Out of the Loop
Posted on 03 Feb 2025 @ 7:57am by Brek - Timeless Treasures Art Gallery
Mission:
M4 - Falling Out
Location: OC - Engineering Conference
Timeline: MD 27, 1335 hrs
1349 words - 2.7 OF Standard Post Measure
Brek sighed, with a bit of relief and concern too. ‘His’ Ferengi engineers had taken their seats, and were, overall, quiet - but not still. There was probably nothing in the whole universe that could keep them from kicking seats or nudging each other. However, despite their unruly behaviour, they were listening to the ongoing speech on thoughts and the new tech that would harness this ultimate resource: People's ideas, ingenuity and imagination.
“Great prospects here!” One of the Ferengi whispered towards the end of the first discussion. “There will come a time where we’ll all be telepaths. Species like the Betazoid are going to lose their privilege. We’ll all be like ‘em. Just imagine the profits we’ll make. Quantum cash flow directly into our vaults!”
“I’m not sure about that.” Another Ferengi countered. “If we go quantum, everyone will know everybody’s thoughts before they’ve even been expressed. It would be like standing naked, in front of a busy crowd, all of the time.”
“Not a pretty sight,” Brek added, his mind drifting towards neuroplasticity enhancements. With quantum technology everyone would be able to adapt and rewire themself, at will. Sentient beings would not have to suffer anymore. Any problem that surfaced would be instantly solved. Imagine living in such a world where everything can be remodeled right away. Would this impact his business and art in general?
“I’ll share my thoughts for half a slip of latinum,” another Ferengi said.
One of the engineers stopped him. “Keep it. Your opinion is of little value. Besides, with that kind of tech, it would be like living in a holodeck. A sandbox. There would be no more surprises, no more thrill. Everything would be flat and rosy. Yuk.”
“Nonsense, we’d be able to control everything. We’d just have to think about it, and it would be there. Imperfections can be programmed too. I would want that, if I had a crew. To keep everyone busy.”
“I’m not sold on that concept...”
“My thought, for zero latinum, then,” the first Ferengi insisted, visibly miffed. “We must have the determination of a Vulcan on this: no female should be allowed near this type of tech. Think of the consequences!”
“Will you please keep quiet?” A Hewmon asked from the row in front of them. “No one is interested in your absurd rambling. If you don’t, I’ll have to alert security.”
“Great idea, call mum and dad.”
Brek almost chuckled, but at that very moment he saw Cmdr Zahn’s friend looking at him, and this was enough to rewire his Ferengi neurons towards diplomacy. “Enough! If you can’t behave, we’re leaving this venue right away.” He then turned his attention to the Terran engineer. Young, handsome. Starfleet perfection, no doubt with a brilliant career in front of him. “My deepest apology for the behaviour of my fellow Ferengi, Lt. This is their first trip away from Ferenginar, and they are all rather ... overwhelmed, to say the least.”
“Indeed, the less said, the better.” The Terran muttered before returning his attention to the conference.
Amidst this commotion, the speaker changed, and an older Vulcan woman with grey hair took the stage. She looked in her element, exuding an air of serene composure. This was quite different from the conceited air Cmdr T’Sheng often adopted. This Vulcan specimen was of a different kind. More empathic, more diligent. At least it is how Brek perceived her, and she hadn’t even said a word yet.
Dressed in a dark blue robe, the woman introduced herself as Professor T’Eera from the Vulcan Science Academy. She poured herself a glass of water, took a sip, and consulted her notes, as if to test the patience of her audience - which turned out to be considerable. Even his group of Ferengi listened to the silence.
“We will now discuss the future prospects of warp drive technology.” The professor began. “There have been significant advancements in the fields of Coaxial Warp Core, Quantum Slipstream, and Transwarp Conduits, among others. However, if we want to reap the benefits of traveling faster, which will allow us to help people in need, and discover new civilizations, we must take our time to solve every challenge first. Without sensible foresight, we will only end up shattering our accomplishments and causing countless lives to be lost”
“Carefulness, vigilance and prudence,” one of the Ferengi engineers murmured. “Always the same cautions with those Vulcans. It’s a miracle they ever achieve anything.”
“Zip it,” Brek told him.
The professor went on with a list of warnings. Subspace distortions causing harm to the fabric of space itself, colossal energy consumption, spatial anomalies, subspace turbulence and unpredictable gravitational effects. It was a bleak parade, but as she offered solutions that went above Brek’s head (enhanced subspace stabilizers, energy redistribution systems, gravitational field modulators, quantum matrix enhancements, spatial anomaly detectors) he grew uneasy. He had heard of quantum slipstream before. Rumours suggested that certain factions, within Starfleet, were already using this technology. Obviously as a civilian he was now out of the loop, but if they were toying with that tech five years ago, they would still be doing it. Innovation developed in labs often remains secretive for a long while.
This unfortunately made T’Eera’s speech rather disingenuous. She was only giving them crumbs. Not that she had a choice. Science and engineering were not immune from politics, espionage and what he liked to call fiscal dynamics (as disingenuous as those also were). No one wanted cutting edge technology to fall into the wrong hands, and obviously no one would admit to having the ‘wrong hands’.
What, for instance, would the average Ferengi entrepreneur do with quantum slipstream technology? Is this more scary than seeing the Romulans with that tech? Are we to believe then that only hewmons, Vulcans and the ever pacifist Betazoids were to be trusted with that sort of tech? Why should I even care?
At this point, Brek was only vaguely listening to T’Eera’s words. Notions of quantum feedback loops and real time corrections had totally lost him. Plus he was miffed at the idea that his own people might be prevented from having access to state of the art technology because they were too opportunists and most of the time they didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘restriction.’
Well that’s their own fault then. I must not give a toss about it. Nope. Not the slightest bit of concern shall cross my mind. I’m composed and centered. Serene even.
At this point, his PaDD lit up with a message and because his brain was easily sidetracked, he read it:
*What would you say about me joining you?*
The line was from his old friend, Mrs Moreau, who had recently taken refuge among her own tribe, in the land of smelly cheeses and accordion music.
*I say nothing. Stay where you are.*
He left it at that because the Vulcan professor was now taking questions and one of ‘his’ engineers had stood up, both arms raised. What a revelation. The kid had something to ask.
“Yes, young man?” The professor said with a little smile. “You appear to have more energy than a quantum matrix.”
“I do,” the youngster said, looking like she had just complimented him. “What are the protocols for emergency shutdowns of the Quantum Slipstream drive in case of system failures?”
“With immediate diagnostics, such a bleak scenario would not develop.” She told him, maintaining her smile. “I might also add, from automatic safety overrides to recovery procedures, there are various steps that ensure the safety of a crew. The technology is safe, as long as it is used responsibly.”
Having labelled the Ferengi as being more or less irresponsible, at least this is how Brek interpreted her words, the professor moved on to another question.
Maybe it was time for him to alter his path, and reconsider his strategy...
