Chapter Thirteen

After Data had finished his story, the two sat in silence for a time. "Well,"Arzin finally said. "Talk about a crash course in emotion. Not that that's something you can exactly study for anyway, but – you do seem to have had to deal with quite a lot. I don't know how you even functioned."

A brief smile flickered across Data's face. "We function because we have to," he said, remembering Maya saying the same words in regards to fear. "Though at the moment, waiting is exceptionally difficult, I must admit."

"So – why did you download her memories, if you don't mind me asking?"

Now it was Data's turn to be unsure what to say, and at first he only looked at the Trill in faint confusion. It was then that a second explosion rocked the facility.

Support beams held, barely, leaving the basic infrastructure intact, but all systems save the androids' heavily protected network took at least some damage. Emergency backup power flickered on for the first time in centuries. With no advance warning, blast doors did not close and the androids were taken completely off-guard. But they were as calm as ever under Norman's direction, some beginning on repairs while others searched for the cause of this explosion and any other potential dangers.

The second blast had been only slightly more powerful than the first, but it had been meant to destroy as much as possible. Trudy 393 discovered the remnants of a basic but effective bomb that had been placed near the main power conduit running through the heart of the complex. Only luck had kept it from causing a rupture in that conduit, as it had clearly been designed to do. But the damage had not been enough to cause a complete break, and automated systems had been able to keep the conduit intact until androids arrived to make a more permanent repair. The facility was, for the moment, sealed off from the surface by the wreckage, though several hundred androids were working on remedying this.

Over two hundred androids had been damaged and many others had been trapped, though none were destroyed. A thorough search and sensor sweeps revealed no further explosive devices, or any signs of anyone who might have planted the first device. In the inner portion of the rooms Maddox had taken over for his private labs were found several non-functional androids, a few intact but most in various stages of disassembly and beyond repair. At least one was locked away in a special containment area and could not yet be reached. Those that could be restored would be. Everything else was clear.

There seemed only one conclusion: Maddox, suspecting the reactor breach was a trick, had created and planted the bomb before evacuating the facility, hoping to revenge himself by causing as much destruction as possible, though there he had not done as well as he must have hoped.

The only serious casualty was likely to be Maya.

The download had been interrupted for only a few nanoseconds, but this had never happened before in Norman's centuries of experience. He could not predict what the effects might be, and he and Data could only monitor her condition. Arzin, though out of his depth on the equipment, was still doing something equally valuable simply by being there, for without his calming presence Data was not sure what he might have done. Norman was as sympathetic as he could be, but what emotions he seemed to have were subdued, and he did not fully grasp the depth of Data's feelings.

"I should not have taken the risk," Data finally ventured, his voice sounding tired even to his own ears.

Arzin shook his head. "You and Norman both said her memories were beginning to degrade. If you'd waited much longer, she might have just... faded away. It was better to take the chance." He paused, considering his words. "You know, being remembered is important to nearly every sentient species. Some of the Trill symbionts have lived for a millennium, and they remember everyone who's ever joined with them, all their friends and family. Being part of that gestalt memory is as close to immortality as most of us ever get. But even if the worst happens, you'll remember Maya forever. I know that doesn't seem like much now, but – the memories you still have matter. They're important."

Data nodded slowly. "I have always been ambivalent about my possible immortality. There were many occasions when it seemed like – simply one more thing that set me apart from everyone else. Even years ago, I felt it would be... unpleasant for me to continue on indefinitely when everyone else from the Enterprise crew was gone. But until recently, I did not fully understand the importance – the power – of memory. Whatever happens today, I will live as long as I can for her sake. For the sake of everyone I have cared about."

It had now been nearly three and a half hours since the download had completed. Data began to try to resign himself to the fact that he had lost her for a second time.

Then the monitoring panel, which had been showing only the most basic functions, began to flicker into full life. Norman nodded once, seeming pleased. "Processing complete," he announced, as matter of fact as ever, while both Data and Arzin stood and stared. Then Data broke the spell, hurrying over to Maya. Nothing obvious had changed, the painful illusion of life just as it had been, yet somehow there was something different about her. He reached out to take her hand, and at the same moment she sat bolt upright, dark eyes wide, gasping desperately for a breath she did not need.

Data sat on the table next to her and pulled her close, with as much care as though she was still in her frail human body. "Maya," he whispered. "You are all right. You are alive."