Immortal Coil - Jeffrey Lang [26]
He carefully clipped the leads to the correct nodes, then plugged them into the port on the computer and activated the diagnostic program that would examine every one of Data’s processing centers and check them for signs of degradation and malfunction. They went through this process about four times a year, more often if there was a lot of wear and tear. He was, he knew, the closest thing Data had to a personal physician.
Despite this—and it grated his engineer’s pride to admit it—if he ever had to perform any kind of major “surgery” without Data’s guidance, he would be utterly lost. Geordi understood what Data’s parts did, but had almost no clue as to how. It was, he knew, why Bruce Maddox had been so keen on taking Data apart. Duplicating Soong’s work was the current Holy Grail of artificial intelligence. But to dissect is to kill and Data had, as far as Geordi was concerned, every right to refuse to be disassembled. As for the others—Lore, Lal and the three failed prototypes—well, that was Data’s business.
Almost as if she had been reading Geordi’s thoughts, McAdams crossed to the transparent cases where the inert androids stood. Geordi had noticed when they had come in that the vault doors weren’t, as they usually were, opaque, but the lights were off, so all that could be seen were the androids’ shadowy outlines. Then, McAdams touched the glass, the case’s sensors registered her presence and the lights flicked on. McAdams was momentarily startled, but then curiosity overcame anxiety and she bent down to study the androids’ faces. She pointed at the three that stood to one side. “These are Soong’s prototypes?” she asked.
“Yes,” Data said.
“They don’t have features,” she observed. “But they’re not like the shapeless mannequin we saw in Maddox’s lab, either.”
“No,” Data said. “Giving the android distinctive facial features is one of the last steps in the process. Obviously, Commander Maddox and Professor Vaslovik had not reached that stage.”
“But according to Lieutenant Barclay, they were going to activate the android on the night of the storm,” McAdams said. “Wouldn’t they have wanted the android to have features when it was switched on?”
“Not necessarily,” Data replied. “I did not create features for Lal, precisely so that she would have the opportunity to choose her own.”
McAdams looked at the form of a small young woman at the far end of the row of androids. She looked so serene, Geordi thought, as if she were only meditating and might open her eyes at any moment.
“She was very pretty,” McAdams noted.
“Thank you,” Data said, obviously pleased. Geordi was impressed by the sensitivity that McAdams displayed by speaking of Lal in the past tense. The empty form in the vault was no more Data’s daughter than a portrait in a mausoleum.
McAdams smiled, then turned her attention to another of the androids. “This is Lore?”
“Yes,” Data said without inflection. “My brother.”
“Why do you look alike?”
“We were created in our maker’s image.”
“Oh,” McAdams said. “Why?”
“An interesting question, Lieutenant, one that I have pondered on numerous occasions,” Data said. “It may have been simple vanity. And, given my father’s opinion of himself, it may not be an invalid conclusion. However, I believe the true reason is that my father wished to feel as if some part of himself would continue on after he died. He had no children.”
“Biological children,” McAdams corrected.
Data seemed delighted. “Yes. Exactly.”
Pointing at the last body in the row of cases, McAdams asked, “This is your mother? Dr. Tainer?”
“Yes.”
“She was lovely, too.”
Data nodded, but didn’t answer. The room was silent for several minutes as La Forge continued to work. McAdams was still studying Tainer’s face when she spoke again.
“Data?”
“Yes, Lieutenant?”
“Why don’t you just fix them?