Posted by Civilian T’Pris (Scientist) in Department Check In:TAG CSO

Posted by Lieutenant Darklis Castle (Chief Science Officer) in Department Check In:TAG CSO

Posted by Civilian T’Pris (Scientist) in Department Check In:TAG CSO
Posted by… suppressed (10) by the Post Ghost! 👻
snip
Darklis had always been totally on the fence with regards to her family history and the mystical dabblings that that had undertaken through the years. On one side she was fascinated with it and her rational mind wanted to delve in to find the secrets of it, but, like a magic trick, knowing would just spoil it, so she had resisted peering too deeply into that caldron. On the other side she wanted to move away from that into more empirical sciences that did not have the snake oil salesman tag attached to it. That being said she found herself leaning in at what T’Pris said, a certain professional (?) fascination slipping in. “Oh? Do tell, what do they use? And what state?”
- Darklis

“Mostly natural roots that have a bit of a sedative effect, enough to relax the body and mind to allow for easier meditation.”

~Dr. T’Pris

“How are they prepared?” she asked, a touch disappointed at the vagueness of the answer. “Our family had more of a potion specialty but dabbled in smoke. Not a kind of smoking to inhale; that went out mostly with good sense.” Well, in the more urban centers. Go rural and you had a plethora of pipes sprouting up like so many personal chimneys. “I mean as a kind of burning or incense.”
- Darklis

T’Pris arched an eyebrow, “ It is still technically inhaled.” She said dryly. Was that humor? It might well be, but hard to tell with her straight face. “Cholla root was one. It has pain relieving and antibiotic properties when made into a paste but soporific properties if it is boiled, strained and ingested.”

~Dr. T’Pris

DC’s lips curled up into a smile. “Yes,” she said relating to her .. dry humor statement?

“Cholla root,” she said, mulling over what it did. It seemed a standard pharmaceutical. Honestly what more would one expect from Vulcans in practicality and functionality and certainly nothing that would let them ‘lose it’ in their emotions. “A very useful root. On Wolf there is a leaf of the Bruel bush. It is a prickly bush and bitter when boiled, but when burned and inhaled it is sweeter. Boiled down it makes a plaster to put over small wounds, drank as a soup is bitter but sooths the stomach, but inhaled is almost a psychedelic.”
- Darklis, CSO

“Fascinating, I have never understood the penchant that a number of races have to enjoy such ‘psychedelics’. Why would one wish to alter one’s mind state so much that one is unaware of the real world, so to speak?”

~Dr. T’Pris

‘Hey don’t knock it,’ Darklis thought, though she was aware, at least she supposed, of what T’Pris was getting at. “Moderation is always the key, or at least that what they say.” She shrugged. “But hey, synthehol is not much different - only in that it passed some of the health and safety standards wherein one can knock it off. I take it that you don’t do that?”
- Darklis

“Drink synthehol? On social occasions, if it is needful I will sip it.”

~Dr. T’Pris

Darklis furrowed her brow. Needful? She leaned in cupping her chin in her palm. “I grew up with wine,” she said. “It was a family staple. I think if you said that to my mother she would be utterly dumbfounded and wondering what possibly would constitute need. That simply was, like water or bread, sarmale, cheese pie .. ” She blinked, and was getting hungry all of a sudden. “What do you do when you Vulcan girls get together for a chin wag? Fun foods? Drinks? You know when you let your hair down and chat about things.”
- Darklis

T’Pris blink at Darklis’ use of idioms and took a moment to try and parse out what the other woman was trying to say. “We do have social interactions. If it is an official event there may be Vulcan brandy or spiced tea served. If it is a more personal interaction then we usually serve tea.”

~Dr. T’Pris

Darklis worked her mind around that. Brandy at something formal and tea at informal. Seemed a bit reversed to her. Vulcan brandy? Nobody had ever brought that up before. It seemed to be counter-intuitive. Brandy would bring out emotions or at least a way of letting out even a little those things that were usually inhibited. DC thought that Vulcans would want to avoid anything related to opening that Pandora’s box of emotions. Especially in an official formal event. “I have only ever seen Vulcans drink tea or juices or water. I’ve never heard of brandy. How .. ” she paused and sought a word then just barreled on .. “how does that work with your mental disciplines? Doesn’t brandy cause that to .. you know, slip?”
- Darklis

“One the contrary, alcohol has no inebriating effects on Vulcan whatsoever. Confection or anything made from sugar on the other hand can have an inebriating effect on us. Vulcans do not drink for the same reason that humans drink, when we do consume alcohol it is for a ceremonial reason only which is why you see us abstaining.”

~Dr. T’Pris

Darklis had not heard that. Note to self: no drinking games with T’Pris. So Christmas cookies were out then. She would have to strike that from her list but would still have that plate of killer shortbread that she learned to make about the lab. Comparative biology was a class that Darklis barely got through. Not so much on marks but on staying awake. Still, they didn’t go into any juicy details about effects of alcohol on others. But her statement led up to another question. “Do you have many ceremonies? Are occasions different from ceremonies? I imagine you must be amazed by all the various reasons and occasions that humans generate for reasons to celebrate.”

Darklis

“Humans do seem to have a great number of ceremonies. We have a few traditions that have survived through the centuries such as a water ceremony that is used to welcome guests to our homes, a tea ceremony that is used in marriage ceremonies, and the rather famous Koon-ut-kal-if-fee or mating ritual are a few of ours.”

~Dr. T’Pris

“Going out on a limb here but I am thinking that most of your ceremonies are pretty ancient and as progress has unfolded some have been lost to antiquity? Kinda like family recipes that don’t get passed down and become legend then myth?” That was the thing with knowledge and skill and simple horse sense. If it didn’t get passed down for whatever reason (or it did and was discarded or forgotten!) then that was that.
- Darklis

“More than likely, it is not a subject that I have studied.” T’Pris responded. “Do you and family traditions that you are fond of yourself?”
~Dr. T’Pris

OOC: Er, thinking on this one .. Gene
OOC: Er, long think?
OOC: lol totally forgot about this thread:)

“We are big on anything that gets people together. And it is never a small thing. Weddings are fun. Don’t get me started on births. Anniversaries and birthdays. Even funerals.” She looked up to the ceiling and thought. “There is a story of our coming to Wolf 359 that there was a meteor shower happening .. the planet passed through a small field of asteroids and that they came down into the atmosphere - so they say - surrounded by shooting star around them.” By her tone it seemed a mix of her wanting to believe and her scientific mind suggesting that was highly unlikely to have that much meteoric drama about them. So each year to celebrate our families coming to settle there, on what is March 19th, we celebrate the Stea Cadea. Star Fall. It’s essentially a family reunion but taking place in a clearing within a forest. There is a large bonfire and lots of food and dancing and singing and storytelling and drinking. It’s a time when we really seem to pull out all the plugs of our gypsy heritage to put on full display there.” There was a pause. “I miss that one.”
- Darklis

“Gypsy? What is that?” T’Pris asked curiously, she was aware of most of the ethnicities on Earth but hadn’t heard of that one.

~Dr. T’Pris

“That is an answer and a half,” Darklis replied with a smile. “There are many places where gypsy folk are but mainly in Earth’s European regions. That was of course before colonization and space travel. Wanderers. Mystics. In my reading we originated East of there but are more famous, or infamous in the European theatre. A stereotype of a gypsy is that of a wandering band of travelers selling their own wares or following circus’ about where we would ply our trade of potions, telling fortunes, general trade of goods and known in general for being thieves and swindlers, troubadours, gamblers and more.” She paused. “That is probably why they often were travelers and moved from place to place. As society became more established they did put down roots and opened shops and the like but retained the name and in many cases the history, reputation and the mystery of the term ‘gypsy’. While somewhat a historic word it still engenders a general aura of curiosity, mystery, suspicion and mistrust. One never knows what a gypsy might do after all and what magic we might possess.”
- Darklis

T’Pris raised an ironic eyebrow in response as her lips twitched. “So your family retains these traditions?” She asked. Though she did find the explanation fascinating. Vulcan had a similar history with some of the fanatics of Surak. Those that took his beliefs so stringently and eschewed contact with ‘aliens’ as it would disrupt their perfect logic. They had ended nomadic once and were disdained by the majority of Vulcan society.

~Dr. T’Pris

Darklis emitted a small frown. “The Gypsies typically were not looked upon too favorably even in the more civilized eras. Old habits die hard in families where tradition is paramount. They just change their operation.” She nodded. “That was in part what had us pick up stakes and move to Wolf 359 - not entirely a hey let’s be really nomadic as much as bad blood between other families and the area that disrupted the family businesses. You know, start over on a new world. Sort of. We started over, my ancestors. Mostly above board but still with a distinct gypsy flavor. Rather than being looked at as outcasts and people to be avoided the family is looked at more as an oddity, eccentric, those strange people down the block but put on a good show at festivals.”
- Darklis