Object

Starbase Mainframe Computer

A cavernous, rack-lined mainframe at Starbase 173: towering banks of isolinear trays and crystalline data cores pulse with cold blue light while cooling ducts whisper. A nearby operator console provides access for large-memory transfers and forensic routines. Maddox targets this system to receive and analyse Data's core-memory dump; Picard watches with clenched restraint as institutional procedures prime the machine. The unit's sterile hum, ample storage arrays, and diagnostic subsystems mark it as a powerful research repository under Starfleet control.

3 appearances

Purpose

To receive, store, and run diagnostic and forensic analysis on large-scale data transfers (including an android's core-memory dump), serving as the starbase's central research and archival infrastructure.

Significance

Functions as the concrete locus of custody and threat: the engineered destination for Data's memory, the technological instrument through which Maddox enacts his study, and the institutional object that converts ethical debate into enforceable procedure. Its control determines whether Data remains a person or becomes subject to dissecting analysis.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

3 moments

S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

Maddox Declares Disassembly; Orders Transferred

The starbase mainframe is invoked as the remote repository that will receive Data's core-memory dump and run forensic analysis—its mention converts a local medical procedure into a jurisdictional transfer requiring Starfleet cooperation.

Before: Operational at Starbase 173, available as institutional research infrastructure but not yet engaged with Data's memory.

After: Targeted and reserved in principle as the designated analysis repository pending Data's reassignment and physical transfer.

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S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

Filament Doubts and Transfer Orders

The Starbase mainframe is referenced as the target repository for Data's memory dump and the analytic engine where Maddox intends to replicate Soong's work—functioning as the off‑ship infrastructure required to process and store Data's experiential data.

Before: Operational at Starbase 173, ready as an available research resource.

After: Identified as the destination for Data's memory-dump and analysis pending Data's transfer.

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S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

Transfer Orders: From Debate to Decree

The starbase mainframe is named as the repository where Data's core memory will be dumped and analyzed; it functions as the technical destination that enables Maddox's proposed forensic work and institutional control over Data's internal data.

Before: At Starbase 173, operational and capable of receiving large memory dumps.

After: Designated to receive Data's core memory pending the transfer; slated to become a research asset containing that data.

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