Brent Spiner credited as playing...
Lieutenant Commander Data
- Capt. Picard: [of Q] He's always had a certain fascination with humanity, with myself in particular. I think he has more than a passing interest in what happens to me.
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: That is true. Q's interest in you has always been very similar to that of a master and his beloved pet.
- Picard: It's like the chicken and the egg, Will, the chicken and the egg! We-we think it started in the past, but it didn't. It started right here, in the future! That's why it's getting larger in the past.
- Data: I think I know what the Captain is talking about. If I'm not mistaken, he's describing a paradox.
- Picard: Yes, right, that's it!
- O'Brien: We have to realign the entire power grid. We'll all be burning the midnight oil on this one.
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: [passing] That would be inadvisable.
- O'Brien: Excuse me?
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: If you attempt to ignite a petroleum product on this ship at 0000 hours, you will activate the fire suppression system, which would seal off this entire compartment.
- O'Brien: That was just an expression.
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: Expression of what?
- O'Brien: A figure of speech. I was trying to tell him that we'd be working late.
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: Ah. Then 'to burn the midnight oil' implies late work?
- O'Brien: Yeah, that's right.
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: Hm. I am curious. What is the etymology of that idiom?
- O'Brien: Hm?
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: How did it come to be used in contemporary language?
- O'Brien: I-I don't know, sir.
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: [having heard 'burning the midnight oil'] It appears we will be required to ignite the midnight petroleum, sir.
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: It appears to be a multi-phasic temporal convergence in the space-time continuum.
- Doctor Crusher: In English, Data.
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: It is, in essence, an eruption of anti-time.