The Complication

Memories

Like a sponge, Data absorbs everything he can consume. He learns of Voltaire and Plato. He studies philosophy, poetry, and art history. He believes he has gained a new understanding of human behaviour after finishing Chekov's plays, he is captivated by 'Treasure Planet', and he is moved in a way he cannot explain upon completing 'Of Mice and Men.'

He senses his guards see him as the world sees Lennie.

He cannot fully articulate the sensation, but the thought troubles him.

There are two topics that stand out to Data more than anything else.

A passion for music and exobiology emerges within him.

He is fascinated by the creatures he reads about – great underwater cephalopods that live in the depths of the oceans across the galaxy, feathered vertebrates that range from small hummingbirds to the large golden eagles that once existed on Earth, and butterflies that come in vibrant colours that take flight for a ritual mating dance in a spectacle of colour unlike anything he could imagine.

Music is equally as enthralling.

It is simultaneously like a language or formula while also being an art form. It is something that is universal to all the various cultures across the galaxy. And while the composition and rhythm of the different musical styles is varied, music is engrained in every part of the Federation.

Captain Long enjoys what she calls 'the Standards.' Data also finds them pleasing. It takes him two hours to complete a study of the Great American Songbook and Captain Long is intrigued that he shares her passion for archaic music. Data believes she has come to see that he is more than just a machine.

She shares with Data that she will be joining the crew in a performance of several selections from the Great American Songbook later that evening.

Data decides to take a risk and requests to attend.

Surprisingly, Captain Long permits this.

Data is escorted to the performance by a security team. He has never seen music performed live before. He sits wide-eyed in the back, his head moving excitedly as he attempts to catalogue to memory every moment of this performance.

He finds it remarkable that the arrangement is the same piece of music he studied, but performed with a different cadence and timbre than the sample in the ship's library. Accessing his internal information bank, he learns that the same musical piece is often interpreted differently by various artists.

Infinite diversity in infinite combinations.

His neural net races with questions for Captain Long. She is a gifted pianist, and he finds her rendition of 'Blue Skies' superior to the version performed by Crosby and Kaye.

When the performance concludes, Data joins the audience in their applause. As the crew begins to mingle with the performance, Data is eager to speak with the performers.

He stands and takes a step, but security immediately stops him.

He stills.

There are four phasers pointed at him and the crew nearest him begin to back away.

"I desire to speak with the performers," Data states.

Security orders him to be quiet.

Captain Long notices the situation out of the corner of her eye and orders security to stand down. She invites Data over with a wave of her hand and introduces him to the various crew members that had performed in the ensemble.

He has many questions.

After twenty minutes, Captain Long senses there will be no end to satisfying his curiosity. She tells Data that she would like to see him in her ready room in the morning.