Chapter Four: Obsessions
A few days later — after allowing Data to resume his duties — the captain called a senior staff meeting in the observation lounge. All members were present, with the exception for Cmdr. Data, who remained at his post on the bridge. Everyone was puzzled and wondered about the subject of the meeting as they observed the captain, who for the first time in a very long time, looked particularly unnerved.
"Well, let's get started shall we?" He began after taking a moment to clear his throat. "As you all are aware, Cmdr. Data has downloaded the memories of his brother, Lore, in an attempt to… understand his history."
Geordi stifled a grunt which remained unnoticed by all except Counselor Troi, who gave him a faint, reassuring smile as the captain continued.
"It was Data's wish to do so in order to put to rest the fears that he might someday be capable of similar behavior to that of Lore if his emotion chip were to malfunction. I had hoped that downloading the memories would have been sufficient, but now it has become overwhelmingly clear that Data… desires to reactivate Lore."
"What!" Everyone simultaneously exclaimed, with the exception of the captain, Cmdr. Riker, and Geordi — who exchanged dissatisfied glances.
"I was just as shocked as all of you and immediately upon hearing the idea, I promptly rejected it." The captain added, much to the relief of everyone at the meeting. However, they were totally unprepared for what the captain said next: "Since then, I've decided to approve his request."
At first there was stunned silence, which was eventually broken by Geordi and Worf — who stood up from his chair.
"Captain!" Geordi exclaimed, failing to think of anything else to say.
"Sir, I must protest! This must not be allowed! Lore…" Worf growled and fell silent when the captain raised his hand.
"Mr. Worf, Geordi… I understand your objections. I'm pretty sure everyone in this room shares them. However, there are things that have come to light — things I'm not at liberty to discuss with you all. Needless to say, when Lore is reactivated, security will need to be at maximum efficiency. Lt. Worf, I need you to establish a flawless security plan by 09:00 hours tomorrow. The rest of you will receive your orders from Commander Riker once a contingency plan has been established. Understood?"
Knowing that there was no point in arguing with their captain, the senior staff answered: "Yes, sir." in glum, near-perfect unison after which time, the captain called Data into the room.
"You wish to see me, Captain?" Data asked.
"Yes, Data." The captain answered as Data took his place at the table. "I've just informed the senior staff of your desire to reactivate Lore."
"If I may ask, sir; what is the purpose of doing so if you have already rejected my wishes?" Data asked in a confused tone that matched his facial expression.
Picard sighed and closed his eyes for a brief moment, as if summoning strength to utter his next words.
"Because Data, I have changed my mind. I now… approve your proposal." He answered silently.
A smile spread across Data's face. However, he was the only one who was pleased to hear the news. The rest of the staff were nervous, upset, fearful and even angry.
"Thank you, sir. I appreciate the fact that you have reconsidered…" Data began.
"Yes Data, I know." The captain interrupted. "However, you understand there will be extremely tight security protocols during and after the process of Lore's reactivation."
"Yes, sir. I understand. It is a reasonable precaution."
"Commander Riker will be sending everyone a detailed contingency plan once he's completed it. However, since you know Lore better than anyone on the ship, I ask that you review the plan to ensure that all bases are covered."
"Yes, sir. I would be happy to do so." Data replied calmly.
"Alright then, it's settled. You're all dismissed."
As he exited, Data noticed the strange looks he was receiving from his colleagues. Stranger still was the fact that none of them said a word to him — not even Geordi. Feeling that his friends and colleagues were upset with him, he decided to allow them some space. However, when days went by without much word from them — outside of the usual professional conversations, Data became concerned and decided to seek advice from Counselor Troi. She basically told him what he already knew, that his friends — herself included — were shocked and disappointed about the recent developments and needed time to process them.
Eventually, Data's friends slowly opened up to him again. However, their interactions were still strained and tensions were high. Although Data was upset that his interpersonal relationships with the crew had changed, he managed to set aside his feelings and focus on the task of reactivating his brother. He thought it possible for his first attempt to be a failure due to the significant damage in Lore's neural connections, but he didn't anticipate multiple failures. Geordi, who was charged with the task of assisting Data in his efforts, had mixed emotions about the failures. Although Geordi felt badly about his friend's hopes being crushed, he secretly felt relief after each failure.
Data became obsessed with his endeavor to reactivate Lore. It consumed every minute of his time, except when he was on duty. Even then, there was a part of his positronic processors that dwelled on the thoughts of his goal. It left no time for social gatherings or leisure activities. Data's friends became increasingly concerned with his intensity. With each failure, he became more and more impatient — with himself and with his colleagues. He was often a bit overbearing when it came to overseeing his subordinates. It wasn't extreme, but it was quite out of character for the normally mild-mannered android. Ensign Jai, a recent graduate from the academy was assisting Cmdr. Data in engineering one afternoon and found herself in the path of his wrath. No matter what she did, Data seemed to be growing increasingly impatient with her.
"Ensign Jai, have you finished reprogramming the sensors?" Data asked the petite officer.
"Not yet, sir." She answered after gulping. Her eyes were like those of a dear in headlights. "I just…"
"Why is it still not done?" Data asked harshly.
"My… initial calculations were off sir. I'm trying to…" Ensign Jai's voice quivered as her shaky hand tapped the buttons of her PADD.
Data swooped beside her and quickly confiscated the device, causing her to gasp. He then scrolled through the calculations and his face frowned with marked disappointment.
"This is unacceptable, Ensign! Correct these configurations immediately!" He quietly exclaimed as he handed the PADD to her.
"Yes, sir. That's what I was trying to do, but you —"
"Do not attempt to argue with me, Ensign. Now make the necessary adjustments before I cite you for insubordination!" Data hissed as he glared at her.
"Yes, sir." Ensign Jai replied tremulously as she fought back tears.
Data returned to his console and continued his work. After a few minutes, he heard Ensign Jai stifling her sobs as she worked. An ordinary human might not have heard her, but the sound of her grief was all too clear to his hyper-sensitive hearing. Concerned, he approached her.
"Ensign…" Data said gently as he placed a hand on one of her trembling shoulders. She flinched in response.
"Commander!" She exclaimed with shock, nearly dropping the PADD before wiping her teary eyes. "I'm almost done with the reconfigurations. It will only take a few minutes. I'm so sorry it's taking so long, sir. I — I guess I'm really nervous… not that it's any excuse, sir."
The terrified ensign was talking as fast as she could in order to explain herself. She spoke as though she were pleading her case to a judge in order to spare her life. Data frowned and lowered his gaze from hers for a brief moment before looking into her red-rimmed eyes once again. Seeing the look on his face, her panic switched to overdrive.
"Sir, I'm so sorry to have disappointed you again!" The young Ensign sobbed. "I promise I'll…"
"Ensign, it is alright. I am not upset with you." Data gently interrupted. "There is no need for you to apologize. In fact, I am the one who should apologize to you. My behavior towards you was… gratuitous. I should not have lost my temper with you. I am sorry."
"I understand, sir. Everyone has bad days right? Anyway, I'd better get back to the reconfigurations. I should have them ready for you in a few minutes."
Data nodded to the Ensign, who turned to continue her work. He felt terribly that he had taken out his frustration on an innocent person. He made a vow to himself that he would do his best prevent it from reoccurring.
Later that evening, Geordi invited Data to Ten Forward to help ease his mind. He knew Data was highly upset about his recent failures. When Data entered, Geordi noticed that he looked miserable and a bit angry.
"Hey, Data!" Geordi waved. "Over here!"
Upon seeing his friend, Data slowly walked over to the bar to join Geordi.
"Hello, Geordi." Data greeted somberly.
"I see you're still pretty upset."
"Yes. It is my fault, Geordi. If I did not attack him… if I did not deactivate him —"
"You would be dead and so would I, Data." Geordi replied softly.
"I understand. However, I could have taken a different course of action."
"Like what?" Geordi asked, prompting his friend to think for a moment.
"I do not know." Data answered softly. "I can not think of any alternatives at the present time. However, there must have been a way for me to avoid this situation. There must have been another option that I have overlooked."
"Data, you were only given one option."
"At the time, I thought that was the case. However, now I am not so certain. Because of my actions, Lore may never have the opportunity to redeem himself."
"Data, maybe it's for the best. Maybe he's not supposed to be reactivated. Have you ever thought about that?"
An angry look crossed Data's face as he glared at Geordi — who immediately regretted his last statement.
"Geordi, you were against the idea from the very beginning and I do not blame you. However, your current behavior suggests that you secretly wish for me to fail at my attempts to reactivate Lore. I find that very difficult to accept." Data replied. The disappointment in his voice was all too clear.
Geordi lowered his head shamefully. What Data said was true; his hatred for Lore had in fact inspired him to wish failure for his friend.
Meeting his friend's golden gaze, Geordi attempted to explain: "It's not exactly like that Data. Well it kind of is… but you see, Data it's complicated."
Guinan was a welcome interruption as she brought a drink over to Data. It was the color of Aquamarine. Data gave her a puzzled look.
"Thank you, Guinan. However, I have yet to order a drink." Data stated.
"It's a new drink I came up with today. I call it Perseverance. I thought you could use some." She said with a wink.
Guinan slid a drink over to Geordi. His drink was bright orange, red and yellow.
"Geordi, I made this for you. It's a combination of three of my specials: Understanding, trust and forgiveness. I suggest you drink it all." She said gently before she walked away to tend to other patrons.
Geordi and Data looked at each other with surprise before they started their drinks.
"Data, I'm really sorry about wishing you to fail… but it's just…" Geordi attempted to explain.
"There is no need for you to explain, Geordi. You are afraid of what might happen after Lore is reactivated." Data softly stated.
"Yeah, but that doesn't give me the right to take it out on you. It doesn't give any of us the right to direct our feelings for him towards you. I'm sorry, Data."
"No one is without fault, Geordi." Data said with a gentle smile. "Apology accepted."
After they finished their drinks, Data asked Geordi to return to the lab with him to help him make yet another attempt to reactivate Lore. The two worked for hours and Geordi could barely stay awake.
"Alright, Data. It looks like the damage to that last neural connector has been repaired. I guess you could give it a try now." Geordi said with a yawn.
Data was filled with anticipation and anxiety. He sighed before poising himself to reach behind Lore's back and flipped the switch as he had done so many times before.