Data craned his neck over the table. He was trying to see what Lal was reading. He wasn't really sure that she was reading, but the rapid movement of her eyes seemed to suggest that she was. And, going by her many different facial expressions, Data could easily tell that she was rather enjoying whatever it was that she was reading. However, Data was curious, he had always been curious. So, he had to ask her what she was up to.

"Lal?" Data asked as he put down his PADD on the table. "What are you reading?"

She put down her book, the cover facing downwards. "How did you know I was reading?" She asked curiously.

"I simply recorded the direction of you eye movement and therefore was able to—"

Lal cut him off. Even though she did care for him, she really didn't care for all of his lengthy and overworked explanations. "Try and see if you can guess what I'm reading," she suggested with a sly grin on her face.

Data thought for a while, before coming to a decision. He examined the book, but he couldn't really see it all that well from the angle he was at. "I will comply," he replied. "Judging by the fact that the text you are currently reading is printed on bound paper, I will assume that it is at least a few centuries old."

"Yes, you're right so far," Lal said.

"What genre is the book?" Data asked.

She shook her head and then took the book away from the table and put it on her lap, so to be sure that Data couldn't see it. "You tell me," she replied simply and rather unhelpfully.

"I presume it is a work of fiction."

"Yes."

"Is it a detective story?" Data asked inquisitively.

She laughed a little. "I knew you were going to say that!"

"Am I correct?" Data asked her.

"No."

"If it is not a detective story, then is it romance?"

Again, Lal chuckled quietly. "No, it's not. I don't think my English Literature teacher would want us all to read that sort of thing!"

Data understood what she said, but not all that well. He continued guessing. "Is it science fiction?" He asked.

Lal frowned and sighed. She looked annoyed, and she was, a little. "Okay, you win," she said, smiling. "However, do you know what the book is?"

"That would take an inordinate amount of time to calculate. There are so many variables."

"Fine," she decided, "Who is the author? There really can't be that many human authors of science fiction."

He shook his head. "On the contrary, the majority of science fiction originating from the Alpha and Beta Quadrants are from Earth. The planet experienced a surge in the genre in the mid nineteenth century, which lasted until the early twenty-first century."

Lal had almost forgotten about the quiz she was challenging her father with. "Why did it stop?"

"World War Three of the planet Earth caused so many deaths that the literary and educational sects of the planet were simply destroyed and abandoned. There was no longer a need for someone to be able to read, speak or write. Soldiering was of a higher priority. In addition, when humanity experienced its first recorded First Contact with another species—"

"Vulcans," Lal interjected.

Data continued. "—there was no longer a need for science fiction. What was once fiction, such as faster than light travel and extra-terrestrial life, was now a reality and no longer exciting."

Suddenly, Lal realised they had gotten a little off track. "Anyway, as interesting as that was, you still have to guess who the author is."

"I will try, however, it may take some time," Data said as he furrowed his brow and tried to think of who the author could be. He had so many names whirling around in his head, that he didn't know which one to say. Then, he realised that saying one was as good a guess as saying any other, technically speaking, so he chose a name. "Arthur C. Clarke?"

Lal shook her head. "No."

"H.G. Wells?"

"No," Lal replied again.

Data thought some more, this time harder. "Jules Verne?"

Lal shook her head again.

"Philip K. Dick?" Data said, but then he saw Lal sigh and he gathered that he was incorrect again. He gave it another go. "George Orwell?"

Lal smiled and shook her head. "No."

Finally Data said the name which he had been saving for a long time. He thought it had the highest chance of being correct. "Isaac Asimov?"

Lal nodded and handed over the book to her father. Data studied it carefully and then read the blurb of the book. "Why are you reading this?" He asked.

"I asked my teacher for some recommendations and that was what she suggested. Have you read it before?"

He shook his head. "I have not read it, but I am familiar with the plotline," he said.

"Well, don't spoil it for me, then," she replied.

Data had another fact tucked up his sleeve. "It was Asimov who first proposed the idea of a positronic brain in an artificially intelligent being."

"I know," Lal nodded.