The Argelian empathic contact was a form of non-verbal communication that was conducted directly from one mind to another (alive or deceased) used by the Argelians, a species native to the planet Argelius II. (TOS: "Wolf in the Fold")
Overview[]
An Argelian with the "empathic contact" ability
In 2267, the crew of the starship USS Enterprise visited Argelius II for Montgomery Scott's medical leave when several women were murdered. Officer Scott was the main suspect so the highest official on the planet, Prefect Jaris, had his wife Sybo perform the Argelian empathic contact to probe Scott's mind and see what she could find out about the murder. Captain Kirk stated that he had heard of it but thought it was a "lost art." Prefect Jaris clarified their history by stating that his wife was a descendant of the "ancient priestesses" of their land and thus had the "ancestral gift."
Prefect Jaris said that his wife must meditate for a time before she would be ready to perform the empathic contact. Sybo asked for the murder weapon since the empathic contact also included the ability to receive impressions from inanimate objects. However, the murder weapon was missing so Sybo decided to continue meditation while standing posed with her arms in the air over an altar with an open flame. This was supposed to help her focus and concentrate her abilities.
Once the ceremony begins, all attendees sat on pillows holding hands around a fire, resembling a seance. Sybo repeated phrases like "Let the circle not be broken," and "Concentrate upon on the flame." She also mentioned the "Altar of Truth" upon which the open flame burned. In doing this ritual with all these sacred objects she was able to make "contact." She stated that she was making contact with a person, possibly the spirit of the deceased. She began to describe an evil presence, repeated a name, was consumed with emotion, and screamed.
During the murder trial proceedings Kirk recounted what happened at the "contact" ceremony. He decided to pose a hypothetical, "Let's assume Sybo was a sensitive, that she did sense something evil," and Spock interjected that "sensitivity of certain Argelian women is a documented fact," referring to the long history of the ancestral gift of empathic contact. It turned out that Sybo, using her abilities, did in fact successfully make contact with a disembodied consciousness of Jack the Ripper or at least a non-humanoid lifeform who had once possessed the body of "Jack the Ripper." (TOS: "Wolf in the Fold")