Posted by Lieutenant Commander Avik (XO) in Cascade Failures- A Side Sim

(snip)

Avik considered the question. She felt the tension level within the confined area drop considerably. It soothed over her anxiety as she continued the conversation, empowering her control in the otherwise helpless situation.

“My prior counselor introduced me to it and I find the experience relays heavily on the mind and adapting to the unexpected. If you’ve been in space in an EV-suit then you know gravity isn’t there to keep you on the surface.”

The XO took a pause to wet her mouth.

“I tend to only use ropes, harnesses, hooks, and widespread rocks for the terrain. For the program I use, it sets a flag marker and I have to reach it within a set timer. Some people decide to try to float over by pushing off the starter rock. I highly discourage this because of a few issues.”

She held up one finger. “The rocks are continually moving, unlike normal rock climbing. So unless you are dead on with your calculations and no other factor changes it, the probability of hitting your mark is low.”

Another finger indicated a second number. “Debris will be floating everywhere due to your movements. These can affect a lot in your environment from dislodging more debris to even altering the position of your landing target. You have to be more cautious and aware of your surroundings than if you had gravity.”

The last finger came up. “Like with normal rock climbing, you only have so much rope. Since all of the rocks are made with magnetic properties, the ropes have magnets on their ends. They will disconnect when you press a button on your wrist control. If you don’t judge your distance well, you could easily stop midway and just float until you pull yourself back in.”

Avik placed her fingers back down as she continued. “I find this challenging in some ways and easier in others. Especially when I have many variables to track and navigate through. It also forces me not to rely only on my expectations, to adapt during the expected changes. I have been tossed into a rock several meters from my target despite my original calculations.”

The Vulcan woman paused to allow Zorell to engage with the conversation. Either to ask more questions or dive deeper into the topic at hand.

–XO, Avik, Lt. Cmdr

Vora has listened attentively, and of course committed the entire description to memory. But the look of incredulity on her face likely spoke volumes. “I can see the appeal for some, but nope, count her out,” she said lightly, trying to smile, but the pain was quite strong and rather distracting. “But count me out. I will do the an EV suit when I have to, but Zero-G I really don’t like.”

The fingertips of her left hand were tapping against her thigh and Vora looked upwards again, wishing the lifts were just a little bit bigger. “I don’t like the distorted sense of reality on the holodeck,” she said. It wasn’t quite a conversation prompt, but it was something.

Lt. (j.g.) Zorell, Sciences