Talking about books [Part I]

Posted on 08/31/2024 @ 8:58pm by Ensign Dennis Pearson & Ensign Rugasi Kiyo

1,970 words; about a 10 minute read

It was the next day, a day of interesting things happening. Kiyo had just gotten done with her day of work, and was in the mood for some company. She did have that invite from Dennis to look at his collection of Jackson Porter's books, and she was very interested in seeing them. She sat down at her ocmputer and sent out a message to Dennis.

"Hi Dennis, when did you want to get together and you can show me Jackson Porter's Books? Let me know. -Kiyo"

Dennis Pearson’s quarters

“Computer, lights. 70 Percent.” Dennis said as he walked into his quarters. It was one he shared with Ensign Conor O’Shea, a counselor. He might as well be named Conor Babbler because he talked so much. Luckily he was on duty now, so Dennis’ ears could enjoy some hours of peace and quiet.

The first thing he did was lay down on his bed and think if there was anything fun he could do. Maybe some mischief. A good prank. Anything to end the boredom he now felt. All in good fun of course. This day had been nothing else but dull maintenance jobs for him. “Computer, are there any new messages for me?”

“There is one new message.”

“Play message.”

After Dennis had listened to Kyio’s message he started to smile. No need for mischief or pranks today. This was better.

He replied to Kiyo’s message, telling her he would be delighted to show her a Holo-novel of Jackson Porter this evening and if 19:00 would be a good time.

A return answer from Kiyo was, she will be there at that time.

At 1900 the chime of his quarters rang, and on the other side of the door was Kiyo. She smiled when the door opened, her hair loose and flowing. Kiyo dressed casually with dark green blouse, black pants and soft soled slip on shoes.

"Hi there." flashing a smile at Dennis.

“Hi..” Dennis managed to say. The girl before him looked quite different from the girl in uniform he was familiar with. “You..look really nice.” He regretted saying that almost instantly. Great Dennis. You’re talking like a sixteen year old.

To avoid an awkward silence he promptly continued. “I reserved Holodeck 3 for us for a full two hours.”

Kiyo smiled at Dennis at his compliment. "Thank you. You look nice as well, shall we head off to the holosuite? I am looking forward in seeing which book you chose for us to experience."

“Do you want to know now or be surprised when we get to to Holodeck?” The door closed with a hiss when Dennis stepped outside his quarters. “We can always choose a different one if the one I chose is not one of your favorites.”

"Keep it a surprise, I am wanting to see what you have chosen when we get there. I do really like all of his books." Kiyo responded, holding out her hand towards Dennis for him to take. With her other hand Kiyo tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Dennis didn’t hesitate for long before taking Kiyo’s hand. “Then let’s go. We’re going to have fun. I haven’t tried this holo-version of one of his books myself yet, but I’ve heard it’s good.”

"Then it will be a surprise for the both of us." Giving a happy smile. What will they find beyond the archway when they step through? Kiyo was definitely intrigued.

Five minutes later they arrived at Holodeck 3. Dennis loaded the program and gave the computer the command to run it. When the large doors of the Holodeck opened it offered a view on a large open place that appeared to part of a library.

“After you.” Dennis made a gesture with his hand and smiled. “As one detective used to say: The game is afoot.”

Kiyo's eyes lit up as she stepped through the arch and into huge library. "Oh my word it is so beautiful. Look at all those books! It kinda reminds me of the library in that old earth movie, Beauty and the Beast. Or even of the movies that have a huge library so many books to look at and to read!" Kiyo turning around in circles to get a good view of it."

Kiyo’s moment of wonder was suddenly interrupted by a soft but agonizing moan and thud following that. It appeared to come from a spot that was hidden from view. “That didn’t sound good. Let’s see what happened.” Dennis gestured for Kiyo to follow him.

She did indeed follow, Kiyo’s eyes wide with anticipation and well a little bit worried. She was allowing herself to get immersed in this scenario. Kiyo bumped into him, giving a little bit of a gasp, she was trying to make certain she didn't step on his toes. Moving to get a better view, for the area where the sound came from, she saw something upon the ground, no a someone?

Dennis cautiously stepped into the vast expanse of the old library, its shadows playing tricks on the edges of his vision. The scent of aged paper filled his senses as he and Kiyo ventured deeper.. Suddenly, they came to an abrupt halt as they stumbled upon a middle-aged man who lay motionless on the floor, surrounded by towering bookshelves. His hand clutched a PADD, its screen flickering on and off randomly. Dennis felt a shiver run down his spine as he took in the scene. In the midst of this grand but solemn repository of knowledge, they had stumbled upon a mystery that begged to be unraveled.

"Oh gosh, what happened here?" Kiyo moving forward to check on the man kneeling beside him to check for a pulse. "This is a mystery of some sort that is looking to be a bit fun." she stated with a slight smile.

“Is he still alive?” Dennis looked in all directions to see if he could spot someone else but saw nothing beyond a certain point where darkness reigned. “I wonder why he’s still holding onto the PADD so tightly.”

Kiyo felt something sticky on her hand after checking the man's vitals, she drew her hand back and grimaced. There was blood upon her hand. "I-I didn't feel a pulse." her eyes large with concern as she looked at Dennis. She looked at the padd, reaching out to take it, the grip of the hand upon the padd was rather strong. Almost a death grip.

“What does it say? There must be some clues on the PADD.” For a short moment Dennis saw some kind of symbol when the screen activated for a second. “Did you see that? It showed some kind of symbol.”

Kiyo took a closer look, using her fingertip to activate the padd. "Is this fully charged? We may need to make certain it stays powered up." There was another sound, and Kiyo swiftly looked over towards the right. "What was there?"

“I don’t know, but I don’t want to find out either. Lets’s take that PADD and look for a room we can lock. After that we can figure out how to make that PADD working again.” Dennis offered his right hand to pull Kiyo up. “A computer console would come in handy. Maybe it can tell is more about the symbol.”

Kiyo accepted his hand in helping her get off the floor, taking one last look at the man lying on the floor. "Maybe there is a study area over there?" Gesturing towards a wall which had a door there. "Can't hurt to try that one." keeping hold of his hand as they went that way.

“Okay. Let’s hope it isn’t closed.” Dennis turned around and starting walking in the direction that Kiyo had indicated. Upon nearing the door he noticed it didn’t open so he tapped the small console next to it that was embedded into the wall. The sequence of sounds that followed made it clear that it was either locked or that they were not authorized access. “Of course. Just when you need a place to hide. Mister Porter must’ve thought this would be too easy.”

"Well lets try another one, unless the code is something to do with how well a person knows Jackson Porter?" Kiyo remarked. "Or is familiar with his books." she hmmnned as she thought it over. Just then a sound could be heard near where they had left the body. "Shall we find another place?"

“I’m all for that. This is a simulation, I know, but still..this looks too much like some horror scene and I’m no fan of that.” Dennis started to walk further along the doors that were there and tried each one. “How well do you know Jackson Porter? I’ve not read much about him myself, so I don’t know that much.”

"Well... the man loved to put in puzzles in some of his books, hidden codes sometimes. There was one code he had put in that needed to be solved and there was a contest as to who could solve it. If solved, the winner would get a free copy of his new book and a print of an illustration from his book." Kiyo mused, pausing by a door which said employees only. "Wait... there was a symbol, did it look like a possible symbol represnting his books? Like an hourglass for his time travel book, or a gate. Or even a symbol of a tree for his book titled the Gaian code."

“I only saw it for a split second. It was circular in form,..and it glowed. Blue. There was a blue glow radiating from it.” Dennis tried the door Kiyo was standing near. “Does that remind you of something?” At that moment the small embedded console next to the door made the sound he was waiting for. “Bingo. This one is open.”

Kiyo slipped into the room with Dennis, "actually yes it does, reminds me of the symbol that appeared in ... what was it, the....Quantum Key. It was used to unlock the secrets of the universe."

“Quantum Key? But this holonovel is not about that. It is one of his earlier works. How could this Quantum Key get into this one?” It didn’t make much sense to Dennis. Meanwhile he’d found a console and activated it. “If we’re lucky we should be able to interface the PADD with this console and find out more what’s going on. Perhaps it can even tell us where we can find this key, if it’s really here.”

"What if, what if he had the key hidden, in his earlier works. And that would be the perfect way for him to remember the passcode to get inside. And who would even know that it has been included in all of his writings. Sort of like the purloined letter, hidden in plain sight. I wouldn't put it past him at all." Kiyo was filled with excitement at this possibility.

“Interesting idea. And who would think of looking at his earlier works that he created when he wasn’t famous yet. Let’s try to set up a connection with the PADD.” Dennis said, after which he held out his hand waiting for Kiyo to hand him the PADD.

Kiyo was listening intently to Dennis, giving a nod. She handed over the PADD, "This is your area to cover." giving a smile. "Lets get to digging." her eyes filled with confidence in Dennis's ability.

TBC

Ensign Dennis Pearson
Operations officer
Poseidon station

Ensign Rugasi Kiyo
Diplomatic Aide
Poseidon Station

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