100 words on “Empath” from Yeoman on the Bridge
Growing up I watched a lot of Star Trek and was fascinated by characters who had empathic and telepathic abilities. Like me, their minds were different than the others around them, and while this gave them an advantage it also set them apart and could make life harder to navigate. Characters like Deanna Troi developed skills to shield themselves from the deleterious effects of hearing and feeling too much too often, while someone like Tam Elbrun couldn’t. I can’t turn off being autistic, but I’ve developed skills that help me cope with being from another planet, living on this one.