Puzzling out the Pieces

Posted on Fri Feb 17th, 2012 @ 4:41pm by Commodore Samantha York

414 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: The Race for the Lost Treasure
Location: Sam's Quarters

ON

Sam spent the better part of a day locked in the office in her quarters. It was like old times, just her and her computer for hours on end. In some ways she missed just being a science officer.

All the data she had on the lost civilization, the original 'treasure' map and the pieces from the planet were carefully scrutinized, analyzed and compared to other like symbols. Some were quickly identified, but there were some -- especially where the pieces separated -- that were nigh impossible to figure out.

The trick was, translating everything else and then finding what fit in the gap. Unfortunately, it was a big gap.

"Okay, computer. Does what we've translated so far match with any known records?"

"Negative."

"Of course not," she sighed. "That would be too easy."

"Please restate in the form of a question."

Sam sighed. "Computer, list all possible symbols that would fill in the gaps and their translation."

A series of symbols scrolled across the screen. One by one, Sam matched them to the two pieces. One by one she separated them into two groups. Possible and impossible.

It would be easier if she could trust the computer to fill in the gaps, but the language was just different enough that the connotation would be lost if she did.

Sam replicated a cup of cocoa and sat down at her desk. "If they could crack the Mayan Code without a Universal Translator, I can figure this out," she told herself.

She pulled out a pad of paper and a pen and began to write down the symbols, leaving marks where the symbols were obviously missing. There was something to be said for doing things the old-fashioned way.

----

Several hours later she sat back. It wasn't perfect, and there were gaps she couldn't fill, but she had enough to figure out the coordinates to their next destination. "Computer, set a course for these coordinates."

"Acknowledged."

She stood and stretched again. That was fun, but now her brain was tired. Not for the last time she wished Damon were here. She wanted to talk over the translation with him, get his ideas and feedback. He always helped her see things she would otherwise miss. Alas, not this time. With a sigh she shut down her computer. Tomorrow she'd have the cryptographer and stellar cartography look at her work. Now, she just wanted to shower and sleep.

OFF

Captain Samantha York
Commanding Officer
USS Calypso

 

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