Pavel Andreievich Chekov

[Most of Chekov's entries start with a nice shot of whatever project he's working on or a disjointed preamble. This one, however, simply starts.]

For those who knew them, Doctor Leonard McCoy and Theresa Gray have left the City.

[It was quite a shock to find them both gone once midnight had rolled around and the weekend's curse passed. Chekov is still a little too stunned to process the information himself, but it feels important to let the network know that they have left.

He pauses as if he would like to say something else. When no words come to mind, he goes with the sign-off that's standard when making ship-wide announcements at home.]

Thank you for your time.


[COMMENTS]

[The video shows a brightly-light room, currently occupied only by Chekov (alert and chipper in spite of the late hour) and a machine on the coffee table that looks like someone's attempt to meld a computer and a microwave. The mangled electronic(s?) is clearly not the topic of this network broadcast.]

I have been thinking about the City--why it is here, who controls it truly, what powers are capable of plucking us from our own dimensions and placing us here without a detectible temporal ripple. After a month, all I can conclude is that it would be foolish to conclude much of anything other than the following: the City is strange and illogical. The stars do not move in an ascertainable pattern, I can see nothing that dictates when a curse will or will not strike an individual, the gods are crazy...

[He sighs in his usual overdone fashion--a good indicator that he's not all that frustrated--and then smiles.]

But the company is good. When I read on the network, that is what I see the most. The curses are bad, the City is terrible, we are all trapped... but the company is good.

Oh--speaking of good company, if you have not met Doctor McCoy, I think that you should. He is from my world and not only is he one of the best doctors in Starfleet, but he is also exceedingly personable and eager to meet new people.

[Anyone who is at all versed in the art of reading Chekov's facial expressions will know that this is Not True and he doesn't mean it in the least. He then hops back to something resembling seriousness.]

But I was worried, when I came here, that I would not function well in the City. It is difficult to imagine living for months or years in a place--learning all that there is to learn, meeting people and building a new life among them--with the knowledge that it will disappear. I cannot imagine living possibly years of my life only to forget them. I think, though, that no one forgets when they leave, not wholly. That is not how the brain works. We must retain something of the City even after we return home...

[This seems to be wandering into more serious territory than Chekov cares to explore. He pulls a face and moves to cut the video feed.]

But I should not talk out loud after thinking too much. These are, I am sure, all thoughts that have been on the network before. I have to share them, sometimes, because there is only room for so many thoughts in my head at once.

[The feed ends abruptly.]


[COMMENTS]