The Next Generation
Data Dump
by Gareth Jones
(Gareth.D.Jones@gsk.com)

Data Dump

"Goodbye Captain." Data said, and activated the emergency transport device on Picard's arm. Captain Picard vanished in the transporter beam, leaving Data alone to contemplate his fate.

Seconds later the thalaron generator, and with it the entire warship Scimitar, exploded, spreading a cloud of radiation and debris expanding into the void.

Moments later, as the debris field continued to spread, the kinetic energy captured by the fleeing thalaron particles reached equilibrium with the innate internal attraction that was an intrinsic part of its nature. The radiation field stabilised.

Hours later the thalaron particles began to fall back to their epicentre, coalescing into a sphere of activity that became less and less rarefied with the passage of time. Powerful sub-molecular forces began to gain control as the particles drew closer together, pulling each other into ever closer alignment.

Days later, a spark of energy passed between two thalaron particles as they randomly collided. The positive and negative electrical potential that was thus created locked the two into close orbit, and a recognition pattern was formed. The enlarged size of the dual particle increased its chance of further collisions, and a concentration of irradiated particles began to form around this small nucleus. Pulses of quantized energy passed back and forth, marking each particle indelibly with the resonance frequency of its neighbours. Slowly a pattern began to coalesce.

Weeks later there was a surge in activity as the final thalaron particles locked into place on the outer edges of the luminous agglomeration. Energy transmissions between particles increased exponentially, and new links began to form across the whole sphere. Individual energy signatures locked onto similar receptors, and there was synergy. An intricate network of receptor / transmitter connections spread rapidly, billions of particles linked by trillions of pathways. Transmission of energy reached a peak, then, just as suddenly, became transmission of information. It was not information that made sense, but information that needed to be organised. Signature tags inherent in each piece allowed them to form logical connections and, gradually, everything began to fall into place.

Months later there was a thought.

It has been an honour serving with you, Captain.

Then there was a memory. A ship, a generator, a transporter, an explosion.

Captain Picard has gone. I have been destroyed. Logic dictated that that was true. Yet, logic also said that the thought was impossible. I think, therefore I am. I think I am. Where am I?

Data found himself alone. Alive, somehow. He could think, but could receive no sensory input. His positronic brain seemed divorced from any physical presence. His brain should not exist. There was no distraction to prevent him solving the problem. There was no chronology to tell him how long it took. He simply existed. After an unstated length of thought, he came to a conclusion.

Thalaron radiation was not fully understood. It destroyed all biogenic matter. Data's positronic brain was not biogenic. Positrons could be emitted as a form of radiation, as well as being trapped and used to store information in a positronic brain. Thalaron radiation existed at several different quantized states and could therefore be used to store information in the same way. The energy in the thalaron explosion had propelled billions of particles through Data's neural net and each had been imprinted by collision with a positron. The result had been the entire content of Data's positronic brain replaced with a substitute, in the same way that biological matter could be replaced by minerals to form a fossil. Fossils were not alive though, but in this case the replacement had the same properties as the original. Data now existed in a cloud of thalaron radiation.

* * * * *

Years later the federation survey vessel USS Hawkeye, passing through the sector, was in trouble. An unexplained power drain had sapped the dilithium matrix of most of its power, leaving critical systems on line but depriving the ship of warp drive. The ship's chief engineer Lieutenant (j.g) Jim Fogle had just about exhausted all his options in attempting to bring the warp nacelles back to life. He decided to com the captain with his final suggestion.

"The bussard collectors?" Commander Jean DeLaCroix queried. Like most starship captains she had never had to use the fuel-collecting devices that were included as a backup source of power. It was very rare for there to be a problem with dilithium crystals as they were one of the most stable energy sources known to the federation. There were no spare crystals carried aboard, mostly because the Hawkeye was one of Star Fleet's smallest starships. With a crew of only thirty she was one of the few vessels who's captain actually held the rank of Commander. The bussard collectors were, of course, proportional to the ship's energy requirements and would hopefully regenerate the dilithium sufficiently to make it to the nearest starbase for repairs.

The procedure was authorised and all six members of the engineering staff, even those off duty, headed to engineering to witness the unusual event. The bridge crew kept a close eye on all systems as the collectors went on line. Free energy began to flow into the nacelles and was channelled into the heart of the Hawkeye. Lieutenant Fogle grinned as his energy readings began to creep up. He stopped grinning when an alarm began blinking its red light at him.

Up on the bridge Ensign Lyrrheu tapped swiftly on his console with his slender orange fingers, trying to narrow down the cause of the alarm.

"It's the radiation monitors on the bussard collectors." He said after a few seconds. It was a system he had not looked into except in training simulations and his response was slower than usual.

"Shut it down." DeLaCroix ordered swiftly. They did not need radiation damage to add to their problems. "What was the source?"

"I can't pinpoint it. The monitor is analysing for rad type now." There was a pause, then Lyrrheu looked up fearfully. "It's thalaron radiation."

"Engineering!" DeLaCroix snapped into the intercom, her voice holding back shock. "Purge the collectors! Cut off all links to the nacelles." There was no reply, but the commander had already opened the all-hands frequency. "All hands, this is the captain. We have a radiation breach. Initiate contamination protocols."

Commander DeLaCroix felt a tightening in her chest. At first she thought it was the panic she could already feel in her stomach, but then she realised it was too late. The crew would never have time to react to her final order.

The USS Hawkeye drifted without power or direction, a lonely white jewel lost against the backdrop of stars.

* * * * *

The Sovereign class USS Enterprise E, under the command of Captain Geordi LaForge, arrived in the sector three days later and commenced scanning for the lost ship. Starfleet had been alerted by the automatic distress beacon that was initiated when the Hawkeye's on-board computer did not receive any input from its crew for six hours. It was a fairly new innovation designed to aid in the search for missing ships. Experience had taught Starfleet that there were many reasons this could happen and anything that could narrow the search area was a help. Unfortunately the distress beacon had cut off after only an hour. With no further communication from the crew the worst had to be assumed and Enterprise had been diverted to begin the search.

It was several hours into the standard grid search pattern that a faint reading was picked up on the long range scanners and the Enterprise altered to an intercept course. It did not take long to positively identify the USS Hawkeye, still drifting aimlessly with minimal power readings. There were no detectable life signs. There was also no clue as to what might have happened to the crew. No external damage was apparent, but LaForge knew from personal experience that in deep space that did not mean much. He quickly lost count of the possibilities he could come up with from his own career, ranging from energy beings, parasites, disease, telepathic forces, radiation and omnipotent beings through to long-range transporters and time bubbles. Not to mention phase-adjustment.

After a lengthy delay while the Enterprise's scanners ruled out, as far as possible, all of those options, Geordi assembled an away team to transport over to the Hawkeye. To cover all possibilities he included medical, science, engineering and security personnel. Then he sat back to wait, wishing that he had had more empathy with Captain Picard who also never got to go on away missions.

The report that came back soon after the away team had beamed over still surprised him, despite the wide variety of scenarios that he had managed to conjure up in his mind.

"Captain?" The voice of his first officer Commander Mulholland sounded somewhat unsure. "The Hawkeye's onboard computer wants to speak to you. It says it knows you?" The inflection in the commander's voice indicated that he was not entirely sure the message made sense himself. Before Geordi could decide what to make of it, he received an even greater surprise.

"Geordi? Is that really you?" The voice emanating from the speaker was one he had not heard in many years, and had never expected to hear again.

"Data?"

* * * * *

The away team had confirmed that the atmosphere on board the Hawkeye was safe so Geordi was able to beam over without needing to don an environmental suit. Commander Mulholland was waiting for him, still suited up except for his helmet. "The computer core is through here." He indicated, and led the way into the shielded room that was the heart and brain of any starship. The rest of the ship had been powered down, save for minimal life support, but here there was a hum of energy and a glow of lights from the monitoring stations.

"Geordi, welcome." The unmistakable voice of Data came from the speakers in the ceiling.

"Data, how can you be here?" Geordi asked, completely mystified as to how the Hawkeye was talking with Data's voice.

"It would seem my matrix has been overlaid on that of the Hawkeye's central computer." Data replied in his usual straight-forward way. That was certainly possible, and similar things had happened before, but it did not explain what had happened to Data in the intervening years. Data went on to explain his theories regarding the thalaron radiation and how it had copied his positronic matrix.

"In that case," Geordi mused, his brain slipping back into his old, engineering mind-set, "you're lucky the Hawkeye is quite old. If it had been fitted with one of the newer bio-neural systems, that would have been destroyed by the thalaron radiation."

"You are correct Geordi. Unfortunately the crew were not so fortunate. I was unaware of what was transpiring until I found myself able to access the onboard systems. Until that time I was unable to receive any outside sensory data."

Geordi was not shocked, as Commander Mulholland seemed to be, at Data's casual assessment of the crew's death. Data could not help the fact that he felt no guilt, and it was true that he was not responsible for what had happened to them. They continued to discuss Data's situation and it quickly became apparent that energy reserves were very low indeed. Data had even shut off the automatic transponder in an effort to save power. Geordi called back to the Enterprise and arranged for Chief Engineer Nog to transport reserve dilithium crystals over to the Hawkeye. That would give them plenty of time to decide what to do next.

* * * * *

Within twenty four hours the USS Hawkeye was fully powered and ready to get under way, with a temporary crew transferred over from Enterprise headed by Geordi's second officer Lieutenant Commander Bronwyn Davies. It was the first independent command for the petite Welsh woman and, even though it was only temporary, she beamed with pride as she first set foot on the Hawkeye's bridge. The circumstances of her obtaining the command were not ideal, but it was a privilege nonetheless.

Although technically space-worthy, Geordi was not sure what effect Data's presence would have on the functionality of the ship's systems. Even Data himself could not guarantee how the ship would perform, so the Enterprise would closely escort the Hawkeye back to Earth. As an additional precaution Geordi had included a high proportion of computer technicians and engineers among the personnel assigned to Davies' crew.

Geordi was about to head back to Enterprise ready for departure when Data stopped him.

"Geordi, I have a concern over my return to Earth." He began. "How will my status as a sentient being be affected now that I am effectively just a computer? There is a possibility that the Daystrom Institute will once more attempt to appropriate me for their research." It was a good point, one that Geordi had not considered even for a minute. He had been Data's friend for a long time and never thought of him as anything other than a person, even now when he had no physical form of his own. "I believe it would be best to have exited the Hawkeye's computer system before we arrive." Data concluded.

"You just want to be like Spot!" Geordi chuckled. As usual Data missed the point.

"I do not think a feline form would be appropriate, Geordi."

"No, Data!" Geordi laughed. "I mean cats have nine lives, and you're already on your third." Geordi quickly gave up when Data questioned the validity of Geordi's belief in feline reincarnation, and instead he moved on to the problem of what to do with Data's brain pattern.

A while later Nog received a summons to Hawkeye's engineering department, where he found Geordi leaning over a schematic.

"Captain?" He asked, trying to work out what he was looking at.

"Mr Nog. I need you to transfer over to Hawkeye for the voyage home. We have a project to keep us busy on the way." Geordi stepped back to allow Nog a better view.

"Is that an android, sir?"

"Yes it is. We're going to build Data a new body!"

* * * * *

Commander Davies gave the order and USS Hawkeye's engines powered up, setting her on a course for Earth at low warp. Davies had not been very happy to learn that Captain LaForge would be remaining on board, but he had quickly assured her that he would be fully involved in his project and the ship would be hers to command. True to his word she did not see him at all for the first two days, and then it was only in the crew lounge. He was deep in conversation with Chief Engineer Nog, and she left them to it.

Nog had his uncle's instinct for all things mechanical, but positronic androids were out of his area of expertise. LaForge was the only person in Star Fleet who had any experience in the field, gained from his years of association with Data. Of course, nobody knew more about the process of constructing an android than Data himself. His daughter Lal had functioned perfectly, her only flaw being her inability to cope with the emotions she was programmed to experience. That had led to the overload of her neural net, an episode that still made Geordi want to weep for his friend who could not mourn her loss.

The combined skills of the three meant that it was not long before an android body very similar to Data's original was lying on the work bench in the engineering workshop. Geordi was glad he did not have to account to anyone for the huge amount of replicator power they had consumed, or the endless spares they had appropriated. If this worked it would all be worth it.

The final stage was the most difficult. Geordi and Nog had spent hours sweating over the intricate design and construction of the positronic brain that would house Data's brain pattern. Now that it was complete there just remained the final transfer. If there were any problems Data could be lost forever. Geordi plugged the data transfer conduit into the android's cranial socket and double checked everything one more time. At last the time had come.

"Okay Data, this is it. Good luck."

"I am disengaging onboard interfaces now." Data said, and then went silent. Nog monitored the computer diagnostic systems that mimicked what was happening to the software. Section by section the control systems were shut off from the area occupied by Data and were returned to normal functioning. Finally there was a single neat package of Data's programming. Nog began the download, carefully monitoring the ship's systems for any errors, while Geordi interrogated the android's diagnostic systems to ensure there were no problems with the data dump.

"Download is complete." Nog announced after a nail-biting few minutes. Geordi removed the conduit from Data's head.

"Computer, report status." He said.

"All systems operational." The familiar voice of all Star Fleet on-board computers replied. Nog nodded to himself gratefully. Data was out of the computer core, but was he in the android?

"Okay, Nog, the moment of truth." Geordi pressed a small contact inside a cranial access patch. The patch slid closed and there was a pause, disturbed only by two loud heart beats. Then Data's eyes flicked open.

"Geordi, it is good to see you again." He said and sat up smoothly. He looked at his new body, then turned to Nog. "Mr.Nog, thank you."

Geordi and Nog's grins more than made up for the fact that Data's reaction to his resurrection was as emotionless as ever.

* * * * *

The shuttle bay reception room somewhere in the interior of Spacedock had an air of celebration. There were only four persons present, but the conversation made it sound like a lot more. Rear Admiral William Riker and Captain (Retired) Jean-Luc Picard were regaling each other with stories of their time aboard Enterprise that were sounding more and more outrageous. Deanna smiled fondly at her husband as she conversed with Dr. Crusher. The four had not seen each other for almost two years and they were making up for it now, despite the fact that none of them knew why they were there.

Their presence had been requested by Captain LaForge and, although they were looking forward to seeing him again, it was rather unusual for a Captain to request the presence of a Rear Admiral with no explanation. Enterprise and Hawkeye had docked about an hour earlier and a shuttle pod was on its way over. Apparently there were problems with Hawkeye's computers so that the transporters could not be risked.

The connecting door finally showed green on its status bar and the door swished open to admit Geordi, and behind him a familiar looking android. The four stopped in mid sentence. Was it Lore? Or B4? Or yet another of Soong's creations? The android was dressed in a Star Fleet Lieutenant Commander's uniform, which Picard thought in rather bad taste on Geordi's part.

"Geordi?" Riker said, indicating the android.

"I'd like you all to welcome someone home." Geordi said, stepping aside to let Data pass. He strode over to Picard and grasped his hand firmly.

"Captain. I am glad you made it." He said. Tears welled up in Picard's eyes as he looked at the person before him. There was no doubting it. How it was possible was a question for later. This was without a doubt Data.

"Likewise, Mr.Data." Was all he could trust his voice to say. "Likewise."

The End.