Mycelial Network

***RP Staff, please review--Val***

## Overview

The Mycelial Network is a discrete subspace domain containing the mycelium, or roots, of the fungus Prototaxites stellaviatori. The network can be conceptualized as a vast microscopic web, an interdimensional tree of branches and roots, an intergalactic ecosystem, or an infinite number of roads leading everywhere. It spans the entire multiverse, including the known universe and all other infinite quantum realities. [*Read the full Memory Alpha article here*]

Matter within or native to "the Network" follows different fundamental laws than that of matter outside the Network. As a result, time is fluid within the Network, and matter native to the Network cannot exist in 'normal space' for any viable time period. Likewise, matter brought into the Network can be slowly consumed and converted to 'usable material' by the native jah'Sepp.

The only known methods for the jah'Sepp to communicate to others outside the Network are either through direct parasitic infection of a living host, or via a bonded pilot.

### In Normal Space

The only vestiges of the Network regularly visible in normal space are growths of the fungus P. stellaviatori. While a difficult organism to cultivate, it is not impossible, and is even known to grow naturally in some areas. Growths of the fungus provide ambient spores for tardigrades to feed upon, or for bonded pilots to be able to use. Direct use of the Network (such as when used for travel) gives off a visible flash of blue mycelial energy which can be detected by ship sensors or by a tricorder at close range.

### Within The Network

Within the Network, the terrain appears to be hospitable. The atmosphere is breathable to most sapient life without additional apparatus, the temperature/humidity is mild and comfortable, and the typical ambient flora is non-toxic to most humanoids that survive crossing the mycelial barrier. However, traversing the Network appears to haves no linear correlation in normal space. Thousands of yards in the Network may be mere inches, while exiting half a footstep away could transport you to a different galaxy. This remains as speculation, however, as there is currently no way of entering and exiting the Mycelial Network without a Spore Drive or a bonded pilot, both of which are utilized as a 'map'.

## Travel and Use

The only technology on record capable of utilizing the Network is Starfleet's spore drive. Only three of these drives exist today: one was salvaged from the surrendered ISS Menelaus by JTFB and is inactive; one was built into the USS Boudicca as part of Project Mercury and remains attached to JTFB; and the final one was built into the refit USS Viribus Unitis and remains the flagship of the Headquarters element of the Alpha Quadrant Force. Using the spore drive, a ship is capable of 'jumping' more or less instantaneously from one point in space to another with no regard for distance.

The elusive Tardigrade is the only known animal in normal space to utilize the Network natively as a method of travel. It feeds on spores as nutrition and can be found (extremely rarely) at naturally occurring outcroppings of P. stellaviatori.

Telepathic activity has been observed to occasionally affect ambient spores, though this has yet to be effectively tested in a laboratory environment and remains an unproven theory.

## Project Mercury and the Spore Drive

The spore drive was a highly-classified experimental drive developed in the 2240's. Only two ships had been outfitted with the early drives (the *USS Glenn* and the *USS Discovery*). Both ships were reported as destroyed as of 2258 and the file on the spore drive was sealed under penalty of treason. In 2408, however, the file was authorized to be un-sealed and restricted to the highest levels of the Federation. Development on the drive was slow until Admiral Rajesh Kapoor took over the project and its data in 2418 as part of Project Mercury.

The goal of Project Mercury was simple: bring the Spore Drive to a more modern spec and refine it for implementation. Initial results from the drive tests were disappointing, however. Even the massive strides in computer technology over the last 150 years could not handle the immense calculations required to quickly and accurately jump a vessel from one point to another. Many calculations could take weeks, when it would be faster to travel at warp. It was quickly determined that the drive still needed a pilot to use as an organic navigator. Over the course of 2420-21, over fifty 'volunteers' of varying species were rounded up and underwent genetic experimentation by the prime universe Klaus von Papen--the head of SFI at the time--and the Terran universe von Papen. Only one survived: "Subject V", the thought-to-be-dead Valerie Callahan.

Through the course of her implementation as a pilot, Val was able to send a distress call to JTFB with the coordinates for the Project Mercury base. A black-ops team found her and managed to escape with her and the ship she was attached to (the USS Boudicca). With Val in JTFB custody, a trial was called to question the ethically-dubious practices of Project Mercury. The project was shut down, and further manufacture of the Spore Drive was forcibly halted due to concerns over the need to have a living pilot. The two remaining active drives on the *Viribus Unitis* and the *Boudicca* were left in the custody of Starfleet and JTFB, respectively. Valerie was given the ability to return to duty, with the ruling that nobody could force her to use her abilities. To this day, she remains the only official Spore Drive Pilot.

Admiral Kapoor, however, was not content to let the science die out. Taking what was learned from Project Mercury, he underwent treatment in late 2422 to augment himself to be a suitable pilot. The treatment was *mostly* successful, though the resulting genetic instability has taken a toll on his mind and fine motor control.

### Pilot Abilities

Bonded Pilots are spliced with a mix of spores and Tardigrade DNA, giving some of the benefits of the creature's longevity and energy resistance, as well as a symbiotic link to the Network. The augmentation involved enhances a pilot's psychic ability, though it does not bestow any new abilities outside of what the network can accomplish. Pilots skilled in psychic rites and disciplines are capable of using spores to project their consciousness into the Network for meditation or communication with the jah'Sepp. Jumps can be done with a spore drive to transport a single ship or a group of nearby ships, and outside the confines of the drive, a pilot can use ambient spores to jump themselves or others a (relatively) short distance away. Like any other skill, this can improve with practice, even granting the ability to hold a jump or save mycelial energy for later.

When interfaced with the drive, pilots have near-total control over a ship. The Generation I drives used in the 2250's had the pilot function as a set of command codes for the ship to prevent accidents during drive operation. This, however, did not prevent misuse of the drive by command overrides. The Generation II drives developed by Project Mercury addressed this by having a pilot function as the ship's prefix code. With the use of the 2.0 and higher interfaces, a pilot can literally think what they want the ship to do....though it can be quite taxing to run a larger ship all on one's own.

"Point jumps" (jumps not utilizing a Spore Drive) can only be done either in the presence of ambient spores, or through some form of being exposed to the energy (i.e. latent/residual energy held for later, direct injection of spores, etc). These **cannot** be done while interfaced with a drive. Point jumps are capable of carrying passengers, so long as the one jumping is willing to focus and bring them along. A jump typically insulates the passenger's mind from more harmful aspects of the Network and keeps the passenger from altering the course of the jump. Destinations are typically limited to a place the pilot can feel or see, but familiar people can be used as a 'targeting beacon', and the Network itself is an easy destination to reach. Travel is especially easy at outcroppings of P. stellaviatori, and it has been theorized that a pilot might be capable of opening a portal into the Network for further study. This theory, however, remains officially untested due to potential concerns from the Oversight Committee.

#### Interfaces

Three different interfaces are currently in use.

* **Mark I:** The Mk. I interface was designed in the 2250's solely for use by a captured Tardigrade. The reaction chamber was filled with spores and two sharp arms were used to conduct highly-focused electrical pulses in order to interface with a Tardigrade's nervous system. This model was initially installed aboard the USS *Viribus Unitis* and was used by Valerie in the assault on the Maxia base held by John Jackson Miller. It has since been upgraded to use the Mk. III interface.

* **Mark II:** The Mk. II interface, also designed in the 2250's, was designed to hold an augmented humanoid pilot. Implants in the arms allow for access to the pilot's nervous and cardiovascular system. A pair of control rods use the implants to monitor the pilot's blood and utilize the nervous system to guide the ship to the intended destination. Travel through the network still puts a strain on the mind, but the physical body is no longer harmed in the process. For comfort, the location of the implants can be adjusted, and the interface can be utilized sitting down.

* **Mark III:** Using the same implants, this version is seemingly identical to the Mark II. However, this interface foregoes a reaction chamber and directly injects the pilot with spores (via their implants) to facilitate jumping. Jumps performed with this interface are typically smoother and use fewer spores than a reaction chamber, though the only official pilot report decries the experience of using the injection interface as 'dangerously addictive'.

### Side Effects and Hazards

Going through the Network is an ordeal that taxes mind and body, even those who are not pilots. Passengers of modern spore drives experience a slight sense of vertigo following a jump, though rapid maneuvers or injury to the pilot can increase these effects. During a jump, the pilot's mind is exposed to the Network. Past, present, future, and every alternative in-between is laid out before the pilot (which has been likened to 'embracing eternity'). Deviation of focus from the pilot can occasionally saturate their mind with scenarios or memories they may not otherwise know about.

* **+** Pilots are more resistant to energy discharges, including weapons fire
* **+** Ambient spores can be consumed to heal injuries
* **=** Eyes (and injuries) glow blue when exposed to spores. This can be suppressed with practice.
* **=** Premonitions can occur, leading to a close save in a combat situation...or a catastrophic failure.
* **=** Dreams can be chaotic, frequently wandering to memories or scenarios held by the Network...which may or may not actually be part of the pilot's reality.
* **-** Traumatic damage can put the pilot into a temporarily comatose state as the body shuts down to repair itself.
* **-** Pilots are sensitive to computerized jumps through the Network, which can give them headaches from up to a sector away.
* **--** Direct injection of spores, while able to immensely enhance abilities, can be addictive and cause withdrawal-like symptoms.
* **--** In the case of Trill, the augmented DNA can prevent new memories from forming with the symbiont. If left untreated, the host risks becoming a 'forgotten host'.

#### Corruption

Spore corruption is a relatively new phenomenon, brought about in part by the development of the Mk. III interface. In its native state, the spores achieve a symbiosis with the pilot/tardigrade are are transformed naturally into the energy needed for travel or healing. With direct injection methods such as the Mk. III interface, energy waste is brought down to practically 0% at the cost of the host body forcibly consuming the spores. The energy is not allowed to dissipate and corrupts some of the surrounding cells.

The documented physical signs of pilot corruption include a geometric rash resembling a circuit pattern forming near the injury and injection sites. Other common soft-skinned areas, such as the neck and wrists, can also be affected. Other personal illnesses may be amplified as well (such as Kapoor's paranoia and nervous tics, and Valerie's withdrawal symptoms following her incarceration). Corruption can be mitigated through a dialysis treatment pioneered by Doctors Aran and Perix. This treatment exposes the corrupted subject to the rescued energy-consuming organism known as the Metroid, which leeches the corruption from the subject's blood and neutralizes it. It is not, however, a quick or permanent cure. Reinfection is possible, and continued exposure to corrupted spores or improper spore use can accumulate toxins faster than they can be purged.

Within the Network, corruption presents itself similarly. Patches of glowing circuit-like shapes may appear within the network on native flora and strata, distorting their shapes and colors. It is currently unknown what the effects of interacting with the corrupted material will do, but given the energetic nature of the Network...it is not something many have been willing to test.