it is a funeral.

[ltcommandroid]

[Well. That was certainly something.

Emotions are clearly high, so for once, Data steps out of his helper role and takes on the brunt of organizing the after-trial gathering. He's seen enough of them by now to know what's what. He's also seen more than enough in this particular trial to decide that the bar, while possibly being the most logical location, may be distressing to some! So instead, we're gonna do something different. Data will deliver invitations, that sort of look like a computer printed them, to each of the rooms:]


Please come to the ice cream parlor if you would like company at this time.

- Data

[Everybody likes ice cream!

There are no decorations, but there are some snack selections from the buffet and the cafe, depending on what you want, and a tray or two of mixed drinks courtesy of Jimmy Buffett. Data and Parker are both here. If you're sad, you may pet Parker (probably). If you're too depressed to make your own fancy sundae, Data will do it for you (definitely).]

Comments

[deathmagnetic]

...Developing further in regards to intelligence, then. [ Beat. ] And possibly emotion?

[ After seeing how Shard was, he didn't think it was impossible for sentient machines to feel. Data, of course, was included in this, but he was also curious to see what the other thought of ... other sentient machines. ]

[ltcommandroid]

Potentially.

[That's the idea, at least!]

I myself have developed a great deal since my initial activation. The early stages were...difficult to go through alone. I would like to spare him that experience, if possible.

[deathmagnetic]

I can't pretend to know what it'd be like entirely for someone like yourself, but I can easily believe that something like that would be fairly difficult.

[ It's beyond him for certain, but he's sure that being a machine and sentient ultimately did come with a set of questions that he, as a human, wouldn't be considering for himself. ]

...I also suppose you've a chance of being successful, as long as you keep at it.

[ltcommandroid]

I suppose so.

[Data smiles slightly!]

The early process of becoming sentient, at least for machines with similar positronic cortexes to my own, involves forming many new connections at a rapid rate. Somewhat like the development of a human child's brain - but it carries a high risk of fatal cascade failure.

[deathmagnetic]

[ Well then, though positronic cortex was definitely not a term familiar to him, there's the likelihood he believed that it may be similar to the cerebral cortex in a human. Likely proven by Data's comment about brain development. ]

What exactly would 'fatal cascade failure' in this instance entail? And why would there be a risk of it in the first place?

[ltcommandroid]

As more connections are formed, all points on the network become more intertwined. It means that a failure at one point is more likely to cause a chain reaction, and bring down the entire network.

[.....]

That is how my daughter, Lal, died.

[you know, one of those things you just say!]

[deathmagnetic]

[ .... Well then, he actually wasn't expecting him to mention something like that. He hadn't figured he even had family, because of the way androids were machines. But, the bit of surprise did manage to fade quick enough as he accepted the information. ]

That's unfortunate. [ His loss, but also... ] I had never known that, for sentient machines, simply just trying to live could be dangerous in that manner.

I assume that once this occurs, there's no way to reverse it, is there? Does whoever is afflicted with simply cease functioning or enter into a vegetative state?

[ltcommandroid]

They cease functioning. I was unable to get ahead of the cascade of errors enough in order to save Lal, so no human could have done so, either.

[he moves very fast!]

I saved her memories to my own databanks, but that is not the same as saving a person.

[deathmagnetic]

I imagine that it isn't. Not with them beside you and able to communicate in the present.

[ That's like having a biography. Kind of. ]

Do you know of others, then, like yourself from where you've come who have also avoided this fate?

[ltcommandroid]

Only my brother, Lore. He was older, so I was not present to witness his development. His is not an example to follow, in any case.

[deathmagnetic]

...And why wasn't he, out of curiosity?

[ltcommandroid]

He was extremely emotionally unstable and committed several mass murder events.

[deathmagnetic]

[ ... There's a pause; though relatively brief. ]

I see. I can understand why you said that, then.

[ltcommandroid]

I was meant to be an improvement on his design.

[He has not committed any mass murder!]