Chapter One

The mass had worked. I could see the life of Omicron Theta 3, before it was destroyed by the crystalline entity. Dr. Soong, Juliana, all of the citizens. They were all there. I attempted to keep out of their sight, so that they could not recognize me. I looked at my tricorder and saw that I only had 32.64 seconds left until the mass would collapse. A fear grew in me and I sprinted after the mass, which apparently, was only visible to me. I did not want to be rude, so as I pushed them out of my way, I said the following words,

"Excuse me. Pardon me. I am sorry," and so on.

I got to the mass on time, and I climbed in. But it quickly began to collapse while I was in it. Everything seemed so vague. The forms of Captain Picard and Geordi's bodies were so blurred and disoriented. I could hear the voices on the Enterprise.

"Maintain the structure Geordi!" I heard Captain Picard cry out.

"I'm trying sir!" Geordi responded.

But it was too late, it had collapsed. All the sounds I heard, everything I saw, turned to darkness. . .

"Computer, end dream sequence."

I arose from my bed, somewhat shaken by my nightmare, knowing that the dream corresponded to the events that would be happening today. I changed into my uniform, fed spot, and played with her for a while. She was incredibly happy when I was petting her. She purred very audibly, and rubbed her face against my chest. I could not help but smile lightly at her behavior. But the fear of the experiment failing quickly erased my smile, and caused me to what humans call "zone out." I stared at a blank spot on the wall, thinking about absolutely nothing. It was truly an intriguing experience. But I was startled by the doorbell.

"Come in." is the usual response to the doorbell. It was Counselor Troi. "Good morning Counselor," I said, welcoming her into my quarters.

"Hello Data," she said, acting cautious.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked, seeing the concern in her facial expression.

"I think I should be asking you that question." I cocked my head in confusion; Geordi always told me that it is a habit of mine.

"Data, I have been detecting some very strong emotions from you. Doubt, worry, fear. Are you sure you want to continue with this experiment?" I sighed. Somehow I knew her visit was related to my feelings about the procedure.

"The success of this experiment could mean a new revolution! Allowing travel through space and time, being able to see what happened in the past, and look towards the future, even maybe see what's happening now in another dimension!" I tried to make it seem like I was ready for the experiment, but Counselor Troi knew better.

"I know that this might be one 'giant leap' for all," I noticed that she used part of Neil Armstrong's quote, when landing on the moon. I found it to be somewhat entertaining. "But how about you tell me how you feel. Not the rest of humanity."

"I- I had a nightmare," I started. "We were ready to begin, and I proceeded through the mass. I was transported to my home world. I saw everyone. Even the beginnings of Lore! It was all too real! But I look, and see that the mass would only be stable for so much longer. I rushed back to the vortex, and climbed into it. But as I was traveling back to the Enterprise, the mass collapsed, leaving me alone in darkness." Counselor Troi sighed.

"Data, that's just a dream. Anything could happen in dreams, and they most likely won't predict the future. You and Geordi have the whole formula for this void, or whatever it is planned out very well. If there is any chance that it would collapse before you return, it would be a small one."

Actually, it is a one and twenty chance that I will return. But I chose not to inform her, because she was trying to help me, and the thought of that would also make her lose hope easily.

"Thank you for the encouragement Counselor." I said, attempting to act happier. She came over to me, and put her right hand on my shoulder.

"It'll be fine." She said. And without another word, she left my quarters.

After a long sigh, I checked the time. Eleven hundred hours, only five more hours until I had to report to Engineering to conduct the experiment. But then, it seemed like years.