"It has to be your decision," Avon said, with a rueful smile. He had not infrequently found himself championing Data's self-will to those who did not believe an android to be capable of possessing it; to attempt to deny him this would be something of an irony. It was not Avon's choice to make. "It would be a considerable honour, I suppose. And I would not object if you wished to go ahead with it."

A quieter, more genuine smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Offspring?" he repeated, softly. "I see that you have not been able to stop thinking about Tiberius, either. It's a strange thing - we knew him for only a short time, and yet he has seldom been out of my thoughts since."

He let out a long, slow breath. The thought of developing a ship's AI was exciting to him, both as an intellectual challenge, and for other, more intimate reasons. Years ago, before Blake, before he had lost Anna, Avon had always imagined himself having children one day. That those children, if they came, would be artificial intelligences sounded like one of Vila's mocking jokes - and yet, here they were, discussing the possibility of developing such a creation. It would not be the same as developing a self-willed android like Tiberius, of course, but it would certainly be a step in that direction.

"Yes," he said eventually. "Yes, I think we should."