One of the most heart-wrenching moments in Star Trek: The Next Generation is during the episode "The Offspring" (S3E16) when Data's daughter, Lal, suffers a complete neural breakdown, and he has no choice but to deactivate her. Data tells the crew she lives in him, as he now carries all her memories, but let's consider a universe where Lal was not only a success but changed the world of cybernetics forever. How would Data's life have changed? Let's imagine a few possibilities!
1. Data and Lal might have created a new lab aboard Enterprise-D
While Data excelled at his job as the ship's Chief Operations Officer, Lal's presence might have prompted Data to ask Captain Picard's permission to build a cybernetics lab aboard Enterprise-D. After all, if Data's initial success with creating his daughter began aboard the ship, then it's likely he'd want to continue the research there, with Lal working at his side.
I enjoy this idea because not only would Data and Lal build a beautiful space for creating more androids, but it would also allow Geordi to work with them as well. It's also easy to imagine all of Data's children calling the chief engineer "Uncle Geordi," much to Picard's extreme annoyance!
2. Lal would cause a surge of renewed interest in cybernetics
Imagine if Lal had been a success, outpaced her father's abilities, and became the ultimate Soong android? This would have probably caused a large surge of renewed interest in cybernetics in general, as others might strive to recreate Data's success. Considering the technology available at this point in the series, other types of non-Soong androids, perhaps built at state-of-the-art Federation cybernetics labs.
3. Starfleet might have had several android officers aboard their ships
If Lal hadn't suffered a complete malfunction, her existence might have meant more androids in Starfleet in the future. Her blueprint could have given rise to many other androids just like her, serving aboard starships in many capacities. Given her and Data's amazing abilities, this could improve efficiency at almost every level.
4. Data might have created an entire family
Lal's death likely caused Data's hesitation to build another Soong-type android child. Still, if she'd been an unparalleled success, it might have inspired Data to build other children so Lal could experience having siblings. Of course, considering all the different gender and appearance choices available, this would have made the expression "blended family" take on a whole new meaning!
Lal's brief life and unexpected death taught Data what it was like to guide a child and sacrifice whatever was necessary to protect her. If there is a timeline where Lal survived, there's no doubt she enriched the lives of everyone who knows her.
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