#ooc: I know you're on a lil hiatus but now you've got something adorable to come back to :3

[my-timing-is-digital]

@elaleph continued from [ x ]

Despite his ostensible reprimand, the android scratched the synthetic feline affectionately behind the ear, ruminating over Agnes’ issued concerns; constructing accurate interpretations relative to human rationality far exceeded his field of expertise, regardless of having co-existed with them for approximately 40 years, prior to his destruction in the Bassen Rift. Perhaps Altan’s threat was, indeed, depleted of substance, of solidity, but on the other hand, if Spot’s acute hunting propensity was propelled by a deficiency in her algorithm, Altan might take her offline until he had resolved the problem...

A soft melodic hum vibrated in his vocal processor, diverting his attention to Agnes.

‘That is difficult to determine — I have discovered that Altan has a proclivity for utilising ambiguous semantics. However, it is a conceivable probability,’ Data mused softly, glancing back down to the feline. ‘But that is the thing, Agnes, it is not; she is an artificial lifeform programmed to emulate the behavioural patterns of an authentic feline. Her algorithms can easily be... tweaked if desired.’

Frankly speaking, he did not approve of his own phrasing, but it was true, and the only way to circumvent such modifications that would deprive Spot of her feline qualities was to prevent her from obliterating, from mauling Altan’s valuable butterflies. Data liked the synthetic cat precisely as she was; she frequently initiated evocations of the Spot he had had back on the Enterprise, and who had exhibited a similar impulse to cause deliberate destruction...

Agnes’ reminder regarding the challenge, and the subsequent proposition regarding the time limit, momentarily distracted him from Spot’s irrevocable penalty should she violate Altan’s directives one more time.

‘That sounds like a reasonable time window,’ he agreed, nodding his approval. ‘Spot, you are coming with me — no more chasing after butterflies for you today,’ he added definitively.

He looked down at the cat, her pupils were dilated and fixed on a focal point that resided outside the android’s peripheral vision (another butterfly perhaps?). A small smile, barely discernible, lingered on his lips for a fraction of a second before he pressed a soft kiss to Spot’s cranium.

‘I sincerely hope our new or altered inventions will appeal more to her than Altan’s butterflies,’ Data said, his chartreuse eyes darting back up to Agnes.