ten_fwd | Kal-toh for all

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Kal-toh for all

A man is sat in Ten Forward. He is often there, never eating, drinking... but often staring at PADDs, working well into the ship's night. On what? No-one knows.

Today, however, Orlin has forgone his usual array of PADDs on alternate energy sources, and holodeck matrix integration, and is, instead, contemplating this.

It seems like a jumbled mass of rods, but, anyone who knows this universe knows that this is the Vulcan game of Kal-toh, a game of intense logic.

Orlin seems completely enthralled by it, smiling softly as he slowly turns the object, taking it in from every angle.

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Gaheris always had a weakness for games, and being unable to locate his genetic reincarnation had him in a mood where he could stand the distraction.

So he joined Orlin at the table, not really waiting to be invited. He just sat, and stared at the bits of construction.

"I'm unfamiliar with this. Is it a puzzle or a game?"

If Orlin is peturbed by Gaheris inviting himself to sit down, he doesn't show it. At all. He glances up from his study of the object, offering a slight smile.

"It's a Vulcan logic puzzle." He explains, leaning back. "The aim is to reposition these rods to form a perfect sphere. The pattern changes with every move."

He moves it a few degrees clockwise. "It's a rather fascinating puzzle. Very difficult."

He looks back up to Gaheris. "Would you like to try?"

"I am used to strategic games, however not ones that require cooperative puzzles. I am intrigued." He reached forward, picked up a piece, and examined it for a while before studying the puzzle.

He then placed one of the rods. There was no harm in learning; it was something he could eventually develop more skills with. "Vulcans seem interesting, but I have yet to meet one."

"Kal-toh can be played co-operatively, competitively and individually." Orlin explains as the rod changes the shape of the object into something roughly resembeling a pyramid. "It relies on pure logic as a cornerstone. That's the most interesting thing about it."

He reaches forward, picking up his own rod, contemplating a second, before slotting it into place. The object shifts into something a bit more spherical.

"There are quite a few Vulcans on-board. I don't think it'd be that hard to arrange a meeting."

He shifted the rod again, trying to find another place for it. "Excellent. While in some competitions, emotion is a valuable resource to pull from, in others it's a crutch and impedes how one can handle themselves."

But he thought of the Vulcans on board. "I've had no desire to interrupt their duties, but if one happens to sit in here and look open to discussion, I would speak with them." And then, idly, because he had never smelled a cat and therefore had no ground for comparison- "I have noticed they have a particular scent towards them unlike most bipeds I know of."

"In my study, it seems that Vulcans eschew emotions due to their species' past." He takes a rod once the board settles, it looking more spherical with Gaheris' move. "I think it takes an excellent amount of awareness to recognise what can cause irreparable damage to one's own species and shed themselves of it."

The rod gets placed, the shape shifts. It looks a bit more jumbled this time.

At the mention of scent, Gaheris gets a curious look. For the first time, it seems, Orlin seems to pay attention to his companion. "I've never come across your species before."

"It is confusing when that thing can also be of a species greatest benefit, but the ideologies behind it shift into something reprehensible." His mind drifted for a moment, thinking of the Nietzscheans and his genetic reincarnation. He didn't know where he had gone and it had distressed him. He shed the thought, though, focused to take the next turn.

"I'm homo sapiens invictus. A Nietzschean. There were two others aboard but now I am unable to locate them." And Nietzscheans were social creatures- organized into Prides and large families. Loneliness wasn't a thing they wore well and he was feeling it.

"Have you tried using the computer to locate them?" Orlin asks, casually. "It logs all passengers on board the Enterprise and can locate them by their biosigns."

As for the Vulcans... "Emotions seem to hold this particular species back. Choosing to cast them aside and concentrate on the many variables of the universe accelerated their intelligence far past that I've noticed of humans." He takes a rod, looking over at Gaheris. "There can be too much of a good thing."

"Invictus... Unconquered?" A slight smile, there. "Interesting. How different are you from humans?"

"We're a subspecies. We can breed with them. Genetic engineering is common in my universe- there are many subspecies of humanity. There was one many of them on Earth, as well, so it is only natural that when mankind spread out into the stars and we had the option to choose traits to make use survive the rigors of space more, that we would split again."

"But my people have increased strength, greater immunity to diseases and toxins, resistance to more severe elemental conditions, and these," he held up his arm to show his bone blades. "As well as an enhanced sense of smell and hearing. Our culture is considerably different, as well, but that's more ideology than genetics."

Edited 2015-03-10 09:31 (UTC)

A nod, and he contemplates what was said. "Humanity has a penchant for survival." He remarks. "In my universe, there are two evolutions of humanoid life in this form. The first discovered a path to Ascension; to shed their physical forms and exist on a higher plane of existence as pure energy."

He considers the Kal-toh board once more.

"They engineered the evolution of what is, commonly, referred to as humans. Set them on the path to be the second evolution of this form. A successor, if you will."

"Precursors.... Interesting. I read theories in the library here associated with the idea, but you rouse my curiosity. Tell me more." The explanation was limited, and if there was anything to know about descendants and evolution, he wanted to know about it. Even if histories varied.

"Not much is known." Or, rather, Orlin isn't going to spill too much information about his own species. "The Ancients came to the Milky Way galaxy tens of millions of years ago... at least, from my perspective. Now, the number must near hundreds of millions. They were a technologically advanced race, bringing with them the knowledge of creating stable wormholes, advanced genetics and their work on the path to Ascension, as well as much, much more."

He places a rod, the shape changes to a more ring-like structure.

"They created the Stargate Network," He continues, careful to use human terms. "A means of interstelar travel through stable wormholes. Eventually, they were forced to the Pegasus Dwarf Galaxy, where they traveled in the Cityship of Atlantis."

He sits back, examining the shape the kal-toh board has taken, smiling slightly.

"A threat forced the remaining Ancients, known as Lanteans, back to the Milky Way through the Stargate. There, they completed their research on Ascension and ascended to the higher planes."

Edited 2015-03-11 08:04 (UTC)

He had heard, dimly, some of this on the trip down to Risa but he hadn't thought much of it. He watched the structure change, and did three attempts with his own placement before he found a position he approved of. It disrupted the circle but was hopefully something to build on.

"From your perspective?" he asks with a cant of his head.

"What in the name of light is that?" Alex was staring. Alex had found many things to stare at, here in this time, and here in this place, and he didn't mind looking like a total newb and all. In fact, he reveled in it. Everything here was amazing! So far.

His eyes saw the new thing with an engineer's eye, and patterns seemed likely, and yet just put of reach. Hmmm.

"It's a Vulcan puzzle called kal-toh." Orlin explains without even lifting his eyes from the device. "The aim is to take one of these rods and replace it elsewhere on the object with the aim of forming a sphere. Every time a rod is moved, it's appearance changes, and the aim is to use logic to determine the best path."

Orlin selects a rod, placing it down. The puzzle shifts, this time resembeling a more doughnut-like shape.

"It's very interesting."

"If it shifts when you move a rod, are the shifts based on logic?" Alex edged closer, peering at it. Ever since he had started working as an engineer back home, his mind had opened to seeing things along those lines, of what could be built, and how. Looking at the puzzle, his mind was already trying to figure that out.

"That sounds awesome!"

"How it sounds doesn't really matter." Excuse him, he hasn't had much time to learn too much Earth slang. He selects another rod, placing it down.

And forms a perfect sphere.

"Kal-toh." He remarks, smiling softly. "Yes, the game's very presence is pure logic."

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Kal-toh for all

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