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Data
Data on the bridge of the Enterprise-D
Species:	Android
Gender:	Male
Home planet:	Omicron Theta
Affiliation:	Starfleet
Posting:	USS Enterprise-D operations officer and second officer USS Sutherland commanding officer (temporary) USS Enterprise-E operations officer and second officer
Rank:	Lieutenant commander
Portrayed by:	Brent Spiner

Data^[1] is a character, portrayed by Brent Spiner, in the Star Trek fictional universe. Designed and built by Doctor Noonien Soong, Lieutenant Commander^[2] Data is an android who serves as the second officer and chief operations officer aboard the starships USS Enterprise-D and USS Enterprise-E. Data appears throughout the Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) television series bar one episode named 'Family', and in the four films based on The Next Generation.

Data is a sentient artificial lifeform, or rather cybernetic or even technological being designed to resemble a human. His positronic brain allows him impressive computational capabilities^[3], as to 60 trillion operations per second (60 TRIPS per sec.), at 800 quadrillion computational rate speed with the ability to perform all human activities, but with much more powerful 'output' in physical and mental terms. However, he has ongoing difficulties understanding various aspects of human behavior^[4], and is unable to feel emotions per se, or understand certain human idiosyncrasies, due to not having been programmed with them. This lack of human traits is somewhat rectified in Star Trek Generations when he is fitted with an "emotion chip" designed by his 'father', Noonien Soong.

Dramatically, Data is a very rough counterpart to Spock from Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) and later, Seven of Nine, a Borg drone from Star Trek: Voyager (ST:V) in that he has a rational, analytical mind and finds humans hard to understand, and through his attempts to understand human behavior, the series' creators comment on certain aspects of humanity. Unlike Spock, however, he is drawn to the concept of humanity, constantly trying to emulate humans in all forms, at his endless desire to 'aspire' and evolve. Coincidentally, Data was one of the few non-Vulcans to master the Vulcan nerve pinch.^[5]

Data's name^[1] is properly pronounced /ˈdeɪtə/ (or day-tuh) as opposed to the alternative pronunciations /ˈdɑːtə/ (dah-ta) or /ˈdætə/ (datt-a). When Data corrects Dr. Katherine Pulaski for using the latter pronunciation, Pulaski asks, "What's the difference?" Data replies, "One is my name, the other is not".^[6]

Contents 1 Character arc 2 Guest Appearances 3 Brent Spiner on Data 4 Scholarly and fan reception 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

At the beginning of The Next Generation, Data is aware of some of his backstory: He had been found on Omicron Theta after an attack by the Crystalline Entity on October 29th,2336, and was found and reactivated by Starfleet personnel two years later. Data went to Starfleet Academy from 2341-45 and then served in Starfleet until his death, he was assigned to the Enterprise later under Capt Picard being given command of that ship, in 2364, after two prior ship assignments.

Data became sexually involved with Tasha Yar in the episode "The Naked Now", as a result of polywater intoxication (the Tsiolkovsky virus). Data implicitly agreed not to discuss the incident with anyone, a commitment he was later forced to break in "The Measure of a Man."

In "Datalore" he discovers his "evil" brother Lore, and learns he was not the first android their father Dr Noonien Soong had created, and that Lore was replaced by him on Omicron Theta as a guard, for being "less perfect" and "more comfortable". Eventually he is forced to fight Lore to prevent him from destroying the ship with the Crystalline Entity, after Lore had outsmarted him to take his place. Data is able to overcome Lore during a short and brutal fight, and beams him into space.

In "The Measure of a Man", Data is legally declared an autonomous individual, as opposed to Starfleet property (like "a toaster"). He is not named a full sentient being, merely a free officer, but this is enough for him to be able to choose not to get disassembled as a test subject for his positronic brain by Cmdr Maddox. During the struggle for his rights, when it appears he will be forced to undergo the dangerous experiment, Data attempts unsuccessfully to resign from Starfleet.

Data attempted to reproduce in the episode "The Offspring" by creating an android daughter, Lal, from his own neural net matrix. She dies by the end of the episode, because of an emotional overload in the face of having to be taken away from Data on the order of Starfleet. Data transfers her memories in their entirety into his own.

In the episode "Brothers", Data finally is united with his creator Dr. Soong, after the Doctor activates his homing device, forcing Data to unwittingly steal the Enterprise to get to his lab. There he meets again with Lore (who was believed dead), and watches him steal the emotion chip made by Soong and meant for Data. Following Lore's escape after having injured their father while Data was incapacitated, Data is recovered by an Away Team. Data is then able to say farewell to Dr. Soong, calling him father for the first and last time.

In the two-parter "Redemption" Data assumes his first command as captain of the Sutherland during an engagement with the Romulans, where he is met by a prejudiced first officer. The first officer thinks Data to be an incapable officer for commanding a Starship, due to being an android. Data overcomes this prejudice by exposing the enemy tactics through his daring and superior thinking.

Data experiences dreaming for the first time in the first part of the double episode "Birthright", as so generated by a plasma shock to his system, during which he sees his younger father again, telling him, 'to be as free as a bird'. But would not be the last time he dreams, as later again having no less surreal nightmares in "Phantasms", which however enables him to eliminate a life-threatening parasite from the ship.

In "Inheritance" he meets Dr Juliana Tainer, who believes herself to be Data's mother. However, she is eventually revealed to be another "Soong-type" android created by his father on her death, and Data finds it hard not to tell her at her own unawareness, and his very desire to find another of his kind. But after meeting with a holodeck version of Dr. Soong (produced by an interface chip in Dr Tainer's brain), he decides not to tell her on his wish, and bids her farewell. This episode also establishes that Data had been furnished with an "aging program", like hers.

Later in "Descent" (Part II) he unwittingly reunites with Lore and experiences aggressive and "pleasurable" emotions, produced by Lore tapping into the stolen emotion chip to corrupt his ethical program. Under the influence of these purely "negative" emotions, Data is persuaded to "destroy the Federation" and made to cause harm to his friends. Eventually, after facing being forced to kill Capt Picard on Lore's command, Data regains his sense of right and wrong fast as his ethical programming is being restored by a kedion pulse. Only to face his own murder at Lore's very hands on his refusal, which in turn is prevented by an ensuing short fight, during which Data is forced to fire on Lore to stop him escape. Data then deactivates Lore who states, "Without me, you will never feel emotions again".

In the film, Star Trek Generations, Data finally installs this still damaged emotion chip he retrieved from Lore, and experiences the fuller scope of emotions: joy, humor, crippling fear in the face of danger, and overwhelming guilt, at his sudden failure to save his friend Geordi. This causes the chip to overload and fuse into his neural net. Later on however, he seems to be able to control his emotions much better, even though he cries the first time on finding his pet cat safe and sound, after their ship's devastating crash at the end.

The Borg tried to use this emotion chip to manipulate him in the film, Star Trek: First Contact, in which the Borg Queen could activate it against his will (he could not deactivate it), before she tempted him with "live flesh" grafted onto his arm to generate physical sensations, to force him to comply with her while still her unwilling captive. She then seduces him more successfully after his failed escape attempt by turning him into a full 'human', with later even more skin grafted onto his face. Data is eventually forced to take her life to end his captivity, and declares to have been tempted to join her, for a mere "0.68" seconds; an "eternity" for an android.

In the film, Star Trek: Insurrection, he is seemingly malfunctioning after been shot at during a duck blind mission, causing his safety protocols to take over his cognitive functions, running amok. He is eventually safely retrieved by Capt Picard, by "singing" him into surrender, in the face of an entire attack force, and is returned to his usual functioning self. And in which he states, in case of a water landing, he was designed, "to serve as a floatation device".

In the film, Star Trek Nemesis, Data discovers another older brother, the childlike B-4. To this character he transfers his entire memory engrams to help him evolve. Near the end of the film, after Shinzon has been killed by Picard, Data beams the captain off the enemy Reman ship, the Scimitar, to safety using the only "ETU" he has. Data destroys the Scimitar and in the process sacrifices himself, saving the captain and crew of the Enterprise. Data, as a result, effectively reached his ultimate goal of becoming completely "human", by giving his own life. At a mere age of 41 years, according to canon on his reactivation date as given 2338, and death in 2379.

Brent Spiner reprises his role of Data in the Star Trek Enterprise series finale "These Are The Voyages..." in an off-screen speaking role.

Brent Spiner has noted that he has visibly aged out of the role and that it would be implausible for him to continue playing an android whose appearance should not change with time ^[7] (although the seventh-season episode "Inheritance" establishes that Data has an aging program that can change his appearance). While Spiner has often expressed affection for Data and appreciation for his career within Star Trek, he has also made it quite clear he is ready to move on.

Fans and scholars have compared Data to Spock from the original series, though Data's desire to comprehend and emulate humanity contrasts with Spock's disdain for his perceived human shortcomings. Spiner later appeared with Leonard Nimoy in a scene in the episode Unification, Part II, where Data and Spock compared their ideologies.

In another vein, robotics engineers regard Data (along with "R2-D2 or C-3PO-like devices from the Star Wars movies) as the pre-eminent face of robots in the public's perception of their field.^[8]

• Man vs. Machine
• The Doctor - Data's counterpart in Star Trek: Voyager

• Data article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
• Data's biography at the official Star Trek website
• An Android for All Seasons. Star Treks science consultant Andre Bormanis about the creation of Data.
• Spot article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki

v • d • e Regular characters on Star Trek
The Original Series	Chapel | Chekov | Kirk | McCoy | Rand | Scott | Spock | Sulu | Uhura
The Animated Series	Arex | Chapel | Kirk | M'Ress | McCoy | Scott | Spock | Sulu | Uhura
The Next Generation	B. Crusher | W. Crusher | Data | La Forge | Picard | Pulaski | Riker | Troi | Worf | Yar
Deep Space Nine	Bashir | E. Dax | J. Dax | Kira | M. O'Brien | Odo | Quark | B. Sisko | J. Sisko | Worf
Voyager	Chakotay | Doctor | Janeway | Kes | Kim | Neelix | Paris | Seven | Torres | Tuvok
Enterprise	Archer | Mayweather | Phlox | Reed | Sato | T'Pol | Tucker