Chapter 9
North stood in the corner of Dr. T'Ling's office in the Main Infirmary and rubbed at his forehead. He had just been informed of the concerning events regarding Dr. Heidelburg's latest psychological tests.
Heidelburg himself sat quietly, seemingly deep in thought, at T'Ling's desk, with Colonel Kostopoulos standing to attention behind him. T'Ling herself approach North and handed him a padd.
Taking the proffered padd, North saw that it displayed two virtually identical diagrams of chemical structures. He looked to T'Ling for explanation.
She pointed to the leftmost diagram. "This is the compound that Dr. Heidelburg gave me to analyse." She pointed to the right diagram. "This is what he injected the test subjects with."
Scrutinising the two structures, North now saw minor differences. "Not the same," he surmised.
"The doctor deliberately deceived me," said T'Ling. "The compound used on the subjects contained psilosynine." From North's confused look, she explained further. "It is a neurotransmitter found in the brains of some races, such as Vulcans. It is produced by… psionic activity."
North and T'Ling now both looked to Heidelburg. He remained silent.
T'Ling turned back to North. "Psilosynine would not be easily obtainable outside of hospitals or research facilities."
North continued staring down Heidelburg. "Something tells me that the Duke Foundation didn't acquire this chemical for you, Doctor."
Heidelburg sighed. "I got it from the black market on Rigel Ten."
North hung his head for a moment. "Explain what you have done to my people and why," he said firmly, restraining his outrage.
Heidelburg leaned forward in his chair, gesticulating with his hands as if telling a story. "Doctor Jamal Duke, creator of the Duke Foundation, was a great man. I'm sure you've heard of him. Started the Foundation at such a young age, to help others, before he eventually succumbed to illness in later life.
"What is not known about Duke - what his family tried to keep buried - was that he believed that Humans had psychic potential."
North looked from Heidelburg to T'Ling and back again in disbelief. T'Ling merely raised an eyebrow. "Psychic potential?" North repeated.
"Is it so outlandish?" said Heidelburg. "We know of species like the Vulcans, who can read thoughts via touch, and, with extensive training, even move objects with the mind. There's also the Aenar of Andoria, who communicate almost exclusively through telepathy, and can 'see' despite being blind. The Yattho are said to be able to predict future events with uncanny accuracy. Even on Earth, there has always been stories about people who could bend spoons or tell fortunes."
"Charlatans," said North, his anger slipping through now. "Con artists. At best, they were delusional. There has never, in centuries of research, been any scientific evidence of psychic ability in Humans. Are you telling me that you've endangered members of my crew to give them bloody magic powers based on one man's misguided belief in hoaxes?!"
Heidelburg actually had the audacity to look annoyed by North's outburst. He held up his hands. "Please, Commodore, allow me to explain."
North, though still furious, folded his arms and yielded the floor again.
"It was not just Dr. Duke who was fascinated by such potential," said Heidelburg. "When I was still a university student, I had an interest in the untapped potential of the Human mind. I wrote a paper on the subject, in which I proposed a hypothesis for why psychic phenomenon was untestable by most scientific means.
"I said that, ja, the majority of psychics were most likely fraudulent, and that true abilities would be so subtle as to be mistaken for intuition or luck. That psionic ability in Humans was so minute that it manifested infrequently and uncontrollably. It would thus fail under test conditions.
"However, I also proposed that, like any other muscle, the brain could be disciplined to develop its abilities, we just had to figure out how. It is an often repeated erroneous fact that Humans only use ten percent of our brains. In fact, we use all of it, but not all at once. I imagined what might be possible if we could utilise more of our brain at any one moment."
T'Ling interjected. "Such increased activity would cause a seizure."
"Just as too much physical exercise can have deleterious effects on the body," said Heidelburg. "Unless moderated. We just needed to find the right balance.
"Despite my defenses, my ideas were ridiculed. When I eventually graduated though, Dr. Duke reached out to me and recruited me into his Foundation. He told me that he'd read my paper and how it worked into his own theories.
"Duke believed that psionic ability was the next step in Human evolution, but that it was already starting to manifest intermittently. He thought that First Contact had started a new Renaissance for humanity; that as our understanding of the universe expanded, so would our minds themselves. Particularly for those in deep space."
"So that's why you came all the way out here," said North, shaking his head.
Heidelburg did not respond, instead continuing his tale. "Duke and I pursued our research in secret - we knew we'd be mocked or worse if others knew about it - mainly pure theory rather than practical. He was the only person who took my ideas seriously…
"Our results were always inconclusive. If Human psychic ability was as evasive as I had proposed, then we needed a way to first detect who had the potential, then a way to amplify that potential. But we found nothing.
"When Duke became too ill to continue, he made me promise that I would not give up." Heidelburg paused, looking weary, for a moment. "His daughter took over the Foundation after his passing, and told me I could only remain in their employ if I gave up such pursuits. So I played along. Kept my head down while conducting my work as best I could in the dark.
"Then came the Vulcan reformation. That was a huge breakthrough for me. Now, the Vulcans were conducting their own research into psionic abilities, which I could incorporate into my own."
"You must have understood that the neurology of the two species is not compatible," said T'Ling.
"Yes," said Heidelburg, "and while the majority of the research was incomparable with Human brains, there were a few physiological crossovers."
T'Ling cocked her head. "The psilosynine."
Heidelburg pointed at her. "Precisely. Based on the evidence I gathered, I deduced that psilosynine would amplify any latent psionic ability in Humans. I just needed to convince the Duke Foundation to allow me to experiment on Humans in deep space, so that could find potential candidates and test my theory on them."
He turned to North. "So you see, Commodore, I did not give them their 'magic powers,' as you called them… I merely brought them to light."
North was no less furious. "You're saying that Lieutenant Vaughn and the other test subjects already possessed the capacity for psychic abilities? And you have now amplified these abilities by conducting experiments on them under false pretences?!"
Heidelburg sighed. "No one would have allowed me to carry out my work if they had known my true purpose. Now, we stand on the threshold of a new era in Human development! Surely that justifies my deception?"
North stepped forward in anger. "Experiments that artificially enhance Human physical or mental capabilities have been forbidden since the Eugenics Wars, Doctor, and with good reason!"
Heidelburg threw up his hands in exasperation. "I have not 'enhanced' anything, Commodore! Their abilities were always there! Probably for the majority of their lives, just dismissed. Herr Keller and Herr Vaughn have always shown remarkable intuition in their work, Ensign Dehner has always been noted as being empathic to a fault, Lieutenant Garrison claims to have always been lucky in life… This was all due to mild extrasensory perception, which I have now made stronger!"
North paced back to the other side of the room, stroking his chin. Heidelburg clearly saw himself as a psychological pioneer, so there was no sense arguing with him about his methods. North let out a long sigh and tried to calm himself.
"Regardless of your intentions, Doctor," he said evenly, "or their outcome… you will have to face serious repercussions for your actions." He turned to face Heidelburg again. "You have illegally acquired a biochemical substance and performed medical experiments with a complete disregard for ethics or safety.
"I have no choice but to arrest and detain you for these crimes." Heidelburg started to protest but North cut him off. "When your transport ship returns, you will be taken back to Earth for trial. You will likely lose your doctorate as well as your position in the Foundation, and face prison time."
Heidelburg raised his big but elderly frame out of his chair with surprising swiftness. "Commodore, please! I must continue my work; study the subjects' reactions! Both they and the future of humanity could depend on it!"
"Doctor T'Ling and her staff will care for the test subjects," said North. "You've done quite enough. Now, Starfleet is unable to formally arrest or charge a civilian, so I've asked Colonel Kostopoulos, as a military officer, to carry out these necessities."
Heidelburg's shoulders slumped as Kostopoulos stepped alongside him and ran through the mantra of an arresting officer.
When she was done, North spoke to Heidelburg again. "Out of deference for your age, I am forgoing the use of restraints, and having you confined to quarters instead of a cell. However, make no mistake, Doctor, should you provide any more difficulties, I will shackle you in irons if need be."
Kostopoulos then gently led a dejected Heidelburg away.
North rubbed at his forehead again. "How are the test subjects?" he asked T'Ling.
T'Ling hesitated in answering, still staring at the door after Heidelburg. "They all exhibit agitated paracortexes and high levels of neuropeptides. I have prescribed neural suppressants, which are preventing any significant brain damage, but these are unprecedented cases, sir. I will have to keep monitoring them for progress and adjust treatment as necessary."
North nodded, deep in thought. As if he didn't have enough to worry about.
"Doctor," he said at length, "could… could Heidelburg be right? Could he have unlocked Human psionic powers?"
"As I said, there is currently no reference for the effects of psilosynine on Human neurology…" She went silent suddenly.
"But?" North prompted her.
She stiffened. "I cannot deny what I experienced in the medical lab. Ensign Dehner appeared to use telekinetic force.
"It is possible that Doctor Heidelburg's experiments have been successful."