The captain entered the laboratory where BX-12 was being built to meet Lieutenant Commander LeCroy and Dr. Min. To his surprise, he found the android sitting in a chair, reading something aloud on a large PADD. LeCroy was sitting right across from him, talking to him. Dr. Min was also there, monitoring its vital signs and occasionally chiming in on the conversation that BX-12 and the Chief were having. It felt different there than before; the air had a certain lightness to it now.
“Captain…” the Chief said in surprise. He stood up nervously from his chair, as if the captain had walked in on a bad moment.
“At ease, Chief.”
“…BX-12 already had some residual activity even though the Annecta had separated from him. We decided that it was best to complete the transcribing process and leave him activated. I know you said that you wanted to know when we were ready to activate him, but…”
“No worries, Chief. I’m not here to hassle you.”
“Right now we’re teaching him how to read. We’ve already imprinted him with strong reading abilities, but at the moment his knowledge and abilities are fresh and jumbled together. It’s going to take some time for the brain to sort everything out. To him, it must feel like waking up from an amnesic episode, almost like everything is a distant memory. ”
“So he’s no danger to the ship or crew?”
“Not at the moment, no. The Annecta only affected the motor and sensory parts of his brain, and now that they’ve left, it doesn’t look like there’s any residual damage or unusual manipulation. He has a human sense of empathy, or at least our idea of an ‘ethical’ program, so he currently has no desire to hurt anybody. He’s actually very curious.”
“Most of his bodily functions are automated by external equipment,” said Dr. Min. “We should be able to finish all of his components in a few months. All of the mechanical scaffolds will be replaced with artificial muscle and bone. At the last stage, we will add skin and hair. He’ll be able to choose and mold his own facial features.”
The android looked up to the captain with a child-like gaze. “Who are you?”
“I am Darren Seth. I’m the captain of this starship. And you are…?” Seth wasn’t entirely sure that he should have called him by his experimental name. He looked at the Chief. So did the android.
“It’s OK. We still go by the name that was given to him by the Institute, BX-12. At some point, he will be able to choose his own name.”
The android nodded. “You are…Starfleet?”
“Yes, I am.”
He looked at the Chief. “Can I be Starfleet too?”
The captain chuckled a little. “Maybe, if you really want to. And you work at it.” Seth turned to the Chief. “He speaks English already?”
“He speaks six languages, actually. But he doesn’t ‘remember’ all of them yet. He’s still understanding who he is, and getting a feel for his body and his environment. So he’ll be behaving like a child for some time.”
It was a little unnerving actually to see a child-like demeanor come from such a frightful figure, particularly with the experience that he had with him while connected to the aliens. After all, this was the same android that nearly killed him. Seth would have to wait until he was completed before he would likely have a normal conversation with him.
“At the moment, he’s fascinated by stories of Data.”
“Oh?” The captain seemed a little surprised by that, but soon realized that he shouldn’t have been.
“I want to be named Data!” the android barked.
“You can’t be named Data,” LeCroy told him.
BX-12 frowned a little, but turned his attention away only a second later. “Would you like to read with us?” he asked Seth.
“Um, perhaps another time.”
“After we’ve completed his physical profile and some basic training he’ll be returning to the Daystrom Institute for closer supervision. He’ll have better intellectual and emotional guidance than we can provide here.”
“Are you sure that’s the right environment for him? It’s still a laboratory.”
“He’ll have more than his fair share of tests and experiments, but the Institute promises to be humane about it. They understand, that for all intents and purposes, this is essentially a human being and must be treated as so.”
“You’ll miss him, I’m sure. I suppose, you’re almost like a father to him,” Seth said. Those words felt just a little uncomfortable coming out of his mouth. “How do you feel about that?”
“There have been enough of us involved with BX-12 that many of us could be considered his ‘fathers.’ The hundreds of scientists at the Institute, Dr. Min, and even the Annecta.”
“That doesn’t make your role any less important,” Seth added.
LeCroy knew full well of his importance in the project but didn’t want to overstate it. Seth was pleased to see some humbleness in this matter, but in this case, a little pride was warranted. “Where he goes from there will be up to him,” LeCroy said.
“Maybe he’ll choose to come back here. He has his whole future ahead of him.”
“Alright BX, what did Data say after that,” the Chief asked the android. BX-12 looked back intently at his PADD.
“He said…’To…HELL…with…our…orders….’” He seemed perplexed by what he had just read, and didn’t know how to react or what to say.
And then Seth saw something he never seen before in his life. The android started laughing.
