Discovery and Doubt: The Unassembled Android and the Question of Identity
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Picard narrates the discovery of an unassembled android on Data's home planet and the crew's urgent hope to understand its origins before the ship departs.
Data watches the medical and engineering teams working on the android parts, his face reflecting hope and longing, while Beverly Crusher shows sympathetic understanding.
Beverly summons Data to a debriefing, prompting him to consult with Chief Engineer Argyle about the feasibility of assembling the android.
Argyle reveals uncertainty about the android's construction despite recognizing similarity to Data's parts; Beverly and Argyle hint at the need to compare the new android with Data himself, leading to uneasy hesitation.
Data acknowledges the difficult implication of their plans and exits, leaving the crew to grapple with the complexities of his own origins and identity.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Calm and focused, performing her duty without emotional distraction despite the tense implications.
Lieutenant Natasha Yar delivers the subspace message to Picard professionally, connecting Starfleet’s order to command and facilitating the shift in mission focus.
- • Relay Starfleet communications accurately
- • Support command decisions through timely information
- • Starfleet orders are absolute and must be passed on
- • Efficient communication is essential for mission success
Annoyed by the forced interruption but composed; contemplative about the limited time to uncover Data’s origins and reluctant acceptance of Starfleet's authority.
Captain Picard receives the subspace message with visible annoyance but maintains composure. He questions Starfleet’s decision yet ultimately issues a decisive order to redirect the Enterprise to Starbase Armus Nine for the computer upgrade, balancing duty with personal frustration.
- • Comply with Starfleet orders to upgrade the ship’s computer systems
- • Maximize remaining time to investigate Data’s origins before departure
- • Starfleet directives override personal mission priorities
- • Uncovering Data’s origins is critical but secondary to Starfleet operational mandates
Alert and composed, prepared to respond to any emerging threats despite the current focus on procedural changes.
Worf stands at his post on the bridge, maintaining security vigilance during the shift in mission priorities, representing steady presence amid operational realignment.
- • Maintain security on the bridge
- • Support command through readiness
- • Security is paramount during all mission phases
- • Discipline preserves order during uncertainty
Hopeful yet anxious, yearning for answers about identity and feeling vulnerable amid the unknown risks posed by the android’s assembly.
Data watches the assembly process with a mix of hope and anxious longing, seeking understanding of his origins. He engages in dialogue about the android's potential functionality and consents to a cautious plan to compare it with himself without disassembly.
- • Gain insight into his own origins through the android
- • Ensure his own safety during comparisons and investigations
- • The unassembled android holds clues to his creation
- • His existence and integrity must be preserved during study
Calm and authoritative, showing confidence in executing orders while managing crew dynamics with quiet control.
Commander Riker supports Picard’s reluctant decision, effectively silencing Wesley’s further input and promptly commanding the ship to leave orbit, demonstrating steady leadership and tactical focus.
- • Ensure compliance with Starfleet orders without delay
- • Maintain smooth operational command and crew discipline
- • Swift action is necessary to avoid operational disruption
- • Chain of command and crew order must be preserved
Hopeful but restrained; eager to contribute but recognizing the limits imposed by senior officers.
Wesley Crusher offers technical insight about the Bynars’ unique availability and capabilities but is quickly silenced by Riker, reflecting his youthful eagerness tempered by the realities of command.
- • Provide useful technical information regarding the upgrade
- • Support the captain’s decisions with factual details
- • Technical knowledge is essential to mission planning
- • Respect for chain of command is necessary despite personal enthusiasm
Focused and quietly supportive, aware of the technical necessity of the Bynars’ computer upgrade and its impact on the mission.
Geordi La Forge remains at his bridge station, providing technical context implicitly through his presence; he listens as the subspace message is received and the upgrade order is discussed.
- • Monitor and prepare for the upcoming computer upgrade
- • Support command decisions with technical expertise
- • The Bynars are uniquely qualified to perform this upgrade
- • Technical operations must align with Starfleet directives
Measured and careful, balancing optimism for success with the recognition of technical and ethical uncertainties.
Chief Engineer Argyle leads the technical assembly of the unactivated android, expressing thoughtful caution about the unknowns of its construction and discussing tentative plans to compare it to Data without disassembling him.
- • Assemble the android accurately
- • Avoid harming Data while facilitating a safe comparison
- • The android’s construction shares components with Data
- • Technical caution prevents potential damage or harm
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The unassembled android, comprising various advanced synthetic components identical to those within Data, serves as the focal point of the medical and engineering teams’ assembly efforts in Sickbay. Its reassembly symbolizes a fragile hope for understanding Data’s origins while embodying profound existential questions about synthetic life and identity.
The ship's computer upgrade acts as the immediate external mandate that forces the Enterprise to abandon its orbit and curtails the crew’s investigation into Data’s origins. Its necessity creates tension between duty to Starfleet and the crew’s personal quest for discovery.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Main Bridge serves as the command nexus where the crew receives the pivotal Starfleet subspace message, processes the forced mission redirection, and executes the order to leave orbit. It is the scene of dynamic command decisions balancing authority, frustration, and procedural compliance.
Enterprise Sickbay functions as the setting for the delicate and emotionally charged assembly of the unactivated android. It is a clinical space where medical precision meets profound ethical uncertainty, highlighted by the presence of advanced operating tables and integrated technical equipment.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Discovery of multiple android parts in the colony leads to attempts to assemble the new android onboard, setting up the critical plot of Lore's emergence."
"Discovery of multiple android parts in the colony leads to attempts to assemble the new android onboard, setting up the critical plot of Lore's emergence."
"Discovery of multiple android parts in the colony leads to attempts to assemble the new android onboard, setting up the critical plot of Lore's emergence."
"Discovery of multiple android parts in the colony leads to attempts to assemble the new android onboard, setting up the critical plot of Lore's emergence."
"Starfleet's urgent computer upgrade order interrupts the investigation, leading to the assembly and awakening of the new android, which becomes Lore."
"Starfleet's urgent computer upgrade order interrupts the investigation, leading to the assembly and awakening of the new android, which becomes Lore."
"Starfleet's urgent computer upgrade order interrupts the investigation, leading to the assembly and awakening of the new android, which becomes Lore."
"Picard’s reflection on the newly discovered android and its implications mirrors the crew's later emotional discomfort when Lore integrates aboard the ship, highlighting the human-machine tension."
"Picard’s reflection on the newly discovered android and its implications mirrors the crew's later emotional discomfort when Lore integrates aboard the ship, highlighting the human-machine tension."
"Picard’s reflection on the newly discovered android and its implications mirrors the crew's later emotional discomfort when Lore integrates aboard the ship, highlighting the human-machine tension."
Key Dialogue
"PICARD: "Then, get us there on schedule, Number One. Thank you, Wesley. I'd completely forgotten that.""
"ARGYLE: "It appears to include all the components in your body. Not that we really understand your construction either...""
"BEVERLY: "We'll have our top medical and engineering specialists working on its assembly, Mister Data.""