#lore data and soji

[fractalcloning]

@my-timing-is-digital

"Okay, so, promise you won't get mad--" Soji prefaced hastily in a way that was just barely ominous. She didn't wait for an answer, she already knew what he was going to say. He wasn't capable of getting mad--though, honestly, she was beginning to think his claims that he didn't experience emotion weren't entirely accurate.

"I wanted to do something special, and I just happened to stumble across the best possible thing--" she continued, practically vibrating. She held out both hands, gesturing for Data to wait right here, and then spun on her heel and darted back to the open door. As she poked her head outside to peek at his gift, her delight shifted to incredulity.

"Are you kidding me!? Five minutes--he couldn't wait five minutes--?" Soji complained in hushed tones down one direction of the hallway. She twisted to look the other way and startled the moment she did. Whoever was there, they earned an exasperated look and a quiet snatch of conversation. "Are you a cat? Wait how did you get to the other side without me seeing--nevermind. Ready?"

The confirmation Soji recieved was either silent or nonexistant--in any case, it hardly mattered in the grand scheme of her excited theatrics. She stepped back from the door to make space and threw her arms wide in a dramatic TA-DA gesture. And... nothing happened, because her uncle was a dyed in the wool contrarian. The moment she dropped her arms to lean through the door again, he sauntered across the threshold easy as you please. Soji's excitement won out over her frustration and she beamed at Data again while gesturing to Lore.

"Happy Birthday!" Soji announced brightly.

"It's true, my presence is a gift," Lore said. "Miss me, brother?"

[fractalcloning]

At some point during his calm account of current events, Dahj's posture shifted unconsciously from obstinate to afraid--arms crossed defiantly over her chest became a way to surreptitiously hold onto herself. Suspicious glowering became more worry than anger. Despite her insistence that she be allowed to go with Picard, that she be on hand to defend him, Dahj was terrified. To herself, she could admit wanting to trail along after him, because he seemed to know what he was doing, seemed stable and kind--but she really, really didn't want to fight anyone, death squad cultists or otherwise. Still--she was furious at being denied and was ready to let him know all about that when he gave her assurances about Picard's safety. They were sending three people down with him? Wait--

"Wait, you aren't going with him?" Dahj asked, her fury wholly undercut by surprise and confusion. "Aren't you like…I don't know…friends?"

From the way Picard had waxed nostalgic about him, it sounded like they were almost family. The old Admiral had pledged himself to her, come hell or high water, based on nothing else but his guess that they were related. The idea that Data would let Picard go into--what did the doctor call it? A den of iniquity? Without accompanying him--? Dahj couldn't quite wrap her head around that.

Then again, if his invitation to play games while they waited was any indication, his priority must have been making sure she didn't pull anything while Picard was away. The suspicion stung, however implied, but it made a sort of pragmatic sense to Dahj. He didn't know her. Why would he leave her on his ship unaccompanied?

Dahj was silent as she considered him but, weirdly, his caution made him more trustworthy and not less. She wouldn't trust herself either. After a long moment Dahj heaved a frustrated sigh and uncrossed her arms. She held up her hands up in a casual sort of mock surrender before dropping them to her sides.

"Fine," Dahj agreed and it pained her dearly to make that concession. There was a beat of silence after she capitulated and, because she couldn't abide people being incorrect, she had to add:

"I'm not--" She drew a deep breath and let it out through her nose, tried to let it carry the rest of her frustration and worry. It mostly worked. "I'm not dangerous, not usually anyway. I'm not really into…jeapordizing lives. I'm a grad student, was a grad student I guess, before the two death squads." Matching his previous inflection was a petty bit of sass but she felt it was not out of line.

"And I am spectacularly bad at chess," Dahj told him. "So we can play but don't expect a challenge."

A preliminary observation pertaining to Dahj's comportment informed him that the present circumstances still confounded her, and that she, regardless of his efforts to ensure her that he was a trustworthy and amicable individual, still administered a significant dose of scepticism and reservation. Perhaps if they could sequester themselves from external stimuli, they could establish a more comprehensive understanding of what motivated the other, become better acquainted with the other's personality... However, the android extrapolated that it might take a considerable amount of time before Dahj would be willing to discuss such matters with a perfect stranger.

For now, Data could do nothing but offer her his undivided attention, and he listened attentively, maintaining his equilibrium throughout the duration of her rampage of falsifications and anxiety. He did not interfere while she verbalised her concerns regarding the Captain. The latter received a minimal ascend of the android's light eyebrows — he sincerely doubted Picard required protection, he had survived many decades in interstellar space, and the crew that accompanied him, was sufficiently competent and could haul him through every situation that would arise.

Data remained irresponsive, contemplating the most adequate avenue to explain to her that they had, in all likelihood, already been transported down to the planet. And even if they had not departed the Warbird yet, he would still forestall her affiliating herself with the team in any way — there were simply too many risks involved. Besides, he had promised Picard to keep her safe, and he could only guarantee her safety when she was with him, on the cloaked Romulan Warbird.

'I understand your eagerness to accompany the Captain and your concern about his wellbeing during this mission however misplaced your concerns may be... In addition, the Zhat Vash regard you as a threat, presumably of the highest category seeing that they deployed a death squad and have assaulted you. Twice. Therefore, I cannot permit you to transport down to the surface — request denied,' he said pragmatically, his euphonious voice was gentle yet pertinacious. 'Perhaps I could placate your perturbed mind by informing you that this is not a solo mission — he is in the company of three competent individuals. I trust they will deliver him back to the ship, his physical integrity wholly conserved,' he reassured Dahj.

Then, his optical units traced the boundaries of the forcefield and he was of opinion that the initiation of the safety measure had been imperative in preventing her from running rampant on the ship, in search of Picard. However, he was cognisant that prolonging her incarceration would not accomplish anything — if anything, it would render her more suspicious of their intentions, and probably more antagonistic.

'I see no further reason to restrict you to the infirmary — we could relocate to the observation lounge, if you would like? However, I am afraid this change of scenes entails being in my presence, indefinitely. Alternatively, I could allocate you to your own personal quarters, but then, I would be obligated to lock the doors lest you break free and accidentally end up jeopardising the lives of everyone we have rescued these last several decades. I cannot allow that, I hope you understand,' Data said composedly, his eyes analysing her countenance inquisitively. 'Personally, I would be... thrilled to get to know you better. Perhaps we could play a game of poker, or three dimensional chess.'

[the-lavender-clown]

Random Star Trek thought that pops into my head every once in a while.

I have the biggest bone to pick with ST Picard! Now I did enjoy the show but I have a lot of critiques for it too. My biggest one by far is how they made it so that Deanna and therefore probably other Betazoids and telepathic/empathic species can’t sense android’s at all. Like the amount of episodes that recons is something else!!

Remember how Deanna wasn’t there for Datalore? Most likely because she would have been able to sense the difference between Data and Lore. But maybe there was a real life reason for that like scheduling or whatever. Ok fine, then what about the episode where Ira Graves possesses Data’s body? Deanna could feel his ego suppressing Data’s (confirming that to at least some extent she can sense Data as well even if his presence might be so weak sometimes she doesn’t pick it up due to his lack of humanoid emotions). Then the episode Offspring. When Lal went to Deanna to tell her what was happening and how scared she was Deanna didn’t even hesitate to believe her and although I can’t remember the exact words of the conversation I’m pretty sure she said something like “you are scared” and was deeply concerned for Lal.

In conclusion, Data totally has an ego no matter how weak/different it is and therefore so does every other android and Deanna should have been able to sense Soji.

[stereogeekspodcast]

Transcript] Season 3, Episode 7. Star Trek: Picard Series Review

Rewatching Star Trek: Picard changed how the Stereo Geeks felt about the show. We reviewed the series and shared our thoughts on it.

Listen to the episode on Spotify.

Hello and welcome to a new episode of Stereo Geeks, and the very first of 2024.

This time, we've been rewatching Star Trek Picard.

I'm Ron.

And I'm Mon.

As big fans of Star Trek, the announcement that Picard was going to get his own little spinoff was exciting, but also a little bit worrying for us.

Well, there's definitely a spate of reprisals, revivals of old stuff, especially 80s, 90s things.

A lot of people who grew up at the time are currently executives and producers of Hollywood.

So obviously, they want to bring back the nostalgia factor.

And let's be honest, nostalgia sometimes works, sometimes doesn't, but it definitely sells.

Let's dig into that a little bit because season one of Picard doesn't actually work with nostalgia as much.

That's true.

There are, of course, moments.

There are cameos, reprisals, et cetera.

There is a through line, however, of Picard and his relationship with Data, his need to get closure for what happened to Data.

So that's the nostalgia factor.

The main storyline, however, even though it is tied to that, doesn't have that nostalgia feeling.

Because when you look at the main storyline, it's actually several different stories.

So we start off with the fact that Picard misses Data.

That's literally the first scene.

And you get the feeling that this is what the season is going to be about.

But then it turns out that Data has android children who are unmistakable from humans, but they don't know their true identity.

Also, we find out the Romulan sun went supernova, leading to a refugee crisis that Picard and Raffi Musiker had to fix.

Then Utopia Planitia and all of Mars was blown up by synths, leading to not only a synth ban, but the end of the refugee resettlement.

And then the Tal Shiar made it into Starfleet somehow.

But also there's a hidden sect of the Tal Shiar called the Zhat Vash and they are trying to fight the return of the synths.

Also, Raffi is now plagued by Romulan conspiracies, but nobody believes her.

Everything that went down on the Ibn Majid never got explained.

Also, who even is Soji and who is Narek?

Oh, and did we mention that Picard misses Data?

When you put it like that, that seems like a lot, but I'm gonna say something very controversial here. Well, at least it's controversial on this podcast.

From the three seasons of Star Trek Picard, I have to say season one is the most cohesive and best made.

Season two is a mess.

Season three is a nostalgia fest that is not always well-written, but that doesn't mean that I don't love season two, adore season three and still can't stand season one.

The first time I watched season one, I didn't like it. Straight up didn't like it.

First time I watched season two, I loved it except for the last episode.

First time I watched season three, I adored everything.

When we rewatched it, I liked what season one was doing. I liked the concepts. I liked all the lore that it had.

It was really digging into the Star Trek universe, but it was not long enough.

10 episodes and all that was there.

And I'm not even touching on all the interconnected parts.

Like there was a whole thing about Agnes Jurati, Bruce Maddox, Seven of Nine and her history.

All that was in there.

It should have been at least 15-16 episodes.

That would have given us enough time to actually understand how all these things are interconnected.

And it would have given the characters a bit more time to shine.

Season 2, perfectly compact.

10 episodes, every episode mattered.

It gave the characters their spotlight.

Picard got an entire wonderful arc that honestly has been waiting for quite a while to be resolved.

And season 3, 10 episodes, nostalgia.

That's it.

But yes, I agree that season 1 was the most cohesive because it felt like real science fiction.

But it was just too muddled and way too many plot points just got dropped at the end.

I think my biggest issue with season 1, and I feel like this even on the rewatch, is that there are a bunch of characters who are just so annoying that you hate it whenever they're on screen.

And every time it cut away to their stories, if you would call it that, I would just be switching off.

Mostly the Romulans.

Narek, Narissa, Commodore Oh.

I agree with you that that was the part which was muddled.

Who are they?

What are their motivations?

Because it's not signposted or elucidated at the beginning, they just seem like these very caricatured old school baddies who don't make any sense.

There's also a sort of old fashioned way of how they're presented, how they interact and the things that they do.

So that really annoyed me.

The crew of La Sirena themselves, they were great.

They were really interesting.

But yeah, it was just every time they had to interact.

And there was that entire plot line with Narek, for example, which sort of we never came back to that.

He sort of disappears in the final episode.

And then it's like, oh, okay, what happened with this guy?

That's a really good point, because Soji and Narek, that whole relationship, if you can call it that, it just felt shoehorned in, like, we have to make these characters interact.

So let them just have a love affair.

Soji just felt so very born sexy yesterday, that kind of thing.

It didn't do her any justice.

The biggest mistake the first season made was making Soji and Picard's meeting happen only in episode seven.

That's way too late.

These are the two main characters of this season.

They should be meeting way earlier.

I feel like Soji as a character, she really became more of a catalyst and a plot point.

Well, she gets dropped first episode of season two.

So she was never really supposed to be, I guess, part of the actual crew, which is sad because, I mean, Issa Briones is really good.

I mean, you reminded me that she was like 19 or 20 when she did this.

She holds her own and she plays so many different characters in the first season as well.

But I agree because there are so many fleshed out points for the other characters, especially, with Cristobal Rios, the captain of La Sirena.

I know there's an entire book, so we've read that book, but I just felt like they had a plan or a hope or something that this character who is so complicated and so emotionally needy, there was just so much that we could have explored with this person, especially in his capacity as someone who knows Picard, who looks up to Picard, who becomes trapped in Picard's spell, if you would.

I really felt like there was a lot going on there.

So there's a character like him where you know so much about his background.

You know, with Raffi, there is so much that we are learning about her and we continue to learn about her throughout the three seasons.

And then there's Soji who is signposted as this very important character.

We don't really know much about her.

Her importance is really her connection to Data and how Picard deals with that.

She's just a plot point.

It's really disappointing.

And in the end, it's not even about Soji's heritage.

Bruce Maddox apparently used a painting that Data made as the blueprint to make these androids with Alton Soong.

Data wasn't even involved at all, so that through line doesn't even work, which is a bit unfair on the character of Soji.

I think one of the problems with the entire show has been it keeps leaning on these historical moments which don't take place on screen.

The Romulan Supernova, for example.

I think the show about that would have been far more interesting.

We do get a lot of that in the books.

So I highly recommend reading The Last Best Hope, Second Self, et cetera, that entire series.

I'm okay with that being off the screen, but stuff like Data's painting of his daughters.

I'm sorry, we never saw him paint that.

There's a lot of stuff in the third season especially, where they talk about this happened and Beverly's talking about Myriad and this and that.

And we're Googling to see, did we miss something from the original TNG series, from the movies, et cetera?

It's all made up.

I mean, I get it, it's all made up.

But not having that sort of through line, that connection, it just doesn't make sense because it's so important.

These people know about it.

And at the same time, we never saw it.

So I really did worry about the writing in a lot of the show, especially on the rewatch when you realize, yeah, it wasn't you forgetting stuff, it just doesn't exist.

Because what is the point of referencing something that hasn't happened in a previous show or any of the tie-in books, comics, whatever, when you know that nobody is really coming into Star Trek Picard as a non-Star Trek watcher?

You can't get into this series without some prior knowledge.

The first season and the extreme focus on Data, it won't make sense to you.

If you already know that people are coming in, having seen TNG and all the TNG related movies, just reference things that have already been in TNG.

People are gonna know it or they are going to Google it.

So the first season, though complicated and overly convoluted with the focus on a lot of weird Romulan people, I really loved the Picard and data connection.

What I missed about the first season, aside from the Picard and Data part, was feeling some emotional connection or just being totally emotional about it.

I got that in season two.

The return of Q, who is unhinged and scary, but the season, the way it ends with Picard and Q, it was surprisingly emotional, wasn't it?

I really liked season two.

It's about time travel, so obviously I'm gonna like it.

And I think it was really compact, not just the storyline, but also the setting.

They went back to 2024 LA and they stayed there for quite a long time.

I love watching fish out of water, Rios, Raffi and Seven trying to interact with the world in the past.

Hilarious.

That whole scene where Seven and Raffi are driving and trying to escape the police, one of the best of the entire show, not just that season.

I really loved it.

And also speaking of the 2024 timeline, the best part of it was season two deals with the real problem of ICE raids and how several communities, especially in the US, well, they live in fear and they don't have access to simple human benefits, like medicines, et cetera.

And it really worked the way they included that, how Rios, who happens to be played by a Chilean actor and he speaks a lot of Spanish, so how that works into it, he doesn't have papers, so what does that mean?

That's probably why, when we first watched the second season, it just blew us away because it went back to the roots of Star Trek.

It's talking about the real world in this fictional, majestic, futuristic world through this lens of utopia.

Well, you go back and it wasn't always utopia and one tiny change in our history could make it worse or better, which is something that is explored in that season.

I really, really like that.

I didn't understand the Borg stuff.

Even on my third rewatch of this series, I don't necessarily think the whole Borg angle needed to be there.

That's really interesting because I like the fact that Picard leans into his experience as Locutus.

I felt like in TNG, they didn't really handle that very well.

This man was taken, assimilated.

He was the mouthpiece of the Borg as they slaughtered so many Starfleet officers at Wolf 359.

We see the impact of that in DS9.

It's the reason why Sisko can't stand Picard.

Starfleet just moves on.

But the show coming back to that over and over again, not just about the impact that it had on the people who died or survived, but on Picard himself.

No, I agree with you.

I like the through line of the Borg being there in all three seasons.

I just don't know if it was handled as well, especially on the third rewatch.

I can have a little bit more distance and a bit more critical thinking.

And I do think it was confused.

Because what does it all mean?

We now have a new faction of the Borg who are good guys, who assimilate after consent.

What are they doing?

Where are they?

How have we not met them in all these years?

I feel like that was a plotline that padded up the story.

This goes back to what I was saying about how season one was the most cohesive.

When you're watching the recaps of season two, and it's so long, it's like two, three minutes long, because they have to pack in all this information.

And it's simply because there are disparate storylines.

They're not interconnected.

So that's my biggest issue.

The Borg stuff, while there is the through line, in hindsight, I just feel like it was too much.

And I think the reason for that is that each season has a different type of Borg.

If it had just been one kind, it would have made a bit more sense.

It would have flowed better from what we've seen before in TNG, in First Contact, but nothing that happens in season one affects season two or season three.

And I feel like the events in season two were primarily a way to phase out the new characters.

So Rios stays back in 2024.

Jurati becomes this other Borg Queen.

Elnor, after being killed, Q brings him back.

So now he's part of Starfleet.

Raffi's the only one who stays on and comes back in season three.

Yeah, and that's also an issue which we talked about probably because we just really love these new characters.

It's not like Rios and Elnor, even Dr. Jurati, who I didn't like in the beginning, but honestly on the rewatch, she was a lot of fun.

They're compelling characters and there's a lot of complicated feelings which we didn't actually get to discuss on the show.

How Picard treats them, how they feel about him.

It's a squandered opportunity.

I say that a lot about this show.

I get it because of what season three becomes.

And when you're watching season three, you don't actually feel the absence because we'll get to that in a moment.

But I do feel like if you introduce these characters and there's so much rich history alluded to, I would have loved to see a little bit more of them.

There was something else that you had written about and that's Picard's very bad attempts at being a father figure to people.

And there is a throughline in each season of Picard just thinking that Starfleet is the answer to everybody's problems.

He gets Raffi back into Starfleet.

He gets Seven back into Starfleet.

He gets Rios back into Starfleet.

He gets Elnor into Starfleet.

He gets Jack into Starfleet.

That's a lot of people.

That's his answer for everything.

Try being a dad for once.

That was something that you pointed out and I was like, surely you're not right.

And then at the end of season three, when Jack Crusher, Picard's unknown long lost son, he turns up and he's suddenly part of the Enterprise.

I was like, oh, okay, you have a point, Ron.

But it's true.

Picard says often, Starfleet was his life, Starfleet was his family.

His best friends, his family, literally are from Starfleet.

So I get why he's sort of mesmerized and he feels like, well, Starfleet fixed his life, gave him what he wanted, which was a family.

And that's what he thinks the people he loves most will also get.

And in a way we find that, well, Starfleet is different for different people.

Starfleet is also different at this time.

And it's something that is somewhat explored in the third season.

Seven, for example, Seven of Nine, she was a Borg, she was rescued, if you could say, by Voyager.

Voyager became her family, her collective.

And the one goal for Voyager, a ship that was stranded in the Delta Quadrant, was to get back to the Alpha Quadrant.

But Seven had no connection to the Alpha Quadrant.

And what happens when she comes back?

Well, that's what we find out.

We find out that she tried to get into Starfleet, but because she's an ex-B, a former Borg, they refused to include her.

I mean, Picard obviously has a lot of influence because in season three, she's the first officer of the Titan, which was Riker's previous ship, but she's not happy because the Starfleet ship that she was on was Voyager, which had nothing to do with Starfleet.

In fact, there are moments in Voyager when Starfleet is able to connect to them once again.

And Captain Janeway does struggle a little bit with the way they speak about some of her crew, with some of the decisions that they make.

It's not fully there because we are talking about 90s TV shows which were a little bit more utopian in their outlook about authority, et cetera.

But we do see that the struggle is real in the newer shows.

Even on Star Trek Prodigy, Vice Admiral Janeway has problems with Starfleet.

They have rules that really don't make sense sometimes.

So we see that with Seven as well.

Picard and Captain Janeway, or rather Admiral Janeway in this timeline, they've convinced her to join Starfleet.

And she's got this chance, but she hates it.

She absolutely hates it.

And I did write about it after the first episode, I think.

She doesn't belong.

She's not doing what she wants.

She's stuck using protocols and rules that don't make sense to her.

And I'm almost a little bit disappointed that in the end, she still has a commission, she's still with Starfleet, and it's supposed to be a big, yay, you know, all our favorite characters are still with Starfleet.

It's like Picard is on a recruitment drive.

He's very good at recruiting people, but is that really the right thing for them?

I find it interesting that the show doesn't hold back from criticizing Picard because his experiences are wildly different from everyone else's.

Raffi especially takes him to task when Elnor is killed.

But the show is still reluctant to call Starfleet out on their nonsense, which is kind of weird, because as you said, the ending is very much a rah-rah happiness.

Seven and Raffi and Jack are now leading the new enterprise, and that's a good thing.

Is it though?

Like Seven was literally resigning until Tuvok showed her Captain Shaw's last message.

One message and that's enough for all the xenophobia that she received from that man?

That doesn't make any sense.

It's funny because one of the last things that Raffi says is, it's weird to her that Starfleet has given a thief, a pirate and a spy a ship of their own, and not just any ship, the Enterprise is still the flagship of Starfleet.

And I do wonder if something like that heralds a change in Starfleet.

Even Captain Liam Shaw, in his recommendation for Seven to become captain, says that she doesn't follow protocols, but she has ideas and she has methods which are different and which do suggest a change, a new way of leading.

And also Gates McFadden, who plays Dr. Beverly Crusher.

Now, I can't remember if she wrote this in a tweet or she talked about this at Fan Expo Canada at the panel that you and I went to.

She talked about how Beverly and her son Jack, they're part of Mariposa, which was the organization that was created by Rios and his partner, Teresa, back in 2024.

They are sort of the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders in the galactic sense.

Now, Beverly and Jack being part of that, helping worlds and peoples who have been forgotten by the Federation and Starfleet.

Gates McFadden mentioned that she wants to explore how Beverly can do that work, even though now she is head of Starfleet Medical.

So it seems to me, behind the scenes and also perhaps through the writing, they're trying to suggest that these people are in Starfleet, but that doesn't mean that Starfleet stays the same.

Considering the sort of world ending stuff that happened, I would like to think that Starfleet will not be the same forever.

That being said, when you read the books about the supernova, it doesn't really show Starfleet and the Federation in very good light.

So I don't know, I just do wonder that are the writers trying to say that, yes, Picard is on a recruitment drive, but maybe for the better?

Well, that's an interesting point.

I hadn't really thought of it like that because the final season, it does seem to be about change, even though it's primarily about the TNG crew who we've seen for many, many years.

That's honestly one of the best parts of it, just seeing that entire group together, the chemistry is just, it's just there.

I remember when we saw Jonathan Frakes at Toronto Comic Con and he was talking about how worried he was when he was coming back and he was like, Sir Patrick Stewart is just on his game, such high quality acting and Frakes was so worried that he wouldn't be able to match up.

And I was like, what is this guy talking about?

He was the best part of that show.

He's so funny, he's so sweet, he's just effortlessly Riker, no matter how many years have passed by.

Yeah, I have to say these characters, you don't even realize you miss them till you see them and you're like, oh wow, I really miss these people.

And we don't even have that kind of connection with TNG, the way we do with Voyager.

And despite that, seeing these actors step back into these roles and the kind of love that they seem to have for these characters, absolutely seamless.

It's brilliant.

And I understand why a lot of people, they can't see beyond how wonderful it is to see these people together.

And that's why it's like the best season ever, this is the best Trek.

Well, we have to be measured in how we approach our entertainment media.

Something can be exactly what we want and it also can have its flaws.

Watching season three, especially we just finished watching it, honestly, I'm like, are there any flaws?

I love this so much.

I'm like tearing up at the TNG theme every time.

Every time these people interact with each other, I'm like, oh my goodness, this is like the best thing.

Geordie telling Data exactly how he feels about him, I'm like tearing up just thinking about it.

And it's so sweet.

And at the same time, I'm like, okay, do we lose a lot because we focus so much on this reunion?

Is that a bad thing?

Is that a good thing?

I don't know.

I just know that, well, the show ends on a high because you're watching this poker game between this family of characters and these actors who have also become a family.

And you can't argue with that.

You can't argue with that feeling.

In so many ways, I just think that this season, I really, really did forget that there were issues with it.

Especially in the beginning part when they're not all together, you're like, oh, okay, I can nitpick a little bit here and there and then buy this penultimate episode when they're all standing on the old enterprise deck.

You're like, this is what I've wanted on my life apparently.

Yeah, and the other thing is that you still got those moments where like, Worf and Raffi, their bond.

There is no preamble to it.

It just happened so quickly, but organically, like that last scene with the two of them together when she's got that message from her family.

And I'm just like, oh my gosh, like the father-daughter bond is just so strong.

I would have loved to see that with other people.

Like there was that scene earlier on when Liam Shaw first meets Geordi and he's like struggling to speak because he's like such a fanboy and he's just like stuttering.

He can't, and Geordi's just standing there like, oh, I'm so used to this.

And you just love those moments, you know?

I would have loved to see more of that with Rios, with Jurati.

I mean, imagine Jurati meeting Data, Jurati meeting Beverly.

Oh my God, those would have been amazing moments.

Like Rios and Riker together.

Why didn't we get that?

I really wish we had, because then that would have made the show feel like it was one continuous story.

I think you've hit upon a very good note, which is that all three seasons feel like three different stories.

And there's a reason for that, because all three seasons had three different showrunners.

Even though Terry Matalas took over for season two, he inherited the previous creators' stories and storylines.

It's like watching an anthology series.

When you have that caliber of acting on your screen, honestly, nothing else matters.

Some things just transcend writing and cohesiveness, honestly.

But the show ends, like the final ending, is a bit of a cliffhanger.

Like it seems like the Enterprise crew is going to go off on these new adventures while their previous Enterprise crew goes off on their old adventures.

And now nothing.

What is that all about?

So the final scene of the show is Q apparently returning, but as he reminds us all, humans think so linearly.

That's not how the continuum works.

He might be dead, but this is another version or a previous version of him.

And he's come to torment Picard's son, Jack Crusher.

I do think that the showrunners, Paramount Plus, whoever is behind these things, included that to gauge if there was any interest in continuing the stories of these characters.

So one has to ask, are we interested in seeing Captain Seven of Nine, Commander Raffi Musiker, consultant to the captain, Ensign Jack Crusher, as well as the LaForge sisters and the rest of the Enterprise crew, maybe some new characters, Admiral Beverly Crusher?

Are we interested in seeing all these people continue in a new show?

Well, for me, the answer is yes, because I want to see more of Seven, I want to see more of Raffi, I want to see their relationship actually on screen instead of, you know, they've broken up, they're together, they're very far apart from each other.

Don't give us two amazing bisexual characters and then be like, yeah, they're not together.

What?

That's the only reason why I need this show.

True, but we need to talk about Jack Crusher.

We can't not talk about this man.

He's sort of the catalyst and the reason all of season three happens.

Unlike Soji, this man is very fleshed out.

He is a personality, a character, a human being, and he evokes complicated feelings in a lot of us.

I just don't know how I feel about this person who creates so much damage, chaos, most likely death.

And at the same time, well, he is Beverly and Picard's son.

And I'm like, you know, he's really cool and he can do all these things and he knows all these things and he has this sort of avant-garde experience and knowledge.

He would be very interesting to follow, alongside, of course, the most important people, Seven and Raffi.

Well, I'm not 100% sold on Ed Speelers as the son of Beverly Crusher and Picard.

I mean, he has the hair.

He has Beverly's hair.

Listen, when I first saw him, I thought, oh, wow, somehow Beverly had another child with Jack Crusher.

And she obviously named him Jack.

But I was like, oh, he's Picard's son?

I don't see the connection, like physically or anything.

He's got the accent, which the bizarre explanation for his accent.

He went to England for a little bit and he came back with the accent.

Really?

Really?

Considering I still say presentation instead of presentation, because I heard Tom Paris say it the one time on Voyager, I forgive him.

But like, he's not supposed to be like Picard.

He has no connection to this man.

He's more like Beverly if she hadn't been stuck on Starfleet, if she hadn't faced loss so early on in her life, if she wasn't a mom who had to keep taking care of her son.

I think, you know, that sort of effervescent, ne'er-do-well, nonchalant sort of personality that he has is very much like how Beverly may have been.

So I feel that.

I just don't understand how we are supposed to like root for a character who's caused all this untold loss and suffering for a lot of people.

In a way, I keep thinking back to Captain Michael Burnham and how she wanted to make something better and ended up causing the Klingon War.

So many people's lives were changed, not just death.

People's lives were changed and she has to reckon with that when she comes back to Starfleet.

And I'm like, how do I feel about that?

We've forgotten about it because she has redeemed herself in so many ways.

She suffered herself as well, but people have made a lot of sacrifices to make sure that she keeps saving the world, basically.

Does Jack deserve that?

I don't know.

If we get a show about the new Enterprise G, we would have to contend with Jack being there.

But also, I think if Jack wasn't Beverly and Picard's son, I don't think that many people would have been allowed to die for him.

That's something to reckon with as well.

He actually says the only reason why he got fast-tracked to Ensign level at Starfleet was because of nepotism.

His parents aren't going to believe that, but Beverly has always had a blind spot for her kids.

When Wesley was part of the team, the Nova Squad, and their teammate died, she refused to believe that Wesley had done anything wrong.

Obviously, she's going to be the same way with Jack, and Picard, he can't see anything wrong with people he loves.

So this kid is going to have to have other people call him out on his nonsense because his parents are not going to do it.

Yeah, I completely agree with you on that because the only way this is going to work if they were to have a show, and I do really want one because I think we just need more Star Trek.

Especially now that Star Trek Discovery is coming to an end, we're going to have the animated properties, Lower Decks is still doing well, Prodigy, I don't know what's going to happen after season two, and we have Strange New Worlds as the only live action.

So yeah, Star Trek Legacy would be great.

Especially a show which brings in the Deep Space Nine characters, characters from other Star Trek properties, their descendants, et cetera.

That would be awesome.

Listen, I need a show where Jake Sisko is a journalist. I need this. It's very important to me.

Very true.

So yeah, I mean, I think we've been really critical about Star Trek Picard, but honestly, on rewatching it, I just fell back in love with the show, even the first season, which I did not like.

I love these characters, the new ones, the old ones.

Love the world that they've created.

I love being back in the Star Trek universe.

And I just wanted to continue.

In a way, I am trying to continue it by reading the books so that I can just hang out with these characters and this world, because we didn't have Star Trek for a really, really long time.

And we tried to fill that void with other stuff.

And now that we do, it's really hard to let go.

I'm currently listening to the entire score of Picard, all three seasons in a playlist.

I can't get out of this mode.

Yeah, I'm not even gonna think about what'll happen once Discovery finishes.

I just don't wanna deal with that right now.

You know, that's a problem for future me.

But yeah, I surprisingly really enjoyed rewatching Star Trek Picard.

I loved it a lot more this time.

I'm going to just feel like it's an anthology series and not like a show that's three consecutive seasons because that might help the enjoyment a little bit more.

But you know what?

It ends on a really happy note.

All our beloved characters are safe.

Some of them are in 2024, but it's okay.

But yeah, it was really fun.

And I really like Star Trek.

Yeah, I mean, you know what?

I would honestly probably make this an annual rewatch.

I'm not even ashamed to say it.

All three seasons annually rewatched.

So that's us talking about our very complicated, sometimes disparate views on Star Trek Picard.

Let us know how you felt about the show.

We are Stereo Geeks and we'll see you at the next episode.

[fractalcloning]

Soji wanted to answer his question, really she did, but between the open oxygen seals and her own labored breathing, the air in the room was well past dangerously thin. She had some kind of gas filling her lungs but drawing enough breath to speak was smothering. She just ended up sputtering and coughing as she watched his glowing eyes in the dark. There was a sharp hiss of fresh oxygen as the plasma torch breached the doors and Soji tried again to say anything. 'Niece' was her first attempt. It wasn't a full answer but that didn't really matter. She only got through the 'nee' syllable before she ran out of air. Her second attempt was marginally more successful--she attempted 'synthetic' and managed, at least, to say 'synth'. But she was pretty sure that hadn't been the operative term when he was put in storage-- She couldn't tell if her vision was going dark but she certainly felt lightheaded.

His fury, upset, and curious indulgence cost enough time that the air was well and truly gone. She was happy that he'd explained himself, even if it had been a terrifying screed in the pitch dark. He'd given them time to cut through the doors, but he'd also given her a course of action. She knew how to difuse the situation now.

The doors were forced apart with a heavy thunk and an impossibly loud scrape of metal on metal. Air flooded in with startling speed and along with it, light from the medbay beyond. She could see the cavalry that had come to her rescue very clearly, and they were armed to the teeth. Soji had to make a decision in that split-second and, well, she was glad it was an easy one. Hopefully her uncle didn't bash her skull in the second she turned to face the doors.

Seven was first through, as expected, and Soji was still fast enough to block the shot from Seven's phaser rifle. That titanium tray on the cart came in handy as a defacto shield, but it was reduced to slag the instant the energy discharge caught it. Seven had that thing set as high as it would go-- Soji didn't have time to talk it out with them, there were two officers jostling to follow Seven through and Seven already had her rifle aimed. Soji hooked the rolling cart with her booted foot and slung it at the doors with a sharp, twisting kick. It flew through the darkness and hit the bulkhead above the doors hard enough that it burst apart in a rain of metal shrapnel. The two security officers and Seven were forced to duck away and, in the process, had to lower their sights.

"Stop!" Soji managed hoarsely as she sucked down some of the fresh air flooding in. She quickly sidestepped into the space the cart had occupied, putting herself directly between the doors and Lore. She was too short to really be an effective shield, but she was determined and looked both bloody and terrible. They wouldn't risk shooting her...hopefully. She sucked down another deep breath and Seven lifted the rifle again.

"Move!"

"No--" Soji snapped back and oh, air was, air was a wonderful thing. She wanted nothing more than to slump down on the floor and breathe for a minute, but if she shifted an inch-- "--we're not doing this--"

"Have you got a concussion?" Seven was aghast and furious.

"Soji, Lore is dangerous--" Picard's voice came through the partially opened doors, resounding from the back of the crowd. As though she hadn't gathered as much in the last few minutes. Her furious frustration, the same flavor she'd been practically exuding when Lore woke up and locked them in, surged up and consumed her again.

"I said: no!" she snapped. "Back off! You aren't shooting my uncle!"

The trajectory Lore had sent Soji on, and the subsequent collision with the bulkhead, should’ve profoundly incapacitated any standard human being, which corroborated his conjecture: she wasn’t human. It mattered not; she had actively sought to inhibit his expedient, his revenge on mankind, and she’d suffer for her impertinent comportment, her interference in his personal affairs.

The cacophony of duranium groaning under the impact of an object travelling at a staggeringly high velocity, and a diverse array of materials fragmenting into razor sharp shrapnel, dispersing into random directions, announced her arrival in the wall. Unfortunately, it had not terminated his opponent’s existence, which was regrettable, indeed...

Soji’s pleads fell on deaf man’s ears as the cyclone that was Lore ravaged, utterly devastated the laboratory, fueled by rage and self-preservation alone, bereft of every last tincture of rationality, which had been present minutes ago. His positronic brain was a mishmash of contradictory subroutines running simultaneously, nonsensical errors, harrowing evocations and even more harrowing extrapolations of the future, should Starfleet get their filthy paws on him if all of this failed. He refused to be handled like a puppet to be activated at their convenience, on their whim. He didn’t want to be rendered compliant — compliant like Data —, to be exploited, to be taken advantage of, to be regarded as yet another sophisticated, enhanced electronic system with the potential to simplify human labour.

The android’s right arm flailed, traversing through the semi-vacuum air at high speeds, but the turmoil inside his cranial unit disorientated him significantly and negatively influenced his hand-eye coordination; an opaque curtain of exponentially increasing panic fettered him, immovable manacles obstructing his mobility. His former plans a mere palimpsest that now contained a new, primary objective: get out of here... alive. Or was it the unalloyed darkness suffocating him, taking its toll on his teetering sanity?

When she toppled, caught like an innocuous fly in the fragile, yet lethal silk thread of a spider’s web, Lore regained a sliver of confidence, however infinitesimal, insignificant. He detached the extension cord, but held on to it as he cornered the non-human. Now that she was no longer scampering around the room, he could discern not only the aberrant pulse palpitating inside his chest, but also the pounding of human hands on titanium, accompanied by the sizzling of a device discharging material at high temperatures. One glance over his shoulder informed him that her emancipators were on the verge of forcing their way in, and the little confidence he had congregated now wafted away, along with the oxygen that was still being drained from the room. Like a feeble flame it was extinguished with a sigh...

His chartreuse eyes flicked back to her, his slicked back hair no longer slicked back, but dishevelled, strands of brown had come loose and suspended from his scalp, framing his pearlescent countenance, adding an additional film of lunacy to his present state of mind. Surprisingly enough, he could retain a grasp on reality, on the words she was enunciating.

Home... The noun echoed in his skull, resonating like cymbals... Promptly, Lore stopped dead in his tracks, slightly more than a metre away from her — he couldn’t calculate the exact digits of the distance he preserved between them, his systems simply could not navigate him through that process.

‘Home...’ he said forlornly, but quickly recuperated from his accidental expulsion of melancholy and huffed sardonically, brushing it off as if it were a mere particle of dust. ‘If I don’t finalise my plan that constitutes the annihilation of all humans aboard this ship, proceeded by my escape, I will wind up back in Daystrom — deactivated, disassembled, dead... There is no home for beings like me, you gullible girl, not among humans, not among any other extra-terrestrials skulking beyond the borders of Federation space...’

He averted his gaze for a moment, trying to get a hold of himself, to govern the inundation of emotions; he was choking on them, disabled by the sheer force with which they were hammering in on him. A deep exhalation exited him; he was emotionally fatigued.

‘If you don’t want to fight me, you will certainly die,’ he told her, reminding her of what was at stake in this campaign, ‘because I’m spurred by... determination’ — fear — ‘and I will do whatever it takes until I am free. And if that means terminating your existence in the process, I can make my peace with that... But prior to executing my objective, I must know one thing about you: what are you? You resemble them, but you’re not like them...’

[ladyloresoong]

I had a dream I wanted to share. You remember the old Data in Picard? Well, somehow dying Q brings Tasha Yar back to life from where her body was kept in Section 8 where Picard and James T. Kirk are. However, Q (in his marvous snarky way) makes it interesting for our senior crew and our children to find where Tasha, as Tasha lost her memory, she reverts back to her ptst past life from Turkana IV. She meets Soji somehow, and the two end up being best friends. Soji, who has experienced trauma herself, makes sure a wild feral Yar stays out of trouble and doesn't kill herself againdue to depression. When Data reunites, it is a joyful moment.. When Data 2.0, Geordi, Deanna, Sidney, Alanna and Jack sets out to find her and learns he has a daughter, there is a wonderful reunion because hmmmm, alton wanted him to find out for himself.  There is epic Data 2.0 tears and SEX SEX SEX and wild twist and Turns in this dreams. And Data.20 has lore funny moments as well. Tasha is like who are you?! Tell me what you think?

Thanks

Gina Taylor

I think you should totally write it! I'm always a fan of anything where we get more Tasha, more Data, and absolutely the two of them together! <3 If you do - please let me know so I can enjoy it!! :D

[sodiumlamp]

Picard

This is Season 1, episode 8, and the characters finally get around to explaining why the Romulans are so terrified of androids. It's boring and dumb, and it's not even the most boring, most dumb part of this episode. That honor goes to the extra long subplot where Rios locks himself in his quarters and Raffi tries to figure him out by conferring to his holographic crew. They waited eight episodes to pay off this guy's whole deal and I am so disgusted with this show that I don't even care. I just... I just want it to be over.

Basically, the Romulans learned of some Lovecraftian horror a long time ago and they learned of a terrible horror thanks to an ancient warning left by some long-dead civilization. The warning is so mind-blowing that it drives most people insane when they experience it. That Borg cube the Romulans were working on through this series, the one Hugh was doing his Reclamation Project on? The reason it shut down was because it assimilated a Romulan who had been driven mad by the warning. This feels like something a teenager would write.

The short version is that the Romulan double-secret police are thoroughly convinced that artificial life forms are dangerous, because if the technology progresses far enough, they will bring about some sort of calamity, the kind of calamity that brought down an ancient civilization powerful enough to engineer an solar system with eight suns, just so they could warn others not to repeat their mistake.

So when Data was invented, the Romulans began this long-game plot to infiltrate Starfleet. Their end goal was to stage the attack on Mars and make it look like androids were to blame, so the Federation would abandon and outlaw further research on androids.

I guess that tracks. The Romulans behind the plot were so terrified by the warning that they would orchestrate a catastrophe like that even while the Federation was helping the Romulans recover from a supernova. At first it sounds like an unthinkable, almost insane kind of treachery, but from their perspective it was a desperate act of mercy.

There are a lot of problems with this. If the Romulans felt this way about artificial life, then you'd think they would have gone to great lengths to assassinate Data during his lifetime. Maybe they tried, and it just took until Star Trek: Nemesis to finish him off, but they never seemed that worried about him in the TV show. And they weren't worried about Lore, either.

Also, the Romulans don't seem concerned about other forms of AI, like holodecks and holographic characters. The Federation banned synthetic life forms, but we see lots and lots of holograms in this show, from the ones at the Starfleet archive to Rios's crew, to the holo-ads at Freecloud, to the holographic mother Dahj and Soji would talk to. Some holograms are more sophisticated than others, sure, but they seem to be widespread, and legal. Do the Romulans just think the ancient warning is only about synthetic life forms with humanoid bodies? If a computer becomes self aware and takes control of a starship, isn't that just as dangerous?

To be fair, only a handful of Romulan agents seem to know all the details of the warning, and they've been working on this plan for decades. They weren't going to jeopardize the whole thing just to shoot Data. Killing him wouldn't necessarily solve anything. Still, the anxiety towards artificial life forms seems to be baked into Romulan culture in general, like this has permeated their mythology for a very long time. But the Romulans never seemed fussed with holograms and talking computers.

There's a decent idea buried in all of this, but it's wasted on this show, which reveals it in such a tedious and circuitous fashion that you end up rooting for whatever it is to just hurry up and destroy the galaxy.

[quasi-normalcy]

For all that people complained about how bleak Star Trek: Picard was when it came out, I would say that its depiction of the Federation was just a culmination of all of the flaws that it was depicted as having on Deep Space Nine (and, to a lesser extent, Voyager and even TNG): Earth-centrism, disregard for the rights of artificial persons, and a willingness to regard entire non-Federation species as disposable if their survival is deemed a threat to the Federation (or even if saving them contradicts an abstract philosophical point). It’s a society that has clearly lost its way, and its annoying (at least to me) that the writers couldn’t have instead imagined the Federation getting its shit together, but the thing is: everything that’s wrong with it emerges organically from the Federation we’ve seen, and, most critically, it is problematised. Our heroes stand in opposition to this corruption. Picard, Rios, and Raffi all left or were cashiered out of service over various aspects of Starfleet’s authoritarian turn; Elnor is a survivor of the Federation’s neglect; Seven and Soji are both members of oppressed minorities and Jurati had her academic career derailed, all because of fear and reactionary opposition to cybernetics. And yes, it’s bleak, but it’s also fundamentally hopeful: they are standing up for what’s right, even in the face of bigotry and oppression, and what could possibly be more Star Trek than that? You can argue about whether it was successful or particularly well-executed, but its heart was very much in the right place.

And that’s why, for all that I’m enjoying Season 3--for all that I love seeing the TNG crew together again and paying-off character arcs that I’ve been watching play out over the course of my entire lifetime--it gnaws at me. Because the thing is: the Federation hasn’t gotten any better. The genocidal criminal conspiracy from Deep Space Nine is now considered “a critical division of Starfleet Intelligence.” This “critical” bunch of war criminals keeps a sentient AI comatose to guard its warehouse, and nobody even comments on how fucked-up that is. The captain of the Titan constantly denigrates his ex-Borg first officer and orders her to deadname herself, but it’s okay because he’s *traumatised* and kind of funny in his assholishness. You get to have a heartbreaking moment with Picard saying “I didn’t know...” when he hears the extent of Section 31′s war crimes, but then he and Beverly, in the face of 35 years of consistent characterisation, immediately compound the war crime by resolving to execute Vadic. No, the Federation hasn’t gotten any better; the heroes have just gotten worse.

I love the TNG crew. I love seeing Picard and Ro finally have it out with one another; I love having a lifetime spent shipping Jean-Luc and Beverly pay off; I love that we finally get to see just how deeply Data’s death affected Geordi, and that we finally get to see Data’s relationship with Lore and his “becoming more human” arc pay off in a way that’s so seamless that it honestly feels kind of obvious in retrospect. But at a deep, philosophical level, I would rather see an angsty story about heroes opposing corruption than a happy story about heroes going along with it.

[ltcommanderandroid]

Collectively, perhaps, though the memories of the other individuals in his mind were rather like those of the colonists long ago. Like something he read in a book, detached and yet integral to who he had become - but, then, he'd learned that stories could have such power long ago too, when he had first been introduced to the works of Conan Doyle.

So long ago. Yet, he had only been forty-one when he had sacrificed himself for his friends. They had lived on without him and now, he still felt the youngest among them even in this aged body. Well, the youngest, with the exception of new friends. Family. It was strange, to have family again. Could he even say 'again', when Lal had been so brief in his life, and his father too, and his brothers...

B4's memories were faint, but Lore, who had fought so hard to be, was prominent. In fact, Data wasn't entirely sure where he ended and Lore began. He understood now, understood the loneliness, the isolation his brother had felt. How different things might have been, had they recognized that loneliness in each other... long ago.

Data was tugged out of this analysis of old memories and, in consequence, old regrets by Soji's less than veiled insult. Eyes narrowed and he let out a sarcastic laugh that, in hindsight, he was quite sure was Lore's influence. Though it was, he could admit to himself, more than a little funny and more than a little true. "Or they've taken a long look at newer models and decided it would be better to go back to an old classic." But, after, he fell silent. He'd always seen being admitted to the Academy, his service in Starfleet, as a great personal achievement but now he found himself wondering if he would have been allowed to do anything else.

"It's a mystery to me," Soji agrees conversationally, though she can't quite keep the curl of a smile off her face. It's good she's just so busy with this console, he won't see the fond look she wants to shoot at the back of his head.

"You're what at this point? You know, collectively?" Soji asks as she engages the engine startup sequence and the ship's main systems kick on, spinning up to full power from grey mode. "Two? Three hundred?" The ship is a bit of salvage Seven helped her with years ago, an amalgam of parts from far a slew of sources, all threaded together with a hash of green power couplings and creative welding. It's comfortable enough, has space for three or four people even if it only has two at present. Everything works, for a given value of working, and she hardly even notices which screens refuse to switch off Romulan and Borg. More than anything, though, the ship is fast. Disconcertingly fast. It's a feature that Soji never tires of.

However, she thinks she may revise that opinion shortly. She hasn't witnessed his talent as a pilot, but Deanna had gone on at length about his maneuvering a Galaxy class through an active, (and detonating) Cube. This ship, unlike the Enterprise, is small and nimble enough that it practically begs to be jacknifed around any and all obstacles. (It's the Romulan parts, they are all death defiance, all the way down.)

She gives him a sunny smile as she drops into the copilot's seat.

"Maybe they need someone backwards compatible?"

@ltcommanderandroid

[my-timing-is-digital]

DOSSIER CHEAT SHEET

LEGAL NAME: Data Soong

NICKNAME[S]: He doesn't have one, but would love to have one. So, send in your best Data nicknames for mah boi! (Although I like the one Mirror!Barclay gave him in a personal log, which is "Picard's pet android.")

DATE OF BIRTH ACTIVATION: February 2, 2338

GENDER: Male

PLACE OF BIRTH ACTIVATION: Omicron Theta colony

CURRENTLY LIVING: On the U.S.S. Enterprise

SPOKEN LANGUAGES: English, French, binary, and probably a lot more (Earth languages as well as alien languages). This funky lil' android is literally a walking ChatGPT, albeit more advanced.

EDUCATION: Starfleet Academy.

HAIR COLOR: Depends on the lighting; sometimes it's dark brown / brown, at other times, it's auburn.

EYE COLOR: A greenish yellow (or chartreuse, according to Google).

HEIGHT: 1.80 / 5'9''

WEIGHT: 100 kg

FAMILY INFORMATION

SIBLING[S]: B-4 and Lore, his older brothers (and Altan Inigo Soong, I suppose, although I'd like to think of him as Data's half-brother, since Juliana never mentioned him, so he might have had a different mother? God knows what Noonian has been up to in that weird jungle hideout of him).

PARENT[S]: Doctor Noonian Soong and Juliana Soong

RELATIVE[S]: Adam Soong, Arik Soong, and Ira Graves, but idk if he even qualifies lol.

CHILDREN: Lal, Dahj and Soji (and technically an entire planet of androids, but let's not over-complicate things).

PET[S]: SPOT! His precious cat!

RELATIONSHIP INFORMATION

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Tbh, I've thought about this a lot, but never wrote it down as a proper headcanon; I'd like Data to represent the minority and state that he's aromantic — he's possibly bordering on the asexuality spectrum as well. And as for his preference, he doesn't have one; not only does his programming prohibit him from discriminating between genders and withhold him from engaging in favouritism, he's also genuinely fascinated by everyone. In other words, he doesn't nurture a strong preference for a specific gender. However, since he's aromantic he's not really interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with anyone; it's primarily friendships he's after, familial or platonic.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Data is a single bean, just living his best life with his beloved cat.

SINCE WHEN: And this is where we ignore the whole romantic escapade with Jenna D'Sora lol. So, N/A (Or since his date of activation).

Tagged by: @lettherebemonsters Tagging: @elaleph (Agnes!), @ensnchekov, @dimensionalspades (Julian!), @quantumstarpaths, @nebulaties (Tasha!), @fasciinating, @storiest0ld (Beverly!) & anyone else who'd like to do this!

[roguetelepaths]

it’s a truth universally acknowledged that in any star trek series, when someone who’s been isolated from others like themself finally meets more of their own, there’s always a horrible twist just around the corner

[my-timing-is-digital]

Erroneous self-assessment or not, Data was reluctant to accept the praise gifted to him by the Captain. His achievements were not unprecedented, his service record was relatively uniform; many Starfleet officers had pulled — to utilise Picard’s words — some heroics and sacrificed themselves to safeguard the physical integrity of their crew, their friends — it was not unusual behaviour. The android parted his pale lips to formulate a counterargument, but his unspoken contradiction was cut short by the Captain’s dismissal. His lips sealed again and nodded in silent concurrence — the discontinuation of their conversation promptly reminding him of the exhilarating adventure that lay ahead.

Without requiring a second reminder, Data leapt to his feet and strode across the room, passing an ecstatic Agnes and for a fleeting moment, locked eyes with Dr Soong — Altan — who offered him a small lopsided grin, bearing an uncanny semblance to Lore, if he had been a human and grown old and gone soft. He was grateful for his relative’s unparalleled endeavours and success, and was hoping he would have the opportunity to engage in conversation with him about his accomplishments, sometime today.

When Data reached the doorway and trod over the threshold, his gaze met Soji’s, his chartreuse eyes glistening with anticipation; his positronic brain ran a broad variety of simulations, inferences, with respect to the manner in which these other androids would respond to his appearance. If the Captain was, indeed, correct about Data’s celebrity status on Coppelius, and if the androids were as animated and dynamic as his daughter, and as inquisitive as him, then the next couple of hours — if not the remainder of the day — he would be showered with enquiries excited by curiosity, and profound conversations — neither of which he would object to.

‘I am ready,’ he replied composedly, his eyes darted briefly down the length of the corridor, eager to proceed. ‘How large is the population of synthetic lifeforms that currently reside on Coppelius Station?’ he asked inquisitively, as they commenced their walk. ‘Do you have an estimation? Or should I just shut up and be patient, and wait for one of the other androids to pacify my curiosity?’

A significant quantity of questions were whirling inside his duranium skull, some of them pivoting around Coppelius and its denizens, but others, the majority, could only be answered by his daughter. In all honest, part of him wished he could just sit with her and talk. He surmised that she would have several enquiries she would like answered as well.

‘What is your impression of them?’ he continued avidly. ‘My experience with other synthetic individuals is relatively limited. My brothers, Lore and B-4, were facsimiles of myself, except for the fact that B-4 was a prototype and Lore...’ Lore... ‘Lore... occasionally succumbed to homicidal tendencies...’ A beat. He contemplated disclosing additional information regarding Lore, but decided against it. ‘Then, there was Lal, my first daughter, your older sister. She bore a stronger resemblance to you: azure eyes, ebony black hair, human-coloured skin, and access to a diverse emotional palette. And my mother, Dr Noonian Soong’s partner, Juliana. Although she was human until her organic body perished and my father transferred her memories to a synthetic body using a synaptic scanning technique. However, she was not cognisant that she was an android; it was my father’s wish to keep her ignorant, which I ascertained after I...’ he trailed off for a second, glancing down at Soji, a trace of compunction evident in his eyes, ‘broke her — on purpose, I might add — to validate my hypothesis. I do not know if she is still alive, for she was programmed to terminate herself, to die of old age, as it were.’

Picard is touched by Data's concern (not surprised by it, not by any means, but these are exceptional circumstances. Being such a high priority for him, even after his resurrection, is a sentiment worth cherishing). His look goes a little soft and he glances back at the doors. Soji and Agnes have moved from the windows toward the threshold, but they haven't yet reclaimed their spots and remain hovering in the doorway. He shoots Soji a fond look, silent thanks for her choice to wake up his old friend, and then returns his attention to Data who, if he were given to theatrics, would be practically shuffling in his seat.

"Well, I disagree wholeheartedly with your self-assessment," Picard announced as he took another sip of his cool tea. "But that's a discussion for another time."

He waited half a beat, just for the hell of it, and then gave a nod to dismiss Data from the table.

"What are you waiting for? Go on, then. I'll be here for a while yet."

As if that was their cue, Soji and Agnes moved forward toward the door. Agnes dipped inside and headed for the table, to drop down and sit with Picard herself. Soji waited at the door for Data to join her. Overhearing the account of the last few days, and then of Utopia Planetia after that, was a downer, even if she was already extremely familiar with the lot of it. Her smile is subdued, but genuine as he joins her.

"Ready for that walk?" Soji asks hopefully.

[capsfromtrek]

Soongs

[autisticburnham]

Here’s an updated version!

[theres-cummies-in-that-nebula]

Soong family drama is just the star trek version of Skywalker family drama

[ovenproofowl]

That’s Jana

No, no. This is Sutra. Jana was her sister.