Noonien Soong

Meticulous reclusive obsessive Reclusive meticulous authoritative legacy-defining Innovative intellectually influential pioneering Visionary Paternal visionary

Noonien Soong stands as a pioneering cyberneticist whose genius birthed the positronic brain project and the android Data. Revered for his groundbreaking work in artificial intelligence, Soong's legacy emerges tangibly through the discovery of a human-shaped mold matching Data’s exterior and disassembled android parts hinting at a sibling. His scientific mastery and deep personal connection to his creations infuse the narrative with a profound tension between machine and identity, as his presence casts a long shadow over Data’s search for self and the ethical dilemmas surrounding synthetic life.

4 appearances

Artificial Intelligence and Cybernetics

Noonien Soong's Journey

A timeline through the narrative

4 moments

S1E14 · Datalore

Discovery of Data’s Exterior Mold and the Unassembled Duplicate

Not present to display emotion but casts an intellectual and moral shadow over the scene.

Doctor Noonien Soong is referenced as the original creator of Data and the pioneer behind the positronic brain project. Though absent physically, his scientific legacy and personal involvement profoundly shape …

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S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

Data Refuses: Picard Confronts the Moral and Legal Gap

Not present; functions as an implied authority whose legacy compels action.

Mentioned by Nakamura as the creator whose techniques Maddox seeks to duplicate; functions as an offstage authority invoked to justify the scientific stakes.

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S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

Turning Off the Witness

Not present; treated as clinical authority whose workmanship defines Data's ontological category.

Referenced by Riker as Data's creator—the name is invoked to establish authorship, authority, and provenance; Soong himself does not appear but his existence drives the prosecution's narrative framing.

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S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

The Switch: Riker Powers Data Down

Not present; referenced as an authoritative origin figure shaping others' beliefs.

Doctor Noonien Soong is invoked in testimony as Data's creator; his identity is used to anchor the prosecution's argument that Data is 'made' and thus a constructed object rather than …

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