SONS OF SOONG
Chapter 1
Both Juliana and her husband, Dr. Noonien Soong were just finishing up on their son Lore, an android they had built together in Noonien's image. "Final touches," the cyberneticist said with a light smile. Juliana clapped her hands excitedly, although she was still a little sore about losing B4, their eldest "son," eldest android. "There. We. Go," Noonien said happily before activating their new son.
The androids eyes snapped open and he looked around, his eyes automatically adjusting to the light. "Son?" Dr. Soong asked, holding back his excitement. The "baby" android only tilted his head confused. "Honey, I'm your mother and he's your father. Do you understand?" Juliana asked as her husband removed the restraints. "M-mother … F-father?" Lore repeated tilting his head in the opposite direction, sighing as his mouth twitched. "Very good!" Dr. Soong said happily, proud that Lore seemed to be working fine.
They both watched as Lore went to step off the operation board, but instead of walking the baby android toppled to the floor. Both the parents gasped simultaneously before trying to help him up. "What happened?" Dr. Soong asked as he help Lore to his feet. "W-well I … I fell," Lore said as he sat down in a chair nearby. "What'd I do wrong?" He asked with a sigh looking first at his mother, then at his father with a confused and worried expression. "Awe, nothing sweetheart. We'll have you walking by yourself in no time," Juliana replied sitting next to him and caressing his left hand in both of hers. "She's right Lore, after all you are a baby in a matter of speaking," Noonien added bouncing on the balls of his feet.
After teaching their son the basics, how to eat, walk, drink and talk more human, the parents were exhausted. "It's just until tomorrow morning Lore darling," Juliana said as Dr. Soong locked Lore in a harness across his chest on the bed. "I'm not in trouble am I?" Lore asked, but Juliana shook her head. "Of course not son, you've done nothing wrong. We're just tired, and need our rest, and we can't have you running around town without us now can we?" Dr. Soong asked tapping Lore lightly on the cheek, although he knew Lore couldn't really feel it. Lore nodded and sighed as his mouth twitched again, and watched as his parents headed off to bed for the night.
The next morning Dr. Soong and Juliana woke up, and took a shower to get ready for the day. "Morning son," the cyberneticist said into Lore's room. "Morning?" Lore replied confused, but shrugged it off. "It's such a beautiful day darling," Juliana said as she walked in as well, finishing getting ready by putting her long hair up, then helped Noonien to remove the harness. "It'll be fun to, it's your first day of school, follow me."
Dr. Soong showed Lore how to put his shoes on, and grabbed a lunch from the food replicator before walking out the door. "Have a nice day at school honey!" Juliana called from the door. Lore nodded and waved to his mother before quickly falling Dr. Soong down the street.
Since it was his first time outside and into the town, all Lore wanted to do was look and touch everything. He stopped to smell the flowers, and picked up a small flat rock on the ground, running his finger along the smooth tip. "Don't dawdle now, come on Lore," Dr. Soong said as he stopped and turned to see Lore letting a dog lick his hand.
"Tom Handy," Dr. Soong said shaking the hand of a man around 5'7" tall with black hair and brown eyes, then introduced him to Lore. "I'm taking Lore to school, I want him to have as much human contact as possible," he said with a light smile and a nod as Lore stuck his fingers in a puddle and swirled the water around creating ripples. "I'm sure Piper'll help him out if he starts struggling," Tom said patting Lore on the back. "He won't struggle, he may be just learning, but he's not stupid," Dr. Soong said before leading Lore into the school house.
Once they arrived, Dr. Soong told Lore he'd be back around noon then left leaving Lore marveling at all the tools, chalk, and desks around the room. "What's that?" He asked turning to a black rabbit from Earth eating in a red and white cage. "That's the class pet, her name's Hopper," a young girl said twirling her right pigtail around her finger as she sat next to Lore. She had long blond hair in pig tails and sparkling blue eyes. "I'm Piper Handy, and Father already told me about you, he's your father's best friend. You're Lore," she said proudly. Lore nodded and held his hand out to shake hers. "Nice to meet you Piper," he said then growled lightly as his mouth twitched.
Every day from 7:30 AM to noon, Lore attended school, although he already knew everything the teacher could teach him, there was still so much more he wanted to learn. While he was at school, Dr. Soong used the opportunity to work on his next android, Data, although Juliana didn't want him to make him in his image, but Noonien insisted. "Why can't it be a girl?" Juliana asked for the eighth time that week. "We don't have a female mold, that's why, and they take to long to make," came Noonien's usual reply.
As Lore walked home Friday afternoon, he ignored the whispers and stares from the colonists, although he heard them quite clearly, things like: "That's Often Wrong's boy, a complete menace," "I bet he killed the Roans last night," or "I hear he stole from the jewelry shop, and then went after Tom Handy's shop." Of course the only rumor that was true was the last; he had stolen from the jewelry shop for his mother's birthday and told her that he had bought it. Noonien knew it was true, and he planned to confront his son when he got home. He and Juliana had agreed to lock Lore in the harness for the weekend, hoping to teach him that stealing was wrong, to ground him in a sense.