Twenty-Five: Inexplicable Occurrence

Then one day, something terrifying happened. Vencel, Geordan and Lysander were all playing a safe distance away from the holo-programmed fireplace in the study. I was sitting in my chair while reading a book. I frequently kept an eye on them, and smiled as they played silly games. Their laughter was infectious and almost musical. Data returned from work. He greeted and embraced the children and inquired about the game they were playing. When he left them to their amusement, he stole a kiss from me before sitting in his chair which was next to mine. As we exchanged the details of our day, Data suddenly froze mid-sentence when the children laughed. I giggled along with them, but the expression on Data's face was one of sheer panic. At first, I didn't know why.

"Data? Honey, what's wrong?"

"He is laughing. He should not be laughing." Data whispered while standing from his seat.

"Data, what are you…" I broke the sentence when I saw Vencel. He was laughing!

"Oh my goodness! Data, this is wonderful! He's experiencing humor. Why aren't you happy for him?"

Data ignored my question and rushed over to Vencel, startling him.

"Father, you've frightened me. What's wrong?" Vencel asked.

Hearing Vencel use a contraction, Data cocked his head and briefly closed his eyes.

"What did you say?" He asked in order to be sure.

"I said what's —" Vencel didn't have the chance to finish the statement. Data grabbed Vencel by the shoulders to lift him to his feet.

"Vencel, you must come with me immediately." Data ordered.

I was terrified and so were the children. I never saw Data act in such a dire manner.

"Data, stop it! You're scaring them!" I cried.

Data was focused. He was practically dragging our struggling son towards the lab. Lysander and Geordan were hectically asking me: "What's Daddy doing? Where's he taking Vencel?"

Upon hearing the commotion, the housekeeper entered the room and inquired if everything was alright. I immediately instructed her to take Lysander and Geordan away before rushing towards the lab behind Data. I no longer heard Vencel struggling, which made me extremely nervous. I squeezed through the lab doors just before they closed and locked. I was out of breath and my heart stopped when I saw that Data had deactivated Vencel.

"No!" I screamed tearfully. "Data, what are you doing?!"

I rushed over to Vencel's deactivated frame and reached for the switch to reactivate him, but Data promptly grabbed my wrist.

"Data, let go of me!"

"No! You must leave!"

"Data, I'm not going anywhere until our son is reactivated! So let go of me!" I demanded.

My demands fell on deaf ears. Instead, Data lifted me over his shoulder and carried me towards the lab exit.

"Data! Please don't do this!" I cried. "What's wrong? Whatever's happening, we have to deal with it together! I'm your wife, remember? Vencel's not just your son, he's mine too!"

Data paused for a moment before gently placing me down on the floor. He took me by the hand and apologized for scaring me and the children. Then he explained the reason behind his seemingly harsh actions. He explained the details behind the death of his daughter, Lal — something he often found too painful to discuss at length.

"Shortly after Lal began using contractions and experiencing emotions, there was an irreparable cascade failure in her neural net. That is how she died. I am afraid the same is happening with Vencel. I must act immediately." He explained while returning to Vencel's deactivated frame. "The end result may not be favorable. Therefore, I wish for you to leave. You should be spared of any potential heartache."

I stood next to Data — who'd already began inspecting Vencel's positronic brain. I gently placed a hand on my husband's shoulder.

"No, Data. My place is by your side. I'm not going anywhere. If there's anything wrong with Vencel, he's going to need our love to help him through. He is our son and we have to face this together. I will help you as best I can."

Data combed through all of the pathways in Vencel's neural net. One by one, they checked out fine. Then suddenly, a cascade failure began. Data had me read the information aloud from the console. It enabled him to work faster in repairing the damage.

"Kadalynn! You must read faster!" Data commanded, his voice laden with impatience.

"This is as fast as I can go, Data! I don't want to make a mistake! It could kill him if I do!" I replied tremulously.

In the brief moment I took to look in Data's direction, I realized his hands were moving so rapidly, I almost couldn't see his fingers. I continued to announce the readings to him, informing him of the next pathway collapse until there were no more. Everything grew quiet for a moment until Data broke the silence.

"Kadalynn! Why have you stopped reading?! We need to keep going! We are wasting valuable time!" Data snapped.

At that point I sobbed. I couldn't take anymore.

"Data… that's all! There's nothing more to read. What does that mean?! Please Data. Please tell me our son isn't dead!"

Data held me in his arms and sighed tremulously. I felt his silent tears dripping onto my face.

"I can not say that until we attempt to reactivate him. If our endeavors were successful, he will rouse. However, there is a chance he may have sustained damage to some of his functions."

"I don't care! I just want my son back!" I wept.

"As do I, Kadalynn."

We approached Vencel, whose still frame was seated and strapped to a chair. His face in a perpetual neutral state. Data and I stared at one another for a moment before he flipped the switch. For a split second, Vencel remained still. Suddenly, he blinked several times and appeared to be confused.

"Mother. Father. How did I get to the lab?" He asked. "The last thing I remember was playing with my brothers and…"

Vencel began laughing anew. Data sighed and with a jerk of his head, indicated that I begin the readings again. He analyzed the circuitry in Vencel's head. Before long, we both regarded one another with puzzled expressions.

"Everything here seems normal." I said to Data.

"The same applies here. He appears to be fine." Data responded with relieved astonishment.

Vencel was indeed alright. However, he lost some of his short-term memory. Thankfully, he forgot about the traumatic way Data dragged him into the lab. Our other children didn't get over the event so easily. For a short while, they were afraid of Data. It took several conversations with them before they became comfortable around him again.