"into the remote Omicron Theta star system, home of our android crew member, Lt Cmdr Data." "Although we're due at an assignment," "I have decided to visit Data's home planet for a few hours in the hopes of unravelling the mystery ofhis beginnings." "Sir, we are 20 minutes from Omicron Theta, mark." "Stand by for subwarp." "Head for standard orbit of planet." " I wonder why Data's not here." " He said he wanted to be alone." "Perhaps this is a bigger moment for him than we thought." " What are you doing?" " Sneezing." " Have you got a cold?" " A cold what?" "It's a disease Mom said people used to get." "But humans still sneeze for other reasons." "And I cannot seem to do it right." "Why practise sneezing?" "We're going to your home planet for the first time." " Aren't you interested in that?" " More than interested." "Fascinated." "One might say agog." "But I also find sneezing interesting." "Capt Picard wishes to see you on the bridge." "Captain, confirming Class-M reading there." "But sensors show no life readings." "Not even vegetation." "Strange." "The cruiser that found Data reported farmlands." " Want to take her into orbit, Data?" " No, thank you, sir." "Continue on into close parking orbit." "Aye, sir." "I could say "home sweet home", sir, if I understood how the word "sweet" applies." " It usually refers to memories." " To one's own memories." "Do the memories you have include farms, Data?" "Affirmative." "But the colony's principal interest was science." "How can you hold the memories of 41 1 people, if that means every experience, every day of their life?" "It does not." "Unfortunately." "It's the knowledge they accumulated." "Actually, I am deficient in basic human information." "Sneezing, for example." "Approaching close parking orbit." "Assemble your away party, Commander." "This must be exciting for you." "I'm tempted to lead the away team, but my First Officer may object." "What would Starfleet say?" "An Earth colony did disappear there." "You see?" "Now in close parking orbit, sir." "Mr Data,... welcome home." "Space, the final frontier." "These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise." "Its continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds,... ..to seek out new life and new civilisations,... ..to boldly go where no one has gone before." "First Officer's log, stardate 4124.5." "We have found Data's home to be a completely dead world." "Lifeless vegetation, no insects, not even soil bacteria." "What is it that could kill everything on an entire planet?" "Recording signal locked onto the Enterprise, sir." "This looks like anything but farmland." "Agreed, sir." "The soil appears almost completely lifeless." "This is the position in the Tripoli log." "Recognise anything?" "The land contours are familiar." "Topographically, this is the correct area." "This once was rich farmland, I'd say 20 to 30 years ago." "I was discovered 26 years ago." "I'd say that everything was dead or dying at the time Data was found." "I was found 20 metres in that direction, sir." "Data, any idea why you were given the colonists' memories?" "I feel that it was done hurriedly, but I know little more." "Here." "This is where the cruiser's landing party found the signal device that led them here." "And they found me lying there." "You were just lying in the open?" "No identity record, no instructions?" "Only a layer of dust." "What's the first thing you remember?" "Opening my eyes." "Looking into the eyes of the Tripoli landing party." "They believed the signal device sensed their presence and activated me." "Then this spot was your birthplace." "Commander." "I think I've got this place figured out." "This was very cleverly done to make this look like a natural hollow in the terrain." "There are signs it was constructed in a hurry, as if to hide something." "Yes." "That was it, Geordi." "This awakens a memory remnant." "The colonists hoped to remain hidden." "But their fear of being discovered... ..led to their storing information in me." "Yeah!" "Thought so." "No life readings in here either, sir." "The colonists' laboratory." "Extremely well equipped." "Does this stir any memories?" "Only a vague impression of some of my functions being tested here." "Posted by proud parents?" "It depicts..." "something that feels familiar, sir." "And dangerous." "But I have no idea what it represents." "And that is all." "Except... ..for an impression... ..of this being a Dr Soong's work area." "Who?" " Dr Noonien Soong?" " He was called that here." "But he travelled here under a different name." "Dr Soong, my friend, was Earth's foremost robotic scientist." "Until he tried to realise Asimov's dream of a positronic brain." "A positronic brain." "He promised so much." "Then, when he failed completely, Dr Soong disappeared." "Now we know he went somewhere to try a second time." "Data, Geordi, we'll look at this lab." "You and Lt Worf reconnoitre the corridors." "Aye, sir." "Data, it's you." "An epidermal mould." "To give your exterior the desired finish." " Lt Yar to Cmdr Riker." " Come in, Lieutenant." "Sir, this installation can hold hundreds ofpeople." "But all that's here is empty beds." "Thank you." "Complete your record scans and report back." "Cmdr Riker, looks like some sort of storage area." " How many more Datas are there?" " Looks like just two." "I mean, that and the real Data." "Commander,... ..can this be another me?" "Or possibly my brother?" "I honestly don't know, Data." " He needs assembling." " He?" "Data, we don't know that this can become alive." "It is very important for me to know, sir." "I never dreamed it was possible that I might find some link... ..with a form like my own." "Understood." "We'll take it back to the ship with us." "Captain's log, stardate 41242.45." "Despite having only a few hours to explore Data's home planet, we discovered something which may explain Data's beginnings, if we can properly assemble and communicate with what we've found." "Signal from the Captain." "They need you at the debriefing." "I have been anxious to hear the Chief Engineer's opinion." "Do you believe he can be made to function?" "It includes all the components in your body." "Not that we fully understand your construction." "We have our top specialists working on its construction." "Just one thing." "Without disassembling you, of course, if we should need more..." "If we need to compare this with the way... you're put together..." "Bringing it here was right, Number One." "Data, if your duplicate functions, it may answer a lot of questions." "Does it appear to have... ..all your parts?" "Completely, sir." "Will..." "Will we know how to turn it on?" "Alright." "Legitimate questions need not be asked apologetically." "You feel uncomfortable about your duplicate." "We feel uncomfortable, too, for no logical reason." "If it's awkward to be reminded that Data is a machine, remember that we are merely a different variety of machine." "In our case, electrochemical." "Let's handle this as we would anything else." "Agreed, Captain." "Let's begin with you, Data." "Well, sir, a good starting point may be why was I given human form?" "To make it easier for humans to relate to you." "Maybe your designer had something else to prove." "That human-shaped robots need not be clumsy or limited." "You operate as well as we do, Data." "Better, in some ways, sir." "Look at this." "Could be a link to the disappearance of the colonists." "It was displayed in the lab." "It could be a child's imagination, but several children did similar drawings." "Dr Crusher to the Captain." "We very much need Mr Data's help." "He's on his way, Doctor." "Is the synthomometer reading positive or negative?" "Press your fingers there." "There." "It operates almost as a switch." "And these small projections?" "An android alarm clock." "Is that amusing?" "They time how long I remain unconscious." "Are you certain about us using these heating devices?" " I will feel nothing at all." " Marvellous." "It should be simpler once we see how your circuitry is connected." "I won't mention it to anyone." "You have my word." "If you had an off switch, Doctor,... ..would you not keep it secret?" "I guess I would." "Notice the micro-circuitry here." "And here." "And another fibroid-like connection here." "Let's close up." "It seemed to go well, thanks to a look inside Mr Data." "But there are no signs of consciousness yet." "It certainly is a good match for Data." "Do you think so, really?" "I wonder which was made first." "He was." "But they found him to be imperfect, and I was made to replace him." "You may call me Lore." "But I am also troubled by it describing you as imperfect." "Human language gives me difficulty, too." "It could mean I lack certain abilities he possesses." "I wonder." "But the point is, whether you and it have the same capabilities." "We do, sir." "And your referring to him as "it"" "suggests that I, too, fit into the category of a thing." "I see your point." "My apologies." "Gladly accepted, sir." "As for Lore's abilities, his syntax and grammar suggests he was given human memories like mine." "You have equal strength and mental abilities?" "I believe so, sir." "Which requires that I now ask a very serious question." "Since the two of you are so closely related to each other..." "The answer, sir, is that my loyalty is to you." "And Starfleet." "Completely." "Thank you, Commander." "I was certain of that." "Helm control is here." "The ship's heading is given in degrees." "360 of them in a full circle this way." " Then you say "mark"." " On the nose." "That separates it from another 360-degree circle this way on a right angle to this one." "By ordering a heading so many degrees this way and so many this way, the ship can travel in all three dimensions." "The square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle?" "Is equal to the sum of the square of the other two... ..something." "Which I once heard, but never understood." "You'll learn more when the Captain approves your being on the bridge." "Have I committed an offence?" "You will find many rules on starships that must be learnt." "You're very clever, Wesley." "I now have duties to perform." "Correct?" "Were you ever this anxious to please, Data?" "Never." "I judge Lore to be superior in that desire." "Because I was designed to be so human, my brother." "I enjoy pleasing humans." ""My brother"." "That has a nice sound to it, Data." "You consider it important to please humans?" "It's not important?" "There are many things of importance." "Some more than others." "Cmdr Riker's hypotenuse question tricked you into showing your knowledge was greater than you were indicating." "He didn't seem that clever." "I'll be more careful." "You tend to underestimate humans." "Praising young Wesley on the helm..." "A child!" "He has a child's body." "But we have found him to be much more." "Thank you for that information, too." "You do care about how I perform." "I pledge to be worthy of your teaching, my brother." "Try not to be jealous of my abilities." "What information are you requesting?" "Everything available on a Dr Noonien Soong." "Good old often-wrong Soong." "A joke, brother." "Actually, he was a genius by human standards." "But he destroyed his reputation by making wild promises about his positronic brain design." "Almost all of which failed." "Promises he later proved to be true." "Which made you and me possible, brother." "Our beloved father!" "Will I soon have a uniform like that, brother?" "I got mine after four years at the Academy, three as ensign," "Ten or 1 2 on space duties at lieutenant grade..." "A system designed to compensate for limited human ability." "And you, brother, are beginning to think as a human." "You and I are completely different from them." "Are you truly satisfied with the knowledge and memory of a few hundred human colonists?" "Suppose it could reflect thousands?" "Or millions?" "Or the knowledge of hundreds of millions of life forms of every kind?" "How?" "We will discuss that in time." "And will we also discuss, Lore, which of us was constructed first?" "It would be foolish... ..to underestimate you, brother." "Yes, I lied when I said you were made first, but with good reason." "Dr Soong made me perfect in his first attempt." "But he made me so human, the colonists became envious of me." "You lived with the colonists?" "Until they petitioned Soong to make a more... comfortable," "less... perfect android." "In other words, you brother." "Haven't you noticed how easily I handle human speech?" "I use their contractions." "For example, I say "can't" or "isn't"." "You say "cannot" and "is not"." "A very old joke." "But you also have trouble with their humour." "Am I right?" "Quite true." "I keep trying to be more human, and keep failing." "Do you realise,... brother,... ..l can help you become more human?" "And do you realise, Lore, that I am obligated to report all this to our ship's Captain?" "I assumed as much when I began studying you." "May I use this to learn more about this vessel and its customs?" "Use it to describe your time among the colonists, including all you know about what happened to them." "I promise a report of great detail and accuracy." "Thank you, Lore." "I now have duties to perform." "Unless you need something more." "I have more than I dreamed possible, brother." "Captain's log, stardate 41242.5." "Thanks to Lore's report, we now know what happened to the colonists." "Using a child's drawing, enhanced by Lore's description, our computer constructed the image of a great crystalline entity which feeds on life, insatiably ravenous for the life force in living forms, capable ofstripping all life from an entire world." " How did Data escape?" "Or Lore?" " Lore had been disassembled." "He explained it as jealousy from the colonists." "Data wasn't yet alive." "Data could be left out in no danger from that creature." "Whatever happened to the colonists, he'd be found by the first crew to respond to his signal." "So Dr Soong left proof that his experiment did work." "Captain, how believable do you find that crystal thing?" "With so little of even our galaxy explored, it is at least possible." "Data, are you expecting Lore to come up here?" " He left your quarters." " To go...?" "My turbo sensors say he went to deck four." "Worf?" "He examined some work tools and fine-grind quadratanium." "Which is used in our construction." "That compound is no more suspicious than a human looking for an ointment." "But I should check it out." "You're watching everything he does?" "ls that the act of a brother?" "It's the act of a Starfleet officer obeying his Captain." "Captain?" "Speaking strictly as Security Chief, how much can you trust Data now?" "I trust him completely." "But everyone should realise that that was a legitimate security question." "Thank you, sir." "Lesson number one in becoming more human." "You must observe all human customs." "Champagne?" "An ancient ritual practised when they observe events of importance." "My brother, I toast our discovery of each other." "May it fill our lives with new meaning." "I have some doubts about the value of human customs... in this..." "My brother!" "And let us toast, also, Dr Soong,... ..who gave me the full richness of human needs and ambitions." "A perfect match for my mind, my body." "Brother..." "And let us toast, also,... ..the Great Crystal Entity, with whom I learned to communicate." "Before Dr Soong disassembled me," "I earned its gratitude by revealing the way to the colonists." "Imagine its gratitude when I give it the life on this vessel!" "This is strange, sir." "I show Cmdr Data transmitting on a subspace channel." "I know Data's been researching Dr Soong's background." "Let's be sure." "Would you look in on Cmdr Data?" "Discreetly?" "Yes, sir." "Crystal Entity." "Upon arriving here, you can identify me as the machine named Data." "End of message." "Come in, please." "Glad you are here." "Lore attacked me." "I had to turn him off." "Why did he do that, Data?" "He discovered we have been using sensors to follow what he does." "I practised his facial tic." "Do I have it right?" "I'd suggest you forget imitating him." "If you'd said "we've" instead of "we have"," "I might have suspected you were Lore." "Yes." "I do use language more formally than Lore." "Please inform the Captain I will come to report this." "Aye, sir." "Wes, tell me again how Data said he immobilised Lore." "He told me he just turned him off, Mom." "Doctor." "Question, Mr Data." "Did you not swear me to secrecy about your off switch?" "A change of mind." "If I cannot trust the bridge crew, whom can l?" "Captain, bogey coming in on a five o'clock tangent." "No ID signal, Captain." " Main viewer on tangent." " Shields up." "Yellow alert." "Friendly greetings all languages, all frequencies." "I can't believe it can overtake us this fast." "Beautiful, isn't it?" "I recognise it, sir." "It's the crystal image Lore described." "My God!" "Still no ID, sir." "Also no answer to our inquiries." "Did you get a direct look?" "It's like a giant snowflake, but more complex." "The entire electromagnetic spectrum is inside it." " But I've no idea what it is." " Thank you." "Data." "Anything else that Lore could tell us may be important." " Can you control and question him?" " I must examine him." "Captain." "Recommend that you do not let him roam the ship freely." "Ensign?" "Wesley is being alert and responsible." "Something to be encouraged." "Come." "You can watch everything I do." "Not if I have a choice." "Enough!" "When addressing a senior officer..." "As his trainer, it's my fault." "You will show proper respect." "I will accompany you to make certain." "With your approval, sir." "Be careful of Lore." "Good." "He is still unconscious." "Notice the same twitch, even though he is unconscious?" "Stay back." "We may have problems if he senses someone else is near." "I have a few questions to ask you." "Lore, it is Data!" "He senses you." "I cannot control him if you stay." "I will record what he says." "Bring it to the bridge immediately." "And you want to be as stupid as them, dear brother?" " Well, Number One?" " It was Lore, sir." "Same facial twitch." "Lying unconscious as Data described." "It became violent, apparently sensing Wesley and I..." "Or is it Lore pretending to be Data and faking it?" "I asked for Cmdr Riker's report, Acting Ensign Crusher." "If you can't accept the limits of that appointment..." "Captain!" "Deflector shields holding." "Torpedoes and main phasers to ready." "Go to red alert, please." "Weapons ready, sir." "No, Captain, let me talk to it." "You didn't say you could do that." " Affirmative." "Talk to it." " Open hailing frequencies." "Crystal form, I identify myself as Data." "Advising you to stop your attack." "The humans here are powerful." "Capable of injuring or even destroying you." "Now, I call that communicating!" "Suggest moving fast to confirm what I told it." "Permission to use the large transporter in cargo room three to beam up some living pattern." "Perhaps a large tree." " Which you'll beam to the entity?" " Correct, Riker." "Ship's phasers will then disintegrate it, proving we are dangerous." "Make it so." "Sir?" "Do it." "Sir, I know this may finish me as Acting Ensign..." "Shut up, Wesley!" " Let me know what he does." " Aye, sir." ""Shut up, Wesley"?" "!" "Doctor..." "Since I am finished here, may I say..." "Shut up, Wesley!" "..that what I have said would've been listened to if it came from an adult officer!" "Permission to go to my quarters, sir." "Agreed." "Doctor, go with him." "You're putting me off the bridge?" "I'm asking you to keep an eye on your son during this." "Emergency, close!" "Now, show me your warrior fierceness!" "I'll look." "But I shouldn't have let you talk me into this." "It's Data!" "He's been hurt." " You know how to turn them on." " This is very serious!" "So, just tell me to "Shut up, Wesley", and I will." "You're being very unfair, Wes." "Data!" "The crystal thing is outside the ship." "Lore is loose on the inside." "How badly are you hurt?" "I will function sufficiently..." "to stop Lore." "Crystal Entity form,... ..it's your old friend." "Very good." "You've understood perfectly so far." "Next, I will signal that I'm transporting something out." "The deflector shields will turn off for a moment, and if you move in at that time..." "How sad, dear brother." "You make me wish I were an only child." "Then why this marvellous gift?" "The troublesome little man-child." "Are you prepared for the death you've earned, little man?" "If you take one more step towards my son..." "Motherhood!" "Back off, or I'll turn your little man into a torch." "I promise him exquisite pain unless you obey me, too, brother." "Move away, Data." "Please!" "Do you see now the advantages of being completely human?" "It includes kindness." "I give you your life, Doctor." "Go home." "Quickly." "And I may not injure your son at all." "I will stay with Wesley." "Go!" "Or he'll be shrieking by the count of five." "One, two,... ..three,... ..four..." "Thank you for my human qualities, Dr Soong!" "Wait!" "A small payment for your son's misdeeds." "The transporter!" "Wesley, now!" "Lore's gone, sir." "Permanently." "Doctor, now that Wesley's safe, go to sickbay at once." "Captain, the crystal thing has begun to move away." "Are you alright?" "Yes, sir." "I'm fine." "Get rid of that damn twitch and put on the correct uniform." "Yes, Captain." " Are you able to return to duty?" " Yes, sir." "Then do so." "Let the bridge know all is well here." "Aye, sir." "It's gone, sir." "Without Lore, it couldn't reach us." "We're overdue a computer refit." "Do you ever wonder if Data is more human or less human than we want?" "I wish we were all as well balanced, sir." "Agreed."