A World Waiting || Romeo & Data

by **sayum** Mon Feb 16, 2015 2:10 pm

He was a scientist. As a scientist he was trying really hard not to be enamored with the technology around him. He did his best not to drool over the equipment when the Captain showed him engineering on the brief tour of the enterprise. He definitely did not beam when he was introduced to Lieutenant Commander Data. No, Romeo Pendry was everything his father had wanted him to be. He was a scientist, despite his interest in other technologies, and being a scientist was not that bad as far as a career was concerned. He got to work with humans among other races his sheltered species had never even encountered. Their planet had sheltered their kind most of the 'alien' races found more commonly throughout the galaxy.

Finally settled at his new workplace, Romeo immediately made a break for the observation deck. It had been a tad awkward meeting his human coworkers. They looked at him in a way that was so new to him yet he could clearly interpret as 'you are just a kid'. Well, you would have to excuse Romeo it was not his fault that humans aged so damn quickly both physically and mentally. He was quite old enough to be doing science with other scientists and---

A World Waiting || Romeo & Data Whitew10

"God damn that is beautiful."

Space was so much closer here. So much more real. Romeo could not help himself but to be in awe of the stars and planets stretching before him in the observation deck. The world was waiting out there and it felt like it was just for him.

by **thegirlnamedcrow** Tue Feb 24, 2015 2:04 pm

Data had learned that there were appropriate and inappropriate times

to attempt to approach people. Context was important. For example, a

crew member passing his spare time in Ten Forward was typically far

more willing to talk than someone engaged in a demanding and

intensive task.

Equally important, he had discovered, was a person’s emotional

state. Being able to accurately determine what a person was feeling

was vital to avoiding unfavorable outcomes. Regrettably, this was an

area in which Data’s programming had proved vastly inadequate to the

task. Despite definite improvements, he frequently misidentified

less obvious emotions, or else missed details crucial to making a

full assessment, and as such he relied heavily upon his human

friends to help him navigate social situations.

The obvious problem with this strategy was that, without his friends

at his side, Data was left to fend for himself. ‘If confronted with

a challenging situation, then ask Geordi’ had little utility when

Geordi was decks away, busy in engineering. And as informative as

his solo endeavors had all been, many interactions had resolved

poorly, and without anybody to explain his mistakes, Data was often

left completely ignorant as to what he had done wrong. Why, for

instance, had Ensign Latuda thrown a drink at him when he had

confirmed her suspicion that the substantial amount of weight she

had recently gained was indeed noticeable? Why had Lieutenant

Armstrong accused him of arrogance when he had simply explained the

superior processing power of his positronic brain?

Data did not understand humans. Every time he thought he was closer

to comprehending their species, another person did something to

further confound him.

Still, the immensity of his quest to understand the human condition

did not deter him. He confronted each obstacle as best he could,

sometimes succeeding, other times not, but he always was sure to

reflect upon what the experience had taught him. If his human

friends had convinced him of one thing, it was that there was a

lesson in every failure.

The important thing was to continue trying.

And so it was that, despite having had a rather unfulfilling

interaction with Ensign Wilson earlier that morning, during which

she declared that she ‘didn’t have time’ for his ‘weird thing with

humans,’ Data made the decision to approach the young scientist on

the observation deck. He had been unsure of the wisdom of this

action until the man had spoke; that, he decided, was implicit

invitation to respond.

He had not had the opportunity t o do more than introduce himself to

the Enterprise’s newest science officer, and was eager to get to

know him better. Scientists, he had found, were an especially

interesting sort – their emotional reactions were mediated by logic

and reason, and they were generally far more receptive to Data’s

advances than were ordinary crew members. Beyond that, Data found

their perspective interesting.

Dr. Pendry was staring out the view screen, seemingly deeply engaged

in his observations. As Data approached him, he too gazed out upon

the vast, barren landscape before him, hoping to understand some of

what the young man was seeing.

He immediately recognized this swath of space as being a part of

sector 18.7 in the Beta Quadrant, 15.74867 lightyears away from

their current destination. Immediately, he began to access the

relevant files in the Starfleet database about this particular area,

though he was not consciously paying attention to the streams of

information filtering into his brain. He would access those for

later. That was not what interested him most at this moment.

There was much that Data was incapable of perceiving, due to the

nature of his programming. Though facts and figures presented

themselves readily to him, though connections between disparate

topics established rapidly, the underlying meaning behind even

everyday events was lost to him. It was as the celebrated Earth

author had said – “On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est

invisible pour les yeux.” One sees clearly only with the heart. What

is essential is invisible to the eyes.

Data could not even begin to fathom all that his eyes were missing.

A World Waiting || Romeo & Data Lookdo11

“I have frequently observed new crew members standing here as you

are,” he said, inclining his head respectfully in greeting. “They

generally bear the same expression that you do now – I have been

told that it is one of intense wonder at the true vastness of space.

It is an experience I have often wished that I could share – it is

said to be a most humbling and inspiring sight.”

A World Waiting || Romeo & Data

A World Waiting || Romeo & Data

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