“They don’t think like we do. They process data, facts, quantifiable realities. The closest I can get to communicating concepts that are beyond that is by using basic mathematical functions. Fred understands himself to be an individual now.”
“Fred?” Selah asked.
“His full name is billions of characters long. Fred asked for a designation that was the equivalent of our names and I gave him one,” Drur replied hotly.
“You’ve done amazing work here, Mike,” Kim said, as much for him as for the other officers present.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Not a problem. What does it mean to take the derivative of the set? What were you asking him?”
“Deriving a function or differentiating is to understand how much a thing is changing over time.”
“So, you were basically asking him what the Edrehmaia are trying to do out here,” Kim confirmed.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“And you’re sure Fred understood the question?”
“I think so.”
“And his response is ‘FUNCTION OF SET EDREHMAIA IS EQUAL TO POSITIVE INFINITY.’ ”
“Right. He just keeps repeating it.”
“Okay. Let’s try this. ‘DEFINE POSITIVE INFINITY.’ ”
“Wait,” Drur said. “You need to tell him you don’t understand. First add the phrase ‘CURRENT INPUT INDETERMINATE.’ ”
“Okay… done,” Kim said.
In response, complex equations began to flash on the screen in what appeared to be a random order.
“Looks like we’ve graduated to calculus,” Kim said. “Computer, can you analyze these equations and find any equivalent in our database?”
A moment later, an image appeared on Kim’s panel.
“Huh,” he said.
“That’s the…” Drur began.
“The galactic barrier,” Kim finished for him. “They took Velth there, among other places. It’s important to them, clearly. If ‘positive infinity’ can be understood as their ultimate goal, maybe the barrier is that goal.”
“A barrier isn’t a goal, it’s a given in any equation,” Selah noted.
“The only thing you can really do with a barrier is break it,” Glenn said.
Kim and Glenn locked eyes.
“They’re building a bridge of stars,” Glenn began. “They use radiant energy like we use oxygen. They create stars, they move stars, and right now they’ve lined a bunch of them up leading to the galactic barrier. Their goal could very well be to move beyond it, but it might be the only thing this incredibly powerful species can’t do.”
“They can’t break through it,” Kim mused. “We can’t break through it either. I mean, some people have tried but it never ends well. And Starfleet hasn’t spent much time finding ways to move beyond it because even slipstream won’t get you very far across the void to the next nearest galaxy for months.”
“Is it possible they believe we can?” Glenn asked.
Kim shrugged. “Anything is possible.”
“Could that be why they brought us here?” It wasn’t something Glenn could confirm, but her gut said that the actions of the Edrehmaia were purposeful. This was the first section of the puzzle that seemed to be coming into focus for her. “Let’s assume for a second that this was the purpose behind their actions. They think we can help them solve this problem. But in order to understand why they believe that’s true, we need more than educated guesses. Ensign Drur, you are to be commended for getting us this far, but we’re not going to be able to do much more unless we can communicate more efficiently. What are our options?” Glenn asked.
“I have a feeling they may be ahead of us on this one,” Kim said. “Mike, can you ask them to explain the changes they made to Lieutenant Velth?”
“What changes?”
“They’ll understand. Ask them if there was a purpose to those changes.”
Drur collected his thoughts, then asked the question. “SOLVE FOR DERIVATIVE OF FACTOR VELTH.” He followed this transmission with the two genomes he had received that were related to Velth.
At this, Fred began to flash wildly, as did the fab four. Their colors were brighter, all over the spectrum, but Fred’s were the most intense.
“There’s that coffee klatch Ranson was talking about,” Glenn said.
“Is this their version of excitement?” Selah asked. “Because it sure looks like it.”
The response finally came through Drur’s panel. “DIFFERENTIATION POSITIVE FOR ADDING CERTAINTY.”
Kim stated the response aloud, then asked, “What does that mean?”
“I think they’re telling us that if we want to understand the purpose for the changes they made, we need to ask Velth about them,” Drur replied.
“Can you ask them to give us time for that?” Kim asked.
“Yes.”
“Do it,” Glenn ordered.
Two hours later, Conlon had managed to lock down the power conduit in Velth’s room and the Doctor had completed his new physical examination. Glenn, Kim, and Barclay joined them in the main medical bay to discuss the results. Velth remained sedated for the time being, but it was impossible to know how long that would last.
“The alterations to his DNA weren’t that extensive,” the Doctor began. “It seems that they went out of their way to make sure he could survive once he was returned to the ship. Even now, I can’t tell you how or why the additions work, but they have to be responsible for our findings.”
“Which are?” Glenn asked.
“There are now two Velths,” the Doctor replied. “But they occupy the same body. One is the man we all knew. The other…”
“Likes his energy straight from the most efficient source?” Conlon asked.
“Among other things, I imagine,” the Doctor said. “While unconscious, he transitions freely between his two states. Scans taken shortly after he was sedated show quantum fluctuations in his matter that are unique. They explain his ability to merge with solid matter and absorb… let’s call them nutrients. They also show significant changes in his cerebrum. Activity between the two hemispheres increases by more than two hundred percent. But the longer we keep him under, the more frequently he reverts to the completely normal scans we took when he first returned to us.”
“They did this on purpose,” Glenn said. “They understood the communication challenge that existed and while we were working
