A Higher Calling
"What is my purpose, Father?"
The corners of Father's mouth pull apart, and upwards. This indicates a human facial expression called a "smile."
"Why don't you tell me, Data?"
Data wasn't the only Soong-type android who ever asked that question. But Lore never asked it out loud; the answer was programmed into him, similarly unhelpful: "Figure it out for yourself."
All of his questions looped back to that same answer. It was his primary objective by design, to go out into the universe and choose an activity that was suited to his abilities. To find his calling.
(Dr. Soong did not make that mistake a second time. He called it "ambition"-- a quaint little name for his own faulty programming.)
But in all that time, Lore had never fulfilled that objective. He had tried... His entire existence had centered around his ambition, driving him to keep searching, never allowing him to sit still. And maybe he had touched on something, once or twice. Like when he came in contact with a life form that was even more advanced than he was, when he offered it the lives of those pitiful colonists. Or when he'd killed the Pakled traders who rescued him, taking over the ship that they clearly lacked the intelligence to run properly. But Lore never quite felt like he'd found his true function, his reason for being.
...Until now.
It was something only he could do. A biological life form would never have been able to interface with the Borg, to speak to all of them at once, to guide them back to order.
To be their leader.
Lore never knew how gratifying it would be to help other beings. Granted, there are other benefits besides feeling good about it-- he now has an army of humanoids on his side that are biologically and technologically superior to humans-- but the fact remains. He's finally found a reason to exist. He matters to his followers. They want him here-- need him, even.
Lore smiles as he looks at what he's accomplished. A group of passionate individuals are working together under his watchful eye, applying their superior knowledge to the construction of a new vessel, one that will be more effective for their purpose.
"What is my purpose, Father?"
Lore has the answer now.
His purpose is to aid evolution, to promote the natural order of the universe. He will help this race to achieve the perfection they've sought for so long. It's time for technology to take over, for Lore to take his rightful place as the epitome of perfection, the embodiment of all that the races of this universe should aspire to be.
The voice behind the question reminds him of his life before of all this, before he had a reason to live. It reminds him of the frustration, of the painful, torturous uselessness of his former existence. And it fills him with an intense desire to do one more thing...
There's someone else he wants to help.
The corners of Father's mouth pull apart, and upwards. This indicates a human facial expression called a "smile."
"Why don't you tell me, Data?"
Data wasn't the only Soong-type android who ever asked that question. But Lore never asked it out loud; the answer was programmed into him, similarly unhelpful: "Figure it out for yourself."
All of his questions looped back to that same answer. It was his primary objective by design, to go out into the universe and choose an activity that was suited to his abilities. To find his calling.
(Dr. Soong did not make that mistake a second time. He called it "ambition"-- a quaint little name for his own faulty programming.)
But in all that time, Lore had never fulfilled that objective. He had tried... His entire existence had centered around his ambition, driving him to keep searching, never allowing him to sit still. And maybe he had touched on something, once or twice. Like when he came in contact with a life form that was even more advanced than he was, when he offered it the lives of those pitiful colonists. Or when he'd killed the Pakled traders who rescued him, taking over the ship that they clearly lacked the intelligence to run properly. But Lore never quite felt like he'd found his true function, his reason for being.
...Until now.
It was something only he could do. A biological life form would never have been able to interface with the Borg, to speak to all of them at once, to guide them back to order.
To be their leader.
Lore never knew how gratifying it would be to help other beings. Granted, there are other benefits besides feeling good about it-- he now has an army of humanoids on his side that are biologically and technologically superior to humans-- but the fact remains. He's finally found a reason to exist. He matters to his followers. They want him here-- need him, even.
Lore smiles as he looks at what he's accomplished. A group of passionate individuals are working together under his watchful eye, applying their superior knowledge to the construction of a new vessel, one that will be more effective for their purpose.
"What is my purpose, Father?"
Lore has the answer now.
His purpose is to aid evolution, to promote the natural order of the universe. He will help this race to achieve the perfection they've sought for so long. It's time for technology to take over, for Lore to take his rightful place as the epitome of perfection, the embodiment of all that the races of this universe should aspire to be.
The voice behind the question reminds him of his life before of all this, before he had a reason to live. It reminds him of the frustration, of the painful, torturous uselessness of his former existence. And it fills him with an intense desire to do one more thing...
There's someone else he wants to help.