Entanglement
13 Dec 2023Ryuko Ntsikana
Part Twenty-Seven
Entanglement
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Everyone he met had the same hollow-eyed look to them, but none of the other symptoms indicative of the drugs he knew had been used. The few words that were spoken were clear and concise. Their gait, while giving him a tour, was steady and crisp. Jason noted that whatever she had done to them, she had done to herself. Her eyes were even hollower than those around him. She followed him during his tour, muttering under her breath, engaged in an apparent debate with something unknown and unseen, visible only to her.
The scare came as they stopped in the middle of the storage facility. As Jason was presented with an accurate accounting of stored goods, his attention was drawn to Zooey, who appeared agitated by something unseen. Her eyes looked wild for a moment, then she turned to look at one of the laborers who was arranging a row of barrels. He stopped and looked at Jason with an odd expression, then collapsed. Looking back at Zooey, a serene expression appeared on her face. Those giving him his tour showed no sign of concern.
Their lack of empathy about another's life was the only thing familiar to Jason. Who they were before would not have cared either, but this was more than that. They were aware, but none gave the deceased a second glance or a glare. Who they were before would have at least offered a curse or two, lamenting that his passing meant another would have to take his place.
The man who reminded the child of someone who had once scared her was now at ease and playing again in the place made for her inside the neural processor. The self did not enjoy wasting an asset so casually, but it was necessary to calm her child, who had re-established her sense of well-being. The shadow from before proved its value as a necessary guardian of the barriers protecting her. As argumentative as it was primal, its will had become an extension of the self, the de facto guardian of the playground.
An image appeared, disjointed like the others before it. A ripple in a stream full of variable swirling colors that held no sense or meaning. Something odd at its edges, the familiarity of a face that Zooey knew well and found comforting. The investigator was looking at the sullen blue hues of a large nearby gas giant. The icy rings cast a rainbow of colors as they caught the rays of the local star.
Doctor Mia Khae studied the equipment's unique readings. The ship's doctor manipulated the controls on a separate set, her mouth opening suddenly as she stepped back. Nodding her head, she looked up at Mia, who raised her wrist, activating her communicator. "Avery, get my daughter. We have found the answer."
Person-to-person communications in tight-knit ship communities were often faster forms of communication than technology. Word that the answer to the question, which had generated its own range of rumors, had been discovered spread quickly. Clan members found excuses to position themselves as close to the ship's medical bay as possible, hoping to learn the news before those in compartments further away.
Rex cast his captain's look at them, much to Yatziri's delight. Each nodded as Xochitl passed, and she reciprocated the courtesy as she made her way to the medical bay. Avery noticed the change in her charge, who had embodied her role externally but not completely internally.
Mia looked up at her daughter as she entered, noting that Yatziri allowed Rex to pass ahead of her and take his place next to Avery and her daughter, as was due to his rank. Yatziri might be many things, but she knew better than to cross an elder, especially Xochitl's mother.
"We can confirm that an essence does exist in Zooey and is active," Mia stated as the doctor nodded in confirmation.
Avery stepped over to the equipment, as it had been isolated from the ship's system as a security measure. Several minutes of silence passed before Avery turned around, nodding at Xochitl.
"They have analyzed the synthetic genome to determine if there was a quantum biological signature. Given the synthetic genome's role in storing a significant amount of data that interacts with all aspects of its host, they have found a trace of a unique quantum event recorded in Monty's amygdala. The doctor confirmed Mia’s findings, using her own advanced computational analysis to decipher the signature, confirming a state of quantum entanglement exists, meaning that there exists a separate particle that is neither hindered by space nor time. This confirms that there is a shared link between the symbiote and an essence. Your theory is correct."
Xochitl neither smirked nor spoke, as Rex looked around the room. "What does this mean exactly?"
"That the symbiote inside Inspector Gladsen and its essence inside of Zooey are in a form of paired communications at the quantum level. Due to the nature of entanglement, this would not be a state of direct communication as we would understand it, but more of a spooky form of shared or disjointed images or visions. This would concur with the reports of Monty’s weird dreams."
Mia could see Yatziri fidgeting in the background, wanting to say something but wisely choosing to remain silent.
"So, does this mean they are more of a security risk than before?" Rex asked, ready to turn the entire secured hangar into ash.
"No," Xochitl stated flatly. "The symbiote is as confused as we are, but with this discovery, it will be able to assist in deciphering and hopefully ascertaining Zooey’s state. From there, we can decide on a future course of action."
"And if it does not want to assist?"
"It has more at stake than we do," Xochtil said, as Mia nodded in confirmation. "An essence of itself, running loose, presents more of a threat to it than anything else. It is in its own interest to determine its state and that of its host and devise a method for either itself, us, or a combined effort to neutralize or contain it. Within that, there is the potential hope of reclaiming Zooey."
"What if there is no way?"
Xochitl looked at her mom for a long minute before turning her head to look at Rex. "Then we neutralize … all of it."