The following story takes place after the events of The Next Generation novel series Cold Equations, in which Data's consciousness has been transferred into a new android body. Some liberties have been taken with the characters.
A simple Child,
That lightly draws its breath,
And feels its life in every limb,
What should it know of death?
"He's awake."
The first sign of movement came with the gentlest of twitching pale fingers, almost imperceptible to the human eye. To the scientist observing though, their flutter was as clear as day. The face of the patient on the bed remained still, but underneath the alabaster lids, their eyes rolled as if within a dream.
"Should I prepare the restraining field, father?"
The scientist continued to monitor the patient's vitals for a few more moments on the tricorder, before finally acknowledging the young woman at his side with a subtle shake of his head. "That won't be necessary. He's no danger to us. Isn't that right, brother?"
The pale hand shot out almost too quickly to be seen, gripping the scientist's wrist tightly enough to crush a normal human's carpal bones to powder. Their golden eyes opened fully, casting an almost cruel gaze upon the room in which the biobed was contained. He raised himself to his elbows and sneered. Upon seeing the figure standing over him however his face changed to one of abject horror.
"W-Who?" Lore looked upon his sibling in confusion. The voice was unmistakably Data's, but the scientist's face didn't resemble his brother's at all, it more closely mirrored that of their late father Dr. Noonian Soong as a middle-aged man. The pink, human-looking skin made Lore apoplectic with rage. "No. No, no, no! You bastard! What have you done?"
"Hello, Lore. It's good to see you again." said Data calmly.
Lore released his brother's wrist and rolled from the bed, backing himself against the wall.
"Curious." Said Data. "Fully combinant emotional response to external stimuli."
"How is that possible?" Asked the young woman at his side.
Without warning, Lore picked a metal tray from a nearby stand and flung it towards her head at near impossible speed. With barely any effort, Data reacted to pluck it out of mid-air before it could make contact. A second afterwards, the woman raised her own hand in what would have been a vain attempt to arrest its motion.
Data shook his head. "I don't know." He opted for a new approach. "Lal, would you give us the room please?"
Like a cornered animal, Lore looked ready for fight or flight, his eyes darting between the two figures until the woman Data had called Lal left them alone.
Softening his voice as much as he could, Data placed the metal tray behind him onto the bed. "Lore, there is no further need for violence. You are quite safe here."
For a moment it looked like he would break, but soon he seemed to calm himself. He squinted at Data in vague recognition. "It really is you in there, isn't it?" He suddenly ran towards him and before the other could react, wrapped him in a loving embrace. "Brother!"
o - o - o - o - o
They walked together through a series of indistinguishable corridors, Lore had a suspicion that Data was attempting to lead him in circles in a vain attempt to disorientate him. The idea was ludicrous, but he indulged it. "She called you father. Is she another Soong brat then? You actually made her?"
His sibling, under his shock of floppy dark hair, with its slight flecks of grey at the temples, nodded in the affirmative. "A crude explanation, but accurate."
Lore snorted. "You're truly our father's son. Just like him in every aspect." He took the opportunity to gauge the reaction with a quick sideways glance. "You even speak in contractions now."
"I'm glad you approve."
"Oh don't be glad. It sickens me. I hate it."
As they stopped outside a room with no particular designation, at Data's approach the door opened automatically with a barely audible pneumatic hiss. Lore entered, but his brother remained outside.
"These will be your quarters if you wish. If you're not satisfied we can find something else."
Lore stopped in the centre of the room and grunted when he realised what was happening.
"I'll leave you to get settled." Data offered Lore a quick nod of acknowledgment. "Please join us for dinner later. We have a lot to catch up on."
The door closed behind Data, leaving Lore alone inside the room. When the android approached the entryway however, the alcove remained sealed. He ran a hand over the smooth metal and determined his strength would not be enough to break through. There were no controls to operate it, and no mechanism visible. He raised a fist but held back on hammering at it in frustration.
Turning his attention to the room proper, he found it modestly furnished, but pleasant in a typically Federation cum-utilitarian manner. A large table dominated the living area, and a sleeping cot had been provided in the corner. A vase containing sweet-smelling flowers sat on the bureau, and several paintings of strange, alien landscapes hung on the walls. Not bad for a prison cell, he mused. A number of books sat on shelves along one of the walls and Lore examined them. There were no classics, nothing he recognised. In fact all the titles appeared to concern history.
Curious, he spoke to the air. "Computer, what is today's date?"
A lilting female voice replied immediately. "Stardate 64477.36. Earth calendar June 24th 2387. Vulcan calendar 5th day of Ailat, 2030 Surak-Shi. Klingon calendar-"
Waving to the air he interrupted her spiel. "Stop."
He held onto the table for support. Eighteen years! He'd been asleep for eighteen years. "Computer, end program." He barked. When nothing happened he chuckled. "Worth a try."
He determined from lack of ambient background noise that he wasn't on board a starship, so that ruled out the Enterprise. A planet then. His last memory had been what? A confrontation. An incapacitating phaser blast. I love you, brother. How did he end up here?
He read through the nearest book in a few seconds and dropped it to the floor before reaching for another. They had all been written by a sycophantic Earth historian with no apparent style or talent. As he held another book and read, noticeably slower this time, he whistled nonchalantly.
o - o - o - o - o
Watching Lore on the monitor, Lal tilted her head. "Father? What is that tune?"
"An old Earth melody. Something your grandfather Noonian tried to teach me. It appears he also taught Lore too." Data answered without turning.
"What is he doing with his mouth?"
"Hmm? Oh, he's whistling."
Pursing her lips in imitation and blowing a raspberry, Lal tilted her head again slightly as she delved into her memory banks for more information. "I am not sure I understand the song's meaning, father. Why would the spending of money cause a weasel to burst? Did they overfeed it?"
Data smiled. "It doesn't matter, dearheart. It's just a nonsense rhyme."
"Ah. Like Hey Diddle Diddle. I enjoyed that one."
His feelings betraying him, Data contemplated his daughter with no small amount of sadness. She was, and would remain, pure, but naive. He viewed her as he did himself from years prior, a child. One with a deep yearning for knowledge, but lacking the fundamental means to process emotion, and to grow beyond her most basic programming. When she suffered her cascade failure two decades ago, she experienced emotions as a side effect, but without the benefit of an emotion chip, a device Data had been unable to recreate, she would never be able to experience them again. Her resurrection at the hands of the immortal genius Akharin had been a miracle, so should he be content then just to have her alive with him, but locked forever in the body of an unemotional teenager? He looked upon her and could not find an answer.
"Father? You went away again."
He pinched the bridge of his nose, a human affectation he had adopted with alarming regularity. "Forgive me, child, my mind wandered."
"Look. Lore is sleeping." She said in amazement.
o - o - o - o - o
When the door opened, Data found Lore sitting at the table with his hands behind his head, apparently dozing. He gave his brother a few moments to acknowledge his presence, and when one wasn't forthcoming, he cleared his throat gently.
"Now that's annoying." Said Lore, opening one eye.
"My apologies for disturbing you, Lore. It's time for you to meet the others."
He stretched theatrically before standing. "Why not. It's not like I have anything better to do."
As they walked, Lore found Data staring at him oddly. It bothered him enough that he stopped abruptly, and all but shouted "What?"
"I find myself in a quandary." Data said with his hands behind his back.
"Is that so? Well, you never were the smart one. What is it?"
"Mmm. I'm having trouble understanding how is it you experience emotions."
Lore raised an eyebrow. "Are you suffering memory problems, Data? Don't you recall what happened with dear Papa when I pulled a switcheroo on the old goat? I received the emotion chip designed for you." He stabbed at Data's chest with his finger for emphasis.
"Lore, I removed your emotion chip when you were last deactivated. It was destroyed."
"Was it?" Lore pulled an odd face, feigning surprise.
With the barest trace of impatience in his voice, Data frowned. "Lore. Please don't mistake me for the brother you manipulated on your planet of Borg slaves. I am not the Data you remember."
Lore looked upon the creature that was now Data Soong with no small amount of revulsion. "I can see that."
"It's no secret, Lore, that your programming is more complex than I originally gave you credit for, but before you tricked our father into installing the chip, what you had was merely a facsimile of emotion, designed to make you appear more human. You could never actually feel them yourself."
"And now?"
"I can't explain how, but, I felt your anger at the sight of our father. When you thought I was him, you suffered an emotional reaction."
Lore's eyes darkened as he leaned closer to Data, gritting his teeth. "Brother. You've not even begun to see me angry."
Attempting to deescalate the tense situation, Data's face softened. He doubted Lore could hurt him while he was in his new form, but he was unwilling to test the theory. "I'm sorry for upsetting you, Lore"
Lore sighed. "Oh stop apologising, it's beneath you. As for my emotions, well I guess that will have to remain my secret for now." Lore said with a mischievous smile before walking on ahead.
The two paced the corridor in silence for a few minutes more, stopping only when they reached a transparent tunnel that was flanked on either side by two enormous windows. The view outside was one of raw, savage beauty. Vast obsidian mountain ranges stretched into the distance under rolling orange skies. The thick clouds hid the stars, and streaks of blue lightning could be seen occasionally sparking within them, an eternal storm. Whatever atmospheric conditions were out there, it was doubtful an organic being could survive for more than a few minutes.
"Where exactly are we?" Lore asked.
"A K-Class planet in the Delta Quadrant, far enough away from... Interruptions. It doesn't have an official designation, but Lal has christened it Ciandu."
"No ship of your own? Have you finally left those fools at Starfleet?
Data smiled sadly. "That is a long story."
Sensing his brother's discomfort, Lore jabbed gleefully. "I look forward to hearing all about it." He placed his palms against the large transparisteel window and guessed the distance to the nearest mountain at around six kilometres. "I imagine escape would be impossible?"
Data was taken aback. "Lore. Why would you wish to escape? I was hoping you'd remain here with us, once you see what we have to offer you…"
Lore looked shocked before bursting into laughter, clapping Data on the shoulder. "Ah brother, it's good that you've finally found a sense of humour." His head twitched. "Is that music?"
Following the sound of Bach as it floated down the hallway and through an open archway, the two of them entered a larger cathedral-like chamber that served as the complex's dining room.
Dressed in a peacock green and blue dress, Lal was setting the table. Not stopping her chore or wanting to interrupt the music she nodded a greeting to them.
Another figure, dressed in simple tan overalls and a brown tunic, stood with their back to the archway facing a large fireplace. Their arms at their sides, they made no attempt to greet the new arrivals, and continued to stare entranced into the flames.
The final person in the room, dressed in what appeared to be an extravagant Victorian evening gown, was seated at a piano where they continued to play the Bach piece that Lore had heard in the corridor. The acoustics were perfect, as if the room had been specifically designed for the instrument itself. "At last. I was beginning to think you'd never join us." She said.
Lore froze.
Juliana Tainer, née Soong stopped playing and turned around on the stool to face them. She was older than Lore remembered, her hair grey, her face lined. But she was still the mother he had known all those years ago, before he had killed her. A ginger cat purred between her ankles and pushed through the folds of her slip before allowing itself to be picked up and petted.
"What trick is this?" stuttered Lore, incredulously.
Data walked over to his mother and bent to kiss her cheek gently in greeting. "No trick, I can assure you." He took the cat from her and held it for a moment before it squirmed in typical cat-like fashion. He lowered it to the floor where it quickly wormed its way back under Juliana's dress again.
"Oh how I've missed you." Juliana cooed. "And now all my boys are back together. I'm so happy."
Lore attempted to process the bizarre scene in front of him. Somehow his mother was alive once more, somehow his brother was squatting in a brand new body, and somehow Data had spawned this strange, cold, daughter-thing. Plus there was still one anomaly in the room he was yet to engage with. He knew he couldn't leave until he'd gotten to the bottom of it all. "And what's his story?" Lore indicated with his chin to the person at the fireplace.
The figure, if it heard him, gave no sign.
"B-4, would you care to join us?" Juliana asked.
The android gazing at the fire lifted their face from the draw of the dancing flames with a slight wobble, and turned towards the others as if noticing them for the first time. When he spoke, his speech was as Data and Lore's, but slower. Instead of appearing to be one prone to thoughtful contemplation, the voice indicated an internal struggle. As if this wasn't clear enough, their dull bronze eyes offered a look of innocent confusion. "Yes."
He walked over to where Juliana sat and waited obediently at her side, where she fussed at his tunic, smoothing out an invisible crease. "What happened to the music?" he asked.
She patted his hand lovingly "There'll be time enough for music later. Right now I'd like you to meet someone."
He looked up to meet Lore's gaze. "I like music."
"B-4, this is your younger brother, Lore." Juliana said.
The android spoke without an ounce of understanding. "Hello."
Juliana spoke lovingly towards the slow moving android. "B-4 was our, that is, Noonian and I's first successful attempt at a positronic matrix-"
Lore scoffed "Successful?"
"He is... Limited, in his own fashion. And while he may never advance beyond the rudiments of what he was born with, he is still family. Isn't that right, darling?"
B-4 smiled an innocent smile as he stared at Lore in apparent recognition. "Data."
Lal called over to the four of them. "Dinner is prepared."
Juliana clapped her hands. "Come, let's eat. I imagine you have lots of questions."
o - o - o - o - o
At the table, Lore sat in no small amount of amused disbelief as the others passed dishes of food amongst themselves, unrolling napkins and lifting the lids from heated serving bowls. It felt to him a parody of human behaviour.
Juliana sipped at her soup and dabbed at her mouth with her napkin before speaking directly to Lore as she filled his wine glass with a vibrant red Shiraz. "You know, I was seriously injured on Malaya IV when that hideous crystal creature you summoned attacked us. As far as records went I died there. Afterwards I spent many months in a coma, there was no chance of recovery, but dear Noonian, he simply couldn't let things go."
Lore sipped at his wine and found it excellent. "No hard feelings I hope. What happened?"
Data picked up the tale. "Our father had begun construction in secret of a new series of android bodies, a type far beyond you or I, brother. As near to human as he could make them." He stared at his mother for emphasis. "His plan was to eventually conquer death, and transfer his, and Juliana's minds into the new bodies."
Lore scoffed "It sounds typical of him. He always thought himself a god."
Data shook his head. "We mustn't blame him. He really was a genius. He created machines of a type even I cannot begin to replicate.
Sitting next to each other, B-4 and Lal were focused on their meals. Occasionally she would help him with his food when he would hesitate with his fork halfway to his mouth, hanging on her every word he appeared devoted to her.
Juliana continued. "At first I had no idea I was even cybernetic! Can you imagine? We lived together for a while on… some Federation world or other as husband and wife, while he worked on his new body, never telling me anything. Something had changed between us though, I suppose in hindsight the poor man could never fully love me as he did his human wife. And so… I left him, and wandered on my own for a while, until I found Data."
Lore looked at the two of them and the food in front of him, and couldn't decide which disgusted him more, he instead swirled his glass of wine and turned his attention to Lal. "And you? Did the android stork bring you?"
She turned her focus away from B-4 to answer "I was born on the Enterprise. My first life was brief. Father was unsuccessful at recreating a stable positronic matrix."
"First life?"
Data's face was pained. "You have no idea what it's like to lose a child and yet be unable to emotionally express it. It was a terrible paradox that almost consumed me." Juliana took his hand and squeezed it.
Lore laughed cruelly, but the words came out more compassionate than he intended. "My heart bleeds."
"Later, I learned of the being who went by the name Emil Vaslovik, and with his help both Lal and Juliana, who was at that time nearing the end of her computational lifespan, were given a new lease on life."
"Vaslovik! I remember that name." said Lore, shaking his now empty glass. "He was chummy with dear daddy, and that fool Ira Graves."
"Indeed. It was Vaslovik and Graves who were instrumental in piquing our father's interest in cybernetics as a young man. It wasn't until later I learned of Emil's unique condition. He claimed had gone by many names over the centuries, and his knowledge, particularly in matters concerning android biology was immeasurable."
"He had such wild stories to tell. Can you believe he thought he was the original Methuselah?" Juliana laughed as she counted the fingers on her hand "Solomon, Alexander the Great, Lazarus, Merlin. Every day he spent with us he claimed he was somebody different. He actually swore he was friendly with Moses and Socrates! What cheek. I suspect he may even be an android himself, but I have no real way to prove it." She motioned to the room around them. "After he left on his latest adventure he gifted this wonderful complex to us. And while he may be a fraud, we owe him our lives. He brought us all together."
Lore was decidedly unimpressed. "One big happy family." Picking up the bottle of wine himself for a refill, he motioned towards B-4. "And what about this poor dope? Where on earth did you find him?"
"Now, Lore, behave. He's just a child." Chided Juliana.
"B-4 I recovered from a planet near the Romulan Neutral Zone, shortly before I died myself. His disassembled parts had been placed there as a trap for Captain Picard." Data answered.
Now Lore was getting interested. "Wait, how did you die? Don't skip the gory details."
Data waved the question away, either unwilling to revisit the memory or not wanting to indulge Lore. "My original body was destroyed during a Romulan coup, it's not important. I was fortunate beforehand to transfer my memories into B-4 in an attempt to advance his neural net."
B-4 watched a dab of butter slide off his fork and plop into his soup with detached amusement.
"Unfortunately B-4 was unable to process the… data. No pun intended. His prototype matrix proved far too basic."
Lore found himself getting steadily angrier as the story had continued. He tried to remain visibly in control, but inside he was seething.
"Eventually, our father made his presence known, and sacrificed himself to save me. He restored my consciousness in the body you see now."
Lore put down his glass before he ended up crushing it. "He's finally dead then."
Juliana nodded. "God rest his stubborn soul."
Snapping, Lore growled at Data. "And did it never occur to you to rebuild me? Or was I beneath your notice? Eighteen years, brother!"
Data shared a look with Lal. "There was some difficulty at first with locating your body. Originally, with my consent, you were taken to the Daystrom institute on Earth and placed under the care of Doctor Bruce Maddox. Shortly afterwards however you and Lal were removed to a secret location without my knowledge."
"How convenient."
"I fail to see the problem, Lore. You are here now. Is that not indicative that I care for you?"
"The problem? The problem is this… fucking charade." He spat, and swatted the soup tureen. It hit the wall with a loud clang. B-4 jerked in astonished amusement, Lal remained impassive, continuing to eat, but Data and Juliana made their displeasure clear.
"That was rude and uncalled for." Said Juliana admonishingly.
Lore palmed a butter knife and slipped it into his sleeve. "What are you going to do, mother? Send me to my room without desert?"
Data stood and pushed his chair backwards. "That's a capital idea. I think we should call it a night. Lore if you'd like to follow me, I'll escort you back to your quarters. We can continue this tomorrow."
Lore sneered as he backed away from the table. "Go to hell." Pursing his lips he began to whistle Pop Goes the Weasel again, but at this time at incredible volume, raising the pitch until the crystal glasses on the table shattered. B-4 moaned and covered his ears at the sound.
"Lore! Stop that at once!" Juliana shouted over the noise.
The shrieking buzz became a digital hum as Lore interfaced with the complex's computer and a shimmering blue force field split the room in two. On the one side were Data, Juliana, and Lal, on the other Lore and B-4.
He grabbed his brother under the armpit and hoisted him roughly to his feet. "Up you get, Lennie. Let's go see a man about some bunny rabbits."
"Who is Lennie?"
o - o - o - o - o
As the two of them made their way throughout the maze of corridors, Lore pulling his older brother uncaringly behind him, he used the network interface he had sonically created with the computer to scan for a map of the complex. Satisfied, he followed the corridors until they reached what he had been searching for, a hanger bay. His fingers danced over the panel that activated the large door, and after a few thousand attempts he found the correct code that released the lock.
"No."
The hanger bay was utterly devoid of shuttlecraft.
"I'm afraid you were correct when you said there was no escape, Lore. There's no way off the planet." Data's voice came from behind him, he had apparently made short work of the force field.
Backing fully into the hanger, Lore pulled B-4 close, his hand around their throat. He held the knife against the skin of his brother's neck and pressed hard enough to break the surface. A thin trickle of white fluid bled from the cut. "Call. Your. Friends." He hissed at Data.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Lore."
"Call the Enterprise or I'll sever this one's head and gift it to mother on a serving tray."
"Brother-" Data began before Lal stepped out from behind him and interrupted.
"Perhaps he is right, Father. He does not belong with us. He wants to leave. We should hail Captain Jayden."
"Finally, someone with sense." Lore cried to the ceiling above.
Data sighed and nodded. "As you wish."
Motioning at Lal to get her attention he pointed with the knife. "You. Over there against the wall."
Lal acquiesced and stood with her back to the bulkhead, underneath a mammoth coiled conduit which pulsed softly like a heartbeat.
Standing at a console off to the side, Data held his hands before him, waiting for Lore's next move.
"I warn you brother, attempt to beam me anywhere again and you'll be picking bits of the simpleton out of the walls for weeks."
"I understand." He manipulated the controls and stepped away as the comm chimed. "Enterprise. Can you hear me?"
The conduit's energy pulsed a little quicker.
"Enterprise this is Data Soong. Do you read?"
"Well? Why don't they answer?" Questioned Lore.
The energy continued to rise, but there was no response to the hail.
"Perhaps they are out of range. I'll try to boost the signal."
As he played with the console, the pulsing whine began to get steadily louder. He looked at B-4 in the grip of Lore with sorrow. "I'm sorry, brother."
B-4 looked sadly toward Data and offered a smile in return. Lore, suddenly realising what was happening, thrust the knife deeply into the neck of his captive, causing a gush of vital fluid to cascade down the front of his tunic. Instead of collapsing however, the primitive android turned and wrapped Lore in an inescapable bearhug.
"What are you doing? Let me go, you oaf!" Yelled Lore over the sound of pulsating energy.
As the build-up intensified, Lal reached above her head and effortlessly pulled the conduit from the wall, pointing it at the two figures currently embracing in the middle of the hanger. The massive energy discharge hit them both fully, and knocked them over as if they weighed nothing.
With the power shut off, Data approached the stricken pair. Lore opened his mouth over and over but was unable to make anything more than a pitiful, grinding electronic cry.
Lal reattached the conduit. "You correctly interpreted my attempt at subterfuge, father."
"Yes, that was quick thinking, Lal. An energy discharge of sufficient ionic intensity to overload Lore's systems. The very same accident I suffered on Barkon IV. Good work." He knelt over Lore and placed a hand gently on his cheek. "I wanted so much for us to be a family again." He deactivated Lore with a click of the shut-down mechanism under his ribcage. "But it seems you are forever locked into a cycle of violence."
"How many attempts does this make, father?"
"Twenty five. I fear this shall be the last."
"Is there nothing more we can do?"
"For Lore no. I cannot see a way to reconcile his current personality with his existent neural engrams."
"If we wipe his long term memories-"
"There's no guarantee he won't return to his previous erratic disposition."
"And even if he does not he will no longer be Lore."
"That is correct." He said sadly.
Juliana ran into the hanger bay. "What have you done? Oh my beautiful child." She knelt and cradled B-4's head in her hands.
Data watched impassively. "I'm afraid B-4's body is not as durable as Lore's. He has suffered significant damage. I may not be able to repair him."
Juliana's eyes flashed in anger "You will try!"
He stood and looked at the ceiling momentarily, as though he could see through it, past the thick clouds, and to the stars beyond. "I may have a solution." With no display of emotion, Data took Juliana's hands away and promptly separated B-4's head from his shoulders, causing his mother to emit a loud "Oh!" of exclamation. "Lal, would you bring Lore to my laboratory please."
o - o - o - o - o
"He's awake."
The android on the biobed opened his eyes. Sitting up, he held his hands in front of him and examined them closely, his head bobbing like a bird as he processed a wealth of new information.
"B-4 can you hear me?"
The gentle android's gaze found Data's, and he smiled broadly.
"How do you feel?" Data asked.
"I-"
What had been B-4's old head lay inert on the table opposite, a series of long, snake-like wires trailed from the back of its skull into the positronic brain of the figure currently sitting on the bed. The exposed inner workings hummed with vibrant life.
"The transfer is complete." Lal said, as she unplugged the interface cable from B-4. "Lore's personality matrix has been archived, and B-4's memories have been successfully integrated."
"Did it work?" Asked Juliana desperately, clutching her hands together. "Oh tell me it worked."
"B-4? How do you feel?" Data asked again.
The android, fully awake for the first time, alive again in Lore's body, took in the room and his family. He looked at the universe with new golden eyes, and with new hope and said:
"I am functioning within normal parameters."