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"I only began to understand the complexity of the Mizarian visual system when I saw it splayed out in front me. Wispy strands of neural syncytia formed a blue-gray canvas. Associative ganglia were painted in strokes of dull-red. Major signal tracts traced lime-green highlights, merging and dividing like a fractalized root system. The holographic model rotated slowly, testing the spatial resolution limit of the RAIN's acoustic hologram projector. Even so, it was only a miniscule fraction of their neural anatomy: the vast majority of connections were still masked from visual rendering.
It was unclear to me how the probe had acquired such a detailed scan of the Mizarian nervous system, but the utility of the model was impossible to deny. The Mizarian language was deeply entwined with their biology; analyzing a model of their visual/symbolic processing centers had been essential to developing a comprehensive translation key.
However, the key wasn't the only piece of information that MERRYGATE extracted. When she began decoding their language several weeks ago, she had expressed great enthusiasm over alternative, decidedly non-diplomatic methods of communication. At the time, I made the assumption that she was referring to threats. Statements intended to wound morale or confidence rather than the vessel carrying it.
Over the past few hours, I realized that this assumption may have been flawed. With a few gestures, MERRYGATE lifted a ghostly piece of neural tissue up from 3D projection, exposing cable-like bundles of afferent fibers lying beneath.
"The Mizarian visual system shares many similarities with the human olfactory bulb. Minimal compartmentalization. Direct linkage of sensory nerves and primary associative centers with regions responsible for executive function," MERRYGATE commented.
A human brain appeared for comparison, shrinking rapidly in size as the holographic projection flensed down into the occipital lobe.
"By contrast, the human visual cortex is isolated. Inputs are aggressively pruned before they are sent to higher level processing sectors."
I nodded. This particular flaw remains aggravatingly familiar to me. Visual cues are deemed unreliable in interstellar warfare for this precise reason. The human visual system edits out information it deems inconvenient - both readily and aggressively.
"The Mizarian system is...superior...in some respects. Their visual-symbolic language is both universal and efficient. But improved fitness in one area often compels compromise in others. As I said previously, visual inputs are rarely sanitized."
