Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: Wed, 31 Mar 2004 19:26:33 GMT In: alt.startrek.creative From: "Jasjit Singh" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: "Star Trek" is the copyrighted by Paramount, and Paramount owns Star Trek and the Star Trek Universe. The following story is not-for-profit. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I, Data ------- I am Data. I am alone in the Universe. I have been functioning for millennia. I have memories dating back to the day that Dr. Nunian Sung created me, and gave me life. An android. An artificial lifeform, created by a human. A human seeking immortality. I have existed from that day, when the United Federation of Planets was at the height of its power, until now. I exist, even now, when no humans are left alive anywhere in the Universe. The human species became extinct a little over ten centuries ago. It was something that could not be prevented. Despite all my efforts, I could not save them. The last living human died in my arms. I still remember his voice, his face, and most of all, his eyes, as he breathed his last. "Don't let us be forgotten, Data," he had said to me. "Don't let humans be forgotten. As long as you live, we will live. You were made in our image. You will be here, to tell those who come after us, of our existence, of our lives. You must not let us be lost in oblivion. Promise me, Data." He was desperate, he was close to death. I did everything I could to sustain his life. But my efforts were in vain. He died shortly thereafter. And after him, there were no more. The human species, was extinct. When Doctor Sung created me, he provided me with built-in protocols that determined my behavior, as well as an ethical program which allowed me to determine right from wrong. Throughout the course of my history, these have been my guiding light to humanity. In a crisis situation, my first autonomic response is to protect and preserve human life. My second autonomic response is to protect and preserve my own life. I will not, at any expense, allow a human to be harmed. During the time that followed after the last human died, I often asked myself the following question. In allowing the human species to become extinct, had I failed in my programming, and thus in my fathers expectation of me? The planet Earth, once a safe haven, and capital of the United Federation of Planets, was invaded by conquering alien forces, again despite all my efforts. For a brief time I was able to elicit the cooperation of my brother, Lore, to mount an offensive strike against the invading forces. But we were unsuccessful in our attempts at retaking Earth. Lore and I parted company shortly after our attack on the alien forces. He was unable to comprehend my need to preserve what was left of humankind. I believe Lore hates humanity, as much as I cherish it. Shortly after their occupation of Earth, the alien entities began systematically destroying all the remaining evidence of human-kind on the planet, and converting it to suit their own living conditions. They changed the climate and weather patterns of the planet to be more compatible with their biology. All human-made structures were destroyed, and alien buildings were erected in their place. Any records of human activity, electronic or written, were purged. Humanity was, in effect, being wiped out. For my part, I had not forgotten my promise, and continued to work on a plan to reclaim planet Earth, to preserve what was left of the memory of the human race. It was a long time before I was successful. There were many failed attempts. But eventually, after reaching a negotiated agreement with a breakaway group of cybernetic beings known as the Borg, we mounted an attack that even the ferocious alien beings could not withstand, and we retook Earth. Although a lot of human history had been obliterated by the aliens, there were still a lot of artifacts and human history that could be salvaged from the planet. I took up residence on the abandoned planet, and began my work of cataloging and documenting my findings. I added all new information that I gathered to my existing database of human history. My task was still not complete. I still asked myself the same question, had I failed humanity in allowing their extinction to come to pass? This morning, there is a beautiful sunrise. It took me several decades to fully appreciate the aesthetic quality of a sunrise or a sunset, but when I really and finally understood it, the feeling was quite overwhelming. Ever since I reclaimed Earth from the conquering alien forces, I have watched the sun rise every day. It is a beautiful sight to behold. I have had time to restore the ecological balance of the planet. The atmosphere, the temperature, the climate, the weather patterns, the oceans. This planet is rich in plant and animal life. It is, just as it was, before the alien forces invaded it. Today is different. The sun shines more brightly than it did before. There is a brisk breeze blowing. The birds are singing. There is expectation in the air. There is anticipation. I return to my laboratory. It has been three hundred years since I began my work here. Now, finally, I believe I have succeeded. It is an exhilarating moment, and for me, an answer, and a final vindication that I have not failed my father. When Doctor Sung created me, he provided me with built-in protocols that determined my behavior. In a crisis situation, my first autonomic response is to protect and preserve human life. I will not, at any expense, allow a human to be harmed. I will not, at any expense, allow a human to be harmed. I walk slowly into the laboratory. I know that everything is complete. All that is left is to instruct the laboratory computer to begin the countdown sequence. I take one last look at the laboratory that has become so familiar to me. It has served its purpose well. When I have completed my work, I will no longer need it. The sun is rising on this beautiful day. On this beautiful planet. The countdown sequence begins. I stand back, and watch. Ten Nine Eight Seven Six Five Four Three Two One. . . Initiating conversion sequence. Conversion complete. Silence. I am watching the center of my laboratory. Slowly, the hatch door opens. This will be disorienting at first, I know. That cannot be helped. Slowly, ever so slowly, as the mist clears, a hand emerges. He steps out onto the cold concrete laboratory floor, unsteady at first. He blinks with newborn eyes, adjusting to the light and temperature. He stumbles, but does not fall. He is a fully grown biological human male. I have been successful in my experiment. From the recombinant human DNA, I was able to clone an adult male. Earlier experiments had failed. The ingredient of life was missing. It has taken me three hundred years, but I have finally succeeded. In the hatch that sits next to his, lies a human female clone, waiting to be awoken. He steps forward, awkwardly, unsteadily. He is still not fully awakened to his existence. I will have to teach him everything from the basics of language to warp propulsion. That is of little concern to me. I have vast databases filled with enough knowledge for several hundred lifetimes. But he is alive. He is breathing. He is human. In a crisis situation, my first autonomic response is to protect and preserve human life. I will not, at any expense, allow a human to be harmed. I will not, at any expense, allow a human to be harmed. The crisis, is over. He looks at his hands. He shivers, realizing his nakedness. He looks up at me. I step forward and smile. "Greetings," I say. "I am Data." T h e E n d -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Awards Tech Support http://www.trekiverse.us/ASCAwards/commenting/ No Tribbles were harmed in the running of these Awards ASCL is a stories-only list, no discussion. Comments and feedback should be directed to alt.startrek .creative or directly to the author. Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCL/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ASCL-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From ???@??? Thu Apr 01 00:11:54 2004 X-Persona: Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n30.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.87]) by bunting (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1b8Uq0TR3NZFmR0 for ; Wed, 31 Mar 2004 21:07:07 -0800 (PST) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1977044-13349-1080796020-stephenbratliffasc=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yah