Posted by Lieutenant Shock (Chief of Security) in Aliens are alien – Cllr Kingston’s office (Tag: Kingston)

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Janna Kingston (Counsellor) in Aliens are alien – Cllr Kingston’s office (Tag: Kingston)

Posted by Lieutenant Shock (Chief of Security) in Aliens are alien – Cllr Kingston’s office (Tag: Kingston)
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“The scenery it shows is lush. I suppose it may stimulate breathing and calming in clients, as lush environments are associated with oxygen. For myself, it looks more alien to me, than the previous one. The previous one reminded me of home, of childhood days by the sea” he said.

He looked around the room, unsure how these meetings go.

– Lt Shock (COS)

She nodded. “Sometimes we can find as much valuable insight into things that cause discomfort as things that have a sense of nostalgia.”

Janna gave Shock a deep look. “So, what brings you in today?”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Shock struggled to begin. His thoughts were all over the place, it was difficult to bring an adequate introduction to speech. He wasn’t sure how to phrase himself. Shock, a man who identified with logic, struggled. He knew that his emotions were not necessarily logical, but they were communicative, saying something.

He was quiet for a while longer, trying to find the words to do his feelings and thoughts justice.

“I have a need for connection with other beings, beyond that work provides.I find myself unsuitable to the emotional and social needs of others. I don’t understand the social interactions the other species have here. They’re alien to me. I try, yet seem to fail. I believe this is the crux of why I am here with you. I am not looking to you to be a friend or to fill my emotional or social needs, nor for me to fill yours, but to help me make sense of the situation and… perhaps… experience myself more in communion with others.”

– Lt Shock (COS)

She nodded. “You say you are unsuitable. That to me sounds like a negative judgement. That you have decided this about yourself for a reason and have now applied this knowledge to all future situations. Can you tell me why you think this? What evidence have you found for this belief?”

~Janna Kingston, Counsellor

Kingston had begun intensively already. Shock liked it. It was logical, structured.

“Evidence is impossible to state, it is all introspective and anecdotal. I have not been able to devise behavioural experiments and analyse the outcome statistically or with certainty. I have not been invited to social functions, neither among the underlings in my department or with the other department chiefs, the captain or first officer. I find myself misinterpreted by two department chiefs, and I cannot seem to understand them in turn. They do not trust me, nor seek to understand my decisions or requests. All of these interactions have one common denominator: me. As such, the logical conclusion is that I am unsuitable for the needs of others.”

– Lt Shock (COS)

Janna couldn’t help but grin. “Ahhh logical fallacies,” she said. “You have two department heads with which you think very differently from and have assumed distrust. And even if you are a part of the problem, how does that mean you are unsuited? Being unskilled at something doesn’t mean you should not try or there’s no value.”

She gestured with her hand. “Give me an example of a misunderstanding.”

Lt., j.g. Janna Kingston, Counsellor

“There is no need,” replied Shock, understanding that Kingston was correct in her assessment. “I have considered the illogical nature of my experiences, and, I am now convinced that you are correct. That understanding remained part of my subconscious experience all the time, yet, meditation and my usual habits had not helped me arrive conclusively at this matter. I struggle to make sense of my inner experiences lately. I have reviewed my meditative, eating, drinking, and sleeping habits. They remain unchanged. Whenever I speak with either of those colleagues I mentioned earlier, I find myself hesitating, unsure on how to progress in conversation, as if I am acting upon fear or shame – though I am not sure those are emotions I am feeling, as I am actively purging them as soon as I experience them. Yet cognitively, I remain behaviourally controlled by whatever emotions I have purged.”

He paused, content with himself that he had spoken in a way that finally made sense to himself. Just articulating helps. He wished he had friends with whom he could speak. He thought of his older brother (the common Vulcan word for friend being the same as sibling), whom he had not met for twenty or so Earth years. Their obligations and scheduled never allowed for them to be at the same place at the same time.

“Having articulated myself thus, what do you make of what I have said so far?”

– Lt Shock (COS)

Janna considered him for several moments, unhurried in forming her thoughts and words. The silence between them during this time felt easy to her and she felt no compunction to get to speaking. When she did speak, Janna was relaxed and she regarded Shock with understanding. “Growth. Or rather, it is possible that you are facing this particular challenge because it is could be a useful growth point for you. Perhaps instead of seeing how your interactions with these colleagues are difficult, you might gain more from the experiences by seeing them as opportunities to learn. Yes, perhaps about them, but also about yourself.”

She leaned forward. “Often we find ourself triggered in some way with discomfort when we are faced with something that not only challenges us, but mirrors something in us we don’t want to look at. When we overreact to a behaviour from another that disturb our balance, it is sometimes because there is something about it that rings true for us too. They become a mirror or sorts. Shock, this isn’t a bad thing necessarily. It is true that we will not get along with everyone, but it can be a useful exercise to dig a little deeper and examine why we are reacting the way we are. You came to see me because you could not figure it out n your own. But you were looking for external events to explain it all. What if it is internal? What if we are on the edge of a major growth point for ourselves and simply need to work through it by engaging with the thing that makes us uncomfortable. A little like a form of exposure therapy.”

~Janna Kingston, Counsellor