"I..." He pauses, not sure exactly how to continue, or how much he wants to tell Ned. This is a fairly personal subject, after all.

"I knew someone in a similar situation. Not a robot. An artificial intelligence transplanted into the body of a young woman. She was..." He huffs out an embarrassed laugh and clasps his hands behind his back once again. "amazing. She wanted so badly to be human, but she was more than that. Something new. Better." Their differences on the subject may very well be semantic rather than philosphical. Dirk doesn't see anything wrong with Daneel being a robot, including whatever hangups come with that. Mostly, he's interested in how Daneel himself feels about being human.

"I told your friend that I thought it was the wanting that made her more than a machine." He smiles, though it's a sad smile, tipping his head down to watch his feet as he continues. "Wanting a life, wanting...me." He coughs, redirecting himself back to question. "Even if she had not succeeded in making it to the body, she would still have been something more. The fact that she felt it was what mattered."