I think we all remember that priceless opening scene of "Descent" (episode 6x24), in which Data plays poker with Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Stephen Hawking (played by Hawking himself). After Dr. Hawking's recent death, I wanted to write another scene with the four of them. The anecdote in this story is a gag that Hawking actually pulled on people, probably more than once.

Stephen Hawking had won almost every round of poker, so the second time that the four men played cards together in the holodeck, Data began a game of gin-rummy. Curious to see the reaction from the three physicists, Data mentioned that he was beginning a new research project to better understand human humor. He asked if they had any favorite jokes.

Isaac Newton had never been known for having much of a sense of humor, but Albert Einstein offered a joke about how, depending on the frame of reference, the road crossed the chicken. Stephen Hawking told a story about when he was interviewed for twentieth-century Earth television. While the crew was getting the set ready, one of them unplugged a light. Hawking had immediately shut his eyes and slumped down in his wheelchair, pretending to have lost consciousness. The crewman bolted from the room to get help, terrified that he'd accidentally injured – even killed – one of the world's greatest scientists. When he came back, Hawking was sitting up normally, as if nothing had happened.

"The look on his face!" Hawking exclaimed, and although the robotic voice speaking for him couldn't convey tone, the laughter was still there, somehow, in his words.

Einstein chuckled, but Newton snipped disapprovingly, "That sounds quite juvenile."

"An amusing story, Dr. Hawking," Data said. He had read that the man had had a mischievous sense of humor, often poking fun at himself and his condition. Data titled his head, considering. "It would be possible for me to attempt something similar the next time that Geordi runs a system analysis on my circuitry, but I am unsure that such a joke would be appreciated."

"Not everybody could pull it off," Hawking admitted, looking back down at his cards. For this game, Data had designed the holodeck to resemble Ten-Forward rather than a traditional poker saloon, complete with wide windows that seemed to be looking out into the infinite stars. As Hawking looked up from his cards, the view caught his eye, and a smile spread across his misshapen face. He had always wanted to travel to outer space.