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softened the emotional impact. Two silver spheres were nestled in the carefully cultivated nodules in its skull. The eyes, while organic, had also been augmented with implants. A thin silver wire ran like a shiny nerve along the pilot’s body. This, then, was the reason the muscles had atrophied. Artificial constructs had assisted them in doing their job. The missing corpus callosum was present and accounted for. It—and other parts of the brain—was utterly artificial.
    She could see now the three cones that had been inserted between the bones of the lower arms. That was why the radius and ulna had separated so much; these metal cones had been implanted, and had forced them to grow apart.
    Lense recalled the chair upon which the away team had found the pilot sitting. When the pilot sat in an erect position with her hands on the arms, these holes lined up perfectly. It was almost as if she was plugged directly into the ship….
    Sweat broke out beneath her arms, and she started to tremble as the realization struck her. It all fell into place now, and made terrible sense. Even the atrophied digestive system now seemed logical.
    â€œOh, my God, Emmett,” Lense said softly, lifting her blue eyes to meet Em’s puzzled gaze. “I think we’ve found a Borg.”

    Beneath closed lids, 110 saw. Dreamed. Downloaded information.
    111010000100100100100000111101101110 …

    â€œCoffee?” asked La Forge, standing next to the replicator in engineering.
    â€œThanks. Cream and sugar,” replied Faulwell. La Forge returned, carrying two mugs. Bart reached up to accept the one Geordi extended to him. “We’re not supposed to have these here, you know.”
    Geordi smiled. “Last person I let have a beverage in engineering was Sonya. Picard, as you may have heard—”
    â€œâ€”ended up wearing it,” Bart finished, sipping the hot beverage. “Wish I could have been a fly on the wall that day.”
    Geordi winced. “No, you don’t. I’d rather have faced a phaser blast than Captain Picard’s glare. Poor Sonya just about died.”
    â€œBut look how far she’s come. She’s soared through the ranks.”
    â€œHmm,” said Geordi with mock seriousness. “Perhaps the secret to advancing in rank is to spill hot chocolate on one’s commanding officer.”
    â€œIf that’s the case, I’ll stay where I am,” said Bart, trying to envision Captain Gold’s reaction to such an incident.
    â€œYou know,” said Geordi, “you are starting to have quite the reputation yourself.”
    Bart was startled. “Me? Oh, no.”
    â€œYes, you. I’ve an ear for languages myself, so I pay attention to developments in the field. And I’ve heard your name come up more than a few times. There’s nothing that says you can’t go through the Academy. Starfleet could use you.”
    â€œOh, no. That’s not for me.” Bart concentrated on his drink. “I’m quite happy here.”
    Geordi regarded him for a long moment with those odd, artificial eyes. “If you ever change your mind, let me know.”
    â€œYes, sir.”
    â€œDownload complete,” came the computer’s voice.
    â€œDamn. And just when my coffee was exactly the right temperature,” said Geordi in a mock-mournful tone. “Come on, Bart. Time to see what’s on this thing.”
    At that moment, Geordi’s combadge chirped. “Commander La Forge, Faulwell, get to the briefing room at once.”
    They exchanged glances. “Captain Gold,” said La Forge, “we’ve just finished downloading the information from the tricorder. We’re about to try to decipher it.”
    â€œAnd I want you to, but not right now. It’ll have to wait. On the double, gentlemen.”
    Faulwell had always thought that the expression of one’s heart leaping into one’s mouth was a bit over the