<\/p>\n
\u2015 Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & <\/p>\n I\u2019d already concluded that 23rd<\/sup> century computers worked according to some incomprehensibly different set of rules.\u00a0 Walking into the science labs the next morning (late again, but at least I\u2019d found the place without having to beg for help from passersby), I was more or less expecting Mr. Logical to tell me I was congenitally inadequate to adapt to these newfangled machines.<\/p>\n How could I help assuming Mr. Spock found me inferior?\u00a0 He was so obviously superior to humans, in so many ways.\u00a0 Even at dinner the night before, his depth and breadth of knowledge had been intimidating \u2013 and that was how he made chit chat.\u00a0 His idea of conversation often seemed to consist of making connections between bizarrely diverse areas of knowledge, with no realm apparently outside his study.<\/p>\n I, on the other hand, had been undergoing a non-stop lesson in humility ever since I got here.\u00a0 Everything was new and strange, and I was stumbling around, just hoping no one would figure out how clueless I really was.\u00a0 For all I knew, I might be a lost cause.\u00a0 I might never be able to catch up.<\/p>\n So I was a little defensive, as he greeted me with the same old cool cat attitude and showed me to a seat at a work console.\u00a0 He pulled up a seat beside me, but before he could commence the lecture I figured was coming, I decided to dive in with my own half-baked observations, and attempt some pre-emptive display of intellectual understanding.\u00a0 I figured the worst that could happen was that I\u2019d just confirm the low opinion he probably already had of me.\u00a0 Damn, I wished Bob was here – he\u2019d be able to hold his own.<\/p>\n The thought of Bob came so suddenly and strongly I had to bite my lip to turn the pain aside.\u00a0 I did my best to summon a fa\u00e7ade of confidence.<\/p>\n \u201cSo,\u201d I lunged into it, \u201cfrom what I can tell, your computers use some completely different way of organizing information than I\u2019m used to.\u00a0 All these flashing lights and colors and symbols.\u00a0 It\u2019s like there\u2019s some almost intuitive way people seem to use these screens, but it doesn\u2019t make sense to me.\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded, and I got the raised eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cPerceptive.\u201d\u00a0 He said, and I felt a brief, irrational burst of pride in what I inferred was his version of approval.\u00a0 \u201cI was able to make a brief study of your 21st<\/sup> century computer algorithms during our time at your apartment.\u00a0 Most inefficient.\u00a0\u00a0 Much of the linkage appears to have been structured for commercial purposes rather than any underlying logic of connectivity or meaning.\u201d<\/p>\n He twisted around on his chair, doing another one of those incomprehensible things to the console, continuing his commentary.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you are quite right.\u00a0 Present day education in most sentient cultures trains students from an early age to navigate much differently though data.\u00a0 It is true that, as an adult, your cognitive and perceptual patterns are already fully formed, but based on Dr. McCoy\u2019s brain wave scans, I believe there is still sufficient elasticity of your cerebral cortex to essentially re-train your brain along more productive and efficient pathways.\u00a0 This will enable you to acquire the skills to utilize our information technologies more or less fully. \u00a0Relative to other humans, that is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course,\u201d I agreed modestly.<\/p>\n He looked up from his maneuverings, motioning to a young man working nearby, who brought over a formidable looking piece of headgear. The two of them made a considerable process of fitting the thing on me. \u00a0It completely blocked out sight and sound, and the sensation was a little like being in a sensory deprivation tank, but there were these odd tactile impulses, too, and even smells.\u00a0 Apparently, the device stimulated all aspects of my brain.\u00a0 Yes, reader, all aspects.<\/p>\n Mr. Spock fired it up for a few moments just to demonstrate.\u00a0 I felt electricity tingling throughout my body.<\/p>\n Whoa.\u00a0 Very interesting.<\/p>\n He shut the power down and removed the headgear, fiddling with some controls.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we were on Earth, you referred to your spiritual practice,\u201d he said, surprising me.\u00a0 \u201cDo you practice meditation, a stilling of the mind?\u201d<\/p>\n Caught off guard, I stammered some half-assed explanation about how, yes, I tried to still the mind, then contemplate the issues in my life according to the spiritual principles I was learning.\u00a0 I had no idea if I was making any sense, but he nodded as if this was an everyday topic.<\/p>\n Lt. Yazzie \u2013 I\u2019d pegged him as Navajo from the name, and his striking features \u2013 also nodded with studied detachment, as if he was determined to do a perfect impression of his boss.<\/p>\n Spock went on.\u00a0 \u201cIt would be helpful to calibrate the equipment if you could access that state.\u201d<\/p>\n Oh, brave new world, indeed.\u00a0 Up to this point, my spiritual practice had been something I\u2019d kept to myself, always feeling a little like I\u2019d snuck in the back door of the spiritual world, lacking the proper papers.\u00a0 Certainly no one had ever asked me to produce a contemplative state on the spot.\u00a0 I felt that inner battle going on inside, Mind sniping at Soul, as it always did, trying to make me feel inept and self-conscious.\u00a0 Most of the time Mind still won out, but now, I don\u2019t know why, I felt the importance of trusting my abilities.\u00a0 Here.\u00a0 In a laboratory, with an alien who was very politely preparing to probe my brain.<\/p>\n I took a deep breath and said I\u2019d try.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know what he was expecting.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know precisely what I \u201cdemonstrated\u201d.\u00a0 I closed my eyes, hardly necessary with that technologically imposed darkness all around, and turned my attention inward.\u00a0 I chanted my mantra and \u2013 slightly to my own surprise \u2013 felt that rising of energy toward the 3rd<\/sup> eye, that focal point centered in the forehead, between and behind the physical eyes.\u00a0 I felt the upward \u201cswoosh\u201d, that flow that takes everything up with it; felt a little smile creep spontaneously onto my lips, always a sure sign that the lower concerns have dropped away, at least temporarily.<\/p>\n I became aware of my consciousness floating.\u00a0 I saw myself, the ship, all of us, flowing through space, not just physical space, but a far more vast reality that was hiding just beyond the limits of normal perception.\u00a0 A vastness that shifts and flows according to our own individual focus of attention.\u00a0 I was carried away, just viewing the endless potential of existence, all right there, right before my inner eyes.\u00a0 You can\u2019t see shit like \\that and not be overwhelmed with love and unbounded awe.<\/p>\n And I did it on demand.\u00a0 Freaking amazing.\u00a0 I sat there, enveloped in a cloud of omnidirectional Love, until a lower self-consciousness intruded from somewhere, and suddenly I was aware of \u2026me, sitting wearing this weird headgear; me, with that goofy, blissed-out smile on my face, and, like a shot, I plummeted back into the phenomenal world with a thud.<\/p>\n Mr. Spock chose that moment to remove the device again.\u00a0 He began to fiddle with it, adjusting god knows what.\u00a0 I sat there, cautious, curious as hell to know whether he\u2019d picked up anything of what I\u2019d been experiencing, but afraid to say anything.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want to be told that what I experienced inside wasn\u2019t real.<\/p>\n He appeared totally focused on his task.\u00a0 He directed the hovering Lt. Yazzie to fetch him some tool.\u00a0 It was only when his assistant had left the room that he spoke, quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ability to focus the attention at the optic chiasma is a skill few humans develop.\u00a0 The raising of the electromagnetic vibrations has a powerful effect on perception, resulting in altered states of consciousness without the use of artificial means.\u00a0 One attempts to find the center point, the still point within the standing wave, through attention alone, but the ability comes only through dedicated practice, great concentration and purification.\u201d<\/p>\n He glanced up and met my eyes.\u00a0 \u201cObviously you have been under the tutelage of an Adept.\u00a0 Meditation techniques are common to many, but few come near to the level you just demonstrated.\u00a0 At least few who demonstrate the ability to balance such inner focus with a relatively normal outer existence.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at the door, and I realized he\u2019d deliberately sent his young assistant away.<\/p>\n \u201cStarfleet regulations require that new long-term passengers such as yourself be evaluated thoroughly, both mentally and physically.\u00a0 Once those evaluations are completed and submitted to Starfleet, your presence will be official.\u00a0 Your records will be accessible by any interested parties with sufficient clearance, within Starfleet and the Federation.<\/p>\n \u201cDr. McCoy has suggested that there is no reason to be overly prompt in completing those reports.\u00a0 Based on these preliminary readings alone, I must agree with the doctor.\u00a0 Our intent is to give you a period of adjustment here on the Enterprise<\/i>, without attracting unnecessary attention from other quarters \u2013 as readings like yours inevitably would.\u201d<\/p>\n I thought he trailed off a little on that last thought.\u00a0 You could tell when Mr. Spock was being deliberately imprecise.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t quite pull it off.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re talking about this Culpepper guy, right?\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded slightly. \u00a0\u201cKeeping your status in process keeps responsibility for you in Captain Kirk\u2019s hands.\u00a0 There are advantages to that at present.\u201d<\/p>\n Lt. Yazzie walked in at that moment, and Mr. Spock lifted the headpiece he\u2019d been holding, as if he\u2019d been working on it all along.\u00a0 The two of them re-fitted me, and prepared to zap me again, this time for real.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will begin by adjusting one neural pathway at a time,\u201d Mr. Spock explained studiously, directing his comments more to his Navajo assistant than to me.\u00a0 \u201cThere are more direct ways of performing these procedures as you know, but in this case, we are prepared to be thorough, regardless of how long it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t exactly wink at me, but his dark eyes met mine, and the stern lips twitched, ever so slightly.<\/p>\n I leaned back as my senses were taken over, wondering if he was using this Frankenstein contraption to turn me into some Vulcan ideal of smart.\u00a0 I guess you could do worse. Then, like almost everything that I was encountering in this new world, I gave in to some primal gut-instinct and boarded the brain train.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n < previous\u00a0\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 next ><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" < previous\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 next > \u201cWho am I then? Tell me that first, and then, if I like being that person, I’ll come up; if not, I’ll stay down here till I’m someone else.\u201d \u2015 … Continue reading ![\"300px-The_Earth_seen_from_Apollo_17\"](\"https:\/\/hanilives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/300px-The_Earth_seen_from_Apollo_17-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n
\n\u201cWho am I then? Tell me that first, and then,
\nif I like being that person, I’ll come up; if not,
\nI’ll stay down here till I’m someone else.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n
\nThrough the Looking-Glass<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/i><\/p>\n