The Soong Brothers

Chapter 3: Names

"What's the meaning of your name?" Lal asked one day.

Keiko looked up from where she had been crouching and stacking blocks with Molly, and turned to the other child in her care. "My name?"

"The meaning of Father's name is facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis," Lal told her. "The meaning of Uncle Lore's name is a body of traditions and knowledge on a subject or held by a particular group, typically passed from person to person by word of mouth."

"Really?" Keiko said with interest. Technically, she already knew both of those facts. What caught her interest was the six-year-old that was telling her them. She forgot how smart Data's daughter was, sometimes.

"Yes," Lal confirmed, nodding. "Uncle B4's name is a reference to him being the 4th Beta version of the Soong Android line, the first to be viable. What's the meaning of your name?" she repeated her question.

"You know, I'm not sure," Keiko admitted. "I've never really looked into it."

"Oh." Lal frowned for a moment, tilting her head. She looked over at her playmate and asked, "What's the meaning of Molly's name?"

"That one, I do know," Keiko chuckled. She fondly remembered spending months scouring baby name books and arguing over them with Miles when she was pregnant. "It's got a few different meanings, but the one I like most is star of the sea."

Lal's face scrunched up in confusion. Of course, the casual onlooker wouldn't know it was in confusion, they would most likely think she was having a spasm or something. But Keiko had nearly six years of babysitting the kid under her belt, and had become adept at reading her slowly-improving attempts to mimic human expressions.

"Molly neither resembles a star nor resides in the sea," Lal told her. "That name is most unfitting."

"It's not meant to be literal, Lal," Keiko told her patiently. She reminded herself that the person she was speaking to was a toddler, no matter how well-spoken she was, and it wouldn't be right to get mad at her for criticizing the name Keiko gave her child. "It was just poetic and beautiful, and I thought those would be good traits to name my daughter after. And she's my special treasure, like a star in a sea would be."

"A star in a sea would be quite disastrous," Lal corrected.

"Nevermind." Keiko shook her head. She gently asked, "Why are you so interested in names right now?"

"Father's name fits him well," Lal began, "he is a methodical and fact-oriented being. Uncle Lore's name fits him equally well, as he enjoys making up complex stories. Uncle B4's name is a literal description of what he is."

"Okay," Keiko said, still not understanding. She waited, silently prompting Lal to explain.

"My name is not like that," Lal continued. "It's neither a proper noun nor a literal descriptor. It's more like yours or Molly's names. I've been wondering as to the meaning of my name, lately. And why it's not like the rest of my family's own designations."

"I'm sure Data had a good reason behind your name," Keiko assured her. "Trust me, naming a child is a duty parents take very seriously. I'm afraid I don't know the meaning of your name, sweetie, but I'm sure whatever it is, is as gorgeous and special as you are."

"Do you really think that?" Lal asked, her voice almost managing to sound slightly nervous. She was better at tones than she was at expressions.

"I most certainly do," Keiko told her, smiling brightly.

Lal was silent for a moment. She turned her head to the other side. "I think I'll ask Father about the meaning behind my name when I get home."

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Keiko told her. "Until then, how about you help Molly stack the blocks, hmm? She could really use your help over here."

"Molly, may I assist in stacking the entertaining structural cubes?" Lal asked the other toddler.

"Lally's silly," Molly replied, lightly whacking Lal with a block. Molly burst into giggles for a moment, then grinned and asked, "Wanna help build a tower?"

"I would love to," Lal said stiffly, moving closer and gathering up some blocks. She looked over what Molly already had of the tower. "You're off to a good start, but you've neglected your foundation. I'll strengthen it while you–"

At that moment, Molly laughed and knocked the tower over. Lal blinked, then said, "Or perhaps it would be better to start over and build up a strong foundation from the beginning. A very intelligent move, Molly."

"The green ones are mine," Molly told her. "You can have the red and yellow ones."

"...I like purple."

"There's no purple." Molly looked through the blocks. "There's pink. That's almost purple."

"It is not. But thank you."

"Greetings, Lal," Data said when Keiko dropped her back off at his quarters. "How was your playdate with Molly?"

"Greetings, Father. We built a tower," Lal informed him. "Molly taught me that destruction is as important a part of play as creation."

From his place on the couch, Lore snorted. "Careful, Brother, it sounds like she's taking a bit too much after me."

Before Data could respond to that distressing statement, Lal spoke up. "Father, what's the meaning of my name?"

"Your name means "Beloved'," Data told her.

"'Beloved'," Lal repeated. "That is a positive meaning, I am grateful for it. But why didn't you just name me Beloved, then? Why is my name not a proper noun like your and Uncle Lore's names, or a literal descriptor, like Uncle B4's name?"

"Most human names are not proper nouns or literal descriptors, Lal. As we are modeled off of humans and my own Father was human, I wished to give you a more human name." Data tilted his head to the side, considering. "If you want to, you may change your name to be more fitting with my own name and your uncles' names."

Lal was silent for a full second, giving the matter deep consideration. "Thank you, Father, but I would rather keep my name. I'm fond of it. Besides, Molly knows me as Lal, and I'm unsure she would be able to properly grasp such a big change so early on in her development. You... chose my name well, Father."

"I am glad you like it, Lal," Data told her. He straightened his head. "You are aware that I have trouble with my emotions. I wish for you to know that if I am able to feel anything at all, then you are truly beloved by me. And even if I am not, you are still beloved by many on this ship, including your uncles."

Lore huffed from the couch, but he stayed quiet. The one time he had outright said he didn't love her in front of Lal, the kid had burst into more tears than B4 would after a nightmare. Since then, Lore hadn't once repeated the sentiment, for reasons he refused to name.

"My name is very fitting, then," Lal decided. She frowned slightly. "Lal sounds better than Beloved, I think. I don't know why. They mean the same thing, so how can one sound better?"

"They just do, kid," Lore yelled from the couch. There was not enough space between them to warrant raising his voice, especially considering that all of them had far better hearing than a human, but Lore would take any opportunity he could to make a lot of noise. "Don't listen to your dad here, there's no reason for us to try to fit in with the humans. I'm sure we could find you a proper name if we tried."

"I don't like the idea of choosing a new name, Uncle. Mine is already well-fitting."

"It doesn't have to be completely new," Lore told her. His face lit up in the way it always did when he found himself stuck on some new idea. "Let's be honest here, Beta's name sucks b–"

"Brother," Data said evenly, though they both knew it was as close to a warning tone as he could manage.

"–point is, let's go for a proper noun," Lore continued. His lips pursed in thought. "I kinda like that your name sounds a bit like mine, so let's keep the L in it, huh? How's about... Love?"

"It is indeed fitting, but I don't wish to give up my current name," Lal told him. "I thank you for the offer, though, Uncle."

"You don't gotta get rid of your human name entirely," Lore argued. "You're right that the monkeys would probably just get confused if you did. But Love could be your special, secret android name."

"I do not like the idea of you teaching Lal to keep secrets, Lore," Data told him firmly.

"Brother, we live in the same quarters," Lore scoffed. "That's not really gonna be avoidable. For instance — Lovey, who knocked over your daddy's paint last week?"

"I was not in the room at the time, but I would speculate that it was most likely Spot," Lal said robotically. Which wasn't quite as suspicious as it might seem, as most of what she said was spoken robotically.

"Uh-huh. Now, who really did it?" Lore asked.

"You. You were gesturing as you spoke again and knocked a hand into the containers by mistake."

"See, Brother?" Lore said, turning to Data with a proud grin. The grin fell when what he just did caught up to him. "Um... maybe forget about this?"

"My memory banks are functioning at optimal capacity," Data replied blandly, in that way that meant he was going to give Lore a very long lecture the moment Lal was no longer in the room.

"You are suggesting a nickname, then, Uncle?" Lal asked, getting the conversation back on track to what she considered important.

"I guess, yeah," Lore agreed. In truth, he didn't care much about Lal's name. But he could tell that this was annoying Data, which was always a win, so...

"Like how Mrs. O'Brien sometimes calls me 'sweetie'?"

"Sure." Lore shrugged.

Lal nodded to herself, then turned to him with a small smile. "I accept your token of affection, Uncle. You may call me Love if you wish."

"It's not a 'token of affection'," Lore protested.

"I don't understand what else it could be," Lal said. Her face scrunched up.

"Your uncle is not the best at emotions, Lal, even if he is better at them than I am," Data told her. "He is merely embarrassed to be seen as being capable of love."

"That is very confusing, Father."

"It is indeed, Lal."

"How much longer on my sentence, again?" Lore grumbled, throwing himself dramatically against the couch.

"I'm tired," Lal suddenly declared. She walked over to the couch. "Uncle, please vacate the couch so I may nap."

"I'm comfy," Lore told her, glaring. "Why can't you nap in the fleabag's room?"

The bedroom he was referring to technically belonged to Data and Lal, but everyone called it Spot's.

"The bed is for bedtime, it is not bedtime," Lal explained simply. "The couch is much better suited for napping."

"Tough luck, I was here first."

"Father, I am at an impasse with Uncle Lore," Lal said, turning to Data. "I request your assistance in this matter."

"I am sorry, Lal, but Lore was on the couch first," Data told her. "Perhaps B4 would let you use his bed for your nap."

"Uncle, move slightly," Lal demanded after pondering Data's offer for a few nanoseconds. She climbed onto the couch and pushed at Lore until he complied. "We will share the couch."

"Eh, whatever, I'll move," Lore relented, starting to get up. He was stopped by a surprisingly firm grip on his arm.

"No. Stay," Lal mumbled, her voice already growing faint. The yellow glow of her eyes flickered as her eyelids slid closed.

Lore looked up at Data and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I believe she is attempting to show affection," Data told him slowly. "She often comments on how Molly O'Brien shows affection through cuddling."

Sighing, Lore laid back down and bent his arm so it was curled around her. When he was absolutely sure that she was too asleep to hear him, he chuckled and quietly said, "Maybe I am a little fond of ya, Lovebug."