When you're born what you are...[OTA, tag Bill Adama]
Tiberius was doing more internal debating than talking. It was a trait that he came by honestly, considering who was responsible for his upbringing and his programming. He had taken Daneel's advice seriously, though there was some hesitance in the idea. What would it do to a man that hated to be trapped, a man that quietly dwelled and simmered
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She looked a little confused at the 'station gnomes' comment until she spotted the janitors (seemingly out of nowhere) clearing up the dirt she hadn't noticed she'd spilled along the floor. Peri immediately let go of the plant (hoping that the man had a good grip on it) and rushed to help the workers with their task.
After they shooed her off, Peri looked a little dejected as she returned to the man. And her fern.
"They're real efficient," she said. "Sorta like when someone litters at Disneyland. Oh, and don't worry. I won't get lost trying to figure out where I went..." The docking bay wasn't that hard to find, and the TARDIS was so normal that it stuck out. Her arms spread wide, indicating that she was ready to take hold of the plant now.
"Thanks again. I'm only going to...Beta level anyway. Not too far."
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"Disneyland? Ah, an Earth tourist attraction or amusement park. Earth's long since been destroyed where I came from. Disneyland is long gone and something like this fern would be a valuable rarity. But the Clarion's Call had the same sort constant fussy little minions scuttling about." All former androids for the old warship turned Casino. He'd had some good times there... Better than he probably would ever admit in any polite company. He steadied the plant for her, bracing it evenly so it didn't hardly jostle at all.
"So you've been here long enough to find your way around?"
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Okay, so she'd probably never get used to talking with people from far into the future. She didn't have to hear about the Earth getting destroyed, did she? She knew it was inevitable for all planets, but still...
"It depends on whether someone saves whatever's from Earth, right?" Granted, there was so much junk on the TARDIS that Peri figured the Doctor could put together an Earth museum if he wanted.
Or maybe he already did.
"A few weeks, long enough to get a hang of this place." She wondered whether the man remembered the virus outbreak those same few weeks ago, but he hadn't mentioned it and hadn't reacted like he recognized her. Maybe Data was right? Maybe people were going to be more willing to forget the farther away the incident was?
"I'm Peri. Peri Brown."
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"I'll help you get this plant home, anyway. I should get back before my brother is done walking the dog."
He squinted his eyes, pondering as he bit his lip up between his teeth and started walking toward the living quarters. "It was before my time. Tarazed is where most successful humans live now, but there are some a little bit of everywhere. Earth had been taken over, ravaged, enslaved, and the humans that were living there had been in an unfortunate state. Not that I'm validating the tragedy at all, but what I've discovered much of what was wonderful about Earth has survived and spread far through the three galaxies. Though I wish more people had my good fortune of having a cat in the house."
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"That's what a friend of mine says. Um, about humans spreading across the galaxies, I mean. Not about the cats. He doesn't really like them." Probably reminded him too much of his companions, headstrong and independent. Peri recalled times when Erimem's cat would lay on the console and defend his turf at the expense of the Doctor's patience.
"But humanity's still a driving force in the universe, until the end."
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He smiled a little sadly, distantly to himself. "It's unfortunate, really. I always wanted to become a pilot, and I could travel small distances quite well in a properly maneuverable craft. But time travel, dimensional transgression, slipstream. They all require organic components. A TARDIS has them built in, but many other types of vessels don't..."
He snorted faintly, jostling out of the line of disappointing thought. "I'm sorry. I'm sounding as weary and presumptuous as a warship. I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Tiberius."
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But he looked so real, so life-like. So human. Why couldn't she shake herself free from androids? How many were actually on the station anyway?
"But wouldn't it be easier to have a computer running the show on a ship instead of someone who can make mistakes?" She hoped to distract from the present awkwardness with the straightforward question. Maybe it was too late, though. She could handle this! She'd handled far, far worse traveling with the Doctor.
But why did it have to be androids?
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He was also damnably curious about those memories that his father had given Varsh concerning the Doctor, and was just short of stealing those memory chips so he could go and examine them himself. At least it would be something to get his mind off Lore.
"To navigate certain methods of travel, to avoid colliding with solid areas of matter you need a certain level or organic intuition. Organics can navigate with 99% accuracy. Synthetics, only 50% without the aid of an organic. I have a 'natural' inclination to travel. It's in my programming. I want to go places and learn rather than perform a task. However I lack the basic anatomy to do it to the best of my ability..."
His expression softened slightly, regarding her carefully. "...Does it bother you, what he looks like?"
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"I can't really explain why. Okay, I can, but I don't really want to. You know the Doctor. He, well, he gets caught up in things. Weird things. A lot. Sometimes he drags other people into that bubble and I got caught up one day...cuz I thought for sure that an android was my stepfather." Her jerk of a stepfather who didn't really care about her anyway, but her mom still loved the jerk. So, by proxy, Peri had to at least tolerate him.
"And I almost died cuz of it, so you can see why I'm a little...cautious."
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"Do you regret getting caught in that bubble?"
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She couldn't help but chuckle. "I just think the Doctor has his own ideas about what's all the rage in clothing. Maybe...maybe it rubbed off a little."
She shook her head quickly. "Nope. I mean, it can get scary a lot of the time, but he always manages to pull us through. I trust him. Completely."
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Tiberius licked his lips and smiled nervously. "Perhaps I am assuming too much into him, but I would suppose that he would only choose forms he was comfortable in if he could. We have trouble occasionally realizing the discomfort of others with our activities unless you tell us not to. I'm a little better about it than I was when I was younger, but to a simpler model it's practically essential. It's wonderful for them, but they don't even know how a human would feel because they can't relate."
But she did trust the Doctor, and he could hear it in her voice. As much as he trusted his brother. But should he betray his brother's trust of him? The conversation they'd had afterward presented even more questions. "...We shouldn't be too far from your quarters. I am a little perplexed. Would the Doctor be willing to offer me advice on something?"
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"I-it's a little weird. Humans, well, someone else looking the same or being the same...it screwed around with our sense of who we are. If we're not unique, then there's something wrong."
She smiled at his question. "It depends on the kind of advice you're looking for, I guess. I mean, he knows a lot of things, but he's really hopeless when it comes to relationships." It was kind of cute, in a way, to have someone so knowledgeable be so inexperienced.
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He suddenly laughed at her observation. "Relationships... well, not really. Though it explains why my father would have gotten along with him. He was always especially close to those socially inept people."
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But she was getting tired of all the doubles she'd met along the way. People can be their own people without stealing other people's faces. Especially someone as important as the Doctor, even if Varsh was the nicest guy--
She was taken aback by the laughter. No, this was her being pleasantly surprised. If she hadn't known he was an android, she could've sworn he was a human. Or close enough to it.
"I am not 'socially inept'..." Peri said, suddenly defensive. Neither was Erimem. Or Turlough, from what she remembered of him. "I don't know how well your father knew the Doctor, but he doesn't gather people because there's something wrong with us. He brings us with him because he sees the potential in us."
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"But I didn't intend to insinuate you were socially inept. You seem very competent. I was merely teasing the Doctor in his absence... You seem quite attractive and personable." He grinned again as they neared the beta level, still watching to make sure she hadn't left a significant trail behind them.
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