Part 5 (1/2)
She laughed. ”Hardly. Actually, he looked rather like you.” Then, ”Oh! That didn't come out right!”
Data was puzzled by her reaction. ”So far as I can determine, my appearance is an approximation of the human male norm-stature, facial structure, hair coloring a composite of the many human races. In purely organic beings, of course, no one meets that norm. And obviously I was not designed to fool anyone into thinking me human-my skin color is simply the most efficient for absorption of energy, and my eyes are clearly-” He stopped. ”Forgive me. I am babbling.”
But Tasha was smiling at him. ”You're not so much average as ideal,” she said. ”Or maybe I just feel that way because you do look something like the ... first man I ever loved. First love is never forgotten, Data.”
He had the distinct impression that she had begun to say ”only” instead of ”first.” But that was too near a topic he could not reopen. So he said, ”I am not handsome.”
”Conventionally? No-but that doesn't bother you a bit, does it?”
”Handsome is as handsome does,” he replied. ”Beauty is only skin deep. Beauty is in the eye of-”
He stopped when, as he hoped, Tasha chuckled. When he had first discovered that accessing his memory banks for a list of definitions or examples provoked laughter in humans-unless the situation was tense, in which case it elicited annoyance-he had turned to studies on humor and for once found an a.n.a.lysis he could comprehend: repet.i.tion of a pattern soon became amusing to humans, familiarity causing rea.s.surance and relaxation. Once Data understood that, he frequently used the technique to defuse an uncomfortable situation.
This time, however, it did not distract Tasha. She continued on the same topic: ”Why should it bother you not to be designed like a Starfleet recruiting poster, when more women throw themselves at you than at Will Riker?”
”Women do not-”
”Come on, Data-don't pretend you don't notice!”
Not knowing how to handle this turn of the conversation, he said, ”I do not think women judge men by appearance so much as men judge women.”
”As usual,” said Tasha, ”your observations are quite accurate-at least for humans. Remember what you said about how a.s.sociating certain foods with pleasant occasions causes you to like those flavors when you encounter them again?”
”Yes,” Data said uncertainly, trying to make connections, food/aphrodisiacs/beauty, that didn't seem logical. Then Tasha continued, and he saw that she meant something quite different.
”That's something like how women see men. We think those men are handsome who look like the men we've loved. Psychologists say most women like men who resemble their fathers. Well, I didn't have a father, so I suppose I will always find attractive anyone who looks like the first man who was ever good to me.” She grinned impishly. ”I'm afraid that you'll have to put up with me thinking you're handsome, Data.”
”I ... will consider it a compliment,” he replied, and grasped the opportunity to discuss his current topic of study. ”Among humans there are more generally agreed-upon standards for female than for male beauty.”
”That's right,” she told him.
”You are beautiful,” he said.
She seemed startled. ”Some people think so.”
”It is generally agreed upon among the bridge crew. Yet you are quite different in appearance from Counselor Troi, who is also universally admired. Captain Picard thinks that Dr. Crusher is beautiful, while her son finds that fact both incomprehensible and disturbing.”
”Data-what have you been doing?” Tasha asked in dismay. ”Taking a poll?”
”Yes,” he replied honestly. ”I wish to comprehend human ideals of beauty.”
”You really do believe in wis.h.i.+ng for the impossible, don't you?”
He tilted his head. ”Is it impossible? I realize that there can never be total agreement in matters of esthetic judgment, but surely there is a formula by which I can determine that, say, a majority of humans would consider a particular person beautiful. I find Commander Riker a most useful barometer of feminine beauty; thus far I have never found the majority, or even a significant minority, disagreeing with his a.s.sessment. Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to ask him about President Nalavia.”
Tasha laughed. ”Oh, I can tell you what he'd say about her, Data-and if you surveyed the entire complement of the Enterprise, you would find a significant minority indeed disagreeing with him!”
”I do not understand,” said Data.
”Every man aboard would say she is beautiful, and every woman would say she is not. Furthermore, all the women would be lying!”
”Tasha, you are confusing me,” Data objected.
”Nalavia is the kind of woman,” Tasha explained, ”who by her nature attracts the attention of human males. She's ... practically an archetypal figure of the Earth-mother, but young and unmarked by strife or care. And she exploits it. That's the difference between Nalavia and Deanna, who has a similar physical beauty. Deanna combines the no nonsense att.i.tude of a Starfleet officer with the motherly sentiment that is part of her job as Counselor. Together they defuse the threat of her physical beauty.”
”Threat?” Data questioned.
”Deanna is almost too beautiful,” Tasha explained. ”It could make men afraid to approach her. She handles it by being friendly and efficient. That's why the women on board like and trust her as much as the men do. Nalavia, though ... right through the viewscreen she was issuing an invitation to every human male on the Enterprise bridge.”
Data replayed the scene in his mind. Yes-the human men had all come to a sort of stunned attention. ”Still, no one accepted it,” he pointed out.
”Starfleet trains its officers, male or female, never to think with their hormones. But have you ever before known Wesley Crusher to become that fl.u.s.tered in a non-crisis situation? Poor kid-he hasn't had that training, and he's in the middle of p.u.b.erty. He didn't stand a chance.”
”Ah,” said Data, intrigued. ”Now I understand. I have never known Wesley to make as unlikely an a.s.sumption as that the Captain would send him on an away team to an unfamiliar planet.”
”Oh, Wesley wanted to go!” said Tasha. ”He just didn't know why-but all the other men on the bridge did, and Captain Picard really shouldn't have been so hard on him. Wesley will be a fine man one day-if he just manages to live to grow up.”
Data caught himself before protesting that Captain Picard would never send their Acting Ensign into danger, recognizing that Tasha spoke jokingly. He took time to a.n.a.lyze it, relis.h.i.+ng this opportunity to discuss human feelings with a female friend. ”You mean that his combination of youth and intellect is resented, and that therefore some person or persons aboard might consider disposing of him out of annoyance. However, you make the suggestion facetiously.”
”Exactly right, Data,” she said, ”but a.n.a.lyzing it spoils the joke, which wasn't very funny to begin with.”
He nodded. ”Humor is difficult enough, without trying to distinguish degrees of funniness.”
Tasha smiled. ”You'll learn, Data,” she said. ”Through experience, like anyone else. Now, how long before we can begin to monitor transmissions from Treva?”
”Not for more than sixteen hours, unless they send us a subs.p.a.ce message.” He frowned. ”What do you suspect, Tasha?”
”Nothing specific. Call it intuition. I don't think Nalavia told us the whole truth.”
”Obviously she could not in such a brief message.”
”No-that's not what I mean. I'd call it female intuition, except that Captain Picard noticed as well. There is something about Nalavia which inspires distrust.”
”Can you delineate what it is?” Data asked.
”Expecting Starfleet to do her bidding without a full investigation, for one thing.”
”Trevan culture is fairly primitive,” said Data. ”Warlords protesting the advance to a representative form of government. Even a seasoned politician on such a planet may be unsophisticated by our standards. Or we may be missing a piece of information-there are cultures in which a cry for help from the weak impels the strong to protect them.”
”Camelot,” said Tasha with a nod, referring to a planet founded upon the ideals of a chivalry which, to the best of historical knowledge, had never before been widely practiced outside of legend. ”Yes, it could be that we are unaware of some basic Trevan a.s.sumption, but if you did not find it in the reports of the Federation Survey Team, Data, I cannot imagine what it would be.”
Unable to learn anything more for sixteen hours, Tasha exercised, slept, and ate another meal. Data had no need for further organic nutrients yet. Sometimes they talked, and sometimes there were companionable silences. The shuttlecraft proceeded on course. Every twelve hours, Data sent the routine ”proceeding as scheduled” message to the Enterprise.
Finally, they came into the extreme range at which Data could monitor Treva's radio transmissions. Such sound transmissions over the entire main continent were a well-established technology here. What was new was the transmission of pictures along with sound, and when Data tested frequencies and configurations he quickly discovered, ”They are using the Ferengi broadcast technique!”
”The Ferengi trade everywhere,” Tasha reminded him. ”Until they join the Federation, there is no reason for the Trevans not to do business with them.”
”But if they trade with both the Federation and the Ferengi, what if they have asked both for help?”
Data saw Tasha set her jaw. ”We'll deal with whatever situation we discover, once we get there. The Ferengi probably see no profit in helping the Trevans with their internal affairs. If barriers to trade with the Ferengi and other non-Federation cultures were the reason Treva hesitated to proceed with their application for members.h.i.+p, they may be more amenable if we help them solve their problems.”