Metamorphosis - Jean Lorrah [70]
He was at the door when Picard suddenly said, “Data!” He turned. “Yes, sir?”
“Not now, dammit. I’m sorry-I forget you are not a machine anymore, and apparently you also forget it.
“I am frequently reminded, sir.”
“Yes, well, you came off duty and jumped right into a computer search for the information you’ve just given me.
Now I want you to relax for a few hours, get a night’s sleep, and start fresh in the morning.
Meanwhile why don’t you join us here? Take a swim.”
Oh, no-another Starfleet requirement. “I cannot swim, sir.”
“Well, here’s a perfect opportunity to learn. Geordi?” “Come on, Data,” his friend urged. “No time like the present.” They did not have to leave the holodeck to change into bathing trunks; they were conveniently available in the changing rooms beside the pool. By this time Riker and Gibson were lying on lounges beside the pool, both apparently asleep.
Geordi dived in cleanly, his VISOR as well insulated against moisture as Data’s android workings had been. Data hesitated at the edge, feeling oddly nervous. That did not make sense. He would have been perfectly safe in this pool as an android; had he fallen into the deep end, he could simply have walked the bottom to the shallows. Now he was light enough to float, so where was the problem? “Come on in, Data!” Geordi urged, and Data sat down on the edge, letting his feet down into the water. It felt cold.
Steeling himself, he slid all the way in, and stood shivering in the chest-deep water.
Geordi swam over, and stood up fireside him with a frown. “You’re really scared, Data.
Why?”
“I-I do not know. Human instinct?”
“No-fear of water is a learned response in humans. Babies learn to swim without a second thought. What happened to you the last time you were in this much water?”
“It was on Elysia. I was already severely damaged, and the water got through my insulation and shorted me out.”
“Of course-no wonder you’re scared! But think a moment. It can’t short you out anymore, can it?” Geordi asked reasonably.
“No. Now all it can do is drown me.”
Geordi laughed. “Not on the holodeck. The water would simply disappear if anyone started to drown. This is the safest place in the world to learn.
First you put your face under and hold your breath, then you learn to float-and after that, the rest is easy.”
Easy for Geordi, perhaps. Data felt hideously awkward as he doggedly imitated what Geordi demonstrated. He knew perfectly well that human bodies were less dense than water and would therefore float, yet when he lifted his feet from the safety of the bottom and stretched out in the water he fully expected to sink like a stone.
He didn’t.
The feeling turned from astonishment to exhilaration as the water cradled his body. It was another of those unexpectedly delightful sensations, being suspended weightlessly, rocked gently by the movement of the water-Until Geordi moved abruptly, and the water splashed into Data’s face.
He collapsed, went under, and came up snorting and coughing. Geordi was laughing at him. Data splashed him in return, and his friend retreated into the deep end of the pool. “Point your hands ahead and kick with your feet,” he instructed, floating on his back and moving effortlessly with the occasional flip of a hand or foot.
Having proved to himself that he was not going to drown, Data began trying to swim. Before long he was able to propel himself from one side of the pool to the other without putting his feet down. Once he learned the simple expedient of keeping his mouth shut and breathing out through his nose when his face was under, he stopped choking and made some progress. Suddenly the water churned with activity. Data surfaced to see three new people in the pool: Poet, Aurora, and Pris Shenkley. Apparently Dare’s gang had been invited to join the party. Dare was still up on the deck, talking amiably with Picard and Pulaski.
Pris swam over to Data. “Dare said you were learning to swim. It looks to me as if you don’t need much teaching.” She sounded disappointed. “I still have a great deal to learn,” he replied. “I must