11. Epilogue

Data regarded Troi through the steam from the mug of hot chocolate she held between her hands.

"Why did you not tell Jayden the truth?" he asked.

"Truth?" Troi repeated.

"That he was an android," Data said flatly. "He asked you what he was. You could have explained his mechanical nature and origins. Yet, you did not. Why?"

Troi glanced at him, and set her mug down on the little office coffee table between them.

"We told Jayden what he most desired to know," she said. "That he belonged somewhere, and that the people he knew cared about him. Would any of that have changed if we had said he was a machine? Do you honestly think he would have understood?"

Data frowned but, when he didn't answer, Troi went on.

"I admit, I only had a brief glimpse of the Barkonians and their culture, and that was through your dream program," she said. "But from what I saw and heard, I imagine the notion of an 'android' would seem quite a foreign concept to them."

Data's golden eyes slid to the side.

"Perhaps…" he said, and his frown deepend. "It is true that there is very little context within the Barkonian culture to support the notion of an artificial life form. While Earth's ancient fairy tales and legends are replete with stories of inanimate statues, puppets, toys, and machines that come to life through various means, Jayden encountered no such tales on Barkon IV. This cultural difference may explain why, even following the attack that damaged his face, the thought that he may have been an engineered construct did not occur to him. Or, indeed, to anyone around him. Quite the contrary – the Barkonians presumed he was a 'creature.' And, Jayden believed them."

Data's eyes lowered to his lap.

Troi frowned slightly, and leaned a little closer.

"Does it bother you, Data," she asked, "to know that Jayden did not perceive himself as a machine?"

Data's forehead creased, and his pale brows knit over his nose.

"I find it…curious," he said.

Troi nodded.

"It must have been an interesting experience," she said. "Recalling Jayden's experience of living, at least for a brief while, as a biological being in a community of biological beings."

"But, still not as one of them," Data countered. "Despite the kindness displayed by Garvin, Gia and Talur, Jayden remained…set apart…from the larger community. An outsider, defined more by his differences than any perceived similarities."

"I see," she said musingly, carefully tracking his expression. "What was it Jayden told Gia about labels?"

"That such conventionalities can be reassuring," he said, "but the attempt to categorize individuals according to broadly generalized characteristics can too easily foster the exclusion, rather than acceptance, of those who are considered 'different.'"

"Jayden was considered different because of his appearance," Troi said. "He was a stranger from a strange place, possessed of strange abilities and mannerisms. He would have been treated the same way by those villagers whether he was a 'machine' or a 'creature.' Would you agree?"

Data lowered his brows.

"Yes…" he said, "But—"

"And, what about you, Data?" she asked. "We both know how long you've dreamed of being human. Of shedding those early labels you worry had kept you apart, socially isolated from the larger group. Labels like 'artificial.' 'Android.' 'Machine.' 'Construct.'"

Data's expression seemed to tighten, and he clasped his twitching fingers in his lap.

"I must admit," he said, "remembering Jayden as he was on Barkon IV has prompted me to recall my own activation and the difficulties I encountered in my attempts to assimilate into human society. One of the first things I was told by the away team that discovered me on Omicron Theta was that I was not a 'living' being, as they were, but a machine. A manmade construct designed to think, talk, and look like a man, without actually being one."

"You've come a long way since then," Troi said. "You've faced a lot of prejudice, and broken a lot of barriers to get where you are."

"Yet, those labels remain…along with the negative connotations they inspire," Data said. "They are what allowed men like Admiral Haftel and Commander Maddox to challenge my rights time and again on the premise that if a machine is to be considered 'alive' it is only an 'artificial' life."

"Is that what you believe, Data?"

Data's head twitched, and he lowered his eyes.

"The knowledge that I am 'artificial' has been with me since my activation," he said. "It has shaped my identity, influenced how I have approached, and have been approached by, others."

"Then, why does reviewing your memories of Jayden's experiences seem to make you so…unsettled?" she asked. "Is it because he had the chance to operate without those labels, and yet he still faced misunderstandings and persecution from people he didn't know?"

Data's expression tightened again, and he released a long, slow breath.

"It is…strange…to realize…" he said. "My android nature may not be as…obvious…to others as I have always presumed. Before my assignment to the Enterprise, I accepted the labels I was given as self-imposed behavioral parameters. Like the humans around me, I too found it…reassuring…to believe that, despite all my differences, I could so easily be placed into a clearly defined slot. And yet…"

He pursed his lips and shook his head.

"I have since learned that is not the case," he said. "For anyone. And, after observing what happened to Jayden, I am forced to wonder…"

He blinked and looked up at her, his golden eyes tight.

"Do you believe it is possible that, through this practice of adopting imposed labels as self-defining parameters, I have been distancing myself from other beings? Have I, perhaps, been holding myself back, questioning and denying my own impressions should they happen diverge from what I presumed others might expect from…an android?"

Troi offered him no cues, consciously working to keep her expression entirely neutral.

"What do you think, Data?" she asked. "Would you say that's a fair description of your thoughts and behavior?"

"I would hope not," Data said. "But, how can I be certain?"

Troi pinched her lips together, her eyes falling on the reflective glass table as she caught herself wishing, once again, that her empathic senses could pick up on whatever was going on in the positronic mind of the man before her.

"All right, Data," she said. "Let's try a little confidence test. Look down at your reflection, there in the table. Tell me what you see."

"I see…myself?" Data queried, blinking up at her.

"Don't look to me for clues," she said. "This is about you. Now, try again."

"I see…a Starfleet Officer," he said, and Troi circled her hand in a rolling motion, waiting for more. "An android? A man in uniform?"

"How about a friend?" she suggested, and the android blinked. "A musician? A painter? What about a mentor – a role model and a leader?"

Troi sighed through her nose, and regarded the android closely.

"Maybe you're right," she said. "Perhaps you do have a tendency to limit your behavior to conform to a perceived, outside expectation."

"Is that…bad?" he asked.

"Not entirely," she said. "And it's definitely something we can work on. But, Data, I want you to consider this."

She leaned forward and placed her hand over his.

"The next time you find yourself distracted by other people's expectations, try to remember that labels that once seemed fixed are often changed when new information comes in. That's why the best thinking is usually done outside the box."

Data's head twitched, and he straightened.

"Hm," he said. "I had not thought of it that way. Thank you, Counselor."

Troi smiled and sat back.

"Have you heard back from Starfleet Command yet?"

"The official decision is due to be released tomorrow morning," he told her. "But, Captain Picard assures me there is no cause for concern. Admiral Rider informed him that the decision will be in my favor, with only one dissent. I am, as Geordi put it, quite off the hook."

"Well, that's a relief," Troi said, and glanced down at her calendar. "So, shall we meet again this time next week?"

"That would be acceptable," the android said, and stood. "Thank you again. I will take your insights into consideration."

"Good luck, Data," she said, and he strode out of her office, into the busy corridor.

Yet, as he walked though the ship's carpeted hallway, his mind kept going over what they'd discussed; the memories and lingering concerns their talk had dredged up.

All those labels…the generalized descriptions Starfleet, and Data, had used to define him for so long…

Android. Automaton. Man-made Construct. Artificial life form.

They were true enough, but did they tell the whole story? Did they offer a full depiction of the individual he saw when he looked in the mirror?

Might the labels he had lived by actually leave out more than they offered? By operating without those parameters, could Jayden represent a more accurate reflection of his inner self?

What was he, really?

Machine. Innovator. Officer. Friend...

Leaving the question hanging, Data straightened his posture and stepped into the turbolift that would take him to the bridge, and his next adventure.

The End

References Include - TNG: Thine Own Self; Peak Performance; The Measure of a Man; The Offspring; Tin Man.

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