Posted by Lieutenant Commander Sebastian d’Aramis (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Mess Hall- Scientific Inquiry

Posted by Ensign Ka’sora Pru’moa Daveyla (Science Officer) in Mess Hall- Scientific Inquiry
The Scientific Method was a process than many different species came to eventually. It varied, naturally, but the idea was the same: You state a hypothesis, then devise an experiment with controlled variables to test that hypothesis. Is it correct, or not, and why? Simple.

But living beings were not simple. They were conglomerates of uncontrollable variables. For this reason (among others), many social scientists preferred a different method of scientific experimentation- they preferred qualitative research, rather than quantitative. And more still, like her, gravitated towards what the Humans called Grounded Theory. Rather than determine a question to be answered, data was collected from people in the forms of interviews, case studies, and focus groups. You start with a boarder subject, but rather than initiate your data gathering by stating a question, you let the data suggest the question. You let the concept float to the surface as you dig deeper and deeper.

This process fascinated Ka’sora and felt it was very compatible with Zaharan philosophy. It required being open-minded and listening, observing. It required not imposing limits on the world around you, and instead asking the next logical question through inductive reasoning.

She had her realm of study, but as the only Zaharan in Starfleet, she was letting herself be open to possible areas of research that might come up. Thus she kept extensive notes. She could sit in a lab (or her far more comfortable quarters) and write them there, but that was boring. She’d rather be where people went and thus give herself more points of data that might be interesting to examine. Not that was she just here to watch people. It wasn’t so transactional as that. If Ka’sora were honest, she felt lonely again. The Academy had been so very different. There was a level of forced interaction and she was always on the move. On a starship it seemed harder. She wasn’t working on anything with anyone. She was a very junior officer, and her need to relieve the pressures of the higher gravity meant that she couldn’t stay out later in the hopes of more social interaction. That and it was a big ship and people were busy. It made hovering in the background for her research far easier, but it didn’t solve the issue of a lack of connection. She almost regretted the months spent back home . She had desperately missed her family, but the reality was that the time back on Zahara had made her acclimate to that life far too easily and thus she was dealing with something she hadn’t since she first left for the Academy: homesickness. Even if no one came, she was going to have to do that meal on the holodeck very soon.

Sitting at a table in the mess hall with some sort of stew the chef had made (she hadn’t yet met the man), Ka’sora typed away on her PADD:

Research Notes, Supplemental:
Researcher: Kotai Ka’Sora Pru’moa Daveyla

As I settle into life here on the USS Manhattan, I am (much like I was on Earth at Starfleet Academy) very aware of how important social mores are. The most fascinating aspect of this topic for myself is how someone communicates when a more has been breached. As it is with Zaharans, this is often dictated by an individual’s personality and upbringing as it is by larger societal expectations. The way a person conveys disgust, or offence, or embarrassment, is not isolated to one more. This is expected, but it adds a layer to interspecies interactions, especially when that species might also have many different cultures that might also have conflicting mores. How then does someone new to that species manage all the myriad of pitfalls a basic interaction could have?

Mating is a good example, especially in my experience. I’ve encountered many different monogamous cultures in my few years off Zahara. But even within those generally monogamous cultures, there can be subcultures that reject monogamy in favour of ethical non-monogamy (we won’t touch on the non ethical version at this time). I tend to find people are both surprised and fascinated when I explain how the majority of Zaharan society handles relationships and child rearing. That the idea of a ‘family-unit’ is very different for us, broader. In the recounting of another Zaharan who lived off our world, even the most open-minded individual can struggle with the idea of a contributor of DNA not being a ‘parent’, of not having some sort of legal right to the child. They see it as something being taken away, rather than the child being given a broad community of people to depend upon, with the birthing parent naturally being their primary caregiver due to basic Zaharan biology. It becomes necessary, at least at first.

I have learned to tread cautiously when delving into Zaharan mating mores because even those that might be curious can express embarrassment before long. It doesn’t even have to relate to a topic being taboo, but in my experience, when I share about my culture, that is okay, but if I were to then turn the questions back to the other person, there is reticence and embarrassment. The double-standard isn’t intentional but, as I have intuited, a product of ‘open exploration’ clashing with long-held ideas of what is considered private. This is not ubiquitous in every interaction, but a trend I have noticed, and thus try to be aware of when questions of Zaharan family structures arise.

~Ensign Ka’Sora

Sebastian entered the mess hall, trying to quell his grumbling stomach. He had been intently looking for information on a particular topic when he realized he had missed his evening meal.

So, here he was, in the mess hall,. After speaking to the replicator, a plate and tall glass of a think brown liquid appeared before him. Scooping it up, he glanced around the mess hall, when his gaze finallty fell upon Ka’Sora sitting by herself.

He approached and said, “Good evening, Ka’Sora, I wondering if I might join you?”

He said it in Zarahan, or what he hoped would pass correctly for Ka’Sora’s native language. That’s what he had been studying, in an effort to give her a little feel of home while so far away from it.

Lt. Cmdr. Sebastian d’Aramis
CIO-USS Manhattan

Lifting her head, Ka’sora gave a lopsided smirk. “Your Tasadd is… not terrible,” she said in that same language, the primary dialect in which all administrative services were delivered. But it was only one of the many Zaharan languages she spoke fluently.

In Federation Standard she said, “Please, join me,” with a flourish of her hand towards the empty seat. A hand on the spoon in her bowl of stew, she eyed the glass of curious liquid. “What is it you are drinking?”

~Ensign Ka’Sora