Object

Data's Cannibalized Servocircuit

A palm‑sized servocircuit module torn from the interior of Data's forearm: a lattice of microactuators, braided flex‑ribbons, plated contact pins and a ceramic substrate streaked with lubricant and tool marks. The component bears evidence of violent extraction—bent leads, exposed traces and a faint blue luminescence when powered—and is handled with clinical purpose by Data while Ard'rian watches, equal parts fascinated and horrified. Characters use the part directly, wiring it into a phaser assembly to restore function in hostile hyperonic conditions.

2 appearances

Purpose

To serve as a replacement/control servocircuit—recalibrating and recollimating phaser output so the weapon will operate reliably within hyperonic radiation environments.

Significance

Functions as the literal, tangible cost of Data's escalation: the physical sacrifice that converts persuasion into provocation. The improvised servocircuit enables Data's ultimatum, forcing colony leadership into an ethical confrontation about survival and pride and marking a decisive turning point in the conflict.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S3E2 · The Ensigns of Command

Data Tears Himself Apart to Make a Demonstration

Data's cannibalized servocircuit is physically removed from his forearm, examined and reconfigured as the core stabilizing element in the phaser assembly. Narratively, it functions as the literal price Data pays—his own components become the instrument of coercion.

Before: Installed inside Data's forearm as an internal servocircuit and neural subprocessor, integral to his limb's normal operation.

After: Removed from Data's forearm, reconfigured and integrated into the jury‑rigged phaser; the original module is now external and altered.

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S3E2 · The Ensigns of Command

Data's Aqueduct Ultimatum

Data physically extracts a palm-sized servocircuit from his own forearm and repurposes it as the key adaptive component for a phaser, turning his internal hardware into the operative element that compensates for hyperonic interference.

Before: Installed within Data's forearm as an integral servocircuit, intact and functioning as part of his neural/actuator system.

After: Removed from Data's forearm, visibly damaged from extraction but repurposed and integrated into the phaser assembly; no longer part of Data's internal structure.

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