Stardate 43657.0: Unbeknownst to the rest of the crew Data builds an android, his "child" whom he names Lal - Hindi for "beloved". Out of multiple possibilities, Lal chooses a female human form. When Admiral Haftel of Starfleet Research learns of the breakthrough, he comes aboard and insists that Lal should grow up in a lab rather than aboard a ship, to explore her full potential. Lal, however, has already developed too quickly. She experiences an emotion she cannot handle - fear. Data and Haftel try to repair the damage to her neural pathways, but it is too late to save her.

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