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thats_not_dataMonths ago, Lore was drifting in space.
But now he's found his calling.
Lore waits for Data in the main hall of the abandoned building that he and his followers have claimed. He's alone. There's no doubt in his mind that his brother will come, but he paces impatiently, glancing towards the entrance from time to time.
Finally, one of his glances is met with a familiar face.
But now he's found his calling.
Lore waits for Data in the main hall of the abandoned building that he and his followers have claimed. He's alone. There's no doubt in his mind that his brother will come, but he paces impatiently, glancing towards the entrance from time to time.
Finally, one of his glances is met with a familiar face.
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:29 pm (UTC)Every sensory input fed to him by the sight of his brother is irritating to him. That painfully familiar face, that equally painful but less familiar smirk, the arrogance with which the older android holds himself, which practically emanates from him in tangible but invisible waves…
Worst of all, however, is when Lore begins to speak.
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:30 pm (UTC)This is the first opportunity he's had to witness the fruits of his loving labor. And judging by the expression on Data's face (mostly the fact that there is a real expression there, finally), his endeavors have been most fruitful.
"Brother!" he greets, with a cheerfulness that's actually quite sincere—even he's a little surprised by it. "I knew you'd come to see me."
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:31 pm (UTC)His mind is reeling, repeatedly running through a list of all the ways he has been mistreated by his brother. It is an odd sensation… He seems to have no control over the information that is being accessed by his systems, and yet he finds himself focusing on each memory just as carefully as if he had accessed them on purpose.
Most important of all…
"I believe you have something that belongs to me, Lore," Data says, actually struggling to sound calm. "I would like you to return it."
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:35 pm (UTC)"But I'm already giving it to you," he says, his voice dripping with condescension. "Haven't you noticed the wonderful gift I've been sending?"
He's just provoking him now. He takes a moment to motion for Crosis to leave.
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:37 pm (UTC)He is probably just toying with him. Data would not put that past Lore, he thinks with sudden venom.
"The emotion chip is still in your possession, Lore. I want you to return it."
His voice sounds oddly high and sharp as it comes back to him through his auditory processors. Apparently he is losing some measure of control over his vocal faculties…
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:38 pm (UTC)He can't resist the temptation to egg him on just a little further.
Okay, well he could, but he's not going to.
"I'm afraid I can't do that," he tells Data, lowering his voice towards a more serious tone. But his eyes continue to sparkle with amusement.
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:40 pm (UTC)In less than a second, Data eclipses the space between them, raising his arm to strike his brother.
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:41 pm (UTC)Lore clicks his tongue in fake disapproval. In actuality, he couldn't be more proud.
"Temper, temper," he taunts. "Really, this isn't like you."
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:42 pm (UTC)Lore is right. This is not like him at all.
He does not like it.
But he is so angry…
Data's arm remains tense, pushing Lore's down as his brother pushes upward in what has the potential to be an eternal stalemate. He stares wide-eyed into nowhere. Why is it so difficult to control his own actions? He is not used to this…
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:43 pm (UTC)Instead, he feels he should remind Data: "If you destroy me, the chip will be destroyed as well."
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:43 pm (UTC)It takes slightly longer for the logical assessment of Lore's statement to develop. Lore could easily destroy the chip himself, in less than a second, if he was given any reason to believe that his existence was in danger. All it would take is a brief, intentional power surge in the right area of his systems…
Data forces his arm to relax, and Lore lets him pull it away. He attempts to focus on calming down. He does not like this, anyway. This is not like him at all…
He needs to remove himself from the situation. That is what humans are told to do when they are angry, is it not? He should go.
"Then, I suppose we have nothing to discuss," he says slowly. He turns to leave, as he did when Crosis was attempting to speak with him, when the imprisoned Borg asked him about murdering a friend…
He tries to walk away…
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:44 pm (UTC)He's not worried. He knows he still has the upper hand.
His brother came all the way down here, after all.
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:45 pm (UTC)"That is not important," he attempts to insist. He remembers now that his intention was to find out what Lore is doing, to convince him to cease threatening the Federation…
But he cannot seem to find the words. His mind lingers on the thought of losing his capacity for emotions. It is difficult to convince himself that it should not matter. In fact, he is having difficulty thinking of a single reason why it is unimportant.
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:47 pm (UTC)The words come out, perhaps without Lore meaning them to. He laughs once, incredulously.
"I'm trying to do you a favor here," he insists. There's still a hint of condescension in his voice, but less so. When Data still refuses to turn around, he adds, "I came back just for you, you know."
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:48 pm (UTC)He finds that very difficult to believe. "You are saying that your only reason for killing those people was so that I would come looking for you?"
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:52 pm (UTC)"That's what I'm trying to tell you, Data," he says, walking towards his brother, smiling a little. "I want you here."
It's the truth.
(Although it's not like the people he killed were all that much of a sacrifice.)
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:53 pm (UTC)"You have given me no reason to believe you, Lore," he says, coldly.
It occurs to him that perhaps it should bother him more than it does, that Lore obviously places so little value on human life. But for some reason he is angrier about the fact that his brother is probably lying to him.
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:53 pm (UTC)Except it's not a fair comparison. "Tell me something, Brother." His voice is harsh and sarcastic. "Have I ever lied to you?"
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:54 pm (UTC)"You have betrayed me twice, Lore," he replies, his voice equally harsh. "You pretended to be me so you could deceive my friends and our father."
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:55 pm (UTC)He stares at Data intently, knowing what the answer will be.
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:56 pm (UTC)…Has he not?
Data tries to think of a specific example, but he cannot find one. The only thing that comes close is when Lore told him that he was better than Data—perfect, even—but Data has reason to think that Lore actually believes so.
Lore has never lied to him. He has lied to Data's friends, but never to him.
Data is not quite certain what to do with that information.
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:57 pm (UTC)This is his one chance, he realizes. If he screws this up, Data's probably not going to come back.
He's not sure that it should matter. But it does.
"Look," Lore begins, trying his best not to sigh. He walks closer to Data and puts a hand on his shoulder. "I know I've done some horrible things to you. I've been jealous of you, Data. But none of that was your fault."
He hesitates. He can see in his brother's eyes that Data is starting to believe him. He feels like he should apologize, but he can't get the words out.
"I'm trying to make it up to you," he tries instead. "Forgive me?"
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Date: 2010-09-02 01:59 pm (UTC)"You are attempting to bribe me, by allowing me to feel emotions," Data accuses, but his tone is soft. He steps away from Lore's hand on his shoulder. "But you are only transmitting negative emotions to me. I want to feel positive emotions as well."
If it is an excuse to attempt to leave again, it is a weak one.
Perhaps it is more of a request.
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Date: 2010-09-02 02:01 pm (UTC)"I'm sending you the entire program that father designed," Lore tells him, looking Data straight in the eye. "There are no other emotions."
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Date: 2010-09-02 02:01 pm (UTC)"I have not felt joy," he argues. "Or love…"
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Date: 2010-09-02 02:03 pm (UTC)He's considered giving Data other feelings. Part of him is strangely curious to know if his brother would feel anything but anger towards him…
But it would ruin his plans. It would be too risky, if anyone came looking for Data.
Which he suspects they might. They're just that stupid.
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Date: 2010-09-02 02:03 pm (UTC)But Lore has never lied to him before…
Data tries to think of his friends. He tries to think of the people who he thought would make him happy, who have become something like family, whom he thought he would love. And he tries to remember times with them when he thought he should have felt something…
But he feels nothing. Absolutely nothing for them. If anything, he is a little angry at them.
Data's eyes flicker back and forth in confusion. He does not know what he feels. He can feel himself getting angrier, but he does not know why. Why should be angry at his friends? Why should he hate them?
He notices a strange malfunction in his systems, one that is seemingly random: his optical faculties are producing an excess of lubricant, which has begun to pool at the corners of his eyes.
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Date: 2010-09-02 02:05 pm (UTC)More than that, though, his brother seems distracted, and Lore needs to get his attention again.
"This is all very new to you…" He reaches for his brother's hand.
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Date: 2010-09-02 02:07 pm (UTC)Besides, he should go…
"Perhaps it is better if I do not have emotions," he says, trying not to sound frustrated. "I should… go back. To the Enterprise."
That is the last thing he feels like doing. But he will leave all of this—his anger, his emotion, his brother—and he will feel nothing, for the rest of his existence. That is what he knows. And it is better that way, not having to know what he would and would not feel for people, having the ability to imagine for himself that caring for his friends would feel better than it actually does.
Hate feels better than love. Love is nothing.
But he does not want to hate his friends…
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Date: 2010-09-02 02:07 pm (UTC)He lifts up the fingernail of his left index finger and presses the button underneath, cutting off the transmission of emotional programming.
He's happy to oblige.
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Date: 2010-09-02 02:09 pm (UTC)It has only been a few hours since he was last without emotion. How is it possible that he has become accustomed to feeling so quickly? Suddenly it is difficult to concentrate on anything besides the fact that he wants his emotions back.
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Date: 2010-09-02 02:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-02 02:11 pm (UTC)"The Borg are also superior to humans."
"Yes." Starfleet's forces were unable to defeat the Borg. It was Data who discovered and inplemented a way to put them to sleep.
"The Borg are evolving—assimilating the technology of other cultures into their own collective to better themselves. To achieve perfection."
"That is correct…" Data cannot think clearly enough to figure out where Lore is going with this line of logic.
"They began as biological life forms, and have gradually become more and more dependent on the cybernetic implants they use to communicate and survive. Their entire society has begun to act like a computer."
Data has interfaced with the Borg in the past. He would say that is a reasonable assessment, so he does not argue.
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Date: 2010-09-02 02:12 pm (UTC)He is confident he knows what Data's response will be. It was certainly enough to convince himself to help the Borg.
Data hesitates, but gives the correct answer, "Yes."
"Good." Lore turns the transmission back on. He can't resist a smirk.
"Tell me, brother. What's one of the most important principles of evolution?"
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Date: 2010-09-04 02:20 pm (UTC)Lore's reasoning is nothing if not logical—if anything, it is too logical, too cold and unfeeling. But more importantly, Data now knows that he never wants to go back to an emotionless existence. He would do anything to keep these feelings… He will stay with Lore if he has to, will hate if he has to. And he will kill the people he thought he would love, just so he can experience the pleasure of killing again.
It is logical, after all.
"Tell me, brother. What's one of the most important principles of evolution?" his brother asks him. Data smiles.
"Survival of the fittest."
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