Immortal Coil - Jeffrey Lang [8]
“Thank you, Captain,” Data replied. “I am pleased to see you all.” He walked to the bottom of the ramp, then turned and pulled a small control unit off his belt. Pointing it into the cargo bay, he pressed a control, then stepped aside as a large oblong container hovering on antigravs floated down the ramp. When it stopped alongside him, Data gently rested his hand on its lid.
Troi walked around the container and laid her hand on Data’s arm. “My condolences, Data.”
Picard searched the android’s face for a sign of emotion, and, finding none, wondered if Data had deactivated his emotion chip. Picard knew that since the chip had been installed there had been a few times where a flood of unfamiliar emotions had forced Data to disengage the chip, but it was not something the android enjoyed doing. He had discovered that turning off the chip did not make the emotions go away, but shunted them into a kind of buffer where they lay in wait until the chip was reactivated.
Then, he spoke and Picard knew that the chip was engaged. “Thank you, Counselor,” he said, his voice trembling slightly. “It means a great deal to me to have you all here.” He caressed the edge of the coffin. “And I’m sure that, if she knew, it would mean a great deal to my mother, too.”
Chapter Three
GEORDI STEPPED FORWARD. “She was an amazing woman, Data,” he said, laying a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I know there’s nothing anyone can do to make it better, but if you ever need to talk …” His voice trailed off then and Picard saw that his chief engineer’s eyes were tearing up.
Data nodded. “Thank you, Geordi. I appreciate your concern.” Then, he continued in a more clinical tone, “However, I feel I must point out that although I permitted myself the indulgence of calling Dr. Tainer my mother, she was not my biological parent. She merely assisted Dr. Soong in the creation and development of my body and positronic brain.”
“Which is as good a definition of ‘mother’ as any, Data,” Troi said softly, mustering a smile.
Data smiled back. “That may be true, Counselor, but I learned of Juliana Tainer’s existence and her role in my creation only a few short years ago.”
“And in that time, you’d formed a warm attachment to each other,” Troi pointed out. “Data—please don’t try to downplay the significance of this event. She was your mother in every meaningful sense of the word and you should allow yourself to mourn her passing.”
Data nodded and said, “I understand what you are saying, Counselor. And though I know I should feel some sense of loss, I am disconcerted to report that ever since my mother’s husband informed me of her passing, I have felt curiously removed from events, almost as if this has been happening to someone else.” Turning to La Forge, Data said, “Perhaps we should run a diagnostic on my emotion chip after I have interred my mother’s body.”
Seeing that Geordi didn’t know how to respond, Troi interrupted and said, “I think your emotions are functioning perfectly, Data. The death of a loved one can frequently provoke a feeling of dislocation. It’s one of the ways we cope with the flood of emotion. Just give yourself a little time. Perhaps you should consider taking some leave.”
Data shook his head. “No, Counselor. I find that what I want to do most is return to my work. I feel a strong desire to immerse myself in a task.”
“Which is what Starfleet officers almost always say …” Troi sighed. “As you please, Data. But you know I’m always available if you need to talk. If there’s one thing I know about, it’s the role a mother can take in someone’s life… .”
Riker asked, “There was no problem with the Atrean government, Data?”
“No, Commander,” Data said. “The Atreans have no strong spiritual beliefs about the status of the body after death, so Pran Tainer had no compunction about granting me possession of her remains.”
“And there was no … confusion?”
“The biofeedback circuitry continued to work after her demise,” Data said, correctly interpreting Riker’s comment. “Dr. Soong planned for this eventuality very carefully. Even though my mother