| Final Rank: | Lieutenant Commander |
|---|---|
| Last Assignment: | Operations Manager, U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-E (promoted to Executive Officer, but died prior to position taking effect) |
| Full Name: | Data |
| Species/Gender: | Android male of sophisticated design and programming, deemed a sentient being and accorded full civil rights |
| Date of Birth: | Initial activation ca 2336, permanently re-activated Feb. 2, 2338 |
| Place of Birth: | Omicron Theta science colony |
| Parents: | Created by "father" Dr. Noonien Soong and "mother" Dr. Juliana O'Donnell Soong Tainer |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Children: | One "daughter" named Lal, created SD 43657.0 (2366) and deceased shortly after |
| Education: | Starfleet Academy, 2341-45 |
| Quarters: | Formerly, Enterprise-D: Deck 2/Room 3653 |
| Date of Death: | 2379 |
| Place of Death: | Destroyed with Reman ship Scimitar in line of duty (see Career Summary) |
| Service Awards: | Starfleet Command Decoration for Valor; Starfleet Command Decoration for Gallantry; Medal of Honor, with Clusters; Legion of Honor; The Starcross |
File Contents
Starfleet Career Summary
Psychological Profile: Report of Ship's Counselor
Deanna Troi; incl. File Update: SD 50900 review cycle
Professional Assessment: Report of Starfleet
Command Review Board
Bio-engineering Review: Joint Report of CMO
Beverly Crusher, M.D. and Chief Engineer Geordi LaForge
Extracts from Correspondence with
Cmdr. Maddox; SD 44390.1
Memorable Quotes as Reported by Starfleet Officers
Starfleet Career Summary
| 2348 | Promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) | |
| 2364 | Named as operations officer and second officer on U.S.S. Enterprise, under Capt. Jean-Luc Picard | |
| 2365 | JAG inquiry at Starbase 173 denied any Starfleet property interest, upholding sentient individual rights | |
| 2368 | Temporarily in command of U.S.S. Sutherland, detected Romulan interference in Klingon civil war | |
| 2372 | Transferred with remainder of Picard's senior staff to Sovereign-class U.S.S. Enterprise(-E) | |
| 2373 | During attempt to repair Borg temporal sabotage with Earth first contact, kidnapped and resisted assimilation by Borg to prevent capture of vessel and loss of timeline integrity | |
| 2379 | Sacrificed himself aboard Reman ship Scimitar in order to destroy Thalaron beam generator and save crew of Enterprise-E; prior to death, downloaded entire memory database into android prototype B-4 |
Psychological Profile: Report of Ship's Counselor Deanna Troi
Although the outlook did not pick up steam until his Enterprise posting after 26 years of existence, Data has quite simply wished to be more human and experience as much of that condition's depths and shadows as his adaptive programming can approximate -- with experiments in everything from art, acting, and poetry to keeping a pet cat Spot and imitating humanisms ranging from laughter, sneezing and whistling to dance, facial hair grooming and bedtime routines.
Even with that goal, Data turned down a chance to be human offered by Q in 2364, quoting Shakespeare's "To thine own self be true," but inched closer to his goal with the discovery of an "emotions chip" created by his builder, Dr. Noonien Soong. Although he delayed using it for over a year, the chip when finally installed in 2371 caused a near-overload until Data began learning the complexities of the new world just opened. Humor was a concept that largely eluded him until that point, although relationships -- both positive and negative -- were fostered via what Data described as a familiarity of repetition.
UPDATE: SD 50900 review cycle
Re: emotions chip of subject Data
Data continue to familiarize himself with the flood of potential the chip opened up, but always until strict supervision to avoid further overloads. Today, two years after installation, he tends to keep it running during normal operations but maintains internal control over the timing should it prove troubling or distracting.
The chip proved an Achilles heel during Data's capture by the Borg Queen, when she literally tempted him with sensations of flesh and blood he had never experienced despite his growing worldliness. Even so, the emotional data overload was not enough to overrule his ethics program.
Data was the fifth and next-to-last model created by Soong and his then-wife Juliana on the Omicron Theta science colony, activated on Feb. 2, 2338 when found by members of a U.S.S. Tripoli away team after the Crystalline Entity had drained the life force from the 411-member colony. Not until 2370 did he realize he had a childhood-like developmental memory from an existence before that date, wiped by Soong and replaced by the colonists' memories and logs as they faced their doom by the Entity.
In later years, Data discovered his remarried "mother" and just as quickly realized Soong had made her an android, transferring her consciousness shortly before she died; the revelation, which he opted not to reveal to her, was one of two Data experienced in programs left by Soong, the other being a dreaming routine accidentally accessed in 2369. Dr. Ira Graves, Soong's mentor and a legend in his own right, asked the android to call him "grandfather" during a time before Graves' short-lived hijacking of Data's body for his own consciousness in 2365.
Data has said his post-activation months were rough, but the crew who found him inspired him to join Starfleet and, after being deemed sentient, he was accepted to Starfleet Academy in 2341 - with Cmdr. Bruce Maddox of the Daystrom Institute casting the only nay vote in the decision of his examination board. Data found the entrance exams elementary but in his freshman year discovered his biggest problems to be those of social interaction, such as practical jokes and the Sadie Hawkins Dance. After a curriculum which included advanced training in auxiliary vessels, he graduated four years later with honors in probability mechanics and exobiology. Following graduation he spent three more as an ensign and 10-12 more in the lieutenant grades. One of his postings was to the U.S.S. Trieste, where the missions included an unstable wormhole.
Even with his career, Data's rights as an intelligent being rather than Starfleet property were challenged and barely won in 2365 when Maddox wished to disassemble him for replication without first having mastered the Soong's positronic process. Data and Maddox eventually kept up correspondence to further Maddox's research. [more]
Data only discovered in 2364 that he was immediately preceded by a "brother," Lore, built with an inferior ethics program and originally disassembled before Data's own creation. The Starfleet android encountered his "sibling" three times in all: once upon his reassembly when first revisiting Omicron Theta in 2364, again when Soong was killed by Lore on Terlina III in 2368 during his theft of the emotions chip meant for Data; and again in late 2369, while commanding a faction of renegade Borg marauders released from the Collective. Lore had coerced Data by suppressing his ethics program, but he was overcome and finally disassembled, the emotions chip going to Data at last.
Combining his interest in procreation with advanced positronic studies in 2366, Data himself created a short-lived daughter christened Lal whose ownership had again been contested by Starfleet and Admiral Haftel. The emotional overload she was exposed to in the struggle presaged Data's five years later, but her unintended emotional ability could not be processed adequately and she "died" despite the best efforts of Data and Haftel.
Aside from a romantic encounter with the late Tasha Yar under effects of the Tsiolkovsky virus in 2364, and a crush directed at him by Tau Cygnan colonist Ard'rian MacKenzie, he later tried dating Lt. (j.g.) Jenna D'Sora. A small hologram of Yar is among his closest possessions, which also include a book of Shakespeare sonnets from Picard, the proximity detector of Turkana IV from Yar's sister Ishara, and props from his Holodeck adventures.
After all Data's years in Starfleet following activation, Geordi LaForge was the first to become a friend and accept him with respect as an equal - apparently not until they met aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise; he later planned LaForge's memorial service when the chief engineer and Ro were presumed dead during an encounter with the Romulans in 2368. Having introduced Miles O'Brien and Keiko Ishikawa, Data served as her bridal escort during their wedding and danced a step he'd learned from Dr. Crusher.
A fascination with Old Earth detective fiction led Data to a common hobby shared with LaForge of role-playing Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson on the Holodeck; he has read all the Holmes books. That interest evolved into legitimate theatre as well as music, where he has studied the violin, guitar, oboe and flute and plays in shipboard performances. Skill dances such as tap are easier to master than those with subtle variables such as ballroom, but he has done so. Data also tried his hand at various styles of painting, but realized that his knowledge of previous styles overrode any personality he could put into the art. He also plays poker, knows blackjack and learned Stratagema well enough to tie games master Sirna Kolrami - but he once lost a tri-dimensional chess game to this officer.
Professional Assessment: Report of Starfleet Command Review Board
Due to his programming and superhuman abilities, Data is by definition an exemplary officer, but those same abilities have also been proven an Achilles heel of sorts - as when he was overcome by his "brother" Lore, or the homing signal once used by his creator Soong, among other instances on record. The recent Borg invasion and his capture and hoped-for assimilation as a potential ally is yet another.
Unfortunately, as the only android in the service, the natural disinclination to attribute command abilities and respect to an artificial being - as well as the long-undetermined issue of his self-determination rights - hampered Data's command advancement and led to service in operations division only. Despite his long career he was not placed even in acting command until assuming the conn of the U.S.S. Sutherland during the blockade of Romulan aid to the Duras Klingon faction in 2367-68. Data also devised the first known defense to the Picard Maneuver in 2364, nine years after it was first used.
He carries Alpha-1 computer clearance and Priority 3 security clearance.
Bio-engineering Review: Joint Report of CMO Beverly Crusher, M.D. and Chief Engineer Geordi LaForge
Data, who weighs 100 kg., carries a concealed master on/off switch centered just below his right shoulder blade. This switch is known only to the senior staff of the Enterprise: commander, first officer, chief engineer, chief medical officer and ship's counselor. As designed he is programmed not to lie or deceive, recalls everything he's ever been exposed to, cannot use verbal contractions, and has super-human strength, dexterity, voice duplication, self-diagnostics, and "fully functional" male sexual abilities without the emotional attraction. Though he approximates fellow humanoid sleeping patterns and workshifts, he of course needs no actual rest and often takes the helm during the "night watch."
Experiments into his direct input into or remote control of ship's systems have been uneven, but his unique abilities have been invaluable in securing the safety of ship and crew in numerous crises and far out weigh, in our opinion, any potential weakness they present.
Extracts from Correspondence with Cmdr. Maddox
U.S.S. ENTERPRISE NCC-1701-D •
2ND OFFICER'S PERSONAL LOG • STARDATE 44390.1
ENTRY FOR TRANSMISSION TO: Cmdr. Bruce Maddox, Cybernetics Division,
Daystrom Institute
Dear Cmdr. Maddox,
in reference to your most recent letter, I agree that your study lacks sufficient primary source information on my programming and operation. Therefore, in response to your request, this correspondence will include a complete record of my activities during a normal day with particular emphasis on my perception of friendship.
Initially, Cmdr. Maddox, I found it difficult to maintain friendships since human emotions are often puzzling to me. Eventually, I developed a program enabling me to predict human emotional responses to specific actions.
My friend Chief O'Brien often
says that above all else he wants to make Keiko happy. Since
cancelling the wedding will make her happy, I must conclude the
chief will be pleased with her decision...
Cmdr. Maddox, it would appear that my program designed to
predict emotional responses needs... adjustment.
U.S.S. ENTERPRISE NCC-1701-D • 2ND OFFICER'S PERSONAL LOG • SUPPLEMENTAL
This is the 1550th day since the Enterprise was commissioned. Besides the arrival of Ambassador T'Pel, other events occuring today include 4 birthdays, 2 personnel transfers, a celebration of the Hindu Festival of Lights, 2 chess tournaments, one secondary school play, 4 promotions. Overall, an ordinary day.
Since I am not affected by emotional considerations, I am closer to being Vulcan than Human. However, while their devotion to logic does has a certain appeal, I find their stark philosophy to be somewhat... limited.
The tone of Cmdr. Riker's voice makes me suspect that he is not serious about finding Ambassador T'Pel "charming." My experience suggests, that in fact, he may mean the exact opposite of what he says. Irony is a form of expression I'm not yet been able to master.
Friendly insults and jibes: Another form of human speech that I'm attempting to master. In this case with the help of Cmdr. Geordi LaForge. I consider Geordi to be my best friend.
I find Lt. Worf to be what is called a "kindred spirit." We were both orphans rescued by Starfleet officers. In many ways we are both still outsiders in Human society.
I am rarely in need of Dr. Beverly Crusher's professional services as my biomechanical maintenance program is self-sufficient. But I often observe as she practices medicine on others and have learned a great deal about Human interaction from her.
It is fortunate that I am able to perform my duties without emotional distractions. If that were not the case, a sudden course correction toward the Neutral Zone would make me very ... nervous.
When one of my friends is distraught, I have learned that the thoughful thing to do is to attempt to make him feel more comfortable.
Commander Maddox, I noted that
Keiko was quite calm and rational when she informed me of her decision
this morning. Therefore, I can predict that she will respond to an
objective analysis of the situation based on the
available facts. It is fortunate that she has not let
emotional considerations cloud her judgement. It should make my
task much simpler...
It is clear that I need guidance to resolve the situation.
Counselor Troi's advice should be useful.
In many ways, Deanna Troi is the friend I understand the least. Her life and her duties are predicated on her understanding and perception of emotions. Since I have none, no doubt she finds me as much a mystery as I find her.
Commander Maddox, I have often wished for the sense that Humans call intuition or instinct. Since Vulcans are incapable of lying, I must accept the ambassador's explanation as the truth. But I would still prefer... gut feeling to back up this conclusion.
Commander Riker's easy-going manner and his sense of humor is fascinating to me. I believe it to be one reason he is so popuplar among the crew. It may also be partly responsible for his success in matters of love. There may be a correlation between humor and sex. The need for more research is clearly indicated.
U.S.S. ENTERPRISE NCC-1701-D • 2ND OFFICER'S PERSONAL LOG • SUPPLEMENTAL
The risks aboard a starship are accepted by all who serve, but I have never failed to observe a deep emotional response to the loss of a comrade. It is at times like this, that I greatly miss the ability to share human feelings.
Captain Picard was the person
who first interested me in the works of
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I have subsequently become a
great admirer of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes and
his ability to solve mysteries by careful examination of the available
evidence.
I have found Holmes' methodology of deductive reasoning to be quite
useful. One of his adage is, that once you have eliminated all which is
impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
The safest and most logical decision
in this situation is to contact Starfleet and await further
instructions.
However, based on past experience, I project only a 17 percent
chance Captain Picard will choose that alternative.
In the game of Poker, there is a moment when a player must decide if a opponent is being deceptive or actually holds a winning hand. This decision is based not only on the odds, but also on a appraisal of the man. Is he bluffing or does he have the cards?
There are still many Human emotions I do not fully comprehend: anger, hatred, revenge. But I am not mystified by the desire to be loved or the need for friendship. These are things I do understand.
If being human is not simply a
matter of being born flesh and blood, if it is instead a way of
thinking, acting and... feeling, then I am hopeful that I one day I will
discover my own humanity.
Until then, Commander Maddox, I will continue learning, changing,
growing and trying to become more than what I am.
Yours, sincerely
Lt. Commander Data
2nd Officer and Operations Manager,
Federation Starship U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D,
Starfleet
(From: Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Data's Day")
Memorable Quotes as Reported by Starfleet Officers
"Ode to Spot"
The Nexus Incident
The Borg's Temporal Tampering
The Ba'ku/Son'a Incident
"Ode to Spot"
By: Lt. Cmdr. Data; premiere on SD 46154.2 at
"Ten Forward", U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D under
Capt. Picard
Felis Cattus is your taxonomic nomenclature,
an endothermic quadruped carnivorous by nature –
Your visual, olfactory and auditory senses
contribute to your hunting skills, and natural defenses.
I find myself intrigued by your subvocal
oscillations,
a singular development of cat communications
that obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
for a rhythmic stroking of your fur, to demonstrate affection.
A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic
talents;
you would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance.
And when not being utilized to aide in locomotion,
it often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.
Oh Spot, the complex levels of behaviour you display
connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array.
And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,
I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.
(From: Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Schisms")
The Nexus Incident
[ Data finds a drink unpleasant -- for the first time ever. ]| Data: | I hate this! It is revolting! | |
| Guinan: | More? | |
| Data: | Please! |
[ Data, enthusiastic about his new emotion chip, is told to scan for life forms. ]
| Data: | I'd be happy to, sir. I just *love* scanning
for life forms! [sings] Life forms! You pretty little life forms! You precious little life forms! Where are you? |
| Data: | I get it! "The clown can stay, but the Ferengi in the gorilla suit has to leave!" I get it! | |
| Lt. Cmdr. Geordi LaForge: | Data, what do you get? | |
| Data: | The Farpoint mission! You told a joke; that was the punchline! | |
| Geordi: | The Farpoint mission? Data, that was seven years ago. | |
| Data: | I know! I finally get it! Very funny! |
| Geordi: | I've never seen a solar probe with this kind of configuration, have you Data? | |
| Data: | No Geordi, I have not. [to his tricorder] Have you? [uses tricorder as a hand puppet] "No I have not. It is most unusual." Mister Tricorder! |
(From: "Star Trek: Generations")
The Borg's Temporal Tampering
| Data: | I think I speak on behalf of the entire crew when I say "To hell with our orders." |
| Data: | The Borg do not evolve, they conquer. | |
| The Borg Queen: | Brave words. I've heard them before, from thousands of species across thousands of worlds, since long before you were created. But, now they are all Borg. |
[ Data is feeling anxiety as they approach the Borg. ]
| Capt. Jean-Luc Picard: | I suggest you deactivate your emotion chip for now. | |
| Data: | [click] Done. | |
| Picard: | Data, there are times when I envy you. |
| Borg Queen: | Do you always talk this much? | |
| Data: | Not always. But often. |
| Borg Queen: | Are you familiar with physical forms of pleasure? | |
| Data: | If... you're referring to sexuality, I'm fully functional. Programmed in multiple techniques. | |
| Borg Queen: | How long has it been since you've used them? | |
| Data: | 8 years, 7 months, 16 days, 4 minutes 22... | |
| Borg Queen: | Far too long. |
| Data: | And for a time, I was tempted by her offer. | |
| Capt. Jean-Luc Picard: | How long a time? | |
| Data: | 0.68 seconds, Sir. For an android, that is nearly an eternity. |
(From: "Star Trek: First Contact")
The Ba'ku/Son'a Incident
The theatre performance ”H.M.S. Pinafore“ by
Gilbert & Sullivan had been practised by Cmdr. Data before he
left the Enterprise-D for taking part in the so-called "Duck Blind"
mission on the Ba'ku planet.
The song ”A British Tar“ had been performed both
by Capt. Picard and Cmdr. Worf in a runabout with Data via
ship-to-ship communications to confuse him while trying to disable him
after he ran amok on the Ba'ku planet.
See the respective file for
details.
| Data: | [to Geordi] I suggest I have lost some memory engrams. [Geordi shows his hand full with computer chips ] ...Ah, THERE are they! |
[ Cmdr. William T. Riker is referring to his clean-shaven face. ]
| Riker: | Well, Data, smooth as an android's bottom. | |
| Data: | Commander, may I...? [touches Riker's raised chin, then smiles and shakes the head] |
[ After bobbing to the surface of the lake on the . ]
| Data: | In the event of a water landing, I have been designed to act as a flotation device. |
| Data: | The environmental anomalies may have stimulated certain rebellious instincts which could affect everyone's judgment. Except mine, of course. | |
| Dr. Beverly Crusher: | OK, Data, what do you think we should do? | |
| Data: | Saddle up, lock and load! |
(From: "Star Trek: Insurrection")
