Posted March 15, 2023, 11:39 a.m. by Civilian Karilan Massat (Owner, Quill and Parchment Books) (James Sinclair)
Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Unpacking More Than Books -
Posted by Civilian Karilan Massat (Owner, Quill and Parchment Books) in Unpacking More Than Books -
Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Unpacking More Than Books -
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻(snip)
She laughed. “While that sounds lovely, it would drive me crazy. So I think let’s keep subjects together and maybe alphabetical by author if the section is really big. If it’s only a handful of books, that’s easy to skim.’
Eela considered Karilan for a moment. “I’ve been feeling the need to say things that are really obvious but should be said anyway, because…” She shook her head for a moment unsure how to qualify her words. “Save for one person, it’s been a long time since I’ve had really good friends at my side, Karilan. Mine went on with their lives after my accident and I left Starfleet, as they should. And I’ve been wandering alone, afraid for reasons I wasn’t aware of. Just know that meeting you, and having you in my life means so much to me.”
~Eela
The bald head of the Deltan flushed red and they smiled at Eela and said “Obvious maybe… but always welcome to hear.” They cleared their throat a little and looked back at the books, setting them in cases and on shelves carefully. “And I have never been one to make friends easily… or at all. I am very happy that I was able to shed that standard when it came to meeting you. Your friendship has meant… it is very special to me.” and they hurriedly went back to looking at the books.
Karilan
“I am glad we can share that.” She studied Karilan for a moment as she stood and carried books to the shelves, gathering her diplomacy books together. “Do you know how to read Haliian? Or did you have it translated?” Eela asked.
~Eela
Karilan smiled and said “Ahh… now there is a good question.” They stopped what they were doing and they went to their tool kit. Opening it, they pulled out a small, white cube, one side of which was a blank screen. They activated it, and suddenly the screen showed… the cube itself. Karilan smiled and said “Hand me that book there. The one in Haliian.”
“Okay.” She grabbed one of the texts on group dynamics written by a Haliian professor her mother had known and handed it to Karilan.
Karilan took the book and looked at it, and the screen showed the book as if being seen from Karilan’s eyes… except over the Haliian script was Federation Standard in shining gold letters. They looked at Eela and smiled and moved very close to her, looking directly into her eyes. “Look closely, tell me what you see.”
Eela didn’t even question their proximity and simply leaned in even closer, her eyes searching theirs. “An overlay of some kind?” she said before leaning back.
Their eyes were a deep purple color, but the closer Eela looked there seemed to be something else there… glowing points of light in lines across their eyes. “What you see as dots or points of light, I see as letters and numbers. I created these contacts so I could read whatever language a text is in. The cube is a direct interface to a current model Star Fleet Universal Translator, tied to the language database at the Daystrom Institute. It knows what langauges I can read, so it leaves those texts alone. The ones I cannot are translated and superimposed in my field of vision over each letter or symbol. It’s not perfect, but its about eighty-eight percent accurate.”
Karilan
“Fascinating! I could have used that when my ship did a six-month exploration stint in the Gamma Quadrant,” she said with a grin.
“Its a work in progress.” they said with a smile. “When I can get ninety-five percent or better accuracy, I am going to give the patent the local public school department. Hopefully they can use it to help others learn new languages.”
Eela moved to one of the piles and plucked an older book from the spiritual and theological pile. The cover wasn’t animal leather but something similar in a dark green and deeply embossed with symbols creating a border, with words in an old Haliian dialect inscribed in an arc in the middle. It was close enough to modern Haliian that it was easily translated to The Haliian Soul. It was in great shape despite its apparent age, though there were small signs that it had been read numerous times. She handed the book to Karilan.
They took it carefully and looked at the cover with interest.
“You are welcome to borrow this, or any of my books, actually. Sharing wonderful reads is something important to me.” Eela gestured to the book.
“Thank you, Eela. I would love to read it ” Karilan said.
“This is probably the best description of Haliian spiritual life I’ve come across from a non-Haliian. It’s written by Sikuran, a Vulcan who had forgone Kohlinar and decided to travel the galaxy learning to manage his emotions by immersing himself in the spiritual practices of other cultures. He’d spend at least a year, but often longer, with that culture, reading their spiritual texts, practicing the rituals, all of it. And as a Vulcan he was able to approach the Haliian touch-telepathy with an interesting perspective. I…” She paused, gathering her words. “I can demonstrate how many of my people experience the universe, but he helped me find the words I now often use, because, though they are quite different, like Deltans, Haliians are often wary of the consequences of our abilities.” This need of hers to have touch, to connect, to experience life as a more fuller experience than just her own was always in sharp contrast with the worry of overwhelming another person (and herself). More than that though, was something more fundamental about how she saw herself in relation to everyone and everything- a peek into the Haliian soul. “This book was passed down to my maternal grandmother, and she is the one who introduced me to Sikuran’s works.”
~Eela
Karilan looked thoughtful for a moment and then said “I am familiar with his writings. I have a manuscript of his from his time with a group from… the location slips my mind right now… but it was very intriguing, his take on spirituality and often conflicting beliefs as facets of a greater whole.”
Karilan
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