Congratulations And New Ideas

Posted on Mon Oct 30, 2017 @ 5:52pm by Captain Madelina Weisz & Lieutenant Commander Arrda

Mission: Strange Matter
Location: XO's Office
Timeline: MD 30 || 1630 Hours

As he left Michael's office, Douglas thought through the people he had to see and decided that the next should be Weisz as the next ranking officer. Making his way to her office, therefore, he rang the door chime and waited to be invited to enter.

Maddy had barely made it back to her office to handle a few matters before she left for the day. She found that she couldn't wait to get out of her uniform and into something more comfortable. Not only that, there was some pretty terrific company to be had in her quarters as well. But, the chime sounded, which meant that would all have to be put on hold a while longer. "Come in!" she called.

Douglas tapped the key that would open the doors and stepped far enough inside to allow them to close. Pausing a moment, he gave the captain a once-over before speaking. "Is this a bad time, Ma'am?" he asked carefully before launching into why he was here. "If so, I can come back later."

"Not at all. What can I do for you, Lieutenant?" the Captain asked.

Douglas smiled, moving farther into the room. "Before I get to that, congratulations on your promotion." he offered genuinely.

Maddy offered Douglas a smile as she gestured to one of the two chairs on the other side of her desk. "Thank you, Lieutenant Mallory. It seems that word travels fast, but that's to be expected when living on a starship," she said. "Have a seat and tell me what I can do for you."

Douglas returned her smile, taking one of the offered chairs and setting the silver case in his lap. "Actually, I'm not sure how many people know." he answered her comment about word traveling fast. "I just left the commodore's office, which is where I learned of it." he explained. "I was there to ask permission for something."

He opened the case and set it on his side of her desk, open left to right. The reader and half-rows of crystals were on his left, her right; and the full rows were on his right, her left. As he had explained them to the commodore, so he explained them to the captain, finishing with. "He said to give one to you and each of the senior staff, if they were willing, and let them experience them and report their experience back to me. I was then to compile those reports and send that to him for review and final decision. So I guess the question is, Captain, are you willing to assist me in this?"

The Captain looked thoughtful as she mulled over what he was telling her. "I'm willing to assist you, Lieutenant. What are you hoping to learn from this experience?"

Douglas shrugged slightly. "Mostly I want to know if those testing them would consider them something said individuals would like more access to." he answered easily. "On Marai, these" he held up one of the Experience Crystals "are used as a means of entertainment. People pay a small fee, and they can share any experience in the Master Library." Hologrids were used more for training and exercise purposes on Marai, or for testing some new invention or item or theory etc. "I was sharing them with my wife, and she suggested that others might like them as well. So I took the idea to the commodore, and the rest, you know."

"It definitely sounds like it could be interesting. I'm on board for trying one out, but I'll leave it to you to decide which one you want me to use," she said.

"All of these are simple ones chosen to give a potential user a taste of the Experience Crystals without too much chance of overwhelming them." he informed her, selecting one of them and handing it to the captain. "Just be aware, as I explained, you will be experiencing the event through the senses of thew being who recorded it. This means that you will experience senses you might not have, such as telepathy or echolocation for example, or sensations that you are unaccustomed to registering, such as enhanced hearing or sense of smell."

Before he gave her the crystal, he demonstrated its use just as he had with the commodore. He then handed it to her. "You don't need to do this now; feel free to explore it when you have the time to thoroughly immerse yourself in the experience. But do you have any questions?"

Maddy accepted the crystal from Douglas and looked it over for a few moments before looking back to the man standing before her. "Have there ever been any kind of side effects from using these?"

Douglas frowned slightly, not sure what sort of side effects she was concerned about. "The only one I know of is that it could be disorienting entering or exiting the experience. That is why we tell you to close your eyes before beginning. Other than that, though, I've never heard of any."

He thought for a moment, then added. "I suppose the only possible problem could be spikes in heart rate or respiration, etc., the same as you would get from an intense dream or experiencing the event directly. There is, of course, no physical danger though. Meaning, if you are in a sky-diving experience, for example, you would not be in danger of dying from the fall a) because the person obviously survived to make the recording and b) you are not actually sky-diving. However, I wouldn't recommend someone with a weak heart try experiences like that given that the adrenaline spike might cause problems for them." But then, those same people should avoid certain holodeck programs too. "Was this what you meant?"

"It was, and I thank you for answering it," the XO said, offering the Security Chief a smile. "You said the Commodore has one and that he has asked all the senior staff receive one?"

Douglas shook his head slightly. "He tried one, a simple one, and asked that I ask all of the senior officers and you to test them as well. No one is required to, but it would be helpful in the decision-making process." he clarified in case he had been unclear.

"How soon do you need feedback?" Maddy asked, casting a glance toward a stack of PADDs on her desk that required her attention.

Douglas followed her eyes to the PADDs and winced. "There isn't a rush; this is a personal project, not anything related to duty. Though they could be used in training, this experiment is not a rush." he assured. "Just enjoy the experience and get back to me as soon as you can."

"I'll send you a report as soon as I've been able to give it a try," she said, leaning back in her chair. "The entire concept sounds quite interesting, and I'm looking forward to giving it a try."

Douglas smiled. "I'm glad, and I look forward to reading your report. Thank you for your help on this." he glanced at her desk as he closed his silver case and stepped back. "But for now, I'll let you get back to your work." Another smile, and he turned to leave.

"You're quite welcome, Lieutenant, and I'm happy I can help. Let me know which senior officers wish to offer feedback," the XO requested, and once the Security Chief left her office, she got back to work.