Personal log. Stardate 2341.14.

[Begin Recording]

I have decided to begin this personal log to document my observations about life in Starfleet, with the purpose of better understanding Human customs.

I recognize that the statement 'Human customs' is vague and generalized, considering that Starfleet Academy caters to various species of differing capabilities and sentience, but that is another Human custom. This is the first time I have ever used a generalization, and I find the lack of specific information to be inordinately disconcerting. It appears to be a stated falsehood, and I do not yet understand the difference between a lie and a generalization.

That is the first observation that I have made since beginning my tutelage at Starfleet Academy. The Human officers tend to make rash and generalized statements that blanket other beings in a perception that is biased and stereotypical.

I have approached and spoken with a Vulcan cadet named Taurik, who agrees with my analysis of the phenomenon of description. He, however, uses his own forms of generalized statements.

'Illogical.'

I pointed this fact out to him and he engaged in a peculiar facial expression that included raising his left eyebrow and frowning. I assume his emotional response to my elucidation of his behavior was due to his surprise at his own lack of self-awareness. He argued with me that, while he did not extend the specifics of his statement that a thing was 'illogical,' it was the truth at the time as he viewed it.

The concept fascinated me, and illuminated a possibility that I had not considered before. Is it a lie if you believe something you say? The Starfleet officers that I witnessed making these generalizations appeared to be convinced of the notion that they were the truth. Their facial expressions were not consistent with the ones I associate with lying. Though I must admit that I have trouble with distinguishing this particular emotion as well.

I am also uncertain whether it is indeed an emotion, or otherwise. Often, lying will present itself in lieu of an emotional response, and my programming and the accumulation of all the information that I have acquired over the course of my activation period have led me to believe that lying is indeed an emotional response.

I am told that this form of personal self-reflection is common amongst a wide variety of races. Taurik mentioned a Vulcan writer by the name of T'Mera, who used a private commentary in her publications in order to bring the Vulcan general audience to personal philosophical revelations.

I have studied the mementos of various authors, and I have conducted a survey with my roommate Alyssa Ogawa, and two of her friends, named Coriana and Sandra.

All of the information agrees on one particular thing. My personal account must include information about myself. I am not yet certain why this is, but I will adhere to it. I believe there is a certain form of logic to adhering to the structure of true personalized accounts of events. Though I do not understand the reasons for these structures implicitly, many of my misunderstandings of social interaction come from my inability to dwell upon what has happened.

By creating this account of events, I am better able to analyze the information and form rational answers to my questions based upon hypothesis and observation. This is another characteristic that is common in routine social interaction.

My name is Data. I do not have a 'last name'.

I am a Soong-type android, and as far as I am aware, I am the only one of my kind. If I were to have a 'last name' in the traditional manner of Humans, it would most likely be Soong. That is the last name of the man who created me. Dr. Noonien Soong.

I have resided in Starfleet Academy for just over fourteen days. I live in shared quarters, an experience that I will chronicle in depth at a later time. I am compelled to form a reminder, or 'note', within my matrix to do so.

I do not have any companions among the Academy members, though I am beginning to frequently interact on a more personal basis with Taurik cha'Karon, the Vulcan in Engineering track. We are in the same exo-biology class. He has taught me valuable information about Vulcan culture, a subject that he converses on regularly and with visible enjoyment. We often have arguments over the merits of shying away from all emotion. He believes that my state is envious, whereas I am of the opinion that he freely shuns that which I wish for most. Nevertheless, he is the only person in the Academy that does not appear overtly uncomfortable in my presence.

My teachers appear to find me adequate, as I am impervious to the belligerence and rebellion of the other students and I am readily available to answer their questions and complete their objectives within the allotted time frame. I am majoring in probability mechanics and Operations track.

I was officially activated on February 2nd, 2338. This is comparable to being 'born'. I would say that February 2nd is my birth date. I have experienced a total of three years in my activated state. The definition of android applicable to myself is indicative that I look Human. I have two hands, two arms, two legs, a torso, a head, skin, and eyes.

These traits are most associated with a Humanoid appearance. I have heard Medical students use this description to fit a bipedal Humanoid many a time. Such descriptions are often colloquialized with such terms as 'Two legs and a heartbeat.'

They are considered to be the 'Human standard'. To conform to the nature of Human description, I have chosen these sets of limbs as my own appropriating measure of my own appearance.

These traits, and all other physical manifestations that I possess, are facsimiles. They have been rendered to suggest to others that I am Humanoid in nature.

My internal and biological structure is non-organic, composed of twenty four kilograms of tri-polymer composites, eleven kilograms of molybdenum-cobalt alloys, and one kilogram of bio-plast sheeting, used to simulate skin. I have been told that it feels 'real', though I cannot confirm this with accuracy.

My storage capacity, which in organic life forms would be akin to their 'memory', is one hundred petabytes. That is over fifty times the identifiable storage capacity of the Human brain.

These are not specific numbers, because I am told that an over-specification of numerical information is often taxing and monotonous for those listening. Since I am the only one who has access to this, I have determined that no one would listen. It may seem illogical that I conform to the habits I have designated as important in social interaction, because I am not interacting with anyone. However, I believe that it is imperative in beginning to understand interaction itself that I continue with these behaviors within the confines of my personal accounts. It is a fascinating experience to justify the reasons why I am completing these things, to no one but my own self.

I have a computational speed of sixty trillion operations per second.

Where I make computations, most species would substitute thought. I am capable of running simultaneous operations, or thoughts, at the same time. Often this is done in excess of thousands, which confuses many people because I appear to jump from subject to subject in my verbal communication. I have often found myself dismayed with my lack of ability to efficiently communicate the ideas that I possess verbally.

I am certain that my method of thought and the Human method of thought are extraordinarily dissimilar.

Whereas I compute, Humans tend to arrive at their personal conclusions by way of self-discovery, understanding feeling and emotion. I have yet to have an independent thought that did not occur based upon computing differing sets of information to arrive at a mathematically equivalent (or middle ground) answer. Even the few estimations I have given have been based upon probability equations. I am frequently troubled by my lack of 'gut instinct'.

I am considered to be a sentient being.

I am one of the very few sentient androids that exist. When I was activated, I assumed that I was the only one. Scientific fact tells me that it is improbable that I am the only manifestation of inorganic life to possess cohesion and intelligence arrived at by way of sentience. I have often contemplated the meaning of sentience, and what separates a living entity from a sentient entity.

My Starfleet cadet file states that I am a living being.

Despite this, I am often treated by other members of the Academy below the accepted standards of respect. I have yet to understand why this is. Taurik tells me that it is because of the fact that the majority of Starfleet is Human, which is apparently a race that is known for the displayed fear of things that are not understood. If there is one thing that I have learned, it is that I am not easily understood in any capacity.

It took me many months of being activated to realize the nature of my own sentience.

I am sentient because I have desires. I have wishes. I have needs. I have wants. I want to join Starfleet. I want to be understood. I want to be respected. I want to learn Human social interaction. I choose to believe that I am a person, which is a credit toward achieving said goal. So far I believe it is the only adequate step that I have managed to take. That is a metaphor, though relatively simplistic. I am told that the metaphor comes from the 'goal' being a staircase, and each step that I would take up this so-called 'staircase' would be myself, as an abstract concept, becoming closer to my desired outcome. I still have difficulty with understanding metaphors, and in identifying them.

I cannot ascertain where these desires come from. I do not experience emotions, but I feel a strange sort of satisfaction in contemplating my existence.

Dr. Noonien Soong created me in the hopes that I would be a sentient android, capable of emulating minor Humanoid behavior. I believe that one day, I shall be able to emulate the full spectrum of Human behavior, and eventually to experience emotions. I have surpassed the expectations of my creator, and I surprise those around me with my sentience.

I have met Starfleet cadets who pride their intelligence above all else. Taurik is one such individual. I cannot understand this. Intelligence is not a feat of wonder. Intelligence can be replicated, understood, quantified. What is unquantifiable is existence. Why not aspire to exist, in and of itself, for no other purpose?

Tangible desires, that have no basis in logic, that is the essence of self. One would not consider the Human desire to eat a true 'desire', as it is a biologically programmed imperative. A plant desires to grow toward sunlight, but it does not have 'self'. It is not sentient.

I am.

That is all of the relevant information about myself which I am able to impart. Analyzing what I have just said, I have determined that it has indeed been beneficial to this experiment.

I will return to my personal study area tomorrow evening at 1900 hours to repeat this exercise with more experiences to share. There is an element of utter fascination with this project that I had not expected previously. I anticipate completing more personal logs in the future.

[End Recording]

Notes:

[*] Shem Haleal is literally translated into 'Adversary of Character.'

[*] The stardate system I use is relatively simple. The beginning four numbers are the year, and the subsequent numbers are the day. I categorize it by consecutive day of the year, making it possible for it to be 'Stardate 2345.365'.

[*] Minor characters Taurik and Alyssa from the 'Lower Decks' episode are referenced in these chapters as being at Starfleet at the same time as Data. I plan not to disturb continuity with their characters (despite their ages and their commissions far differing from Data's), but to develop their characters into a time line which should converge appropriately with their own and Data's arrival on the Enterprise.