How to Shape a Person

Posted on Monday June 24th, 2019 @ 8:09pm by Civilian . & Lieutenant Maerynn

Mission: Welcome to Union Mining Station Number 42
Location: Namira's Cabin
Timeline: before negotiation

Other than setting up a number of sensors in her cabin to record the event, Namira had also made a list of questions she wanted to ask and warnings she wanted to give beforehand.

Now dressed in much more comfortable civilian attire, Namira was wearing a tight blue top and sleek black trousers, and no shoes. She hardly ever wore shoes if she didn't have to. She figured if Maerynn wanted to have a sense of what it was like to be her, she'd best be the most her she could be, and the uniform certainly wasn't her.

She tapped her ear. "Namira to Maerynn", she said, this time pronouncing her name properly. "I'm ready, if you want to come by?" Just that moment, she put on the kettle to have fresh tea to serve.

Maerynn had finally made it back to her quarters, leaving her people to do their jobs. They didn't need her to watch them every second, and she didn't like to micromanage when she didn't have to. She had poured herself through her Substance Separator and reshaped herself into the same form but replacing the uniform with a pair of black slacks, a deep red shirt and comfortable flats in a gold color that matched the thick bracelet on her right wrist and the chain woven into her hair. That was pulled back on the front and sides then braided. As it was all her, it really didn't matter, but she liked the look.

At the call, she smiled and scooped up her comscanner. "Maerynn here. I'm on my way." As wary as Namira had been, she was concerned just a bit. But at the same time, she was excited. New experiences always did that to her. True, the woman had not promised she could mimic her, but she hadn't said no either, so Maerynn was not assuming either way. But anticipation built as she left her quarters and made her way to Namira's, tapping the door alert.

"Come on in!" Namira called out cheerfully. As the doors parted, she said, "Very nice, you do all that by yourself, or are these clothes from the synthesiser?" Namira looked her up and down with curiosity. "Forgive me for staring, I'm just trying to determine which part of this is you, honest!"

Maerynn entered at the invitation and chuckled at the statement. "It's okay. I don't mind the staring. And to answer your question, it's all me." A wicked little grin curled her lips, and her amber eyes glittered playfully. "Does that make me technically naked?"

"I suppose it does", Namira agreed. "Well, come in quickly and close the door, can't have that in public."

Maerynn laughed softly but entered all the way, hearing the door close behind her. "I am likely the only member of the crew who can walk the corridors naked and not get in trouble for it though." she joked lightly.

"No, there's always Mavet", Namira reminded her. "But in his case, it's not his chosen form. Which is one of those things I'm curious about. What is your natural form, if you're not trying to cater to our humanoid expectations?" She motioned her over towards the sofa, where the tea was already waiting. "Oh, and would you like some tea? Your species has to metabolize something, right?"

Maerynn smiled. "It does smell good." she complimented as she approached the couch. "It isn't Humans that we do this for... at least not originally." she began as she sat on the couch. "On our world, we live side by side with Solid State Forms we call Talshaana. It means roughly 'those who do not shift'. We started taking 'preferred forms' for them, to better interact with them." she explained. "In our natural form, we are, in essence, a... pool of very thick, creamy goo I guess you could say. We are called Talshanaar which roughly translates as 'those who shift'. And in these forms, yes, we do consume and metabolize food and beverage."

Namira poured the hot water over the leaves of green tea. "And you're telepathic, in a sense?" Namira asked. "I mean, there's more to speech and memories than genetics, so how does it work?"

"Yes. All talshanaar are telepathic. When in our natural state, and among others of our kind, we form a link we call the MindFlow, flowing our forms together in a FormFlow, a sort of blending of forms and thoughts, a sharing of experiences and knowledge." There was a nostalgic quality to her voice now, a hint that sometimes she missed her home and her people. She pushed it aside and continued to explain. "When I copy someone as I copied Phelan earlier, I connect mentally with them, copying their memories, experiences and knowledge. The touch was not for that, though; we can do that without it. The touch was for gathering the genetic information to copy the form precisely. But the mental connection has to be very deep to copy everything and make the copy perfect... to truly understand the person. That's why we always ask. To enter another's mind uninvited is a crime in our culture tantamount to rape. We would never dream of it."

"Well, it's a good thing I haven't got anything in my mind that's so terribly private I'd be embarrassed to have it known", Namira grinned. "Besides, even if you're grossed out by my particular preferences, it'll all blow over in a century or two." She handed Maerynn a mug and took the other for herself. "So, when you touch me, you'll turn into what my DNA says my body should be like, not including any modifications that may or may not have been done to me over the decades?"

Maerynn took the mug and held it between her hands as she thought about the question and its answer. "Technically, yes. though I do use your knowledge, what you know of your form, to supplement your DNA information. This is to ensure that I have as perfect a reproduction of you as I can. For example, if I needed to pose as you in a situation that could be hazardous, I would want the other party to believe I was you. And if they knew of the modifications, and I didn't create them, that would be a giveaway to the fact that I am not actually you." She hoped that it was coming across as clearly to Namira as it sounded in her head. "I am, of course, not assuming that you have any modifications per se, merely giving you a scenario that hopefully answers your question." Her head canted off to the left slightly. "Have I? Answered your question, that is."

Namira nodded. "There are a few. So you might turn out deaf, or partially blind, or both. My eyesight was corrected surgically, and I hear using mechanical implants. It is most disorienting to suddenly be without either, and I feel I have to warn you about that."

Maerynn chuckled softly. "I can imagine. I have been many people and beings over the course of my lifetime, some of them with somewhat deficient senses. I do thank you for the warning, though." She paused to sip the tea, taking a moment to simply savor the flavor as it slid over her tongue. After that moment, she continued. "As I said, I also use your memories to supplement the genetic information, so some alterations I could mimic easily. The technological ones, however, I might need to scan to mimic them correctly. With the right scans and such, though, I could perfectly replicate you as I did Phelan." She took another sip of the tea and smiled. "This is excellent tea, by the way."

"A few things from the homeworld", Namira said. "Parts of it are still fairly beautiful, despite the population density." She also took a sip, then said. "You can scan me, but just in case, should we arrange a touch signal, like three taps on the wrist or what not, in case the other senses fail? My fingertips have always been quite sensitive, and my dexterity is excellent."

Maerynn had not failed a Shift since she was three, but she did understand the need for backup in a case like this one. "Your knowledge of your... augmentations should allow me to duplicate them, but I think you're right. Just in case, given that you are different than anyone I've mimicked yet, the tactile signal may be a good idea. I suppose the three taps works." Another sip of her tea, and she asked, "Is there anything else you either want to ask or feel you should tell me first, though?"

Namira shook her head. "No, I think that's about it. Those were the parts where I thought there might be problems. The rest of me, I hope, is safe. You can go ahead if you like."

Maerynn was completely intrigued now. Initially, she had just wanted to understand the other woman's love of archaeology, but with the warnings, she was very curious to know what alterations had been done and how they felt. She reached forward and touched the other woman's hand, then pulled her hand back. Simultaneously, her mind slid through the other's, copying her thoughts at that moment, her memories and her personality. As her hand retreated, so did her mind. A few seconds of thought, and she shifted, her entire form becoming liquid for just a second before reforming into Namira's.

At first, the "broken" parts she had been warned about were indeed broken, but sifting through Namira's memories allowed her to mimic augmentations that would fix that. As she had said, however, she could not properly mimic the augmentations without examining them, so her form would not be exactly the same as Namira's in regard to those. However, everything else was exact, precise, perfect... a perfect copy of Namira.

Considering she'd seen Maerynn shift before, her sense of wonder wasn't as pronounced as it might otherwise have been, and since Namira wasn't an expert in the exact workings of her cochlear implant, she knew that Maerynn couldn't use her memories to mimic them properly. So the big question was, "Can you hear me?"

The sound came through muffled and sounding like she was trying to listen through cotton. Maerynn frowned; she must not have created the cochlear augmentations correctly. She tilted her head slightly, trying to process the sounds into words, but failing. "What?" she finally asked. Adapting was part of not only her people but disabled people everywhere. She sifted through Namira's memories to see if she had adapted to this before the implants, and if so, how.

Namira spoke clearly and slowly, putting emphasis on the proper lip movements of each word. "I don't know how my implants work in great detail. You won't find the information in my memories." She handed her 'copy' the scanner she was using. "Maybe you'll need to take readings?"

Maerynn understood most of what Namira said, some because she was speaking so purposefully and some because apparently the other knew how to read lips. She took the scanner and pointed it toward Namira's head, scanning the implants in her ears. Adjusting it for a finer scan, she did it again. Reading it, she nodded to herself and closed her eyes, shifting the internals to reproduce what the scanner had shown her. "That should be better." she said aloud to hear how her own voice sounded. Much better. She opened her eyes. "That was... irritating." she said in Namira's voice. "But I think I've got it now."

"That is one amazing learning ability", Namira admired. She took Maerynn's hand and felt the skin, fingertip against fingertip. "A very useful ability to have. I wonder how it evolved." Namira grabbed her mirror image's butt and squeezed. "And I've always wondered what this felt like." It wasn't the same doing it to herself, and lots of people liked doing that, she has found over the years.

Maerynn frowned at the butt-grabbing but realized that many people probably had that thought but never got the chance she was currently affording to Namira. She smiled, answering the first statements. "I'm not sure how it evolved. I'm a pilot, not Kiyalaar." she told the other woman. When they had touched fingers, it had felt different than other mimics she had done. Namira had great sensitivity in her fingers. She looked down at her hands. "Did you learn to read Braille?" she asked after a moment, curiosity driving her forward. Since she was not staying in Namira's mindset, she could sift through the memories but was not instantly privy to the information contained in them.

There was one unfamiliar word which Namira assumed to mean 'scientist' or maybe something more specific, like 'biologist'. She figured she didn't need to ask. "My eyesight was never quite that bad, and it was surgically corrected before I was one year old. The hardest part was to learn not to re-form my eyes the way they were due to my natural regenerative abilities. The same was true for my implants, my body always tries to restore the tissue to its original configuration. You can test this, if you're brave enough. Try cutting yourself. Or tap into my memories of getting stabbed, which I assure you isn't pleasant but very educational."

Maerynn listened, and as she did, she let her mind explore the body she now had. She could feel the restless energy of the body's regenerative system attempting to "heal" itself from what it perceived as "damage". She had not noticed it at first, but now, as she focused on it, she could feel its effect on her body. "Interesting..." she murmured, then following the suggestion and accessing Namira's memories of being stabbed and what followed. In those memories, she could feel her body "healing" itself, realigning itself to the pattern it had held before the wound. "For a talshaana, this is quite remarkable." she commented on the ability then realized that Namira wouldn't know that word and corrected. "One who does not shift." she clarified with a slightly sheepish smile. "Sorry."

"I mostly need to be careful about getting stuck at the wrong angle", Namira explained. "Say, I get trapped under a rockslide, my arm gets smashed and squeezed in. It'll try to heal, but the bones are all out of alignment. I'll be dug out with a uselessly twisted arm. Thankfully, it can then still be replaced and a new one will grow, but regrowing a limb takes weeks." It was probably faster to accept a synthetic one, but then that wouldn't be as good, it wouldn't give her the abilities she was used to.

Maerynn nodded, feeling the truth of it. "I can see how that would be problematic." she commented. "So it doesn't revert it to it original configuration, only mends it in the way it's sitting currently. Hm... a little tricky then, but still very useful. But from what I can feel of your memories, just because you can regenerate it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt like hell."

Namira nodded. "One of those modifications that didn't take. I was supposed to feel no pain. But it's not all bad. My sisters, who felt no pain, felt no pleasure either, at least not from physical sensations. They might hold out for days in a dungeon, but they'd be completely bored in the bedroom."

Maerynn thought about that for a moment. "Yeah, I can understand how that would work. To make a person feel no pain, one would have to limit the sensations from the nerves to the brain, but that would numb all sensations. I think I'd rather be you than them." she added with a smile.

"Me too, also on account that they're all dead and I'm still here", Namira smirked. "Say, how old do your people get?"

Maerynn took a moment to sift Namira's memories for the information she had originally asked for this to get. A moment spent feeling it, and she took her own form back. "Well, I actually don't know. I have never met one near death of old age. We can die of other things, though." she said with a slight shiver. "The Derevaar... Destroyers learned to kill us, and there is one ailment we call Niesaal Narat, the Death which consumes, which has no cure." That admission made her shiver, and she picked up the cup of tea, letting its warmth seep into her and help to comfort and still the shiver.

Namira felt as though she had brought up a distressing topic. She put her hand on Maerynn's shoulder and squeezed there, which felt more appropriate than the previous choice, especially now that she was back in her chosen form. "From the looks of things, I'm like that."

Maerynn was grateful for the comforting gesture even though she had begun to get her composure back. "That would make sense with such intense regeneration capabilities." she answered, offering the other woman a smile. "Thank you, by the way. Both for the gesture and for allowing me to experience what it is to be you." It was not something everyone was comfortable with. In fact, she had been surprised when both Phelan and now Namira had agreed to it. It pleased her, though, to experience such diversity in beings.

"I'm always ready for anything weird", Namira grinned. "With very few exceptions, at least. Now that you've seen into my mind, you know what a curious person I am, and I think both meanings of the word apply here."

Maerynn chuckled. "Well, my people are nothing if not adaptable. And because of our flowing nature" -- it was a play on both their mental ways and their physical state -- "we are always open to new experiences, very curious and... exploratory." she said with a wink.

"Hm, is there anything in particular you're currently set on exploring?" Namira wondered. "With the way the negotiations will likely be dragging on, I'm sure I'll have plenty of time on my hands and would love to explore, too."

Maerynn smiled and took a sip of her tea before lowering the cup to her lap. "I had no plan per se, but I am certainly open to any suggestions you may have." she offered.

"I have yet to check what entertainment facilities this station has, besides the simulator and the bars and restaurants", Namira said. "Though, food is always high on my list. I eat almost anything."

Maerynn chuckled. "Being what I am, I can eat nearly anything; it's just a matter of adjusting my internals to process it. So I'm pretty adventurous in food choices too. Hm... maybe we should find a restaurant that serves something neither of us has had before?" she suggested with a grin.

"Computer, get me a list of available restaurants", Namira ordered, and the wall monitor displayed a list. She stood and walked over. "Hm, most of this is human food, as expected. We really need to get more members of other species into the union fleet, get some real diversity going. Which one would you like best?"

Maerynn frowned slightly even as she approached to stand beside Namira. "The fleet does have a great deal of diversity. I guess much of it simply doesn't work on mining stations." she said with a smile to indicate that it was half a joke. Her eyes then went to the wall display, and she read over it. "Have you ever had Thai food?" she asked. "Or maybe there is one of these restaurants that serves the more... exotic varieties of Human food." Of course, the way she said the word 'exotic' gave the impression that she meant 'odd' or 'unusual' or even 'you're kidding, right?' varieties.

"Oh, you mean things like fish eggs, chicken feet or deep-fried insect larvae?" Namira asked. "I can tell you, insect larvae are great. Succulent, sometimes even a little sweet, and never dry."

Maerynn frowned. "Well, that definitely qualifies." she said thoughtfully. "But I draw the line at snails... and that weird cheese that's aged until it's liquid and moldy." She made a face of disgust. She had seen that on some old Earth entertainment vid called Bizarre Foods and had thought the host was mad for actually eating that after they had shown him how it was made.

"Hm, that last thing I have not heard about", Namira said. "But, I can tell you, snails are great. Like mussels, except less salty. They're easy to breed, too. I'm almost certain, if we've got someone of French descent on this station, there are snails aboard, too."

Maerynn made a face that said she would definitely prefer not to eat snails. "I'm not sure I want to eat something that leaves a slime trail behind it." she said half teasing. "But I suppose I can't say 'ew' until I've tried it." She shrugged with a soft chuckle.

"You are right, the slime isn't exactly appetising. That's why they're cooked first." Namira put her arm around Maerynn. "Let's see what night life this place offers. You know, for strictly professional reasons, since we'll have to know for the negotiations."

Maerynn also gave up on the menus. "Of course. After all, how can we recommend a place if we haven't been there first?" she agreed with a grin and a wink. Besides, one learned more about a place by seeing it and experiencing it -- her people were very big on experiencing things -- than by reading its written menu of offerings. She reciprocated the arm around the waist, a sort of 'sisterly' gesture she guessed. "Shall we then?"

Namira led her out the door and towards the next lift, where they were but a short ride away from the station's entertainment district.