7 times a human felt emotions and 1 time an android did
“I wanted you to be the first to see.”
Data moved to place an arm around their shoulder, slightly taken aback when Ethel, uncharacteristically, pulled away, their voice low and concerned, saying,
“Data . . . I really think we should’ve talked about this one.”
They paused, breathing in and looking down at the ground, to which Data took their hands in his own in what was meant to be a comforting manner.
“Ethel, I am afraid I do not understand?”
Ethel pulled their hands away, throwing them in the air halfheartedly with exasperation, “Data, you should have talked to me about this. About them! Did it never occur to you to talk to your significant other about having a child?”
Data, albeit subtly, frowned a bit, turning his head away in what had to be some muted form of shame, even if he would argue otherwise.
“I . . .” he hesitated before replying honestly, “No, I did not think to ask you. However, it was not my intention to cause you distress, I merely was eager to implement the new cybernetic techniques I had acquired. I am sorry, Ethel.”
They turned away from him, breathing heavily with their head in their hands and muttering.
“I’m not ready for a kid, what am I supposed to do, I can’t be a parent- I barely know how to be an adult myself- and I’m 26! Data, what the hell am I supposed to do?!”
Data walked over to Ethel and simply wrapped them in his arms, in a reassuring hug, beginning,
“Ethel, I believe it would help you to remember that I also have no prior experience in parenting, aside from the adjacent experience of caring for a domesticated animal, such as Spot- my point is, we will learn as we progress and do the best we can, together. Is that an acceptable proposition?”
He looked at them, meeting their gaze- it was a genuine question and filled to the brim with concern, or at least the Data equivalent of that particular emotion.
Ethel nodded, somewhat shakily before responding, “Yea, Data, its acceptable. I really wish you’d talked to me about this beforehand though...”
The first time Ethel met Lal, they hadn’t been prepared for the emotion they would feel upon seeing Lal conscious for the first time. They were even less prepared for when they greeted them for the first time, saying clearly, “Hello Doctor Ethel Silvers.” in a strange stilted voice.
“Lal, Ethel is my romantic partner and as such they also may function as a secondary parent to you, if you wish.” Data continued.
Lal tilted their head in that manner Ethel was so familiar with from Data before speaking again, “Correction noted- hello secondary parental figure.”
Ethel chuckled a bit despite themself, “Hello to you too, Lal. You can call me your ‘baba’, secondary parental figure is a bit of a mouthful!”
Lal nodded their affirmation, then spoke again, “Baba, old Earth word with various definitions across several languages- can denote father, grandmother-”
Lal was interrupted by Data switching them off for the time being, and looking at Ethel, trying to gauge their reaction, searching their face.
“They... they’re incredible, Data...” was all they could say.
The second time Ethel met Lal, it was with three of Data’s close friends, Counselor Deanna Troi, Commander Geordi LaForge, and Ensign Wesley Crusher the five of them huddled in the small cybernetics lab around a miracle of science: Lal.
Once activated again, Lal greeted Deanna, Geordi and Wesley appropriately, as well as acknowledging Ethel, this time as their baba- something which did not go unnoticed by Wesley.
“Dr. Silvers! It- It called you baba?” exclaimed the young ensign in a hushed tone, to which Data clarified saying, “Yes, Lal is my child and as such, by way of romantic relations, they are also the surrogate child of Dr. Silvers.”
The tension in the room after that was palpable.
Ethel could feel the stress.
The third time Ethel met Lal, it was to accompany them, Data and Deanna to the holodeck where Lal would choose a gender and appearance for their finalized form.
Ethel, not wanting the responsibility of helping someone choose a gender of their own, tried to back out of the situation. Data, however, backed by the ship’s resident therapist, Deanna, insisted that they accompany Lal in this part of their journey.
Data reasoned that due to Ethel’s complex relationship with their own gender, Lal might find it helpful to hear from Ethel and take into account their experiences.
After hours of combing through thousands of possibilities for Lal’s finalized appearance, they settled on a top final four options. As they attempted to decide, Ethel found it helpful to remind them that regardless of the body they chose, gender was innately a fluid thing and they could change their gender whenever they pleased, really.
This reminder seemed to solidify Lal’s choice as they decided on a human female body.
Ethel was overwhelmed with adoration for their new daughter.
Over the course of the following days, Ethel and Lal met up quite a bit, spending much of their free time together, with Data as well, of course.
Lal learned slowly at first.
She had trouble drinking and eating, not quite grasping the concept of swallowing her food.
Her reflexes and fine motor skills left much to improve.
The social skills she exhibited were still stilted and rough around the edges.
Just like a child should.
Everything had been perfect for the first few days, they truly were a happy little family unit, two androids, one human and a finicky feline, living in the same quarters.
But all good things must come to an end.
Ethel was made aware by Data, accompanied by the captain, Picard, that an admiral from Starfleet intended to take their daughter away from them. He said it was for further development of a technological marvel.
Ethel would say, technological marvel though she may be, Lal is still their daughter, and a child, no less, at least in maturity and mental respects.
The tension in the following days grew and grew. It was clear that the Admiral had every intention of relocating Lal, regardless of his ‘open mind’ about the matter.
And then the unthinkable happened.
It was all such a blur and yet so raw and clear all the same.
Troi called Data and Ethel to the cybernetics lab where Lal had returned in distress. Apparently she had felt fear from Lal, an emotion, and a powerful one no less.
But it wasn’t sustainable. It was, in fact, the symptom of a cascade failure in her neural network.
There were technical exchanges between Data and the admiral accompanying him, the same one who wanted to take Lal away. Ethel did not have much in the way of knowledge regarding cybernetics, much less positronic brains, so they stayed quiet.
Geordi and Deanna ushered Ethel out of the cybernetics lab, giving Data and the admiral, who had offered assistance, room to work- room to save Lal.
Two agonizing hours later, the admiral emerged from the lab, a solemn expression on his face as he shook his head, explaining Data’s valiant effort.
“We- we did everything we could. Data.. he- his hands were moving faster than I could see, but every pathway repaired, five more would collapse. He tried to keep ahead, he refused to give up. Perhaps... it just wasn’t meant to be. I’m so sorry, Dr. Silvers. Go on in and say goodbye, she won’t live much longer...”
As Ethel approached the workstation containing Lal’s body, they fought back tears, taking one of their daughter’s hands in their own, while Data placed his own hand over theirs as well.
“What do you feel, Lal?” he asked gently.
“Love. I love you father. I love you baba. I love you.”
Ethel’s breath hitched, and they breathed out, “I love you too, Lal.” It would’ve been imperceptible to anyone but the two androids beside them.
Data looked forlornly at Lal before replying softly, “I wish I could return the feeling.”
Then, tears streaming down her cheeks and a gentle smile adorning her face, Lal said, “It’s alright, I’ll feel it for both of us. For all of us.”
That was the last comprehensible thing their daughter ever said, as the rest of her noises devolved into meaningless nonsense as her positronic brain failed her.
As she died, Lal felt love.
