Brent Spiner: Lieutenant Commander Data • Dr. Noonien Soong
Birthright, Part I
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Brent Spiner credited as playing...
Lieutenant Commander Data • Dr. Noonien Soong
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: [on Data's vision] I am curious, Mr. Data, why are you looking at all these other cultures?
- Lt. Commander Data: The interpretation of visions and other metaphysical experiences are almost always culturally derived, and I have no culture of my own.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Yes, you do. You're a culture of one, which is no less valid than a culture of one billion.
- Dr. Noonien Soong: I wasn't sure you'd ever develop the cognitive abilities to make it this far, but if you're here, if you can see me... you've crossed over the threshold from being a collection of circuits and subprocessors and have started a wonderful journey.
- Lt. Commander Data: What type of journey?
- Dr. Noonien Soong: Think of it... think of it as an empty sky.
- Lt. Commander Data: I do not understand.
- Dr. Noonien Soong: Sshhh. Just dream, Data. Dream.
- [long pause]
- Dr. Noonien Soong: Data... YOU are the bird.
- [Doctor Bashir has commented on Data's more "human" attributes]
- Lt. Commander Data: Most people are interested in my extraordinary abilities - how fast I can compute, my memory capacity, how long I will live. No one has ever asked me if my hair will grow, or noticed that I can breathe.
- Dr. Julian Bashir: Well, your creator went to a lot of trouble to make you seem human. I find that fascinating.
- [during a shutdown, Data has experienced some kind of vision]
- Dr. Julian Bashir: Maybe you had a dream, or a hallucination.
- Lt. Commander Data: I am not capable of either of those functions.
- Dr. Julian Bashir: Yet you can't account for what happened today, can you?
- Lt. Commander Data: At present, I cannot.
- Dr. Julian Bashir: Well, maybe you should approach this from a more human standpoint. You're right that machines can't have hallucinations. But then again - most machines can't grow hair.
- Lt. Commander Data: I have created twenty-three individual illustrations in the past six hours, twenty-seven minutes. I believe you could say... I have been inspired.
- Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: I'll say.
- Dr. Julian Bashir: Remarkable. You know, this is just the kind of thing that might get me published in the Starfleet Cybernetics Journal. Would you mind if I authored a paper on all this?
- Lt. Commander Data: Of course not.
- Dr. Julian Bashir: Thank you, Data. And... sweet dreams.
- Lt. Commander Data: [entered Picard's ready room] I am sorry to disturb you, sir.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Oh, not at all. I'm here studying the intricacies of Bajoran aqueduct management. I would welcome a little interruption.
- Lt. Commander Data: I do not understand.
- Dr. Noonien Soong: You're not supposed to. No man should know where his dreams come from. It spoils the mystery - the fun.