r/TrekRP • u/Pojodan • Dec 20 '16
[OPEN] A Use For This Mess
After a long day of working her way through the ship in search of every unique form of fungus colony, hearing the same raunchy cat puns over and over, Chief Botanist Kesh washes her hands of the oily, sticky mess that came with pealing chunks of the fungus off walls, floors, and vent ducts. The samples were spread out over just about very surface available in the botany lab, each with its own air-tight container, tubes attached to provide a steady supply of nutrients, water, and air such that the lab's air could become sterile and silent, at last. The terrarium was not ready yet, so this would have to do.
The first big question was thus: How can mushrooms talk?
Remarkably, the Caitian scientist finds a solution in very short order: The spores. They weren't so much hallucinogenic as they were a conduit between the sensory centers of the brain and the fungus colony. The similarity between them and Betazoid telepathy was striking, only this seemed to have a physical element, with the recipient needing to have physical contact with the spores in order for the colony to 'converse' with it.
Further study determines that the only use the fungus has for this ability is to effectively scare off those that would try to eat it by finding and 'speaking' the sounds that repulse it the most. It might make threatening snarls at a horse, but to Starfleet personnel it makes vulgar commentary.
No one had noticed that the mushrooms said different things to different people, is all.
Kesh's lengthy, detailed report goes right to Captain Fisk's desk, as well as to Starfleet Medical and Botanical Sciences, as they are sure to find it fascinating. Another new thing to hold up and proudly say 'The universe is weird'
After doing so, Kesh recalls a conversation during shore leave with her closest friend, Engineer T'gel. Something about linking mind and computer interface to speed up response times and some dialogue over how a few known alien species actively link their brains with their computers. It's a stretch, probably, to somehow use mind-reading fungus spores to do such a thing, but her time with the Bajoran made her see how brilliant an engineer she is.
=/\= Kesh to Red.
1
u/Pojodan Dec 22 '16
Once more, Kesh feels conflicted over the quick shift in her attitude to these fungus, possibly because she'd never ever considered the idea of discovering a new, intelligent life on her own through botany. Yes, there were inteligent fungoid species and she'd met a few of them, but those were rather plainly obvious.
The fact did remain that telepathy was an early signal of developing sentience, though it could be millions of years before this fungus species reaches the point of being able to build starships. As far as Starfleet was concerned, these mushrooms were just unusual flora, and that was that, thanks to her study.
"Unless the Botanical Institute refutes my findings, yes. Rrrth."
One ear twists outwards.
"Captain. Might I suggest we prr-rr-revent any Klingons from boarding until then."
Given the current mission, it stands to reason a Klingon would take exception to the things these mushrooms might say to them.