![]() ![]() The other option is rather more sinister – Data’s evil twin, Lore. He is definitely not what Maddox used to create the twins. He’s such a poor shadow of his brother that, as Jurati explains, most of the information Data downloaded into him was lost in his inferior neural network. The first is B-4 (be-fore), the useless prototype model who was introduced in Star Trek: Nemesis. We know of two other functioning androids like Data. But there’s another alternative source that could make Star Trek: Picard more intriguing – a higher risk strategy that could potentially make the Data connection even more important to the show. The question is, how involved was Data? Did he take the lead on the research that created the twins, or was Maddox the driving force? If Data was working closely with Maddox back in the day, that would explain how the scientist had (at least early) access to the functioning Soong-type positronic brain he needed to push the boundaries of artificial intelligence. It’s reasonable to assume, then, that Data would have been involved in the creation of these new twin 'daughters' – especially as they are modelled after the face of the woman in the painting. This idea is emphasised by the fact that a piece of artwork in Picard’s vault featuring Dahj’s face (painted 30 years before Star Trek: Picard kicks off) is simply titled "Daughter". It’s well known that Data always wanted a child of his own: in TNG episode “The Offspring” he creates Lal, an artificial lifeform who, despite being even more advanced than himself, dies prematurely from an overload in her positronic brain. Remarkably, there’s no bad blood between Data and Maddox afterwards, and they continue to correspond throughout The Next Generation. After a barnstorming courtroom performance from Picard, however, it’s decreed that Data is a sentient being and not the property of Starfleet. His aim? To find out what makes Data tick so he can construct more androids like him. In classic TNG episode “The Measure of a Man”, Maddox arrives on the Enterprise looking to disassemble Data. Intriguingly, Maddox is no newcomer to Trek. Bruce Maddox was working on so-called "fractal neronic cloning" (bear with the Technospeak – it is Star Trek) until he went on the run following the synthetic uprising. (In short, the fact that Data has been reduced to atoms is massively inconvenient.)Īccording to Jurati, A.I. If that were the case, assembling the new tech would be a relatively straightforward process. Agnes Jurati tells Picard that such machines are at least 1000 years away – unless someone had access to Data’s positronic brain, or one like it. pioneer Richard Daystrom from Original Series episode “The Ultimate Computer”) that the technology required for them to function is impossible in the 25th century. ![]() We learn at the Daystrom Institute in Okinawa (a top research facility frequently mentioned in The Next Generation, named after A.I. They’re not supposed to exist, either by law or by science. In other words they’re "Data’s daughters". Despite the ban, the show’s first episode reveals that Dahj and her twin sister on the Romulan/Borg Cube are synthetic organisms so advanced that they’re made of flesh and blood – and could pass for human. These are crucial details to remember while watching Picard, a show set in an era where a group of 'synthetics' killed thousands of people on Mars, leading to androids being outlawed in the Federation. Despite being superior in many regards, he spent his life aspiring to be more human – and, in Star Trek: Generations, he finally developed emotions, courtesy of a special chip constructed by Soong years earlier. He was super-strong, super-fast, and had more processing power than a billion iPhones (rough guess). Noonian Soong, Data’s positronic brain was light years ahead of any other artificial intelligence in the Federation. In 'life' Data was unique (well, almost – but we’ll get on to that later). Not a bad legacy for a character who now resides in silicon heaven. While the android may not be there in body, however, the key themes of the new show seem tied into what, and who, Data was. The first episode even gives us a great big signpost by playing Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies” – the song Data performed at Riker and Troi’s wedding in Nemesis, and subsequently taught B-4 – over the opening scene. Fast-forward two decades to Star Trek: Picard and Data exists in his former captain’s dreams.
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