Retrieved from a personal diary written by Thomas Fairchild, Head of the Out-Han Alliance’s Research Division and Ex-Keeper for Henry and Huell Incorporated, 2259.
And here we are again, my journal. It has been some time since I last wrote in you, and I apologise for the delay. Things have been… hectic, in light of the quick development of the Cycle of Outstretched Hands, though it feels we are shortening the name more and more often. Zeentach wants to add ‘Alliance’ to the end and cut it down to the Out-Han officially. I can’t say I particularly care – there are much larger matters at hand at the moment pertaining to a certain device.
The S-Drive, such a small thing (usually) but so magnificent. And yet, it is also so terrifying how little we truly know. Who made it? Why? How did old Earth scientists create something with abilities even beyond the most advanced Doctrine scientists or CCH researchers? And, most pressing of all, who is the Dr Schulyer I see mentioned in the codebase I uncovered?
It was back at New Horizons when I first tapped into the true capabilities of the S-Drive. It is now known to me (and my close circle of trustees in this matter) that my direct efforts saved the lives of many, thanks to my indirect aid to Salvador and Xeena. Still, I feel the fame should go to those who deserve it the most. Stannock, if you somehow read this, that wasn’t meant for you, you peacock. What I still need more testing on is what we have uncovered.
Somehow, through means not yet revealed, the S-Drive allows people to see the future. That much is very clear. It seems that certain people, when within the S-Field, see shadowy, smoky outlines of their future actions, as well as all the memories they would have gained from those actions. Awareness of one’s surroundings massively increases, and general physical capabilities seem to also increase, if slightly. Otherwise, I would have to attribute some of Sal’s skill to a fluke, and I don’t think Able would be too happy with that! I kid. Humour aside, those notions, in and of themselves are terrifying. Yet, there is more. It appears that this was a planned feature, based on the code I found, and was delayed until the New Horizons Incident. Either it was very coincidental timing, or someone else knew what was going to happen that time last year. Long term foresight, perhaps? Must look into that.
Our testing has been slow, due to the secrecy we must keep on the topic. Salvador has been willing, but is still concerned about the potential consequences. He is one of the best subjects I have, as he very strongly feels the prescience gained when in contact with a S-Field. Though only a few experience it as he does, others have partially felt the effects, myself included. Though I get no such visions, I do get an uncanny sense of reflexes towards unseen or unexpected events. Some sort of unconscious version? Additionally, I can clearly sense any S-Fields I pass through, possibly as a result of my training and long term use of the device. Each time we undergo testing, I can feel my ability to harness the power growing more precise, more in tune with my body. Some, like Elijah, get the visions, but only for a split second ahead, not enough to really act upon. It is a result of his age, or just his natural predisposition towards such strangeness? He is a bit of a sceptic, after all, and refused to believe what he was seeing even after an explanation.
From my data collection, I feel that a certain evaluation can be made – everyone can feel the effects. I should clarify – every human has the capacity to eventually use this strange ability. So far, it seems the reaction between the Kabballah-esque structure of the human QIS Pattern that allows this effect, and thus other species are not able to directly interface with the S-Field in such a way. Outwardly, there is little signs of the effect, other than the inexplicable emanation of a golden light from the back of the pupil. This effect is present even in those lacking eyes or with artificial replacements – the light stems from the QIS Pattern, perhaps? Very strange. Furthermore, I have linked the ability to access these visions to three main factors – training/exposure with the S-Drive over a long period (or something else?), genetics, and history of persisting through hardship/willpower. Also, luck, it seems?
I had an initial collection of over 3,271 people from a voluntary study who were able to feel the S-Field in the slightest, the initial indicator of tapping into this aspect of the S-Drive. Now, a few months later, I have over 10,000. Most of these people did not display anything more than slight tingle as a reaction. Of those with clear visions, I have less than fifty, and some of those are for only short periods of time. I found that of this group, ten are related through two families, and that all within these family groups are connected to a specific patriarch/matriarch from which the genetic predisposition to the effect seems to stem from.
Stolen story; please report.
The others have either a history of long-term exposure to S-Drives (as is the case with ex-Keeper Tobias) or have gone through horrific circumstances and survived. Salvador can attest to his time on a failed Phetenov station, plus his own familial issues, and Carmella from the Paradisian front, who has her own personal scars of the past. Marcus, whilst he lacks visions, does display high level S-Field sensitivity, and has agreed to undergo whatever training required to get to Salvador’s level. His enthusiasm sometimes scares me – he even signed up to the MACH Squadron program, and I worry what he would do if he did acquire such an ability. And, lastly, there just seems to be some determined by luck. A few, whom have family completely unaffected by the S-Field during testing, and have not gone through such hardships (or have that much willpower, really) displayed high levels of prescience. Scans showed good connection from their QIS Pattern to the S-Field, so maybe random chance can play a factor?
And yet, since starting this research, a few of my own understudies, just through knowledge of this prescience, have begun to develop their own such ability to feel the S-Drive, even without much experience or a rough past. This is why I had the question mark in my first factor – does simply knowing about this strange ability make it easier to tap into? Is this topic a cognito-hazard, one that spreads through the raw idea of knowing it, something we need to be careful of? It is for this reason we must keep complete secrecy on this topic. If news of our work spreads, and the galaxy as a whole gets access to the information we have, the results could be disastrous.
Yet, there is another aspect that still requires discussion. It seems that, despite my fears, I just cannot stop. Though non-humans cannot connect to the S-Field in such a way that instils the strange effects of providence, due to their differing QIS Pattern shape, there is another way they can be affected. When a Cambiar makes physical contact with the matter of a human who is undergoing prescience, then that Cambiar will have their innate ability to adapt their XNA genetic structure greatly increased. This allows the target to adapt in ways that would normally take weeks or even months to do naturally. In the case of Xeena’s first usage of this, she was able to adjust her standard Uvolo caste structure, into that of a combat capable Rexia in mere seconds, allowing her to fight and win against Zafar Ironskin. In her case, she was in contact with some of Sal’s… expulsions, which seemed to nonetheless trigger this effect. The required energy burden on Cambiar undergoing this rapid adjustment is still the same as if the transformation was undergone over time, but is felt all at once. As such, it tends to leave the user exhausted after usage, and requires a pre-existing stockpile of minerals, nutrients and energy to use effectively.
Stranger and stranger, the strength of this ability has no discernible measurement, aside from the very unscientific term of ‘connection’. Case in point, Salvador was able to greatly affect Xeena both by accident and in our further testing using a variety of samples (saliva, sweat, blood and seminal fluids tend to work the best, followed by tissue samples) when they made contact with her body. However, when testing his material against random Cambiar volunteers, most felt an improvement to their adaptation at less than a tenth of Xeena’s results. Notable, but not quite as dramatic. When tested against some of the Cambiar Salvador knows as friends or acquaintances, the results were stronger, but still not close to those of his partner. In future, some scale will need to be properly developed. Right now, I am happy to say the power of love determines this ability between man and alien, and to leave it at that. Sometimes, happy answers are all that is needed.
So far, the only lifeforms to have shown this secondary effect are the Cambiar and we have no access to the Tylas at present, so if this is an effect shared between sapient life, I am unsure. For now, we must be vigilant. I predict that if, somehow, stronger S-Fields are able to be produced, then the capacity for people to both initially tap into and train this strange discovery will be increased. With how rapidly things are changing in the galaxy, I am uncertain if this is a good thing or a bad thing.
I need a name for this oddity. I was leaning towards Schr?dinger-Actives or Schr?dinger-Users? Now, that seems tacky. Who knows, perhaps one day we can talk to someone with better information on this. Maybe labelling this phenomenon is the wrong move – would lead to more attention.
I have digressed too long. My mind is in a daze after too many meetings, and a certain companion of mine requires my attention. She had been patient, and deserves a reward.
Goodnight journal – Yours, Tom.
