[ G'raha feels like he might have had the answer, but the question actually gives him pause. How does one define "alive"? It's a deeper conversation than he would imagine to have while at some strange resort complete with a full bar and pool, but things rarely go the way he imagines them to.

After a thoughtful moment, G'raha admits with weak smile, ]

I may not be qualified to make that distinction.

[ But that's not because he is out of things to say. ]

What does not have a physical body may still be considered alive. What has a mechanical body, likewise, may be considered alive. [ He thinks of the Omicron and their unique, self-made evolution. He thinks of Otis, full of personality, of emotion, born of memory. ] I suppose a better way to put it would be ask if the memories Thomas claims to have are indeed his own, whether they be the result of clever programming or...someone else's.

[ The latter does not seem so far-fetched these days. ]