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“Computer, locate Commander La Forge,” Data spoke.
“Lieutenant Commander La Forge is on holodeck three,” came the answer. Data quirked his head. Unusual. Before their holodeck slot Geordi and Data normally met in one or the other's quarters to plan what they were going to do; select the programme, replicate costumes, get into character. Rarely, they met up outside of the holodeck on, what Geordi called, ‘spontaneous trips’ (and Data would remind him that neither term applied when they had picked a slot in advance and were not, technically, leaving the Enterprise).
“What is he doing?” Data asked.
“Commander La Forge is constructing a holoprogramme.” Also strange. Geordi rarely constructed holoprogrammes, citing lack of patience for the activity. Geordi was also usually very punctual which was something Data’s internal chronometer appreciated. Yet Data had now been waiting in his quarters for the better part of two hours. It was possible Geordi had forgotten that today was their usual slot. He had seemed preoccupied lately. It made something in Data sink a little, which caused him to run a quick diagnostic, which in turn showed that everything was functioning within normal parameters. Data decided to join Geordi.
Once outside holodeck three, Data paused. He preferred not to enter the holodecks while they were in use, having walked in on Commander Riker at less than opportune moments a couple of times. Though, the criteria of ‘less than opportune’ in this case depended on who you were, Data supposed. The likelihood that Geordi was constructing such a programme was low, but Data erred on the side of caution anyway.
“Computer, is Commander La Forge engaged in sexual activity?”
“Negative.”
Good. Data entered the holodeck.
The door opened on to a tropical beach scene, warm by human standards, with a light breeze. The air was clear and sweet. The artificial moon in the artificial sky made it sometime in the late night (approximately, 2:00 hours, Data thought). On Enterprise-time it was earlier, close to the commencement of night shift. This was around the time Data and Geordi might have concluded a shorter holodeck session, Geordi excusing himself for a sonic shower and bed and Data for his routine processing and filing of information from the day. From time to time Geordi would wander back to Data’s quarters with him to discuss the session, or replicate some food while Data provided Spot with enrichment activity. Data was accustomed to the sequence of these events and had found himself missing them today in their absence.
“Data!” Geordi’s voice activated a positronic pathway that Data associated with companionship. It sent the command for his systems to ‘relax’ in essence, an approximation of human comfort Data had learned almost entirely on a subconscious level.
Geordi was stood a small way off along the beach, a holographic display panel in front of him, waving Data over. Data looked at the beach and then down at his shoes and contemplated taking them off to walk across the sand. Geordi was not wearing shoes and had his work trousers rolled up to above his knees. However, if Data took his shoes off his socks would get sandy and if he took his socks off then he would be finding sand granules stuck in his bioplast for weeks. Data kept his shoes on, he could replicate new ones if they got ruined, and opted to carefully pick his way across the sand to Geordi who had stopped to watch him with an amused smile.
“You know that was a pretty human demonstration of someone who really doesn’t want to get sand in his shoes,” Geordi said, once Data was level with him.
“Thank you,” Data replied. He took customary position behind Geordi’s shoulder as though they were in Engineering and frowned minutely at what he had been working on. “You are attempting to simulate moonlight,” Data lifted his gaze to the engineer’s face “–why?”
“Oh,” Geordi looked sheepish, “I guess I never mentioned it to you, I have a date tomorrow with Christy.” There it was again, the drop in Data’s ‘stomach’, perhaps his systems had picked up on a habit to emulate a human reaction, he did not see how it could possibly aid his function, however. He noted it for later consideration.
“Christy? Crewman Henshaw, Christy, human, civilian –” Data began, mentally pulling up her file. Geordi raised a hand which Data recognised as a signal to indicate he was giving superfluous information without interrupting him. Data stopped.
“Data, you’ve met her,” Geordi provided. Data blinked, comparing her image on file with faces he had seen in the last few months. Ah, there she was.
“Yes, she was present at Ten Forward two weeks prior to today,” Data said, calling up the memories of the party – the rare celebration when things had gone completely smoothly from start to finish on a diplomatic mission and the Federation had a new ally.. “You are attracted to her?” Data had thought that the interaction he’d seen between Geordi and Crewman Henshaw had been perfectly candid but more leaning toward social obligation, that he had learned was inherent at these events, than anything else.
Geordi’s face did something at Data’s question which Data did not understand and Geordi himself did not seem to notice.
“Yes Data, I’m interested in her,” he responded.
“I see. Is Crewman Henshaw aware of this?” Data asked, wondering too late if the question would be considered too blunt. Luckily, Geordi either did not mind or was accustomed to Data’s directness after spending two years practically constantly in each other’s company.
“I mean, I think so?” Geordi said with a sigh, “I asked her out to the holodeck, you can’t get much more forward than that.” Data resisted the urge to interject that you could, in his opinion, get far more forward than that. Geordi had not been searching for a comment. He did take the time to ponder when this had occurred without his notice, however. Data had spent most of that evening by Geordi’s side. He concluded it must have happened when he had decided to observe Commander Riker’s anecdote telling abilities.
Data had broken off from Geordi momentarily as Geordi joined a dance, favouring to stand off to the side of a sizeable group of people of all genders and species that had formed round Riker, all gazing at him with starstruck adoration as he spoke. Counsellor Troi stood a little distance away, watching the occurrence with a calm loving gaze while Worf stood further back still, sipping prune juice, and glaring at them both in disapproval. Data had counted almost 50 inaccuracies and 12 exaggerations of the truth before Geordi returned to his side, with Crewman Henshaw.
“Enjoying the view, Data?” Geordi had asked, nodding at Riker with a jesting smile.
Data had opted to ignore the question in favour of letting Geordi know what he was in fact doing.
“I was attempting to understand what makes Commander Riker’s ‘recount’ of missions so compelling when they are not factually exact. I have counted 48 inaccuracies and 12 creative exaggerations of events since I commenced listening.”
“Well, I’m sure he’s glad someone’s keeping track for him,” Geordi had responded. Data filed the comment away as an indicator that he should detail his observations to Commander Riker after the party. “Data, this is Christy, she recently moved to the Enterprise from the colony on ___,” Geordi continued.
Christy had smiled at the introduction and exchanged customary pleasantries with Data. Data had thought she was friendly if not a little uncomfortable to be brought into the company of Geordi and himself. She excused herself shortly after introduction with a quick confirmatory nod to Geordi when he had said ‘see you soon’ to her before her departure.
“I did not know you had kept close contact.”
“Ah, well. I’ve only really spoken to her a couple of times since the party,” Geordi admitted. “She’s not the most talkative.” That, Data did not understand.
“I do not understand, I thought communication to be a crucial part of assessing compatibility in humans,” he said, with a small tilt of his head.
“It is, yeah,” Geordi agreed. “Some people just take more time to warm up than others.”
“I see.” That, at least, was a concept Data could extrapolate on to himself. It had taken a long time for his pathways to become accustomed to the crew of the Enterprise and, more pertinently, to having friends – let alone a best one. “Am I correct in assuming this programme is for your date with Crewman Henshaw?”
“Bingo,” Geordi confirmed “I’ve been working on it for a few days now, but I just can’t seem to get it right.”
“Bingo?”
“It refers to an old Earth game. Means ‘you got it’,” Geordi explained easily. He fiddled with a selection, still evidently unhappy with the lighting, and the whole scene flooded in an electric blue glow. Data blinked, his visual processors rapidly adjusting and peered around.
“This selection would be unnatural,” he stated.
“I know, but don’t you find it a little comforting?” Geordi said, gazing across the faintly shimmering scene. Data did think it had a certain quality that bolstered familiarity to him. The colour blue frequently had a calming effect on humans, doubtless in association with Earth’s sky, however that was not what this colour reminded Data of.
“I believe you may be finding it comforting because it is the exact EM wavelength of a warp core glow,” he reflected.
“God, you’re right,” Geordi said, resetting the lighting again. “I spend too much time in Main Engineering.” This was empirically true, Data calculated Geordi did more overtime in Main Engineering than – well, than anyone else. Data mentioned it frequently (despite the fact that reminders to the engineer to sleep and take time off proved ineffective) because he did not wish for Geordi to compromise his health.
“Geordi, in this light, is it fair to assume your over-dedication to your work extends to your romantic endeavours?” Geordi looked at his friend and knitted his brow.
“Data, that wasn’t a joke, was it?”
Data frowned in turn, “I did not intend it as such.” They stood in silence for a beat while Data processed. “A double entendre,” he said after a moment, “’in this light’,” he repeated, looking round at the blue “–it is not funny,” he concluded, looking almost put out. Geordi let out a short burst of air through his nose in amusement and shook his head slightly, more at Data’s analysis than anything else.
“To answer your question,” he said returning his attention to resetting the lighting again, “I suppose it does. Why’d you ask?”
“I wished to understand the reason for you missing our usual holodeck slot. In this ligh – context I believe I have been provided with the sought insight,” Data’s voice synthesiser had put a slight edge in his otherwise nonplussed tone that was only detectable to his senses. It did not bother Data, as much as he was capable of being bothered, with it being such a small fluctuation but he noted it on the growing list for later consideration. “I can leave if I am disturbing your efforts,” he added.
Geordi’s instant response was as though he had heard the small change Data’s vocalisation and had mistaken it for emotional input.
“Oh, that was today, wasn’t it? I’m really sorry, Data. I completely lost track of time,” he said, sounding genuinely distressed. “It’s been one hell of a few days, and nothing’s going right.”
Data hesitated.
“Would it be preferable to you if I remain then?” He asked, finding it difficult to gauge what he should say.
“Yes. Please. At least this way we’re still spending some sort of time together this evening, right?” Geordi responded.
“Night,” Data corrected.
“Hmm?”
“Night shift commenced three minutes, fifteen seconds ago. It is no longer the evening,” Data clarified.
“Damn, I really did lose track of time,” Geordi muttered. “Well, since you’re staying – Computer, blanket.” A blanket materialised, laid down on the beach. “There you go,” Geordi inclined his head in its direction, “make yourself comfortable.” Data did not recall saying he would stay but he found himself hovering next to the blanket anyway.
“Standing for prolonged periods does not cause me any discomfort. I do not have organic muscles to experience fatigue,” he protested mildly.
“It’s a human thing. I’d be uncomfortable if I made you stand here all night while I tried to finish this programme,” Geordi said.
Data nodded in understanding and sat down on the blanket, somewhat stiffly. After a moment Geordi sighed and dismissed the panel he’d been using to work on the programme with and joined next Data on the blanket, hugging in his knees, and staring out at the view. Data manoeuvred himself into a similar position.
“There’s just something about it that’s not there,” Geordi murmured to himself in frustration, watching the lapping sea before them.
“I agree. It is a hologram,” Data said. Geordi slowly turned his head towards Data, a tired look on his face. Data met his look briefly and then awkwardly glanced back at the sea. He thought that the view itself was scenic from a human perspective. Geordi was right, however, there was something about it that made it unrealistic, aside from being unreal itself.
As if on impulse Data stood up and picked up a small pebble from beside his and Geordi’s blanket.
“What are you doing, Data?” Geordi questioned, at his sudden movement.
Data ignored him and launched the pebble at the sea with a quick flick of his wrist. The pebble disappeared through the sea.
“I noted a lack of salt content in the air when I entered the programme, I tested a subsequent hypothesis,” he said, rejoining Geordi on the blanket. “You have programmed the appearance and sound of the sea but neglected to programme in any material element.”
“Well,” Geordi said, leaning back. “No wonder it felt off, I forgot the one crucial element of a beach – the sea itself.” He let out a heavy breath. “That’s going to be a pain to fix at this stage.”
“It is an unfortunate error,” Data agreed “However you can simply copy over the sea from another holoprogramme if you wish for an easy solution.”
“No, I wanted this programme to be perfect. Copying another sea over would defeat the purpose,” Geordi said, sounding resigned.
“I do not think perfection is an attainable standard to strive for in this case,” Data mused, this time considering the rest of the beach. “There are between five hundred million to a billion granules of sand in one cubic square foot of a beach alone, making sure an entire beach ‘perfect’ would take longer than your lifespan and, conceivably, mine. It is does not seem like a productive use of your time.”
“I know, Data, but that’s part of the beauty of it.”
“The beauty of what?”
“Hm, life, striving for the unattainable,” Geordi contemplated. Data thought about this. In these moments the thought sprang up that, though artificial, maybe he was not so far away from something human after all.
“I understand,” he stated, simply. Geordi gave him a small, sympathetic, smile.
“I know you do, bud.”
Geordi thought that being human was not so great sometimes, Data knew. Yet, it was nice that he was compassionate about Data’s troubles anyway, even when he had his own. It was part of how Data knew Geordi valued him.
“Geordi, do romantic relationships typically take precedent over friendships?” He asked, at length. This stunned Geordi for a moment before the surprise turned into what Data thought that was sadness, although it appeared more... layered.
“That depends on who you ask. For me, nah. I think it can fluctuate what you spend more time on, though, depending on a number of factors. Some bonds take more effort than others. Also, ideally people form long-lasting romantic relationships with those who can become or already are some level of friend to them,” Geordi paused. “If you’re worried that I’m going to abandon you because of Christy, I’m going to let you know right now, that’s not going to happen.”
“I am incapable of worry. Nevertheless, I appreciate the sentiment. Thank you, Geordi,” Data said. He had found that to be positive news. The word reassuring might have been applicable to approximate human understanding, internally Data debated use of it, wondering if incorporating more emotional language into his speech would only lead to further confusion among the crew on his lack of emotional capabilities. He also wondered if Geordi’s addition about friendship meant that Data would eventually spend more time with Christy as well. Data was not sure about that, taking into consideration Christy’s discomfort when speaking with both him and Geordi. His own thoughts made him, mentally, halt briefly. Customarily he would not be opposed to socialisation with near anybody, he found his networks were being uncharitable to Christy based on too little evidence. He logged the problem. Then, to follow up the thought line, he said: “You, presume that Christy will become a friend to you in addition to a romantic partner?”
“You sure have a lot of questions about this,” Geordi commented, leaning forward again, and fiddling with the edge of the blanket.
“I have not ruled out the possibility having a romantic relationship in the future,” Data said, thinking of Professor Ishikawa and Chief O’Brien whose relationship he had seen build from day one. “Therefore, I am interested to hear about how one forms.”
“Well, I might not be the best person to talk about that with. I’ve not exactly been successful…ever,” Geordi said. As if to demonstrate a point he picked up a small stone and threw it at the immaterial sea. Geordi and Data watched as it phased through the waves and, presumably, dispersed before it hit the floor of the holodeck. “But to stop avoiding the question, the answer is I don’t know. It’s been a really long time since I’ve been on a date, sometimes you just gotta give things a go.”
Geordi’s description of a romantic partner and the feelings around the date he was going on did not seem to fit together in Data’s mind, but human ideals and behaviour hardly ever lined up, so he did not say so.
“Shall I approach Commander Riker on the topic?” He queried instead. Geordi snorted.
“Sure, Data. Riker is more experienced than me in many senses of the word but I’m also not sure he has advice for the kind of relationship you might want.”
“I do not know what kind of relationship I ‘might want’,” Data pointed out.
“That’s for you to figure out then, bud,” Geordi told him, patting him on the shoulder, before using Data to push himself back up on to his feet. “Right, time for me to try and actually perfect this disasterscape.”
The point on Data’s shoulder that Geordi had touched felt the pressure input for a while after Geordi had already let go. Data, however, had launched himself into thinking about everything Geordi had mentioned regarding the programme they had been sharing for a while now. He wanted to be able to help his friend but the hows of this situation were evading him.
“Geordi, by attempting to create a perfect scenario to ‘strive for the unattainable’, are you not, in essence, setting yourself up for failure?”
Geordi let out a tiny, slightly bitter chuckle.
“You might be right, but that’s really not what I want to hear right now,” he told Data and, at Data’s more blank and expressionless look than usual, elaborated. “Look, with Christy I’m really trying to make things work, that’s out of my control. So, what I can control I’m going to make sure is as close to perfect as it can be.”
“I see,” Data considered this, settling for a supportive response in lieu of a logical one. “Would it be appropriate for me to wish you luck on your date?” Geordi gave him a smile.
“Some people would think that’s patronising but, for me, go ahead,” he said.
“Good luck, Geordi,” Data provided. Geordi’s smile grew brighter, Data let the corners of his lips quirk up just a little in response.
“Thanks Data,” Geordi accepted, and summoned the panel back into existence with a couple of commands to the computer.
“–It is a shame about the sea though, it might have been nice to go for a nighttime swim,” he said, as he made his way back over to the panel. Data followed him with his gaze.
“Forgive me, how does that aid in perfecting the programme?”
“Well, one of the best ways to test a holoprogramme is by experiencing it,” Geordi explained and waved one hand at the surroundings.
“I have never been swimming,” Data said, pulling up some information on the activity. “The mechanics do not appear difficult. I believe it would be a beneficial experience.”
“If you want to go swimming, unfortunately, it’ll have to be another time,” Geordi told him.
“Indeed.” Data agreed, watching the image of the waves.
“But I used to go sailing and wild swimming quite a bit when I was a teen, I could take you some time?” Geordi suggested.
“Curious,” Data said, tearing his eyes from the shifting waves and quickly catching up with the last few seconds in his audio logs, “were you not raised on a starship?”
“I was, but my parents wanted me to spend some time planet-side each year with kids my own age. In retrospect they probably just wanted me out of their hair, but they used to send me on all these activity summer camps. Honestly, the sailing was probably the best thing about them,” Geordi said.
“I am sorry the experience was disagreeable,” Data said, reaching up to touch his own hair thoughtfully.
“Ah, well, the teenage years are a hard time,” Geordi replied, adjusting a setting. Data immediately detected a rise in the salinity of the air.
“I am afraid I do not have relevant personal experience to comment, I have never been a teenager – I could look into the subject if you wish?”
“No, that’s alright Data. But what do you say? Next time The Enterprise stops for a longer period, we go hunt for a lake? Least I can do to make up for today.”
“While that sounds enjoyable, I am compelled to remind you that you have not injured me in any way today,” Data told him calmly. Geordi pressed his lips together and inclined his head.
“How ‘bout I take you anyway?” He asked. Data felt a slow warmth creeping up inside of him. He wondered if Geordi had toggled the ambient temperature of the programme.
“I believe I would like that.”