milliways_bar | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

The ball seems to be closer and yet farther every day. Jane has not gone looking for the Bar but she's found it today as she's considering something she wrote a while ago.

Her thoughts keep straying to Mister Lefroy but he has returned to London and may not come back for the ball.

It is best to move on and do as her mother would wish even though she doesn't wish to. In the end, it takes her rather longer to find a seat as her thoughts are not truly in Milliways.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"The vagaries of love and how it collides with the necessities of life."

Judging by the expression on Data's face, that was about the most interesting answer that Jane could have given him.

"I would be fascinated to hear some of your insights on that, if it is not too much of an inconvenience," he says. "May I join you?"

"If you would like, yes."

Jane finds herself smiling since she didn't expect him to be so interested.

Data sits down across from her, and folds his hands on the table.

"You are from 19th-century Earth, are you not?" he begins.

"Yes, from Longminster, England. May I ask where you're from?"

"I am originally from a planet called Omicron Theta, but I went to school on Earth, in the United States. Currently, I live and work in space."

"How fascinating. Did you choose to work in space or did someone decide for you?"

"It was my choice," Data says, sounding almost happy. "Although... there were some people who opposed that decision."

"Might I ask why?"

"When I enrolled in Starfleet Academy, one person opposed my entry on the grounds that I was not a sentient being," Data answers, without hesitating. "He argued that I was simply a machine, and could not make decisions for myself. He later attempted to have me legally classified as property."

"That sounds terrible. What happened to change his mind?"

"I am not certain that he ever did. He took his case to court, and it was ruled that I am a sentient being, with the right to choose. After that, there was nothing he could do.

"However, I can understand why he thought of me in that way. He is an expert on the technology that was used to create me, so to him, I must seem more like a project or an experiment than a person. When we went to court, he was seeking permission to dismantle and study me, with the intent to attempt to create another android like myself."

"That seems like it would be rather unfair to you."

"That is what my captain thought," Data replies. "He fought hard to get the court ruling that we received, and I am very grateful for that. In effect, he saved my life."

"He sounds like a rather remarkable man."

"He is," Data agrees. "He is one of my greatest role models in my quest to become more human."

"May I ask what you find most difficult to learn?"

Data thinks about this for a moment.

"I am incapable of experiencing emotion," he says finally. "So I have trouble understanding it. As a result, I also have difficulty understanding simple things like humor, and love."

"Oh, but still you endeavor to understand them?"

"Yes, I do, despite the difficulty," Data answers. He opens his mouth as if to say something else, but shuts it again without saying anything.

"May I ask what you have learned?"

"I have learned many things in my thirty years of experience, such as which stimuli most commonly produce various emotional responses. But I am afraid that even in that respect, I still have much to learn. I am not always able to predict how humans will react in certain situations."

"I think you will find that is true of almost everyone, sir."

Data thinks about this.

"True," he agrees. "However, it seems that I am still at a disadvantage, compared to most people. Emotions give people the ability to sympathize, whereas I cannot."

"I agree. Have you found ways to work around that disadvantage?"