5. The Laboratory

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Source: .writer/books/5. đź“ť Manuscript/2. The Spaceship/5. The Laboratory.org

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5. The Laboratory

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I explored the laboratory last. From all compartments, that was the bigger one and the most intriguing place. The room was surrounded by computers and screens, also a small server from which a revelry of cables protruded like tentacles of a monster. Coincidently, all the computers were active, as Kallom-4000 explained me that they were made to be always on.

My eyes were drawn to the most peculiar device in the place: a meticulously crafted helmet, perfectly fitting the head of a human. The helmet was intertwined with a myriad of multicolored cables that stretched and converged into the heart of the server. The intricate design and placement made it unmistakably clear that it was intended for human interfacing, but still I could not fathom, though, what type of study were to be conducted in such a place, neither could I understand why such a device would be in my very own quarters.

“What is this?” I asked.

Kallom-4000’s blue concentric eyes was detached from a holographic projector just at one of the corners of the laboratory.

“This device is called QMMI - Qualia Mapping Modular Interface. Each quarter has their own, specific to its respective owner. This means this one will only work with you, Mr. Mike.”

Approaching the device, my hands instinctively reached out to touch the smooth alloy surface of the helmet, tracing the intricate patterns of its construction. It was just above a comfortable seat, big enough to hold a lying human. The complexity of the machine intrigued my mind, especially because I could not fathom its purpose.

“What is this used for?”

“Accordingly to the data I have, the main purpose of the helmet is to connect your syraki to the debug framework. It is intended as a complementary place of work besides the main laboratory, located at Room 0554. Unfortunately, I have no information of the actual purpose this laboratory was created for.”

My eyes still on the device, some distant recollections began to unfurl across the landscape of my fuzzy memories.

"It resembles a virtual reality pod," I remarked. "Much like the historical depictions I've seen. People would recline on these couches, don the helmets, and effectively link their brains to those early virtual realities. It is very odd to think how they still needed such devices to interface with virtual worlds.”

“There would still be a long time until humans evolved into syrakis, for sure.”

“What I don’t get is why is it called Qualia Mapping Modular Interface. It doesn’t bring anything to me."

I waited, but there was no answer from Kallom-4000. Next, I hurried to one of those active computers and, sitting on a chair, began experimenting with the machine. Different from our own direct intermingling with algorithms, those primitive computers interfaced with us through holographic projections, mainly focused on our hands and eyes. It took me a time to get used to that, but I eventually managed my way into.

Not just the hardware was ancient, but also the system. The data structures, the way graphics were represented on the screen, the limited multi-threading capabilities, the absence of real-time neural interfacing, the rudimentary natural language processing, and the reliance on manual input methods like keyboards and mice, even if holographic, all felt like stepping back into a technological time capsule.

I was interested in trying to understand the type of research being conducted in that laboratory. I did not find anything—anything that I could understand at least. Parsing as fast as I could throughout the databases I found, there were many documents. Even though written in traditional Syrakian language, they were so mysterious that I could not understand a single sentence of them. They talked about subjects like q-mappings, qualia, states of consciousnesses, mind matrices, virtual modulation, and so on. What is this? Again, the same leaning towards the same subjects as the books in the shelves. I had no familiarity with such subjects. Instead, I had anticipated encountering research topics commonly associated with vessels designed for deep-space exploration: astrobiology, stellar cartography, dark matter, cosmic radiation, time dilation, relativity, space weather, and so on.

Nothing. There was nothing.

[encrypted]

“Kallom-4000, could you explain me those documents?”

“Mr. Mike, I have been studying those documents for long. It would take an insurmountable amount of time for you to process all this information while limited by a human brain. Thus, allow me to summarize my findings. These documents relate to the process of navigation in an space they usually refer to as the Omnispace, as you might have already guessed. I have no information of what exactly is this so-called Omnispace, but I know that, whatever it is, we are in it.”

I shook my head, confused. Omnispace? My mind fried. Omnispace? There was nothing I could remember about such subject.

"Perhaps this vessel is designed to navigate through the fabric of space-time in unorthodox ways," I hypothesized. "That might explain why the calculations seem so overwhelming."

“It might very well be a possibility, sir.”

“Could you not run a parse algorithm into these documents to check if the data fits any model of such?”

“I have tried already, sir. Millions of times. Unfortunately, the data remains a mystery even for me.”

For a brief moment, my eyes lingered on the glowing screen in front of me. The light cast a soft glow on my face, subtly illuminating my features. A multitude of thoughts raced through my mind as I pondered the unresolved mystery but to no avail. Reluctantly, I tore my gaze away.

“Okay, let’s leave it for later. I’m curious to see the rest of this ship. Kallom-4000, could you give me a tour?”

“Of course, sir. Please, follow the blue path.”