[ROUND 1] PNPC Unky - The Great Unknown

[Alleran Tan]

((Starbase 118, Deck 1010, Holosuite )

::Unky translated himself to the holosuite about twenty minutes early; he

wasn't certain if he would encounter any obstacles getting through the

starbase's systems, and it simply wouldn't do to have the Lieutenant

Commander see him appear. Far too many awkward questions to answer that

way. He set the holosuite to mimic a laboratory setup, the better to excuse

his not leaving when she did, and settled down at a lab table looking busy

until she arrived. He stuck with the same blue shirt he'd projected on the

call, with added trousers and his usual white lab coat. When she did

arrive, a couple of minutes before the prearranged time, he stood and smiled

at her warmly. She stepped forward, her demeanour uncertain.::

MacKenna: ::with a smile that was obviously pasted on for his benefit::

Hello...uh....Katy's uncle.

::He met her false smile with his most relaxed and easygoing one.::

Unky: Call me Hayt. It's a pleasure to meet you.

MacKenna: Oh ah...Nice to meet you then. ::She shifted her weight

uncomfortably.::

::He mentally sized her up. Plenty of intelligence behind those eyes. No

shortage of strength, either. She gave the impression of a banked fire;

smouldering for the moment but ready to flare to life when needed. Unky

decided that he liked her.::

Unky: I'm terribly sorry; this must seem very odd to you. As I mentioned,

Katy was going to ask you herself, but... needs must when the devil drives,

eh?

::She didn't seem impressed. Unky sighed inwardly. No one appreciated a

good turn of phrase nowadays.::

MacKenna: So um, what's this project that Katy has going?

::Unky sat back down onto his lab stool and motioned for Ash to sit as

well. He picked up a PADD (he'd been pleased to find that the holosuite

came with a replicator, saving him the inconvenience of explaining why he

needed a PADD delivered) and used it to gesture as he spoke.::

Unky: The purpose of the project is... well, it's to create something that

Katy needs. ::He didn't elaborate on that; best to let her assume that the

equations she would be doing would be for a computer model or somesuch.:: I

don't really want to elaborate any more than that. I'm sure she'll fill you

in if you ask, but it's not my place. What you'll be doing is maths. Very

complex and unusual maths; it's a sort of base-six modelling mapped onto

eleven dimensions. ::He handed her the PADD:: The equations are on there.

You'll find it's strange, as it doesn't use the Hindu-Arabic numerals you're

used to, but rather a set of intonations that represent 0-5 in each

dimension, sixty-six in all. Well, sixty-seven, really, but that one's just

a modifier for fractal dimensions, not really a numeral itself. ::He

glanced at her, hiding a smile; her interest in the maths seemed to be

overriding her bewilderment about their nature. He could relate to that.::

The first section is basically a primer; I suspect you'll recognise the

mathematical logic very quickly. After which you begin the actual project.

Now, this is important - First, don't try to convert them to any other

numeral system or any other base in your head. If you do, problems will

creep in no matter how accurate you are. Stick to the intonations, either

vocalised or mentally sounded. You can note down solutions in any format

you like, however, to help remember them from session to session. Second,

don't use a computer of any sort to help with the solving... if an abacus

would help you, though, feel free. Third, and perhaps most importantly,

don't use this system of maths for ANYTHING else. It's designed for a

specific purpose, and only to be used for that purpose. ::he looked

thoughtful for a moment:: In point of fact, if you could avoid even

describing it to anyone other than Katy or myself, I would take it as a

great favour. This sort of maths really isn't something that would be good

for your culture... any of the cultures in your galaxy, really... to have at

this point. ::He gave her his most winning smile to try to counter the

strangeness, the smile practically identical to Katy's--as it should be, she

having picked it up from him--and it seemed to work. Either that, or the

prospect of tackling strange new equations was enough motivation for the

young woman to ignore all manner of strangeness.:: I project it will be

about thirty hours of solving. If taken in four hour shifts, that's about a

week. Are you up for that?

MacKenna: Well, I don't mind doing it. ::glancing down at the PADD as though

wondering how it had gotten into her hands:: I'll get started tomorrow if

that's ok.

Unky: Absolutely perfect. I'm immensely grateful, and I know Katy is as

well.

MacKenna: Alright. ::She turned, then turned back in afterthought:: Oh, so

do I give this to Katy when it's done, or is there a way to reach you?

Unky: ::smiling gently:: Katy will know when it's done. You don't need to

return the PADD at all; in fact, I'd appreciate it if you deleted the

information when you're done and recycle the PADD completely.

MacKenna: Sure. Uh...bye. ::She waved a goodbye, clearly feeling awkward,

and left.::

::Unky watched the doors for a while after they closed, wondering if he'd

just handed a blaster to an australopithecine. Not Ash herself, but he had

no confidence that the Federation would use the technology well if she let

it slip somehow.::

oO I suppose I shouldn't worry. Other than MacKenna, I can think of only

one or two people in Starfleet who could tackle those equations. And I

think one of them was already snatched up by that fellow from Tau Alpha C.

Still... Oo

::He shrugged. What would happen, would happen, and he would deal with the

consequences. It was necessary that Katy receive this protection if she was

to be ready for what was to come.::

oO And if it makes her more confident and less frightened of that betazoid

fellow in the meantime, so much the better. Oo

::He snapped his fingers and the scene around him abruptly changed. He was

still on a stool, but now it was in an artist's garret. Light filtered in

through the window, illuminating dust motes on the way to its destination -

an easel with a blank canvas. He picked up a pallette of acrylics and a

broad brush and began to paint. As always, he started painting with no

picture in mind, and as always, the image that formed under the brush was

the face of a woman; blonde, bold of feature, with eyes full of equal

measures of humour and determination. It took him about two hours to

finish, during which his only thoughts were on brush strokes, lighting,

outline, blending... when he finished, he set the brush and easel gently

down and regarded the painting with a still, quiet longing. The pain in his

eyes as he stared at the woman whose name he could not even frame in his

mind was so acute that it seemed more real than the face it existed on. For

perhaps ten minutes he sat like that, perfectly still. Then with a grimace

and another slap of his fingers, the holosuite shut down, leaving nothing

but an empty room.::

PNPC Unky

USS Victory