As efficient as Data’s positronic brain was, and despite the thermal dissipation matrix built into his scalp, it still generated heat — not unlike a human head. Data knew this was why Spot chose to sit on his shoulder, drape across his back or even perch atop Data’s head, when the android permitted it — and he knew this was likely a function of warmth, and not necessarily affection.

But he also wondered: if cats treated their human owners the same way, how did living, breathing people not suffocate in the night with a lazy cat smothering their faces?