Parenthood and Custodial Rights
At the story's emotional core is a clash between familial claim and institutional custody. Data asserts a parental relationship with Lal, arguing that continuity of care and mentorship — not just technical custody — determine what's best for an emergent mind. Starfleet's opposing view frames Lal as a research subject to be sequestered for safety. The scenes interrogate what it means to be a 'parent' when the child is an artificial being and how rights, responsibilities, and social recognition are conferred.
Events Exemplifying This Theme
In the corridor outside Data's lab a tight, secretive moment explodes into revelation: Geordi, Wesley and Troi are ushered in to find Data kneeling over a newly assembled, primitive android—Lal. …
The scene opens with Picard's sterile captain's log establishing sector 487 and noting Riker's absence, a bureaucratic anchor that quietly creates a command gap. Geordi, Wesley and Troi follow Data …
In the ready room Picard calmly pulls back the curtain on Admiral Haftel’s true purpose: he wants Lal moved to the Daystrom Institute for study. Data, stunned, frames the move …
In the Ready Room Picard frames Admiral Haftel's visit as more than bureaucratic oversight: Haftel intends to remove Lal to the Daystrom annex. Data quietly but fiercely rejects the idea, …
In Ten-Forward Lal mimics the flirting she has just observed and, guided by Guinan's demonstrations, deliberately pulls Riker into a startling, literal kiss. The moment crescendos as Data arrives and, …
In a crystalline confrontation inside the lab, Data states that Lal carries the sum of his programming and reveals an unexpected difference—she uses contractions—turning a technical demonstration into a moral …
Admiral Haftel arrives to seize Lal, invoking institutional caution and the irrefutable danger of two Soong-type androids aboard a starship. Data publicly refuses to relinquish her, framing his role in …