• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

“And this is your grand peaceful solution, human?” Lore sneered. “Rather than keeping the gateways for our own use and protection, you’d have us simply give them away to anyone who asked, Romulans, Klingons, Cardassians, all of them?!”

“It is a reasonable approach,” Data allowed.

Lieutenant Crusher stood at Isaac’s side, and nodded, his smile indicating the regard in which he held the captain’s suggestion. “Lateral thinking.”

“But, Father,” Lal objected, “the Romulans’ past history shows that they can hardly be trusted with such levels of technology. Look at the example of their unmanned wardrones and their android shock troopers, artificial sentients shackled and enslaved by the overly prohibitive dictates of their programming.”

“But don’t you see, Lal?” La Forge put in. “You can make it a condition of the deal. If the other powers want the Iconian gateways, you can require them to provide assurance that they will not purse positronic technology to create android slaves, but must recognize the sentience of artificial life.”

“For that matter,” Sito suggested, “when you offer it to the Federation you can require them to lift the restrictions on the creation of new artificial life. Then androids won’t be second-class citizens anymore.”

Data nodded slowly, deep in thought. “If every power has gateway technology, then none would be tempted to use it aggressively against their enemies, for fear that their enemies would return the attack in kind.”

“And the openness engendered by unrestricted gateway travel,” Lal added, “will ensure that the powers can monitor one another, and ensure that they develop their own strains of artificial life responsibly, with the rights of that life protected.”

Isaac spoke up, a thought occurring to him. “In fact, you and the rest of the Turing population would be free to explore the Retrogressionist position, returning to the Federation if you wished, free to create offspring with the same liberty that humans enjoy to create new life.”

La Forge reached over and placed a hand on Data’s shoulder. “Right! Data, you all could come home again.”

Data met La Forge’s silvery eyes and smiled. “It would be nice, my friend. Living here isolated from those I care about has been difficult. I have often had cause to regret the way in which things were left, and the necessity for secrecy. If androids were given full enfranchisement, and we could return and live openly”he glanced at Lal, and then back to La Forge“that would be most gratifying.”

“No,” Lore said, his tone suggesting he would brook no further discussion. “It’s out of the question.”

But Isaac knew that, whatever Lore insisted, the debate was raging, as the populace communicated impossibly fast over the subspace network, attempting to reach consensus.

Ro Laren sat forward in the captain’s chair, watching the green bulk of the warbird glide across the forward viewscreen. The Haakona’s hull had been scored in places by phaser fire and torpedo bursts, but while her shields were weakened, they still held.

The Enterprise, Ro knew, was little better off.

“Shields at fifteen percent,” Ensign Thomas reported.

“We can’t take much more of this,” Doctor Quaice said. His artificial body was designed to adapt to a wide variety of environmental factors, but he looked as though he’d be sweating if he could.

“Come about, Lieutenant,” Ro ordered Sam Lavelle. “Keep them on their toes.”

Quaice was right, though. If the captain didn’t come up with some solution, and soon, one or the other of the ships would take too much damage to sustain, and Ro didn’t like to think about what that meant for the Federation. War with the Romulan-Klingon Alliance seemed the most likely outcome, whichever way things went. Two ships exchanging fire in the Neutral Zone was one thing, but one ship destroying another was quite a different matter.

“Stand down, Commander,” came a voice from behind her. “I’ll take the conn.”

Ro jumped to her feet, and turned to see Geordi La Forge standing on the