Data's Dignity and the Shadow of Graves
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Data lashes out at Pulaski's use of the pronoun "it," demanding recognition as a person and forcing Pulaski toward apology before Picard intervenes to steer the conversation back to command business.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Inferred satisfaction at successfully imprinting some control over Data's actions (if consciousness transfer partially succeeded).
Present only through dialogue references—his death medically confirmed but his potential consciousness transfer looming as an unspoken spectral presence through Data's contradictory behavior and sudden focus on honoring his specific funeral wishes.
- • Ensure his funeral arrangements reflect his desired legacy
- • Test the extent of his influence over Data's behavior
- • That ceremony validates intellectual immortality
- • That subtle inconsistencies will escape immediate suspicion
Professionally detached with underlying discomfort when faced with the ethical implications of her word choice regarding artificial lifeforms.
Delivering clinical analysis of Graves' death with scientific detachment, inadvertently provoking Data's outburst through habitual dehumanizing language despite previous reprimands, then retreating into silence when confronted.
- • Provide accurate medical assessment of Graves' terminal condition
- • Maintain clinical objectivity despite interpersonal tensions
- • That biological death follows measurable physiological processes
- • That Data's reaction proves androids cannot properly process human emotions
Strategically concerned—masking growing apprehension about Data's behavior beneath diplomatic questioning.
Navigating dual roles as commander and confidant—visibly unsettled by Data's emotional volatility yet maintaining authoritative composure while probing for signs of genuine grief, ultimately offering reassurances that may inadvertently enable Graves' influence.
- • Determine whether Data requires psychological or technical intervention
- • Preserve stability by validating Data's personhood despite odd behavior
- • That emotional displays from synthetics warrant cautious investigation
- • That premature conclusions could damage trust within the chain of command
Sharply attentive, mentally cataloging irregularities while maintaining outward composure to avoid prematurely alarming others.
Carefully observing Data's inconsistencies, connecting the contradiction between 'swift death' and detailed funeral instructions—his thoughtful chin-stroke telegraphing the first overt suspicion that Graves' consciousness may persist within Data.
- • Assess whether Data's behavior indicates potential security risk
- • Plant subtle seeds of doubt to prompt further investigation
- • That inconsistencies in synthetic beings often indicate deeper malfunctions or manipulations
- • That challenging Data directly might prompt defensive obfuscation
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The report becomes a rhetorical weapon—Pulaski cites its clinical confirmation of Graves' instantaneous death to justify Data's inaction, inadvertently provoking tensions when its neutral language about biological demise conflicts with Data's subsequent emphasis on honoring Graves' carefully planned dying wishes.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Ready Room becomes a psychological interrogation chamber—its contained space intensifying every loaded silence and tonal shift as Data's contradictions mount under scrutiny, with the observation window framing their silhouettes against stars like specimens under examination.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Graves' metaphoric identification with mechanical longing ('If I Only Had A Heart' and 'We're much alike') resonates with Data's philosophical detachment when Picard asks if Graves' death unsettles him—both beats explore mortality, identity, and the blurred human/machine line."
"Graves' metaphoric identification with mechanical longing ('If I Only Had A Heart' and 'We're much alike') resonates with Data's philosophical detachment when Picard asks if Graves' death unsettles him—both beats explore mortality, identity, and the blurred human/machine line."
"Graves' metaphoric identification with mechanical longing ('If I Only Had A Heart' and 'We're much alike') resonates with Data's philosophical detachment when Picard asks if Graves' death unsettles him—both beats explore mortality, identity, and the blurred human/machine line."
"Graves' metaphoric identification with mechanical longing ('If I Only Had A Heart' and 'We're much alike') resonates with Data's philosophical detachment when Picard asks if Graves' death unsettles him—both beats explore mortality, identity, and the blurred human/machine line."
Key Dialogue
"DATA: I am not an "it," Doctor. You have been duly informed of this on several occasions, yet you continue to label me with that abhorrent pronoun."
"DATA: Disturb, Captain? No. All things must pass."
"RIKER: I thought he said death came swiftly. When did Graves have time to make a dying wish?"