Memory Maze

Posted on Thu Apr 23rd, 2015 @ 6:46pm by Commander Sinek & Lieutenant Commander Ethan Chaparral MD

Mission: The New Sydney Fiasco
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: After The Return

It had been a week or four years depending on one's point of view and Ethan was having a hard time wrapping his hear around the whole concept. Reading about the effects of time travel, or even acting it out in a holodeck adventure was much different than the real thing.

He wasn't sure if now was the right time for a mind meld with his friend Sinek, but he knew if he didn't take action soon he'd give up on the idea. The longer he delayed the more reticent he would be to actually follow through. So he'd asked Dr. Seeger, an intern to sit in on the procedure and had asked the Vulcan to meet him here.

He'd had another nightmare about Ian. He didn't remember much of it but he remembered enough. He hadn't told anyone, not even the counselor or Dylan about the nightmare, nor did he plan too. But somehow, some way he had to get the man out of his mind.

He sat down on the desk in his office and waited for the Chief Science Officer to make his appearance.

Lieutenant Commander Sinek was preparing for the mind meld within his suite. He was meditating, controlling the thoughts, slowing the blood flow and breathing, suppressing emotions. The Vulcan didn't know what to expect; he had never melded with a human before. It may prove to be a strenuous undertaking.

Feeling prepared, Sinek showered and got dressed in a newly replicated uniform. He always demanded that look. Crisp, clean, free of wrinkles. Satisfied, Sinek strode with purpose towards the Medical Offices. Outside of Doctor Chaparral's office and rang the chime to be admitted.

Ethan was trying to sort through his feelings when the chime rang. Part of him felt like he was a kid going to see the principal while part of him felt like he used to at Christmas time. But none of that mattered, it was time.

He stood to his feet, and walked out to greet his visitor. "Hello, Commander, "he said., "thanks for coming."

Sinek bowed before the Doctor. "Are you prepared?" he asked. "Do you have another doctor present?"

"I am as prepared as I can be." Ethan said, a trace of nervousness coming out in his voice,"and yes, I have another doctor here. A Doctor Seeger. He's waiting for us. I'll grab him and we can get started.''

Ethan came back a few minutes later bringing a rather young looking human woman with him. She had ash blonde hair and hazel eyes. "Hi," she said to Sinek,"Ethan said you needed my help, what can I do?"

Sinek bowed toward Doctor Seeger. "We are about to meld minds. I have never done this with a subject that was not Vulcan. I requested your presence knowing it may be strenuous and drain energy. Your assistance may be required after the meld. It is highly important that no intervention take place as long as the connection is made. The meld must be completed and fully disconnected before any other interference. Is that understood, Doctor?"

She nodded, "Crystal clear Commander, "I'll make sure no one disturbs you during the process and I'll be right there afterwards if you need me."

"Doctor Chaparral, please be seated," Sinek evenly expressed. "It would be best if you were as comfortable as possible."

Ethan did as Sinek suggested, trying to relax, "I can' thank you enough for doing this, I just hope it works."

"I do not doubt it will work," Sinek stated matter-of-factly. "Before we start, I need to know a few things. The fear of course comes from your trauma with this Ian fellow. Is there anything else causing anxiety, such as past experiences or dreams?"

Ethan's left brow quirked upwards, wondering if it were just a general question or if the Vulcan were already reading his mind. "When I was 16, my best friend, Kyle and I were kidnapped. His family was well off, mine was not. My mom tired to rescue us, but she was too late to rescue him. If I hadn't tried to play hero when they took us, he would still be alive. My folks had rigged a transponder in me. When they shot me it caused a temporary failure in the transponder. By the time it had reset, and they were able track my location, it was too late.

He was killed, his body was never found which only made his folks' grief more pronounced. They never really got closure and neither did I."

"Now," the voice showed no emotion, "I desire you to relax. I will find those memories and will reroute the synapse response to them. Fear and anxiety are common to your species. As well as grief. However, we do not have to allow these emotions to control our responses."

When Sinek saw that Ethan was ready, he placed the fingertips of his right hand at certain points around Ethan's left eye and temple. These locations housed nerve endings and blood vessels necessary to make and monitor the link. Sinek would know any distress Ethan would experience. If the distress would become too great, he could discontinue the connection. Sinek understood though, that he himself would probably experience the most distress. He would experience the emotions of a human.

"My mind is your mind," the Vulcan began. "Your thoughts are my thoughts."


Ethan resisted at first. Not intentionally, it was purely instinctual, he didn't like people poking around on him, but slowly he relaxed letting his mind drift. It faded back to happier times, vacation, birthdays both his and other family members, Christmases. hours spent in his father's office and hanging out with his mother. There were other memories too. His first kiss with a girl, which had been a failure his first date with Kyle the kidnapping, his being shot, meeting Dylan,their fight, Dylan's walking out, his coming into sickbay, then the time with Ian, their meeting in the bar, his being drugged and then in minute detail the torture he'd endured, frame by frame in slow motion.

The two minds formed one consciousness. Sinek knew where to begin - the Limbic System of the brain. This was the place that stored and compartmentalized memory. He probed into the amygdala. It was here that a person stored emotionally charged memories. Opening a compartment, Sinek felt the joy Ethan had on his first date with Kyle. The recent engagement to Dylan was also there. Sinek's lips actually formed a smile. He moved on from there, entering another compartment. Here, Ethan stored his memories of embarrassment. Like when Ulani interrupted his time with Kyle. A green blush came to his cheeks in this compartment.

Ethan relaxed more feeling a peace he'd not felt in a long time. Sinek just exuded tranquility and calm, he rested in it while the Vulcan continued to search his mind.

In the next explored compartment of the amygdala, Sinek experienced deep grief. Deep moans echoed from deep within him as he felt the grief Ethan had when he learned of Kyle's death. This grief seemed to hinder all else. It caused him to want to retreat within himself - to isolate himself from those who may or may not care. The amygdala would produce sweating, an increase in heart beat and respiration, and a release in stress hormones.

The anxiety Ethan felt from remembering this event was relayed to the hypothalamus, causing his circadian rhythms to be disturbed. Ethan experienced countless sleepless nights full of anxiety. He experienced an altered homeostasis - a lack of appetite.

Sinek began to take charge, sending out messages to decrease the heart rate and respiration. He worked at bringing peace to Ethan's mind. Sinek rerouted the feeling from the amygdala away from the hypothalamus and to the frontal lobe of the neocortex, the logic center. He reasoned that Kyle was good for his life, his life had a meaning in Ethan's, and though he would miss Kyle, it served a purpose. Now, he needed to concentrate on Dylan being in his life. Although Dylan was not Kyle, Dylan filled that purpose now in his life. With Dylan filling that void, the anxiety has no role in his life. Sinek then when back to the memory storage of the good times Ethan had with Kyle and with Dylan. These memories became the primary focus of Ethan's thoughts. Ethan had a new pattern of thought, which brought the feeling of thankfulness and joy for those times.

Ethan really wasn't sure what was going on at the moment. For a brief instant he'd shared Sinek's memories, but then they faded away like a pleasant dream one could never quite recall. Then all of the bad memories started to fade away. Replaced my images of Kyle and Dylan, for the moment that was all he could think of.

Satisfied with those anxieties, Sinek went back into the amygdala. Finding the storage compartment for Ethan's most recent traumatic memories - those of Ian, Sinek began to feel a dark fear. Everything from this memory was bringing to life the primitive part of the brain. The brain was overloaded in survival mode. The trauma had caused Ethan to react to every fear with a sense of survival.

Sinek began rerouting the synapse toward the frontal lobe - the place of logic. He began to reason that this event is over; it is past. Yes, Ethan was hurt, but he had come out of it stronger. He had lost an arm, but the one that replaced it was just as functional and stronger. He was aboard a ship with those who cared for him. This brought a sense of security to Ethan.

There was still some concern on Ethan's part over what had happened but it was no longer at the forefront of his thoughts. He felt safer, with Dylan being by his side, his other friends that surrounded him. Ian was there, still a threat, but no longer did he dominate Ethan's thoughts and the threat that he posed was far less ominous.

Ethan was in a good place now, with a bright and promising future. He felt at peace with himself for the first time in a long time.

Sinek released the meld. As soon as the connection was broken, a sense of fear and dread came over him. He had not experienced fear such as this in his entire lifetime. It was foreign to him. The memory of Ethan's fear now fresh in Sinek's mind became real to Sinek. He lost control and urinated, falling to the ground in a fetal position, his body quaking uncontrollably.

Ethan tried to catch Sinek before he fell, but wasn't quite fast enough. He didn't know what
had happened, but it couldn't be good. He got hold of Sinek' shoulders and directed Seeger to get his feet and they carried him to the nearest bio bed.