Posted by Abigail G in Side-Sim Letters Across Space

It took Solal time to sit down and read the letters. He’d been busy studying and working and he hadn’t looked at his letters until the day after the second one arrived. The first was typical, and before reading the second, he tried to set up the program. It wasn’t working very well. The next day he typed his response to the first:

V’alura,

[The following is in French] Your French sounds better. One step above an American immigrant. But far from native. Keep improving! Please do send me the Paris simulation. There are certain parts of my home country that a Starship is very different from. My ah, adventures into programming have not gone well. I seem to have made a mistake. The accoustics just aren’t working right. If you have a tutorial you could send my way, it would be very helpful. [The French ends here]

Sincerely,
[His signature is here]
Solal

The whole letter was in French. As his native language, it was easier than English for him, and he liked teasing her about hers. He sent off the letter. Finally he got around to reading the second letter. He had little sympathy for her story. Lots of actors ended up addicted to something. It wasn’t her fault, but the result was the same. Giving his DNA would cost him nothing… wouldn’t it? He should do anything to advance medical research. That was logical.

Except… He didn’t know his biological family. He knew nothing about them. What if it unearthed something he didn’t want to know? Some horrible genetic disease or information about his parents he didn’t want? He never had any want to know who his parents were. He was happy with who chose to be his parents. He needed time to think. He found himself wishing he had someone to talk to… and there was no one. He focused on his work while he considered it. In the end, he fell back on logic to make his decision for him. Concerns involving his parents or lineage was illogical. The correct solution was to submit his DNA, if not for her, then for research.

Three days later he sent off his answer:

V’alura:

I’ve spent some time considering your request and I have decided the logical thing to do is to offer my DNA for your cause. Just tell me what you need me to do and I’ll have it done as soon as I can. I hope that helps with your dilemma.

Sincerely,
[His signature is here]
Solal

~ Solal

Solal,

Since you’re a doctor you can take your own DNA samples. The researcher asked for a variety in DNA samples and for several skin cell samples for other tests. You may send the samples directly to him, he’s actually closer to your neck of the woods than mine. And thank you for agreeing to this. It really means a lot to me. Who knows, maybe he’ll make a breakthrough and I can finally put a close to that part of my life. At the very least maybe the research will spare others the same suffering I endured.

Now here’s where I brush that bit of seriousness aside for the far preferable and enjoyable banter we normally exchange. [This part is in French] Firstly, I have taken your comments about my French personally and I shall continue to hone my French until I can put a native speaker to shame. Secondly, I will give you that tutorial but not in French because I would like for you to actually understand everything. Oh and thirdly, the Paris simulation is under way and making good progress.[End of French]

[V’alura attached a video that begins with her in the holodeck. She’s wearing her comfortable lounge clothes and her hair is pulled back into a fluffy top bun. She has her guitar beside her on the ground. She calls up a basic concert hall simulation and goes through the different sound functions and command prompts. Periodically she would stop to play a few chords on the guitar to demonstrate the change in sound. All in all the tutorial was about half an hour. And at the end V’alura spoke directly to the camera] “And that’s the basics! I hope this helped and if you’re ever stuck again just let me know and I’ll walk you through it.” [She pauses, before smiling bright and full of warmth] “Take care and good night” [And the video cuts off there]

V’alura Belmont
[V’alura’s electronic signature here]

Lt JG V’alura Belmont, CSO , USS Ark Angel

Solal got the message nearly as soon as it came in and read it. The next morning, he went to Doctor Bonner for help getting the DNA samples and sent them off. And then, that evening, he went to the holodeck, her video on a PaDD, and started messing with the settings as she said to do in the video. Eventually he got it right, saved the program, and headed back to his quarters to write his reply:

V’alura:

The samples have been mailed off. I hope you get the results you’re looking for quickly. [He then switches to French] I wish you good luck with that endeavor, especially if the only French city you’ve seen is Paris. Thank you for the video, your instructions were quite informative. I believe I have it working now, though if I need more help in the future I will ask. I hope I’ll have time to use the new program soon.

Thanks,
[his electronic signature is here]
Solal

~ Solal

[One Month and several letters later. . .]

Solal,

I received a message from Dr. Akron today. The doctor researching my condition, the one we sent DNA samples too? He thanked me for the excellent samples, and that he didn’t expect to receive samples from my half-brother. Our shared DNA has proved to be invaluable to his research and experiments. Solal, we share a father.

V’alura

Lt JG V’alura Belmont, CSO , USS Ark Angel

Solal had exchanged multiple letters with V’alura in the month since he’d submitted his DNA for her doctor’s research. He found himself looking forward to seeing them, checking daily to see if she’d written again. It was illogical. He’d found, he supposed, a friend. But friendship was illogical, an emotional attachment to a specific person. He wanted to be serious about following the Vulcan ways of logic, did he not? Then again, was it not logical to keep in contact with a talented scientist? If he ever needed help with a research project, her skills would be invaluable. And that was how he rationalized it.

He read her newest letter as soon as it came in. It was shorter than usual, he could tell by the file size. When he opened it, he almost wished he hadn’t. It was exactly the sort of thing he’d been afraid of when he sent in his DNA. He didn’t want to know, he never wanted to know anything about his biological parents or family. And yet, without knowing it, he’d been in contact with his half-sister, who shared a Vulcan father. And that meant he knew much more than he wanted to: That his father was the Vulcan parent, that he’d had more than one child and that meant there could theoretically be more than one other child out there, and the fact that he had a sibling or siblings. Solal had become content long ago with who his family was, biological or not.

He needed time to think and process this. To decide what it meant. To meditate and let go of his feelings about it, that was the Vulcan way. But first he needed to gather the self control and logic he had left and make a reply to V’alura.

V’alura,

This news is unexpected to say the least. I’ve written before about my family, that I didn’t know anything about my biological parents and that I didn’t *want to know. My feelings are unchanged. If Doctor Akron gave you any other information about it, I don’t want to know. I need… time with this. I will in the meantime, continue to respond to your letters.

Solal

And he sent off the message after a brief moment of thought. There was nothing more he could add without sounding rude. He’d thrown the last sentence on hastily, not wanting to lose contact with her (as illogical as that was). And then he felt awful with himself, his emotions were all over the place and it was all illogical and all he wanted was the peace of mind that came with Vulcan logic. So that was he went to do, he turned his PaDD and his computer console off, set up a candle, and had an elongated meditation session.

~ Solal