2.
Cold stone...
He was lying on his side, on uneven paving stones. The chilly air smelled of the smoke from hearth fires, and the chirp of nighttime insects filled his ears.
Slowly, he opened his eyes and sat up, then climbed cautiously to his feet. He knew this place... He was near the center of the town square, by the well, and it was very dark. The only light came from the stars, and the sliver of moon high above the clock tower.
"So, you're awake."
He turned his head, squinting in confusion at the man who had spoken.
"Have I been asleep? But that cannot be... It seems highly unlikely I would find myself sleeping out here, in the square. Unless..."
He furrowed his brow, stepping closer to the man in the shadows.
"Has something happened? Are Garvin and Gia all right?"
The man regarded him, the whites of his eyes glinting in the pale starlight.
"What is your name?" the man asked.
"I do not know. My friends here call me Jayden," Jayden told him. "Who are you?"
The man snorted a very slight laugh.
"Who am I?" he said. "You want the truth?"
"The truth would be appreciated," Jayden said.
"All right, then."
The man stepped forward, and Jayden's lips parted.
"You...you look like me," he said, his yellow eyes wide. "Only...your skin and eye coloration suggest you are not an ice man, as I am."
"'Ice man'?" the man repeated. "Is that what you think you are?"
"It is what I was told, following the recent accident that robbed me of my memory," Jayden corrected. "I do not know for sure what I am. Do you know?"
The man opened his mouth, then seemed to think better of it. Instead, he closed the distance between them and clapped a hand on Jayden's shoulder.
"You probably won't understand this," he said, "but this form you see," he gestured to himself, "is likely a reflection of your current, limited frame of reference. I am not a man. I am the dreamscape manifestation of a program designed to seek out and repair system malfunctions and anomalies. You were identifed as one of these anomolies. But, I see now, that is not the case."
Jayden shook his head, and pulled away from the man's touch.
"You are correct, I do not understand. I do not understand this at all," Jayden said, his eyes darting around the silent square. "I wish to leave this place. I wish to return to Garvin and Gia. I believe... I seem to recall that... They are in trouble, terrible trouble. I need to-"
Lt. Commander Data's eyes flicked open and he lurched upright, his pulse throbbing in that disagreeable way he sometimes experienced upon waking from a nightmare. He took a moment to peruse his diagnostics and make a few minor adjustments, then turned his head to blink at his surroundings.
"Data, welcome back!" Geordi said, and smiled. "How are you feeling?"
"I am all right, Geordi," the android told him. "If a bit disoriented. What happened? What am I doing here, in sickbay?"
"A freak ion storm put your systems through a nasty bout of thermal shock," the engineer said. "It took a few hours, but Dr. Crusher and I pulled you through."
Data nodded slightly, his eyes moving back and forth as he reviewed his diagnostic records in light of this new information.
Geordi regarded him, his concern evident in his posture and expression despite the silvery VISOR that covered his eyes.
"Do you remember the storm, Data?"
"I remember being on the bridge when the storm hit," Data said. "There was a very bright flash. After that...I remember nothing until I woke up here. Except..."
"Except what?" Geordi prompted.
"It may be irrelevant," Data said, "but during the time I was…offline…I experienced a rather unusual dream."
Geordi smiled in relief. This was familiar territory, and likely a good sign Data's systems were settling back to normal. After all, it had been a sudden plasma shock in engineering that had triggered Data's dormant dream program to activate, about a year earlier. Since then, Data's newfound 'unconscious mind' had treated him to a range of dream-like scenarios: some imaginitive, some disturbing, but most of them rather endearingly ordinary.
"What was this dream about?" he asked.
"A man… A stranger, who had lost his memory," Data told him, his golden eyes distant. "The setting of the dream seemed very familiar…yet, I am certain I have never encountered that place, or the stranger, before."
"Well, dreams can be like that, Data," Geordi said, starting a tricorder scan on the android. "More real than real. At least, while you're dreaming them. Then you wake up."
"Yes," Data acknowledged musingly. "But, I have a peculiar impression that there is more to this dream than what I saw. Much more. It is as if the details are…locked away…beyond my ability to access them."
He shook his head very slightly, his pale brows knitting over his nose.
"The sensation is most…unsettling."
"That's probably a result of the storm, Data. All that electromagnetic energy dancing around your synapses, wreaking merry havoc with the positron flow... But, if the images bother you, you should talk it over with Counselor Troi," Geordi advised, his main focus on the tricorder's screen.
Data tilted his head slightly.
"Hm," he said, considering. "That is not a bad suggestion. I am again seeing the Counselor regularly - once a week since our encounter with the D'Arsay archive that briefly overtook my systems. I will bring this up at our next counseling session. I would be interested to know if she has any insights to offer."
"Let me know how it goes," his friend said, and snapped the tricorder closed. "Meantime, everything looks fine here. Physically, you're fit as a fiddle and ready to return to duty. I'll just find Dr. Crusher to confirm, and we'll get you discharged right away."
"Thank you, Geordi," Data said, and slid off the biobed. "As always, I appreciate your assistance."
To Be Continued...
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