Stardate: 58509.8

Captain Picard handed cups of tea to Veluna and Chief Hagan, then sat to join them in the maroon chairs in his quarters. "I'm very interested in anything the two of you picked up from Lore. He's been known to be deceptive and manipulative, so I want to make damned sure that this isn't part of some scheme." He reached for the cup on the table next to his chair.

"If there's a scheme or ulterior motive, I haven't found it." Veluna lifted the cup to her lips, then blew across the surface of the hot liquid, "I sensed in him the same anger and bitterness that he's had since I met him the other day. There were a few waves of sadness, but I think the most surprising reaction from him was when Doctor Chipman was speaking about the emotion chip."

Chief Hagan nodded to the counselor, "I felt that, as well." He took a quick sip of tea, "Upon hearing about it, he experienced… relief?" He glanced at Veluna.

"Yes." Veluna confirmed the Betazoid's statement. "As if a great weight was lifted from him. I'm more worried about Commander Data, really."

Captain Picard frowned and set his cup of hot Earl Grey tea on the side table. "Data? You mean when he knocked over his chair?"

"When T'Mera spoke about the imperative in the chip, Data was overcome with anger and a feeling of betrayal." Veluna leaned her back against the puffed cushion.

Chief Hagan concurred, adding, "In some ways, this is harder on the Commander than it is on Lore. I get the feeling that Lore knew Doctor Soong far better, and expected a certain amount of treachery from him. Data doesn't have the same bitterness when he speaks about his creator. He's becoming disillusioned."

Captain Picard let out a long sigh as he picked up his tea cup, "I can't say as I blame Data. To find out that the man he's come to think of as his father had plans to use him in such a way... In addition to that, it's not easy to face a duplicate of yourself who, by virtue of experience and circumstance, has taken a path of malice." Picard's steel blue eyes stared at some point on a distant horizon for a brief moment, "For now we see, in a mirror, darkly…" then found Veluna's face, "T'Mera believes she can fix Lore's programming, and given the results of her work with Data and B-4, I have no reason to doubt her. Veluna, how difficult will your part be?"

"Fairly difficult." Veluna acknowledged with a sad frown, "I realize that he's an android, but Lore is a near classic textbook example of the older child of someone with narcissistic personality disorder. It's a longer term therapy, but it can be successful if Lore is willing to undergo change. It also depends upon how long you want him to be on the Enterprise."

"That will depend upon Data and Lore." Picard answered, after taking a sip of his tea. "If Lore continues to behave and shows willingness to be rehabilitated, we will continue to offer help. Counselor, I think the best course of action for now will be to have you continue the daily sessions with Lore for another week. I'd like to get a better idea of what he's been through and his activities in the past, especially for the time in between his spacing and the emotion chip. Deni, when Lore specifically asked for Ensign Murphy to be posted and for T'Mera to be given a break, did you get any sense of duplicity or some sort of trick?"

Chief Hagan shook his head, "That was accompanied by a feeling of worry for Data. Lore may have said he came here to kill Data, but his underlying feelings exhibit a duality. While there's a great deal of bitterness and sibling rivalry, Lore is also deeply concerned about Data's well-being. It must be difficult for him to reconcile."

Veluna smiled softly, "I felt the same emotions in him. I don't think he'll try to escape, if that's what has you worried."

Captain Picard remained silent, with a faraway look in his eyes. He sipped more of his tea, then spoke, "Very well. Assign Ensign Murphy to alpha shift duty in Holodeck Four. Counselor, continue Lore's therapy as you see fit. Thank you both."

Once the Security Chief and the Counselor had left his quarters, Captain Picard turned to look out the window at the starfield. His dispassionate expression transmuted to one of sadness and regret.

Geordi sat at one of the tables in the crew lounge of the Enterprise-E with both hands holding his mug as he stared at the off-white beverage until a soft voice interrupted his thoughts.

"You can't sleep, either?" Beverly Crusher stood near the table, holding a mug of her own. "Mind if I join you?"

"Please, Doctor." Geordi indicated the chair next to him, "I'm not feeling sleepy and it's not from all the excitement of using shuttles to till soil on Omicron Theta."

Crusher settled into the gray chair with a heavy sigh, "T'Mera's making me feel like I'm the bad guy." After a sip from her mug, she continued, "But she didn't see Lore like I did. To see eyes that are the same as Data's, only with a deranged sadism behind them."

Geordi licked his lips, then focused his electric blue implants on the Doctor, "You're assuming that Lore was acting friendly when she met him?"

Comprehension dawned in Crusher's eyes. "Lore would have probably tried to kill her, as revenge on Data. I didn't ask her about it. I was too busy remembering the past."

"We all were, Doc." Geordi replied with a grimace, "I know that when I was told about him being on board, my first reaction was sheer terror. It brought back everything that happened, like it was yesterday. Lying on that table, with Data putting nano-cortical fibers in my head..." He trailed off and shuddered.

"I remember being called on to put Lore together." Crusher pursed her lips, "Chief Argyle needed my help, since working on Lore and Data was more like surgery on a human than it was like working on a machine. We didn't know what we were doing and just did a side by side comparison of Data to Lore." She placed her elbow on the table, leaned forward and rested her head against her fingers, "We could have spared everyone a lot of pain if we'd known he was malfunctioning... If we'd known to try to fix him before activating him. T'Mera has me second-guessing myself."

Geordi frowned, "Don't think too hard about it, Doc. I don't think T'Mera is blaming us for the past. There's no way we could have known, and even if we knew, nobody knew how they're programmed. Like I said on the planet, Doctor Soong didn't leave a note with Lore's parts, warning anyone that Lore was maniacal. That would have saved us even more trouble."

"What bothers me most of all, Geordi…" Crusher paused to drink, then continued, "I'm not sure I'll accept him as fixed, even if she's able to do the repairs. I was ready to dismiss any idea that he could be any different than he is, but everything T'Mera reported makes sense. I know she's right, but my feelings can't catch up."

Geordi lifted the mug to his lips, savoring the liquid for a few moments, then replied, "I don't think we have to change how we feel right now. As an engineer, I share the desire to fix something that's broken, but it's difficult when what's broken seems like a person that's done atrocious things. I don't like to think of Data as a device, but it's true that when some part of his programming breaks, it changes his behavior. The same would be true of Lore. So, the real question is… Do you think Lore is sentient?"

Crusher's brows knitted as she looked back at La Forge, "I wish I didn't, but yes, I think he is. That's part of the problem. I once told Data that brothers forgive, but here I am, arguing that Lore doesn't deserve a chance to be repaired and doesn't deserve forgiveness. I'm showing Data the opposite of what I espoused." She let out another sigh, "After what T'Mera said, I took the opportunity to look at the backgrounds of the Omicron Theta colonists. I've known people like them… people like Toby Russell. Impatient, egotistical people who invest so much in their theories and research that they take shortcuts and endanger others. Scientists so desperate for results that they ignore the proper methods and throw away anything that doesn't match what they want. People without ethical "programming", in other words."

"I guess what you should do is try to think of Lore as a human who was raised under those conditions and never taught right from wrong, and whose brain wasn't able to figure it out." Geordi leaned back in his chair, "And say there was a treatment that would make that person's brain able to understand right from wrong. Would you deny them the treatment, just because of what they did when their mind wasn't working right?"

Crusher stared into her mug for a few moments, then answered, "No. I wouldn't."

"I'm not saying I'm a big fan of Lore's." Geordi shook his head slowly, "But I'm interested to see if there's going to be a difference in him and by how much." He hesitated for a moment, "Is it that you don't trust T'Mera? We've only known her a short time."

"It's not a matter of trust, Geordi." Crusher replied in a quiet tone, "I do trust her. I guess I'm just afraid of Lore, plain and simple. It's not easy to look into what seems like Data's face and see anger and hate or that grotesque, mocking grin. Although, it has to be hard on T'Mera, too, to see all that in what looks like her lover's face. Maybe what bothers me is that she seems so calm about the whole thing."

"She's part Vulcan." Geordi smiled reassuringly to the doctor, "Calm comes with the territory, except when it's horrible programming. Then, she'll curse a blue streak at the responsible party. But, I can tell you that T'Mera's probably also nervous about it, since she's barely made any puns or jokes."

Crusher drained the rest of her drink, then smiled back at Geordi, "I guess knowing that makes me feel better. Thank you, Geordi. I think I'll be able to sleep. Make sure you do, too."

Geordi lifted his mug, "I'll be heading to my quarters, soon. Goodnight, Doc." He watched her leave the lounge, then returned to his own thoughts.

T'Mera glanced to her left, where Lore sat hunched over a small holovid display and console. "I'm regretting letting you have that. It seems like you're obsessing over it."

Lore pressed the console to pause the holovid playback of Arik Soong. "I'm trying to understand him. I'm trying to understand why I became the way I am. Why the "calling" that I felt was mine is his." He fixed his yellow eyes on the holographer, "And I'm trying to understand how we resemble him so exactly, when we were created by someone who should be his great-grandson. Human DNA and inheritance is not that exact."

"That's something for you and Data to talk about, I suppose." T'Mera tilted her head to study the android's face, "For me, he's fairly easy to understand. He got it into his head that he was going to create a "perfect" human. When a person's premise begins with an illogical idea, nothing good can come of it."

Lore frowned and turned to directly face T'Mera, "It's illogical to want to perfect something?"

"Yes, it is." T'Mera answered, "Hop onto the logic train with me, Lore."

Lore stood up with melodramatic flair, then mimed hopping onto something. "There. I'm on the logic train with you. Enlighten me."

"Wanting to improve something that needs improvement is logical." T'Mera stated, "But to become obsessed with the idea of perfection is illogical. While it's simple to find out what can and should be improved upon, who can truly say what perfection is? More importantly, who is Arik Soong to decide what perfection is, and then force it upon everyone else?"

Lore frowned, lowering his chin, as his eyes oscillated a few times, "When you force someone else, you take away their choice, and removing someone's choice makes you evil, no matter your intent." He looked back at the paused holovid, "He stole those children, then hid them away and taught them that everyone else would fear them and try to destroy them because of their superiority."

"Do you think that's a good way to raise children?" T'Mera reached up to fiddle with the dangling gem on her choker.

"I don't know anything about how to raise children." Lore folded his arms across his chest and regarded T'Mera with a petulant expression, "But I suspect if I were to download all available literature on child rearing, none would recommend raising them like that."

"It's also not a good way to raise an artificial intelligence." T'Mera offered in a soft tone, "Not to mention it's patently untrue to tell augments and androids that everyone will hate and fear them and to harp on superiority. It's very clear that Arik has no idea what humanity really is or what strengths are within us."

"But the truth is that I'm superior to humans!" Lore spat back at the holographer.

"So are Vulcans, in many ways. What's your point?" T'Mera lifted her chin, looking up at the android expectantly.

"It's…" Lore began, then stopped speaking. "My points have been refuted already. I was supposed to create a superior race of perfected humans, in this case all artificial, since the augments either killed each other or got killed because they threatened to start a war." He pointed to the paused holovid, then returned T'Mera's stare.

T'Mera nodded to Lore, "Exactly. Then, when you and Data were made, you did what…?"

Lore threw his hands up in the air at his sides and began to pace in a circle, "I did the exact same thing. I tried to kill my own brother and I keep getting dismantled and taken apart, because I threaten the biological life of the galaxy."

"Whenever some people start believing they're superior over others, the results are always the same. Superior is not equivalent to better, nor does it mean more deserving." T'Mera's eyes followed the pacing android, "I'm not a counselor, Lore. I'm just helping you ride the logic train. It could be more helpful for you to discard the notions of superiority and purpose, and simply explore who you are and what you, as an individual, want out of life." She waited a moment, then added, "You don't have to know right this minute. You'll be working it out with Veluna, most likely."

Lore walked around to the punching bag, then gave it a firm push, "I can see why Starfleet appealed to Data. It's a progression of service and it's easy to understand. Meanwhile, B-4 is a custodian. Nice and simple. If something is dirty, clean it."

T'Mera blinked in surprise, "B-4 isn't a custodian."

"That's what he was doing when I met him." Lore pulled his right fist back and then landed a solid punch on the bag.

"He must have picked it up as a hobby." T'Mera replied as she turned back to her display, "B-4 is at Daystrom in order for him to develop his neural net in a safe and controlled environment. A starship tends to encounter danger on a regular basis."

Lore frowned and stood still, "Is he going to wind up like Data and myself?"

"Doubtful." T'Mera tapped on one of the consoles by her, "The processors in his brain are nowhere near the same speed. With luck, he'll get to the level of an average human, which isn't bad for how he began and what happened to him. His brain has double the storage capacity of yours or Data's, so he'll be like a human who has excellent memory recall. You're interested in him, now?"

Lore opened his mouth, hesitated, then let out a sigh, "I almost said no, but the truth is that he's a brother I know almost nothing about, and he's a surprise. Often Wrong told me that he made me perfect on his first attempt. I had no idea that there were prototypes. Meeting B-4 confused me. Now, I'm questioning everything Soong ever said to me."

"You should." T'Mera spoke in a reassuring voice, "I don't think Doctor Soong was ever in the habit of telling the exact truth. It seems like there was always some padding or omission involved, or it would have to be spoken from a certain point of view in order to be true."

Lore gritted his teeth in anger, "Oh, I'm well aware of Father's little tricks. He'd say or do things to see how we'd react. Data, of course, hardly reacted, or he'd say "Curious." to whatever happened." His left fist hit the bag with a resounding thud, "I had emotions, so, lucky me, I'd emotionally react to whatever Father said or did, only to have him laugh about it afterwards." He pointed to the bag, "I can't even have his face put on this bag for me to punch, because it's my own damned face."

T'Mera winced at the confession, "I'm so sorry, Lore. Nobody should have to be put through that."

"I don't want or need your pity." Lore kicked at the bag, which moved a centimeter and then swung back to its original position.

"Noted. I'll try to adjust my sympathy accordingly." T'Mera typed a bit on the console in front of her, then turned her head when the holodeck doors opened.

Ensign Murphy entered the main detention area and took their place with the two holographic guards, "Good morning, Doctor. I figured to start my shift early, so you have some time to get back to your quarters."

T'Mera smiled at the ensign, "Thank you, Murphy. That was nice of you. I'll just finish up here." She turned to look at Lore, "I could put on a nice holovid for you and Ensign Murphy to watch, if you want. Something fun to distract you from Arik."

Lore glowered at T'Mera in silence and continued another circle around the bag.

"On second thought, maybe this one isn't a good one for you." T'Mera finished her work and tapped a few more commands into her console. "Data had a hard time understanding it, since it contained a lot of old Earth humor and cultural references."

The statement stopped Lore in his tracks, "Data couldn't understand it?"

T'Mera gave a casual nod to the moody android, "Mmhm. You probably wouldn't, either, so it's best that I don't set it to run for you."

Lore stood akimbo, "I'm far superior to Data in my knowledge of human behavior and humor. Put the holovid on."

T'Mera regarded Lore for a moment, "Are you sure? I wouldn't want you to watch it and be confused by it like he was."

With heavy footsteps, Lore made his way to the rolling chair, grabbed it, then sat backwards in it, resting his arms on the chair's backrest. "Play it for me. I'll understand it."

T'Mera tapped another button and the detention area of the holodeck changed to a blue-lit tiered courtroom filled with aliens. As she passed Ensign Murphy, she whispered, "Enjoy the holovid. I'll be back before beta shift, I'm sure." Once Murphy nodded in acknowledgement, T'Mera exited the holodeck.

Lore glanced to the doors as the holographer vanished through them, then returned his attention to the holovid surrounding him.

"Dr. Jumba Jookiba- lead scientist of Galaxy Defense Industries- you stand before this council accused of illegal genetic experimentation. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty!"