
Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

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