The Singing Stone — Data's Quiet Farewell
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Data materializes carrying the sleeping Sarjenka, carries her to her bed, tucks her in, and presses the silent Elanin Singer Stone into her hand, causing it to begin singing—a quiet, tender act of connection that transforms the stone from a mute object into a symbol of his longing for human emotion.
Data opens the wall to reveal the now-quiet volcano, a visual confirmation of the Enterprise’s success—then instantly closes it in response to anxious voices, suppressing external chaos to protect the fragile peace he has secured for the child.
Data hurries to the center of the room, touches his insignia, and dematerializes—his silent, deliberate departure leaves the singing stone in Sarjenka’s hand as the only trace of his presence, sealing the irreversible cost of his compassion.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Peaceful and untroubled on the surface due to sleep; implicitly fragile given the surrounding catastrophe.
Sarjenka lies asleep and vulnerable; she is carried, tucked under the covers, and given the Elanin stone which begins to sing in her palm, providing comfort she receives unconsciously as she sleeps.
- • Remain safe and comforted (physiological goal).
- • Maintain a sense of security through tactile reassurance (the singing stone) even without conscious memory.
- • Relies on caregivers to provide safety (implicit in sleep).
- • Physical comforts (like a warm bed or a singing object) can soothe fear even if she cannot consciously process them.
Quietly mournful and focused — outwardly precise but internally registering the weight of intervention and loss.
Data materializes in the room carrying Sarjenka, lays her in the bed, folds her hand around the Elanin stone until it sings, briefly opens the wall to reveal the calmed volcano, then quickly touches his insignia and dematerializes.
- • Provide immediate comfort and reassurance to Sarjenka through a tangible, private gift.
- • Confirm and silently communicate the success of the Enterprise's rescue efforts before leaving.
- • Avoid prolonged presence or further violation of local boundaries by exiting quickly and cleanly.
- • Small, compassionate actions can matter even when larger ethical questions remain unresolved.
- • His physical presence is both a comfort and a potential contamination of the culture, so stealth and minimal trace are necessary.
- • Demonstrable technical results (the quiet volcano) will justify or at least explain the intervention to distant observers.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Data touches his Starfleet insignia to trigger dematerialization at the close of the scene. The insignia functions as the practical mechanism enabling his clandestine exit, converting the intimate moment into a silent vanishing act.
The Enterprise sickbay-style bed functions here as Sarjenka's immediate refuge: Data lifts the child onto it, tucks her in, and positions her to receive the Elanin stone. The bed visually and physically anchors the intimate, private farewell scene.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Sarjenka's private room on Drema Four serves as the stage for a clandestine, intimate act of mercy. It contains the bed, the wall that opens onto the volcano, and the hush of sleep; it converts abstract ethical debate into an emotionally specific moment.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Data's clinical answer that 'many things we desire but will never receive' directly echoes in the final moment, when he places the Elanin Singer Stone—something that sings for her but not for him—in her hand. The stone is the only thing that satisfies her impossible wish, and he, the machine, gives it to her anyway."
"Pulaski sedating Sarjenka in Sickbay is the moment the child is erased—but the final scene, where Data places the same Stone in her hand as she sleeps, reverses the violence: the stone, which she so desperately wanted to share, becomes her only link to a memory soon to be stolen. The same object becomes both comfort and memorial."
"Sarjenka’s emotional vulnerability—whispering why she waited alone—mirror's Data’s silent, mechanical departure at the end. She reaches out to comfort him as a child; he, in turn, removes himself like a ghost. Their interaction is one of unspoken sorrow: she feels, he remembers, and both are left alone."
"Sarjenka’s emotional vulnerability—whispering why she waited alone—mirror's Data’s silent, mechanical departure at the end. She reaches out to comfort him as a child; he, in turn, removes himself like a ghost. Their interaction is one of unspoken sorrow: she feels, he remembers, and both are left alone."
"Sarjenka’s emotional vulnerability—whispering why she waited alone—mirror's Data’s silent, mechanical departure at the end. She reaches out to comfort him as a child; he, in turn, removes himself like a ghost. Their interaction is one of unspoken sorrow: she feels, he remembers, and both are left alone."