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Data’s Double: Revisiting Lore From ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’

If you’re even a little familiar with Old Trek , then you’ll know about Lt. Commander Data ( Brent Spiner ), the android officer who served under Picard on the Enterprise . But what about his brother, Lore (also Brent Spiner)? Data was supposed to be the only one of his kind, so the arrival of a secret brother came as a surprise, and though Lore was in comparatively few episodes, his impact on the Star Trek universe was significant. Here’s everything you need to know about the character some consider to be Data’s evil twin.

Who is Lore?

Like Data, Lore was created by Doctors Noonian and Juliana Soong at the Omicron Theta Colony. The fourth of their android children, Lore was the first to have a fully functional positronic brain and function with greater-than-human intelligence. However, unlike Data, Lore was created with the ability to feel the full range of human emotions—something that turned out to be a disaster. Possessed of superhuman abilities but with none of the empathy, ethics, and emotional regulation that organic beings develop over their childhood, Lore was the equivalent of a super-powered toddler, and convinced of his own superiority to all other beings.

The destruction of the colony

Considering him a threat, the other colonists pressured Soong into shutting Lore down. Knowing what was coming, Lore managed to summon the Crystalline Entity , a being that consumes all organic life it encounters, hoping it would arrive and wipe out the colony before Soong capitulated—and content that if it didn’t, then at least he would have his revenge on the community that murdered him. Soong did have enough time to dismantle Lore and put him into storage with the hope of being able to fix him later, as well as finish constructing Data before the entity arrived—leaving the brothers alone and offline on an empty world.

Lore’s discovery

Data was found by the initial Federation team investigating the destruction of the colony because he was laid out in the open and ready to be switched on, but Lore was overlooked because his body had been left in storage. It was only when the Enterprise returned to the colony years later that Lore was discovered by Data and reawakened by the ship’s Chief Engineer, Lt. Commander Argyle, and Dr. Crusher. This only served to increase Lore’s resentment; not only had his father created a replacement, but that replacement had been rescued while he’d been left to languish in a box on an empty world.

Antagonistic relationship with the federation

After a failed attempt at passing himself off as another benign, human-positive android, Lore first tried to steal Data’s identity, and when that didn’t work, he summoned the Crystalline Entity again in an attempt to kill the crew of the Enterprise. While this failed and left Lore stranded and floating in space for several years, it marked the beginning of a hostile relationship with the Federation and a complicated one with his brother.

The emotion chip

Lore’s reappearance (and the reveal that he was no longer trapped in the vacuum of space) came about when Dr. Soong, who had escaped the destruction of the colony and set up on Terlina III, attempted to summon Data via a homing beacon. The beacon was also visible to Lore, and he arrived along with Data to discover their father dying. Though distraught by this news, Lore’s anger took over once again when he learned that Soong had only intended to summon Data—because he’d decided Data was ready to experience emotions without turning out like Lore, and had designed an emotions chip to enable him to do so. Furious that their father was once again favoring Data, Lore stole the chip and killed Soong, only for his mental state to deteriorate further after installing it because it wasn’t designed for his brain.

Later, Lore was able to use the chip to remotely project emotions into Data after somehow switching off his ethical subroutines—the aspects of his programming that would have prevented him from becoming like Lore once given the ability to feel emotions. Filling him with anger and hatred, Lore’s plan briefly worked, and the two of them joined forces before the Enterprise was able to reverse what he’d done.

Lore was able to take over a rogue Borg cell that had broken away from the hive. First encouraging their newfound individuality, he began conducting experiments on their brains, replacing organic sections with positronic parts and making them more violent in the process. Then he began pointing them at the Federation, trying to provoke a confrontation with the Enterprise so he could get his hands on Data, and causing a lot of death and destruction in the process.

His relationship with data

All of this might make it seem like Lore hated Data, but their relationship was more complicated than that. Initially feeling anger and resentment towards him, seeing him as their father’s golden child and the being who would replace him, Lore began to long for a brotherly relationship with Data—or perhaps he had all along. The purpose behind everything Lore did with the Borg and the emotion chip wasn’t for revenge against Data; it was to have Data by his side as his brother, transformed into a person who could understand him, and who he was finally able to understand in return. Even after Data finally shot Lore, shutting him down permanently, Lore’s final words before he went offline were, “I love you, brother.”

(featured image: Paramount)

Lore's Entire Backstory Explained

Every "Star Trek" series seems to have its own version of Spock, someone who doesn't understand (or cannot feel) emotions in the traditional sense. On "Star Trek: The Next Generation," that character is the beloved synthetic human Data (Brent Spiner), though Data also has elements of another famous "Star Trek" character. According to producer Robert H. Justman (via " The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next Twenty Five Years "), Data was envisioned as "an android programmed by Starfleet Command with all of the familiar abilities and characteristics of Spock fused with the leadership and humanistic qualities of Captain Kirk."

For seven seasons, Data played a major part in the show's explorations of selfhood, intelligence, and emotion. One plan to explore these feelings was to give Data a love interest . Her job was supposed to be repairing the ship in dangerous situations. Instead, "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry decided to go down the evil twin route, and so the Lore that we know — also played by Spiner — was born. He's clever, mean, quirky, and very funny to watch, but with a lurking malevolence that's impossible to ignore. Let's take a look at his backstory.

The story of Data and Lore begins on the Omicron Theta colony, where Doctor Noonian Soong and his wife Juliana built a series of androids: Two basic prototypes, the simplistic model B-4, Lore, and Data. These were the first true fully functioning "positronic brains," which is the show's explanation for artificial intelligence in android form, and which is politicized, in various ways, throughout the canon.

The four Omicron Theta creations are known as "Soong-type" androids, because they are made in Dr. Soong's image (Dr. Soong, of course, is also played by Brent Spiner). Soong and Juliana considered all four of them their children, and Data and his fellow Soong-types are often referred to and behave as brothers. The Soongs also have a biological son, Altan Inigo Soong, graced with the same brilliance as his parents and brothers. He is introduced much later in the "Star Trek: Picard" series.

Thanks to Data's fame as the first android in Starfleet, Soong's research is further developed by Dr. Bruce Maddox, who goes into hiding after synthetics attempt to conquer Mars and synthetic life is subsequently banned. He and Agnes Jurati work with Noonian's son to create a whole community of organic androids based on Data's positronic neurons.

Creating Lore

When we first meet Lore on Omicron Theta, he claims to be an improvement on Data, but that turns out to be a lie: He is Data's older brother, not younger. Lore was born extremely advanced, with great strength and speed and high intelligence. He was also, unfortunately, unstable from the jump and he developed a serious superiority complex.

Later, Lore would claim he was rejected for being "too perfect," but the truth is that he's flawed in many ways. The people of the colony demanded that Noonian shut Lore down because he was creeping everybody out. In response, Lore secretly contacted a planet-killing space creature called the Crystalline Entity to come and destroy all life on the planet — excluding himself, of course.

Noonian eventually gave in to the demands of his fellow colonists and deactivated Lore. He stored Lore away and started work on Data instead. Since Lore's emotions were the core of his terrible behavior, Noonian decided Data would be created without all that mess — and he promised himself he would come back and fix Lore later. Noonian later came to feel bad about leaving Data's emotions out and created an "emotion chip" for him, but it took a long time for Data to actually receive and initiate it.

Meeting Lore

Unfortunately, Lore's deactivation doesn't take place soon enough for the colony to avoid the consequences of his actions, and the Crystalline Entity destroys all life on Omicron Theta. Data is discovered by the crew of the USS Tripoli years after the disaster, while Lore remained in Noonian's lab. An away team including Dr. Beverly Crusher comes from the USS Enterprise-D, and they are able to reactivate him.

Lore plays the part of a kind brother to Data at first, sharing stories about Soong, although we see in a few tics and quirks that indicate he's not entirely stable. We soon learn that he's lying about being created after Data rather than before. He isn't a more advanced model, as he would have people believe. That truth is that Soong saw some of his features were broken and resolved to work on him later, then designed the somewhat simpler Data.

Lore's true nature soon comes to the surface — he steals Data's uniform and knocks him out, planning to sacrifice the Enterprise crew to his old friend, the Crystalline Entity. Wesley Crusher is the only person who can tell the difference between the brothers, and he is frustratingly persecuted for his attempts to expose the interloper. Eventually, the ruse is discovered, and during a battle with Data and Wesley, Lore is transported into space.

The good doctor

The Enterprise is working at a Federation colony when the Crystalline Entity reappears, destroying another planet. Data and Riker are able to save almost the entire group they're working with by hiding in caves made up of a certain kind of stone. In an attempt to capture or speak to the Crystalline Entity (and in the hope of getting it to stop killing everything it comes across), an expert xenologist named Dr. Kila Marr is summoned. She seems intensely interested in the Entity, and even more so in Data.

Kila's not an android-hater: She knows Data's relationship to Lore, and Lore's relationship to the Crystalline Entity, and she thinks there's some connection between these things and the group's survival. Isn't it likely, she wonders, that the Entity would overlook the caves if they contained an ally? Were the colonists spared because Data was with them? In the end, it's revealed that Dr. Marr's son was killed in an attack by the Crystalline Entity, and she uses the Enterprise's attempts to communicate with the Entity to first torture and then destroy it. The crew is horrified by this waste of life, and Dr. Marr herself seems to go completely off the rails.

Lore's niece

Did you know that Lore once had a niece? After attending a cybernetics conference, an excited Data returns to the Enterprise to build a Soong-type android child of his own: Lal, which means "beloved" in Sanskrit. At first, the child is genderless and faceless, throwing off Deanna Troi and Geordi La Forge entirely. But the child is intelligent and clearly alive — or at least sentient — in the same sense as Data himself. Lal refers to Data as "father," just as Data and Lore do with Dr. Noonian Soong. Data creates Lal knowing all the things that can go wrong, and he's determined to improve on Soong's failures with Lore.

Eventually, Lal chooses a form: Human female. The crew easily goes along with her choice of gender and race, just as they are okay with Data's claims to fatherhood. After a few attempts at schooling, in which she mostly unnerves the other children, Lal takes up a job in Ten Forward under Guinan's guidance and begins learning the ins and outs of social behavior. After a Starfleet Admiral arrives to take her away, Lal's fear response kicks in and causes a cascade failure in her neural net. Ultimately, Data is unable to save his daughter, and they say goodbye.

The emotion chip

Lore drifts in outer space for almost two years before his rescue by a Pakled trade ship. Soon after, Noonian — alive, but dying — sends out a homing signal to summon Data to his new lab on Terlina III. It also summons Lore, who arrives with much resentment, but shows genuine concern when Noonian reveals that he is dying.

However, this family intimacy only lasts for so long. It all goes out of the window when Lore finds out why Noonian sent out the beacon in the first place: He has created an implantable chip that will allow Data to feel human emotion. Lore is, of course, unable to comprehend that Data's makeup and background make him more ethically sophisticated, and therefore able to deal with having emotions without going unstable like Lore.

Lore gets jealous about this, even when Noonian explains that Lore didn't get a chip because he thought he was still deactivated. This isn't a great excuse, since it leads back to the fact that he was deactivated in the first place. He takes the chip for himself by impersonating Data, but Soong explains that the chip was made specifically for Data and that the chip is just going to make him even more unstable, which it does — he eventually kills Noonian because of it, disappearing into the cosmos.

Hugh the Borg

While Lore is gone and presumed dead — or at least no longer a problem — the Enterprise-D discovers a gravely injured Borg drone at a crash site in the Argolis Cluster. Beverly Crusher fights for his life and they bring the Borg back to the Enterprise for care and study. It's the right thing to do, but Geordi La Forge understandably doesn't trust the Borg, named Third of Five. He treats the patient like a machine and keeps his guard up. Soon enough, the Borg starts showing signs of individuality and ego, necessary for a personality to form.

The Borg are a cybernetic race of former humans (and others) who have been assimilated into a vast hive-mind collective, ruled by a Queen. They operate as a group, and can hear each other's thoughts at all times. Beverly and even Geordi come to care for their subject, giving him a human name: Hugh. Captain Jean-Luc Picard suggests they send Hugh back to the collective as a kind of Trojan Horse, hoping his individuality will infect his brethren like a virus. But what does all this have to do with Lore?

Lore's Borg army

One year later, we learn the results of the Hugh gamble. The Borg ship that retrieves Hugh from the Argolis crash site does indeed become more individualist — an effect that causes them great consternation, as they are used to operating as a unit, without personal thoughts. They are adrift and disconnected from the collective when Lore comes across them, ripe for control, and assumes leadership of the group.

Lore gives the Borg individual names but restricts their freedoms — his rule is a totalitarian one. The Borg become his fanatical followers, shouting slogans and threatening violence. They don't even bother assimilating people into the collective anymore, they just kill. Lore is now the leader of a fascist movement made up of formerly mindless drones.

Eventually, he starts experimenting on them, trying to replace their once-human, organic brains with positronic brains like he and Data have. These experiments do not go well, resulting in mutilation and death. What Lore really wants to do is experiment on human subjects, and he plans on using Data to acquire them.

Lore's death

Lore's Borg army begins an attack in Federation space, luring Data in. Lore can now use his emotion chip to moderate Data's own emotions and perceptions — when Data kills a Borg, he feels a perverse pleasure afterward, an alien sensation to him. Lore decides to deactivate Data's ethical subroutines, and Data deserts the Enterprise to follow his brother.

Geordi and Picard are captured, and Data does experiments on Geordi, putting his crewmate through a terrible ordeal. Between bouts of torture at Data's hands, Geordi is able to teach Picard how to modify a Borg interlink transceiver to reboot Data's ethical programs. This won't decrease Lore's power over his emotions, but he'll at least have the option of acting on them.

Lore continues to manipulate Data for some time, fighting against the ethics rising in his subroutines, but eventually Data recoils from the cruelty and futility of their experimentation. The Borg on whom Lore has been experimenting all die horribly, and this is what pushes Data over the edge. He attacks, deactivates, and dismantles Lore, whose last words are: "I love you, brother."

Lore's mother is also an android

Data meets and becomes close with Dr. Juliana Tainer — formerly Juliana Soong, Data and Lore's "mother" — and they play music together. After an accident it becomes apparent that Juliana is also a Soong-type android. She's more developed than both of them, which bodes well for Lore in terms of potential future appearances.

Juliana comes with a holographic chip of Noonian, which Data activates on the holodeck and learns that it's a message directly to him. Soong's hologram explains that the original, organic Juliana was injured in the Crystalline Entity's attack on Omicron Theta, and by the time Soong made it to Terlina III, she was in a coma. Soong built her a positronic matrix and loaded her mind into it, creating a special shutdown loop in case she ever discovered she was an android.

Data wrestles with the decision of whether or not to tell her about her true nature. Eventually, he opts to leave her be, telling Juliana that she was the love of Soong's life, despite the fact that he was sometimes cold toward her — he could never quite get over the fact that she was a replacement for his real wife. They agree to meet again on Atrea and Data calls her "mother" in a touching moment.

Data and Lore's other brother makes an appearance

Lore's now-damaged emotion chip is back in Data's hands, but he's wary of using it due to the instability and actions of his brother. It will be years before he installs the chip, causing a lot of drama during the movie "Star Trek Generations," but not going haywire like Lore would. For the remainder of his appearances, Data possesses emotions, and his arc becomes one about learning to control them, which he eventually does.

In "Star Trek: Nemesis," the tenth film in the series, Data comes up against another older brother, B-4. While Lore's appearances always stage him as being on par with (or perhaps even more capable than) Data, in this case, the roles are reversed — B-4 is a much simpler machine. However, a lot of the same hijinks ultimately ensue, with Data and B-4 impersonating each other and B-4 eventually betraying the crew.

In order to save the Enterprise, Data valiantly offers his own life to destroy a Reman Warbird, and Jean-Luc Picard ends the film discussing Data and his sacrifice with a repaired but still confused and unsophisticated B-4.

Lore is coming back for the final season of Star Trek: Picard

This slide contains spoilers for "Star Trek: Picard."

In the first season finale of "Star Trek: Picard," the titular character briefly visits with Data in hologram form after downloading the remains of his consciousness from B-4. Positronic brains and neural nets, Dr. Maddox discovers, are capable of "fractal neuronic cloning," using just a single positronic neuron to recreate the whole of the consciousness. This is part of an arc that saw the fifth Soong brother — the biological son of Noonian and Juliana — create a planet of Soong-type androids, including two off-world sleeper agents, sisters who may not even know they're androids. These Soong-types are highly advanced, with all of Lore's abilities and none of his problems, and it's exciting to think about what artificial life could look like in the future of the show.

In 2022, it was revealed that Brent Spiner is set to reprise the role of Lore in the third and final season of "Star Trek: Picard." Fans already knew that Spiner was going to be involved, but his return as Lore wasn't confirmed until New York Comic Con, where a new trailer was released . One thread of the series has been Picard's grief and acceptance of Data's death, so Lore's appearance is likely to stir a lot of emotions in the titular character. There was another big Lore reveal at NYCC : The character will be part of a new comic book series called "Star Trek: Defiant." The comic is set before "Star Trek: Nemesis" and sees Lore join the crew of the Defiant, led by Worf. Lore already has a fascinating backstory, and it is set to be filled out even more in the near future.

6 Things To Remember About Lore And Moriarty Before Picard Season 3

There are some things fans should know.

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 is almost here , and while longtime fans of The Next Generation are excited to see their favorite crew back in action , they’re probably just as jazzed about the return of two of the show’s greatest villains . Lore and Moriarty will return for the final season of Picard , and while many are no doubt excited to see them, they may not completely remember why. 

Lore and Moriarty are two of Star Trek: The Next Generation ’s greatest villains, but neither was exactly prevalent across its 178 episodes. For those needing a small reminder, here are some of the things folks will want to know ahead of their return in Picard Season 3. 

Lore Is Data’s Brother, But More Advanced

Lore and Data are both Soong-type Androids created by the great Dr. Noonian Soong, but there are key differences between them. One interesting thing of note is that, while Data was created after Lore, Lore is technically the more advanced of the two thanks to his emotional programming. 

Unfortunately, Lore was prone to malevolence and other negative emotions, which made him incredibly dangerous, considering his other advanced abilities. Dr. Soong ultimately decided that giving Lore the full spectrum of emotions was a mistake, and put his components into storage. He’d go on to make Data without emotions, and Lore would, of course, later find himself reassembled again with a chip on his shoulder toward their shared father. 

Lore Was Allegedly Disassembled During The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation fans might’ve been shocked to see Lore promoted as appearing in Picard Season 3, especially if they remembered his previous appearance on television. Lore was in the iconic TNG two-parter “Descent,” and after his defeat at the end of it, was deactivated and sent off to be disassembled. 

Obviously, there will be some sort of story about how he was reconfigured and for what reason. After all, Lore was one of the greatest enemies Jean-Luc Picard and his crew faced, so why would Starfleet even risk keeping him active? 

Lore Loved Data As If They Were Actual Family

While Lore was a real ass and had all sorts of evil goals, he also had a strong sense of family. He had a real love for his brother, and one would think Data would’ve as well, if he had the emotional capacity for it at the time. I think this is always important to bring up, as it’s a reminder that while he was a villain in Star Trek , he wasn’t entirely evil. Lore had the capacity to feel many emotions on the spectrum, and while he primarily showed the more negative ones, perhaps he had a capacity for great kindness as well? 

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I imagine this might be a detail relevant to Star Trek: Picard Season 3, and perhaps he could find redemption in the eyes of Starfleet and with the former TNG crew in this new adventure. Or, he might just be the same old Lore and hatch some massive betrayal plot. We don’t really know at this time why he is in the story, and what role he has beyond giving Brent Spiner a reason to work with the cast. We’ll just have to wait and see!

Moriarty Started Out As A Challenge For Data

James Moriarty found his way into the holodeck in “Elementary, Dear Data” when Dr. Pulaski and Geordi La Forge wondered if Data could solve a Sherlock Holmes mystery that wasn’t based on the books. When he easily solved the challenge, there was an immediate question about whether Data solved the case because of its similarity to another Holmes story, or because he really was just that clever. Geordi then decided to up the ante, and asked the holodeck to create a villain that would be challenging for Data , and not just for Sherlock Holmes.

Thus, Moriarty received an upgrade, and while it was not intended at the time, he would go on to become one of the greatest and most complicated challenges that Picard’s Enterprise faced. Holograms can often be a challenge for Starfleet crews from time to time, so readers can only imagine how much of a pain one would be if it was specifically intended to be a rival to Data.

Moriarty Achieved Sentience As A Holodeck Program

Geordi’s wish, paired with Moriarty’s normal cleverness as a character, soon led him to understand that the world he was a part of wasn’t the actual real world. To say these types of occurrences with holodeck programs are rare is an understatement, and Picard and the rest were fascinated by the idea of a holodeck program aware of its own existence as a holodeck program. They were also concerned about the quandary this created, as the ethical rights of destroying a holodeck program were weighed with the creation of one of the more formidable fictional characters in real life. 

In the end, Picard agreed to find a way to bring him the sentience he wished for, and the possibility of life in the real world. He only asked that Moriarty be allowed to lie dormant in the holodeck's memory while Starfleet scientists looked into the matter, and figured out a way for this to happen. Moriarty agreed, and for a while, it seemed like both parties had reached a resolution they were satisfied with. 

Picard Tricked Moriarty Into Thinking He’d Left The Enterprise Years Ago

Moriarty returned to the Enterprise , but unfortunately, it was before Starfleet had developed a way for him to live independently of the holodeck technology. “Ship In A Bottle” showed him taking control of the Enterprise , under the belief that the efforts to remove him from the holodeck were nothing but lies. The crew managed to trick him into thinking they caved to his demands, but in reality, they encased him in a simulation within a simulation. Moriarty “left” the Enterprise thinking he was on his way back to Earth, but really, he’s still in a program. 

If he was mad after a few years stuck in the holodeck, I can’t imagine how he’ll feel after decades spent living in a fake universe. He’s seen with guns in the trailer, which could create a dangerous situation for the crew and even put some lives at risk. Unfortunately, Data isn’t around to help them this time, so hopefully they’re up to the task!

Star Trek: Picard premieres on Paramount+ on Thursday, February 16th. Now would be a good time to revisit some of the previously mentioned episodes, or just some of the best episodes of The Next Generation in general, with a Paramount+ subscription . 

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.

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Lore is a major antagonist from Star Trek: The Next Generation . He is the archenemy to his brother, Lt. Commander Data.

Lore physically resembles the android Data and his elder brother B4. Like Data and B4, Lore was created by Dr. Noonien Soong. By human standards, he would be considered either Data's twin or elder brother. Unlike Data, who is normally a curious and essentially good individual at his core, Lore is a clever, manipulative, and cunning individual who believes solely in self-preservation. Lore is also a jealous type and has many negative traits that humans traditionally associated with hostility and evil.

Like Data , B4, Noonien Soong, Arik Soong, Adam Soong , and Altan Soong Lore was portrayed by Brent Spiner.

History [ ]

When Lore was introduced in "Datalore", he gave two contradicting versions of his history when Picard wonders aloud who was created first, Lore answers, "He was, but they found him to be imperfect, and I was made to replace him." and then when he and Data are talking he says that he lied and he was created before Data, but it was because he was made perfect on the first try, and the colonists became envious of him and told Soong to create another "less-perfect android".

Lore's real backstory was given only later in the episodes "Brothers" and "Inheritance." After several failures, Dr. Soong was finally able to create a stable positronic matrix in Lore. However, Lore was unstable emotionally and caused so much strife between the colonists that Soong had no choice but to deactivate him. After so many failures and the pain caused by Lore, Juliana has opposed to Soong building any more androids, but Soong decided to build just one more android. He planned on repairing Lore after he and his wife Juliana built and tested Data, but before he could do that the colony was destroyed by the Crystalline Entity , and Soong and his wife were forced to flee. Unknown to Soong, his wife, or the colonists at the time, it was Lore himself who had contacted and attracted the Crystalline Entity to the colony to destroy it. Data meanwhile had been left outside with no memories or any idea of who he was.

In 2364 Lore's remains were discovered in Soong's lab in the episode "Datalore." Lore was rebuilt and reactivated. Although Lore initially appeared as inquisitive and harmless as Data, his true nature was gradually revealed during the episode. Lore secretly contacts the Crystalline Entity again, offering it the crew of the USS Enterprise as sustenance. However, Data foils his plans and transports Lore into space before the Crystalline Entity can attack, saving the ship.

In the episode "Brothers", Soong summoned Data to Terlina III in order to give him an emotion chip. However, the same signal summoned Lore, who had been found drifting in space and rescued by a group of Pakleds. Data tried to keep Soong from reactivating Lore, but Soong ignored Data's warnings and reactivated Lore. In the reunion that followed Soong set Data straight, that he was not inferior to Lore in any way - that the two men were identical in every way except for a small bit of programming.

When Soong revealed that he was dying and had summoned Data to give him a chip containing basic emotions, Lore incapacitated Data and posed as him while Soong installed the chip. He then fatally wounded Soong before fleeing.

In "Descent, Part II", Lore revealed that he later encountered a group of Borg struggling with individuality following the Enterprise crew's actions in "I, Borg", and became their leader. Lore uses Soong's emotion chip to control Data until Geordi La Forge, Jean-Luc Picard and Deanna Troi manage to reactivate Data's ethical programming. Data shoots Lore at the end of the episode and then deactivates him permanently. As he is being deactivated Lore's final words to Data are "I love you... brother." and Data replies, "Goodbye, Lore."

Data then had the Enterprise engineering department dismantle Lore, retrieving his emotion chip in the process. The chip had been damaged after Data had shot Lore, and Data had been prepared to vaporize the chip too, feeling that emotions were too dangerous. LaForge stopped Data from destroying the chip and said they would keep it until he was ready. The chip was eventually repaired and Data decided to implant it the following year.

After Lore was dismantled Data put Lore's brain in a secure vault on the Enterprise-D that was designed to self destruct if it was tampered with. The rest of Lore's body was also kept separately in the lab. When the Enterprise-D crash-landed on Veridian III the vault was damaged and the self destruct feature activated, destroying Lore's brain in the process. The remainder of Lore's body parts were unharmed, and Data brought them along when he was assigned to the Enterprise-E .

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Seven Of Nine Became Starfleet Famous Because Of Star Trek: Picard, Not Voyager

The simpsons' season 35 finally explains one of the show's most enduring mysteries after 37 years, reacher season 3 release window revealed by alan ritchson.

It's possible that Lore (Brent Spiner) becomes good in Star Trek: Picard season 3. Lore is the evil twin of the beloved Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1, episode 13, "Datalore." He immediately showed himself to be murderous and duplicitous and Lore returned to menace the crew of the Enterprise throughout TNG . Lore was dismantled and destroyed in TNG season 7, episode 1, "Descent Part II" but somehow, Data's brother is back in Star Trek: Picard .

However, Lore could learn to act differently in the next season of Picard . Many things have changed in the almost 30 years since the events of TNG . His brother, Data, has died. However, Star Trek: Picard season 1 have upgraded androids into more human-like synthetics like Data's "daughter," Soji (Isa Briones). And thanks to the heroics of Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his motley crew, synths are no longer banned by the United Federation of Planets. This could give Lore a place to belong, something he has been lacking. That is a powerful reason for any person, including synthetic ones, to consider changing their behavior.

Related: Picard Season 3 Is The Biggest Star Trek Event In 28 Years

Data's Death Can Motivate Lore To Turn Good

Data's physical body was destroyed in Star Trek: Nemesis , but his consciousness lived on. At the end of Star Trek: Picard season 1, Picard turned off Data's consciousness at the android's request, effectively allowing Data to die. While Lore had betrayed and harmed Data, he did so because he felt that Data should join him in his quest for power. This means that, on some level, Lore cared for his brother. Data's iconic death in Picard could provoke Lore to self-reflect and act differently.

Most of the cast of TNG has already been confirmed to join Picard season 3, and they could help Lore to work through his brother's death if the android will allow them. After all, the crew of the TNG Enterprise is the closest thing that Data had to a family besides Lore. Being around people who loved Data so much could lead Lore to reflect on his own existence and whether he wants to be remembered as the darker part of Dr. Noonien Soong's (Brent Spiner) legacy or embrace the more giving legacy of Data.

Evil Lore's Return Doesn't Fit With Star Trek: Picard's Synth Message

Lore's potential transformation is made more likely by the general philosophical trajectory of Star Trek: Picard . Jean-Luc worked throughout the first season to get the Federation to lift the ban on synths following a deadly attack on Mars. Picard proved that the villainous Commodore Oh (Tamlyn Tomita), a Romulan mole in Starfleet, was really the one behind that attack, not the synths. Soji is working to change the overall perception of synths, as seen in the premiere of Star Trek: Picard season 2. Having Lore remain evil would undermine that message, but redeeming him would bring that story full circle.

One way to achieve this would be to have Lore help the Federation and the synths within it. Picard season 2 left the ultimate fate of Commodore Oh unresolved. Helping the TNG crew resolve the damage she did and rounding up her and the rest of her co-conspirators could be a way for Lore to begin building a new, better legacy. It would also help Lore gain the trust of Picard and the TNG crew since he had only ever harmed them.

Related: Picard's Original Cast Deserves More Star Trek Stories

Android Picard Can Finally Relate To Lore

One of the primary motivations for Lore's actions throughout TNG is that he feels that he is in a class by himself. This usually comes out in arrogant speeches about his superiority to everyone, including Data. However, there is an undercurrent of loneliness and longing in the way Lore speaks and acts. Jean-Luc Picard, now being an android and one that is made with superior technology to Lore, could give Lore pause. He is no longer alone. He is no longer the best - if he ever really was. Perhaps in Star Trek: Picard season 3, he can find people with whom he truly belongs.

A meeting between the two will provide the perfect opportunity for an iconic Picard speech about legacy. In season 3 of Picard , the Star Trek Admiral may understand Lore the way he couldn't before, and that will make a powerful speech even more convincing. Lore could be convinced that he can continue to be superior by choosing to be magnanimous and not lording his gifts over others. It is also demonstrably in his own interest to act morally, given how recently the synth ban was overturned in Picard . It is reasonable to assume that people's attitudes will change more slowly than the law, and evil machinations by Lore will reinforce that synths are evil. Lore has been dismantled once, and that can happen again.

Lore Can Replace Data In Picard Season 3's TNG Reunion

All of TNG's main characters reunite in Star Trek: Picard season 3. This provides an opportunity for closure and for Lore to step into Data's shoes. Lore is Data's twin brother but can't replace him entirely, of course. Picard and his crew will need to trust him, which will take time or some act of heroism by Lore. However, it's not an insurmountable challenge, especially since the TNG crew will have an incentive to forgive him, as he is Data's brother and Data is gone.

Lore will no longer be alone in the galaxy if he embraces his brother's legacy and his brother's found family, in turn, embraces him. Transforming Lore from a menacing threat in TNG to a hero in Star Trek : Picard will also fit with the show's legacy of neutralizing historic enemies, such as Q (John de Lancie) and the Borg, through cooperation and friendship. Allowing Lore to be redeemed in this way would be honoring a major trope of TNG and a theme as old as Star Trek itself of resolving conflict nonviolently and seeing the good in all sentient beings.

More: Picard Season 3: Every TNG's Character's Next Generation

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Lore was the name used by two Soong-type androids in the 24th century . ( TNG episode : " Datalore "; TNG short story : " I Am Become Death ")

• 1 Original Lore
• 2.1 Specifications
• 2.2.1 As Data
• 2.2.2 As Lore
• 2.2.3 Daystrom Android M-5-10
• 3.1 Appearances
• 3.2 Other references
• 4 External link

Original Lore [ ]

After deactivating and dismantling Lore, Soong set about constructing his brother Data , an android without destabilizing emotions. Lore's positronic net differed from Data's in that it had a Type-"L" phase discriminator , compared to Data's Type-"R". ( TNG episode : " Time's Arrow "). Afterwards Soong intended to construct and program just one more android learn where he had gone wrong with Lore, even though Lore's mother "Juliana" was at first vehemently opposed to creating any more androids. ( TNG episode : " Brothers ")

Lore was rediscovered in 2364 by the crew of USS Enterprise -D . Chief engineer Argyle and Dr. Beverly Crusher reassembled and reactivated the android, who then attempted to steal Data's identity in order to summon the Crystalline Entity to the Enterprise . One noticeable malfunction upon re-activation was a persistent twitch he corrected using the left side of Data's face. In Data 's quarters, he privately asked him to consider the implications. Their Isaac Asimov -inspired technology "could reflect 1000s, or millions... of lifeforms of every kind". He was stopped by Data, who beamed Lore out into space . ( TNG episode : " Datalore ")

While in the void of space, Lore deactivated himself, fusing the matrix in his positronic brain . A version of Data from the 44th century , who had taken control of a Pakled vessel, eventually discovered Lore's body. Exchanging clothing with Lore, the alternate Data vaporized the body in front of the Pakleds in an elaborate ruse to take over Lore's place and prevent the rise of the Children of Soong . ( TNG short story : " I Am Become Death ")

Second Lore [ ]

Specifications [ ].

At some point over the centuries, Lore had improved himself with various new internal devices. This includes a subspace beacon for initiating transport , when standard combadges were unavailable to lock on. ( TNG episode : " Brothers ") It could also function as a transmitter link between himself and any other Soong -type android. ( TNG episode : " Descent ")

Biography [ ]

As data [ ].

Lore's history separates itself from Data's in 2367 , when Data hijacked the USS Enterprise -D under control of Noonien Soong. With the original Lore dead, these events led to Data receiving his emotion chip and the death of Willie Potts .

After many years of loyal service, Data left starship duty to become an academic. Over the next few centuries, the deaths of his close friends ( Jean-Luc Picard , Deanna Troi , Worf ), his wife Tana , and many other crewmates and friends overwhelmed Data's emotion chip to the point that he routinely turned it off.

Eventually, he removed his emotion chip, only to discover after many more centuries that he grew emotions independent of the chip. Discovering he was now nearly human, Data began to despise humanity and retired to Omicron Theta to live amongst the Children of Soong .

Beginning in the 32nd century , Data was kept under the watchful eye of Jaris on Omicron Theta. He escaped in the 44th century to commit suicide at the old Starfleet Headquarters , but was prevented by versions of Jaris and Damia from the 54th century .

In his brief encounter with Jaris and Damia, Data learned of humanity's fate and, after disposing of the two androids and losing an arm in the battle, used their timeship to travel to the year 24th century and revive Lore. Data believed that the continued existence of Lore would prevent the birth of the Children of Soong and the death of humanity.

Arriving in 2364 , Data immediately took control of a Pakled ship and ordered them to search for Lore's body, helping them out along the way. After two years , the Pakleds discovered Lore's body and brought it onboard. When Data discovered that the original Lore is destroyed beyond repair, he developed a ruse where he convinced the Pakleds that he was Lore and he had "killed" Data. He replaced his destroyed arm and loyally served with the Pakleds as "Lore." ( TNG short story : " I Am Become Death ")

As Lore [ ]

In 2367 , Lore answered the homing signal intended to draw Data to Soong's new laboratory on Terlina III . There, Lore posed as Data, took the emotion chip Soong had designed for his brother, and fatally injured the doctor. ( TNG episode : " Brothers ")

In 2369 , Lore encountered a group of Borg disconnected from the Collective as a result of Hugh 's sense of individuality. Lore established himself as their leader, ("the One", as he was referred to, unaware that the Collective hierarchy was composed of myriad Borg Queens ), and directed them to attack Federation targets. This brought the Enterprise-D and Data to investigate, and Lore attempted to manipulate his brother by broadcasting emotions from the stolen chip. Data, with the help of Geordi La Forge , was able to overcome this influence, shoot and deactivate Lore. ( TNG episode & novelization : Descent )

Data brought Lore to the Enterprise -D and disconnected his positronic brain. He kept it in a vault in his lab, isolated from his body, and designed the vault to self-destruct if it was ever tampered with. In 2371 , when the Enterprise -D crashed on Veridian III , the vault containing his brain was damaged; the self-destruct system activated, and the brain was destroyed. The rest of Lore's body was unharmed, and as of 2374 was being kept in Data's lab on the USS Enterprise -E . ( TNG novel : Immortal Coil )

Daystrom Android M-5-10 [ ]

Prior to his death, Doctor Altan Soong had obtained a copy of Lore's memories and personalities and loaded it into an android he described as a totality, along with the personalities and memories of B4, Data, Lal, and himself. Soong built a partition into the android so that Lore could not overwhelm the other personalities in the android. After Altan died Starfleet took possession of Soong's work, taking the android - which they called Daystrom Android M-5-10 - to act as the security system for the Daystrom station.

The android was taken on board the USS Titan by Worf , Riker , and Raffi . LaForge removed the partition seperating the personalities. While it at first appeared that Lore was about to overwhelm and delete the Data personality permanently, Data gave Lore all his memories, giving Data the means to decompile and integrate Lore's personality into his own. As a result Data was resurrected in Daystrom Android M-5-10 while having the memories of B4, Altan, Lal, and Lore combined into his new personality. Following that, the android became known as Data. ( PIC episode : " Surrender ")

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ], other references [ ], external link [ ].

• Lore article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• Lore article at the Star Trek Timelines Wiki .
• 1 Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
• 2 Odyssey class
• 3 Akira class

• View history

Below are the 166 questions and answers for the Path to 2409 daily trivia, available at Starfleet Academy from Commander Viala for “History 102: Alpha Quadrant Midterm” and Klingon Academy from Loresinger Ch'toh for “Learning the Lore of the Empire” .

Commander Viala is the historian at Starfleet Academy

Ch'toh is the Loresinger of the Klingon Academy

Commander Viala outlines the objectives for Starfleet officers

Midterm can be taken at this computer console

last edit: -- Cyberchip ( talk ) 01:13, 24 December 2015 (UTC)

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http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E3Brothers

Recap / Star Trek: The Next Generation S4E3 "Brothers"

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Original air date: October 8, 1990

The Enterprise is on a medical mission to transport a sick child to a starbase medical lab after a prank from the boy's brother went awry. While escorting the older boy to pay his sick brother a visit, Data begins acting oddly. Without warning, he turns off the life-support systems on the bridge, forcing the rest of the crew to evacuate. He then commandeers the ship by imitating Picard's voice and setting security codes so that only he can control all the crucial systems, then sets a new course to an unknown planet.

Data beams down to the planet and is reactivated to his normal self by an old scientist. Data quickly recognizes the man as Dr. Noonien Soong, his creator, who was thought to be dead. Data showers his creator with questions, such as why he created him in the first place. Soong states that, just as humans wish to have a sense of continuity with the past, they also wish to have a sense of immortality into the future through procreation. However, their conversation is interrupted by the unexpected arrival of Lore, who also answered Soong's summons.

On the Enterprise , the crew is scrambling to regain control of the ship. They have only about 24 hours before the sick boy will succumb to his infection. But Data's modifications to the ship leave them without the ability to use the warp drive or transporters. Geordi concocts a plan to jury-rig the transporters, and he sets to work with O'Brien.

The family reunion between the androids and their creator goes fairly poorly. Soong reveals that most of what Lore told Data about each other was a lie, including the claim that Data is a less-perfect copy of Lore. Soong then admits that he is dying and had summoned Data to provide him with a specially designed emotion chip. Lore thinly veils his intense jealousy through a congratulatory veneer. After a night's sleep, Soong installs the emotion chip, but it turns out that he does so in Lore, who has incapacitated Data and taken his place. The chip immediately begins to malfunction, and Lore hurls Soong into some furniture before leaving.

Geordi, Worf and Riker beam down to the planet using their newly modified transporters and discover Soong critically injured and Data deactivated. They reactivate Data, who rushes to Soong's side. Soong refuses to seek medical attention and wishes to remain behind to die. Data assures his creator that he will live on through Data. When Data admits that he cannot mourn for Soong, the scientist tells him that he will, in his own way.

Tropes featured in "Brothers":

• Acting Unnatural : When the recall signal takes him over, Data ceases to speak unless it's directly related to taking over the ship. Riker and Picard don't miss this, but Data sidesteps the issue by causing a life support failure on the bridge, forcing everyone to evacuate. Curiously, he does make a show of pretending to leave to keep up appearances, even if he doesn't say anything.
• Advancing Wall of Doom : During his trek from the bridge to the transporter room, Data at one point initiates a "scan phase" with the forcefields that causes the one ahead of him to jump ahead by a few inches every few moments, in effect creating a moving wall that forces the security officers attempting to stop him to retreat.
• Amnesia Danger : Much of the drama in the second half revolves around Data not remembering that he locked out the Enterprise while he traveled to meet Soong, being unaware until Riker finally catches up with him, and Soong tells Data to execute an instruction which restores his memory. Had he known this he likely would have immediately returned to the ship, or at least gotten Soong to get their business over with as fast as possible.
• And I Must Scream : Discussed. Lore says he spent two years floating in space after his last encounter with Data and would still be out there if not for a passing Pakled ship (though he doesn't seem to have been affected by the isolation the way a human would).
• Ax-Crazy : The emotion chip makes the already emotionally unstable Lore into a full-blown Giggling Villain psychopath.
• The Bus Came Back : Lore, who had been found by the Pakleds at some point after " Datalore ".
• Borrowed Biometric Bypass : After Data has locked the Enterprise crew out of every system - including the transporter - they network some tricorders together to convince the transporter that it is beaming the last person it transporter - namely Commander Data - to the surface when they beam Worf, Riker, and LaForge to Soong's home. Riker : The computer should think all three of us are Data. I just hope we don't all beam back looking like Data.
• Call-Back : Data still can't whistle "Pop Goes the Weasel."
• Calling the Old Man Out : Lore chews out Dr. Soong for simply casting him aside to make Data instead of improving him. Dr. Soong tries to explain that he needed to use the experience of programming Data to learn how to fix Lore, but Lore isn't having it.
• Crazy-Prepared : Dr. Soong survived the Crystalline Entity because he always has an escape route prepared just in case.
• Cutting the Knot : When he's intercepted at the transporter pad, Data simply has the computer erect a forcefield around the pad and then restores site-to-site transport functionality to get to the planet below.
• Didn't See That Coming : Soong had no idea that Lore had been reassembled and also received the recall signal. Invoked In-Universe by Soong regarding the Crystalline Entity.
• Dramatic Irony : Jake and Willie parallel Lore and Data's relationship of an older brother mistreating the younger brother. Ultimately, though, Jake and Willie make up. Beverly: They're brothers, Data. Brothers forgive.
• Soong doesn't hold the destruction of Omicron Theta against Lore, even after Data tells him what happened. When Lore fatally wounds him and steals the emotion chip, Soong doesn't seem mad, just sad and disappointed.
• Also when Picard and the others learn that Data had basically been forced to hijack the Enterprise by a homing device Soong had installed in him, Data appears to suffer no serious repercussions for his actions.
• Embarrassing Nickname : "Often Wrong" Soong.
• Exploited Immunity : Data vents the atmosphere on the bridge so the crew will be forced to evacuate, then stays behind after everyone leaves. By the time they restore life support, he's erected forcefields at every possible access route to bar them reentry.
• Subverted with life support. There is no way that the bridge life-support systems would fail on their own, as Geordi points out; there are seven independent interlocks to prevent it. Data is the cause of the failure, having engineered it to get everyone else off the bridge.
• Data is able to seize absolute control of the ship's computer by virtue of the fact that, having sophisticated speech capabilities, he can precisely mimic Picard's vocal patterns and fool the voice biometrics authentication that the computer uses. This is in spite of the fact that the computer tracks the location of all members of the crew in real time, and thus must be aware that Picard is not on the bridge even though he's supposedly issuing orders from that location. A simple retinal or facial recognition scan would have foiled or at least seriously hindered Data's efforts. It's really unsettling just how easily one android hijacks the entire Enterprise , and none of the security holes this reveals are ever mentioned following this or shown to be fixed.
• Feet-First Introduction : The camera focuses on Lore's boots as he enters Dr. Soong's lab.
• Following in Their Rescuer's Footsteps : When Soong questions why Data would join Starfleet, he gives the reasons that Starfleet rescued him.
• Genre Blindness : Soong sees no problem in reactivating Lore because Lore has always obeyed him in the past. Yeah, that always works out well for a Mad Scientist .
• I Did What I Had to Do : Lore: You did what you had to do? What kind of answer is that? Soong: The only one I can give you. You were not functioning properly.
• Idiot Ball : For the sake of the plot, none of the security officers, including Worf and Riker, think to stun Data first and then ask questions after they have him restrained, allowing Data a few moments to erect forcefields through verbal commands. Their reluctance is understandable, but Data has also seized control of the ship and presents an unknown risk to its crew.
• Ironic Nursery Rhyme : Doubles as a I Shall Taunt You by Lore. Lore: Often-Wrong's got a broken heart / Can't even tell his boys apart.
• "Just Joking" Justification : Jake let his brother Willie believe he had killed Jake during a game, claiming he just wanted to scare him. Willie, panicked, ran into a forest and ate a poisonous fruit after he got lost.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia : Justified , but not with identity. Data doesn't realize what he has done to get to Dr. Soong. The homing device activated a more dominant program. Only after Dr. Soong tells Data to access a certain program does he get his memory back.
• Luke, I Am Your Father : Dr. Soong reveals to Data that he is his creator, even though Data believed that he was dead.
• Mad Scientist : A benevolent version, but Soong has the same lack of thought over the morals and consequences of his actions. He summons Data against his will, inadvertently endangering a child's life, and reactivates Lore despite Data's repeated warnings.
• Mad Scientist Laboratory : We start at the requisite glass containers full of bubbling chemicals and lightning generators before panning across to the more homely aspects of Soong's hideout.
• Moral Luck : A boy pranks his younger brother, which scares the brother enough for him to run and hide. While hiding the younger brother eats a fruit that leaves him so ill he nearly dies. The older brother is severely scolded by numerous cast members for 'nearly killing' his brother. However, while a little cruel for a prank, there was no reason for the older brother to expect anything worse then his younger brother being frightened for a while because of it. This feels particularly horrible since a child that young would likely already be very guilt-ridden to the point of tears and any competent parent would go out of their way to tell the child that this wasn't his fault, not further scolding or blaming him. Especially as humans in the future are supposedly kinder .
• Jake feels guilty about what happened to his brother and tries to apologize to Willie. Unfortunately, Willie doesn't want to talk to him at all.
• It's subtle, but the look on Data's face when he unlocks his memories of hijacking the Enterprise might be the android version of this.
• Narcissist : Dr. Soong examining Data, created in his own image . "I always loved that face."
• No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup : Dr. Soong's emotion chip for Data. Borders on Forgotten Phlebotinum , since the contents of Soong's lab should have provided a wealth of information about the construction of androids.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome : Lore being recovered by dull-witted Pakleds. The fact that Lore shows up wearing a somewhat ill-fitting Pakled uniform does , however, call into question the fate of those hapless Pakleds—i.e., whether or not there's a pile of Pakled corpses somewhere in Lore's wake.
• The Password Is Always "Swordfish" : Subverted. Data creates an insanely long password to keep the crew of the Enterprise from regaining control of the ship. The password is equivalent to a 269-bit key in symmetric cryptography which is impossible to break with current technology, or even 24th century technology. The crew is unable to guess the password or even how long the password is and is stuck until Data returns and unlocks the computers.
• Pet the Dog : Lore is genuinely upset when he hears his 'father' is dying. Subverted later when he accidentally kills him.
• Properly Paranoid : Dr. Soong created his escape route because he wasn't too trusting of the colonists. He admits he never envisioned having to run away from "a giant snowflake."
• Safely Secluded Science Center : Dr Soong has established a secret laboratory on an uninhabited jungle planet where he can continue his cybernetic experiments in seclusion - until he finally summons Data and Lore to his side, of course.
• Sanity Slippage : Lore was always unstable, but using an emotion chip not meant for him sent him to Crazytown.
• Self-Serving Memory : Soong and Data call out Lore on this. Data is not a "less perfect" android, they are both nearly identical in construction, just programmed slightly differently. And the colonists on Omicron Theta were not "jealous" of Lore, they were afraid of him.
• Sibling Rivalry : During their family reunion, Data is deeply affected when Soong asserts that he is not inferior to Lore (as Lore had previously claimed) and that they are in fact almost identical except for some slight differences in programming. Lore feels that he was The Unfavorite given that Dr. Soong decided to move on and build Data rather than focusing on fixing Lore's personality disorders even though Soong insisted he planned on fixing Lore. He tricks Soong into giving him the emotion chip intended for Data by impersonating him.
• Spot the Imposter : "Often Wrong's got a broken heart, can't even tell his boys apart."
• This Cannot Be! : Lore's reaction to Soong's You See, I'm Dying .
• Ticking Clock : The ship needs to get to a starbase to save a dying boy, providing an urgency to the episode.
• To a lesser extent Soong also nearly gets a young child killed because it doesn't occur to him that forcing Data to travel to his location by any means possible even if his morality program would prevent him from deliberately killing anyone wouldn't cause massive problems by hijacking and locking out the flagship of the Federation.
• Unable to Cry : Data: You know that I cannot grieve for you, sir. Soong: You will, in your own way.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom : Dr. Soong obviously had no idea there was a terminally ill boy aboard the Enterprise , who his recall signal to Data put in danger. Likewise, Data wasn't in control of himself, and didn't even remember what happened aboard the ship until Soong told him how to unlock his memory files.
• Wham Shot : Lore being the one to arrive at the lab.
• Whole-Plot Reference : To the story of Isaac, Jacob, and Esau in the Book of Genesis . In short, Isaac was old, blind, and dying, and intended to give a blessing to his rightful heir Esau. But Esau's brother Jacob impersonated him and stole the blessing for himself. Soong even mumbles something about Esau at the very end of the episode.
• Xanatos Speed Chess : Data readjusts his strategy fairly quickly when site-to-site transportation is disabled.
• You See, I'm Dying : Word-for-word when Lore is about to simply walk out of the "family reunion." Soong gets him to stay by pointing out that they'll never have another chance to interact.
• Younger Than They Look : Possibly if what Dr. Ira Graves said about being Soong's mentor was true. Graves, while still old looking, didn't look anywhere as ancient as Soong does. This might be chalked up to makeup artists overdoing it when a younger actor is made up to play an elderly character. note  Or it might have been that Soong had also been injured by the "giant snowflake" - leading to his premature aging.
• Star Trek: The Next Generation S4E2 "Family"
• Recap/Star Trek: The Next Generation
• Star Trek: The Next Generation S4E4 "Suddenly Human"

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Datalore (episode)

• View history
• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 1.6 Act Five
• 1.7 Log entries
• 2 Memorable quotes
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Summary [ ]

While passing by Omicron Theta en route to their next assignment, the USS Enterprise -D stops to investigate the site of Data 's discovery. However, Data is in his quarters practicing sneezing. Wesley Crusher walks in on Data pretending to sneeze in front of a mirror and asks him if he has a cold . Data has never heard of such thing (at least not in reference to an illness) so Wesley says " It's a disease my mom says people used to get. " Data acknowledges this fact, but presses that Humans sneeze for other reasons and he'd like to learn how to do it so he will better "fit in" with the crew. Wesley wonders out loud how Data could be practicing sneezing in a time like this; they're about to arrive at his home planet. Data clarifies that he is excited to see his point of origin, but that he is also interested in sneezing. They leave for the bridge . The crew learns of an entire Earth colony that disappeared from the planet twenty-six years ago , and the whole planet now appears dead. Riker leads an away team that beams down to the spot where Data was found by crewmembers from the USS Tripoli . For some reason, Data has been given the memories of all 411 colonists, and he is interested in learning why.

Act One [ ]

Very cleverly designed

The away team proceeds to the topographical site where Data was found; it is a hollow with a rock wall. He was found in the open, and was apparently activated by a marker beacon that detected the crews' presence. Geordi La Forge examines the rock wall with his VISOR and sees that it was man-made. He finds a hidden door in the wall that opens onto a passage that leads to an underground shelter. The away team goes down one of the corridors before coming to a door that leads to a laboratory, where Data recalls impressions of his basic functions being tested. There are children's pictures on the wall, all apparently of the same scene. Data doesn't know what they represent, only a sense that they refer to something dangerous.

" How many more Datas are there?! "

Riker presses him and asks if he can remember anything else about the lab. Data replies that he can remember one of the machines in a work area in the lab that was used by a Dr. Noonien Soong . La Forge recognizes the name of Earth 's foremost robotics scientist . He tried to create a positronic brain , but failed when he could not deliver on his grand promise and then disappeared. Now, they realize he went to Omicron Theta under a different name to continue his work. Data, La Forge, and Riker continue to search the lab, while Natasha Yar and Worf search the rest of the bunker. They find molds for making Data's skin, and Yar reports that the rest of the bunker is empty. Then La Forge comes across a storage area. Inside, they find another android identical to Data. Data is excited by the discovery and they decide to bring it back to the Enterprise for assembly.

Act Two [ ]

Back on the Enterprise , a team of engineers and technicians try to reassemble the android. Argyle confirms that "it" has the same body parts as Data, and asks if he can examine Data if he needs more information, comparing the internal circuitry, and Data agrees. He then joins Captain Picard , Commander Riker, and Geordi La Forge in the observation lounge to discuss the situation. Everyone seems to be tip-toeing around the subject so Picard stops the briefing momentarily to say " All right. Legitimate questions about any of this need not be asked apologetically. You feel uncomfortable on aspects of your duplicate, Data. We feel uncomfortable too… it feels awkward to be reminded that Data is a machine, just remember that we are merely a different variety of machine. " He concludes by stating that they should handle this situation like they would anything else and continue the briefing.

After asking and answering a few more questions, Data returns to Dr. Crusher . He shows Crusher where his off switch is located on his body, asking her to keep it secret. Then she and Argyle open him up and check his internal construction. After they close him up, Picard and Riker arrive in sickbay . The other android has been fully assembled, but he is still not active. Picard wonders aloud which was made first. Suddenly, the second android comes alive and says that Data was. He calls himself Lore , and says he was made to replace the "imperfect" Data.

Act Three [ ]

How to build an android

Data and Picard talk in the ready room . Data believes that both he and Lore have the same physical and mental capabilities. Picard then asks Data where his loyalties lie, and Data assures him that his loyalty is to Picard and Starfleet , completely. They go out onto the bridge where Wesley Crusher and La Forge are explaining the helm controls to Lore. Riker then says the first part of Pythagorean theorem , and Lore unthinkingly completes it, except the last word, "sides," which he claims he never really knew in the first place. While his face twitches, he says he enjoys pleasing Humans.

Data leads him off to show him the rest of the ship, telling him Riker tricked him into revealing he knew more than he let on. He warns him not to underestimate Humans, but Lore is dismissive. He tells Data not to be jealous of his ability. They go to Data's quarters, where Data checks up information about Dr. Soong. Lore calls him "Often Wrong Soong" and derides Data for the way he tries to mimic Humans. Data asks him again which of them was built first, and Lore admits he, himself, was built first. He says the colonists became envious of him and persuaded Soong to build a less perfect android – Data. Lore was too Human, understanding language and humor. Lore points out that he can easily handle speech and says " I use their contractions. For example, I say "can't" or "isn't" and you say "cannot" and "is not. " Lore then begins to sing " I say tomato and you say tomahto, " proving again how much more Human he is than Data.

Lore than states that he can help Data become more Human and Data says that he is obligated to report all of this – the lies Lore told Riker about his knowledge, the lie that he was built before Data, and every other lie he said since "waking up." Data leaves to go on duty and asks Lore to make a report to the captain about what happened to the colonists.

Act Four [ ]

Evil twin alert

On the bridge, Picard and Riker analyze Lore's report. The colonists were killed by a Crystalline Entity that feeds on lifeforms , and is capable of stripping all life from an entire world. The two androids survived because they were not alive when the entity attacked. Yar tells Picard that Lore has left his room to go to deck four, and Picard tells Data to check up on him. When he goes, Yar asks if he can be trusted, to which Picard replies that he trusts him completely. In Data's quarters, Lore mixes a pill into some Altairian Grand Premier champagne which he offers to Data when he enters. Data drinks the champagne, and realizes immediately something is wrong. He collapses, and Lore reveals that he learned to communicate with the Crystalline Entity, which he led to the colonists in order to get revenge.

The Crystalline Entity

On the bridge, Worf reports that a subspace communication is detected coming from Data's quarters, and Riker sends Wes down to check it out. Lore is communicating with the crystalline entity. He tells it to identify him as Data. Wes comes in and "Data" tells Wes that "Lore" attacked him and he had to switch him off. His face twitches and covers it up, saying he's been practicing Lore's facial twitch. Lore/Data says he's coming up onto the bridge, and after Wes leaves he uses a small tool and fixes his own twitch and causes one in Data.

Dr. Crusher walks over to the helm and asks Wes on the bridge what happened. Wesley tells her he shut Lore off, which makes her suspicious since it was their secret. "Data" arrives on the bridge when La Forge detects an unknown object approaching at high speed. It is the crystalline entity.

Act Five [ ]

" Careful of Lore. Good, he is still unconscious. "

Picard says they need to question Lore. Wesley loudly protests that he doesn't trust Data/Lore. Picard and Riker are both annoyed at his display and decide that Riker would go with Wesley and "Data" to see "Lore". "Data" approaches "Lore" and causes him to shake by using Data's activation switch to rapidly turn him on and off. He tells Riker and Wes to leave, saying he can't control "Lore". After they leave, he kicks Data in the head in anger, causing part of his "skin" on his temple to come loose and exposing the circuitry on his skull. On the bridge, Riker tells Picard what happens, but Wes is still not convinced. The Crystalline Entity brushes against the shields . "Data" rushes in and says he wants to talk to it. He tells it the Humans here are powerful. It backs off, and "Data" suggests beaming something like a tree out into space and destroying it in a show of force. Picard agrees.

Timing is everything

"Data" leaves, but Wes continues to protest. Wesley tries again to convince Picard that "Data" is really Lore, but the captain refuses to listen and dismisses him, telling him to " shut up, Wesley ." He still orders Worf to monitor what "Data" does, since it is unusual. Beverly, just as hurt as her son, repeats in shock, " Shut up, Wesley?! " Picard dismisses her also and orders them both off the bridge. Wesley, angered, starts to complain, but Beverly fearfully adds, " Shut up, Wesley " herself in an attempt to protect her son from further ridicule by the rest of the crew.

Worf steps into the turbolift with Lore, who knocks his phaser out of his hand and taunts him by asking the Klingon to show him " your warrior fierceness. " Lore then assaults Worf after he smacks him in the android's face and knocks him unconscious. Meanwhile, Wes has managed to convince Dr. Crusher to stop off at Data's quarters. She sees Data hurt on the ground and switches him on. He tells her he is not badly hurt, and they go to cargo bay 3 to stop Lore.

They sneak into the cargo bay and hear Lore talking to the Crystalline Entity. Lore spots Data and Wesley and threatens to kill Wesley. Beverly comes out from hiding and pulls a phaser on him, but she is too close and he grabs it from her after shoving his brother into her. He then tells her to leave and demands that Data cooperate with him or he will kill Wesley. Dr. Crusher hesitantly makes her exit, but not before Lore fires his phaser at her, igniting the sleeve of her blue lab coat. Taking his chance, Data knocks the phaser out of Lore's hand and they start to brawl. Data throws him into cargo containers and then onto the transporter pad where the phaser landed. Lore fires just as Wes is able to energize the transporter, beaming him out into space. Picard, Riker, Yar, and Crusher enter with phasers drawn to find that Lore is gone. With no way to reach the crew, the Crystalline Entity leaves; Picard orders Data to get rid of the twitch and to find a proper uniform as the Enterprise resumes course for a computer overhaul.

Log entries [ ]

• Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), 2364
• First officer's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)

Memorable quotes [ ]

" Shut up, Wesley! "

" Now, show me your warrior fierceness. "

" The troublesome little man-child. "

" If you had an off switch, doctor… would you not keep it secret? "

" AH… AH… CHOO! "

" How sad, dear brother. You make me wish I were an only child. "

"The troublesome little man-child. Are you prepared for the kind of death you've earned, little man?"

" Back off… or I'll turn your little man into a torch. "

" Make it so. " " Sir? " " Do it. "

" He was. "

" Lore's gone sir. Permanently. "

" Have you got a cold?" " A cold what? "

" Since I am finished here, may I point out that everything I said would have been listened to, if it came from an adult officer! "

Background information [ ]

Production history [ ].

• Original story outline ( titled "Apocalypse Anon"): 22 July 1987 ( Creating the Next Generation )
• Final draft script: 19 October 1987
• Revised final draft script: 26 October 1987 [1]
• Filmed: 28 October 1987 – 6 November 1987
• Storyboards for visual effects shots of the Crystalline Entity's pursuit of the Enterprise : 19 November 1987
• Score recorded at Paramount Stage M : 18 December 1987 ( Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Ron Jones Project liner notes [2]
• Premiere airdate: 18 January 1988
• UK premiere ( BBC2 ): 19 December 1990

Story and script [ ]

• Lore was originally planned to be a female android to provide a love interest for Data . Her job would have been to go out and repair dangerous situations. It was Brent Spiner who suggested the old "evil twin" concept be used instead. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion  (2nd ed., p. 46)) The female android concept was later used in the third season episode " The Offspring ". However, the female android depicted there was Data's offspring, and not a love interest.
• This was the final episode of Star Trek on which Gene Roddenberry was a credited writer before his death on 24 October 1991 .
• An early story for this episode was named "Apocalypse Anon". In this story, the Enterprise -D was on a rescue mission at a planet. Part of the away team was a female Starfleet officer with the name Minuet , who fell in love with Commander Riker. Riker was shocked when he learned that Minuet was an android. ( Creating the Next Generation , p. 51)

Cast and characters [ ]

• Marina Sirtis ( Deanna Troi ) does not appear in this episode.

The three Data doubles

• The characters of Data and Lore were portrayed by four different people: actor Brent Spiner , photo double Ken Gildin , stunt double Brian J. Williams, and an unknown photo double . ( Star Trek: The Next Generation 365 , p. 45)
• Director Rob Bowman commented on Brent Spiner's performance in the double role; " His ability to delineate those brothers… I felt like I had the best seat in the house, saying 'Action' and watching him do it […] I remember […] giggling at Brent's dexterity [during the shoot] . He was just unbelievable. " [3]

Production [ ]

• Concept drawings of the Crystalline Entity were produced by illustrator Andrew Probert . However, he found this was the only time when the TNG modelmakers didn't adhere to his designs, with the Crystalline Entity ultimately looking radically different from how he'd imagined and drawn it. ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 12 , p. 45)
• This episode was originally to have been directed by Joe Scanlan but the choice of director was changed to Rob Bowman just before the episode was scheduled to be filmed. " The script, or so I heard, was not in good shape and they got to a point in pre-production where they said they couldn't have the script ready in time, " Bowman recalled. " We were going to have to switch scripts. So, they switched 'The Big Goodbye' with 'Datalore', which I was then given […] Anyway, I took on 'Datalore' and said, 'Here's a show they don't think will work, so I'm going to make it work. I'm going to prove to them that they made a mistake.' The episode was a learning experience, and there were lots of discussions with Rick Berman and Robert H. Justman . In a sense of working technique, there are many visual effects and split screens. It was a technically difficult show to do, and we had an extra day to shoot it because of that. " ("Rob Bowman – Director of a Dozen", The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine  issue 10 )
• Bowman also enjoyed collaborating on "Datalore" with Brent Spiner. " We were both really keen on making that a special show, " commented Bowman. " We were like, 'Fine, 'The Big Goodbye' is going to be a fun script, but we're going to make this one even more popular if we can.' I remember that, and I remember feeling really good during the shoot. " [4]
• Chuck Courtney served as stunt coordinator for this episode. He was among the group of "one time" hired coordinators, prior to Dennis Madalone 's employment for the series. Courtney had appeared, twenty years earlier, in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode " Patterns of Force " as Davod , and he went on to assist Madalone in further episodes of TNG and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .
• This episode marks the first Star Trek appearance of stuntman Brian J. Williams as stunt double for Brent Spiner . Williams doubled Spiner throughout the run of The Next Generation , all four TNG films, and also in Star Trek: Enterprise . In addition, he performed stunts in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Star Trek: Voyager , and Star Trek: Enterprise .

Continuity [ ]

• Picard notes at the end of the episode that the Enterprise -D is overdue for a computer refit, which does not happen until TNG : " 11001001 " (two episodes later).
• When Riker makes his log entry at the beginning of act one, he uses the stardate 4124.5. This was no doubt meant to be 41242.5, as Picard's log entry in the teaser is 41242.4.
• Data's quarters are seen for the first time in this episode. The design changes significantly in later episodes.
• There is a costume blooper involving Data's rank. When the away team is examining the child drawings displayed in the lab, Data has a full commander's rank. Moments later, when talking about Dr. Soong's workstation, Data's rank returns to the proper lieutenant commander insignia.
• At the end of the episode, Data uses a contraction in his reply to Captain Picard asking Data if he is alright. Instead of saying " I am fine, " Data replies, " I'm fine. " This is even more noteworthy than "contraction slip-ups" in other episodes, since the use of contractions was the main method the crew used in this episode to determine whether they were talking to Data or Lore.
• Picard and Riker admonishing Wesley repeatedly is completely out of character given how Wesley has previously been treated like almost like a regular crew member for his contributions.
• The episode's score, composed and conducted by Ron Jones , was recorded on 18 December 1987 at Paramount Stage M . ( Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Ron Jones Project liner notes [5] ) The complete episode score, totaling twenty-five minutes exactly, appears on Disc Two of the Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Ron Jones Project collection.
• The sequence where Lore is assembled contains a variation on Ilia's Theme from Star Trek: The Motion Picture composed by Jerry Goldsmith .

Reception [ ]

• Rob Bowman was very pleased with how this episode ended up. " I thought it came off excellently, " he said. ("Rob Bowman – Director of a Dozen", The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine  issue 10 )
• A mission report for this episode, by Robert Greenberger , was published in The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine  issue 6 , pp. 43-46.

Remastering [ ]

• On 11 April 2012 , Director Robert Meyer Burnett confirmed and released the first image of the remastered Crystalline Entity for the Blu-ray edition of TNG Season 1 . [6]

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 7 , catalog number VHR 2398, 5 November 1990
• UK re-release (three-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment ): Volume 1.5, catalog number VHR 4646, 6 July 1998
• As part of the TNG Season 1 DVD collection
• As part of Star Trek: The Next Generation 25th Anniversary Event
• As part of the TNG Season 1 Blu-ray collection

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard
• Jonathan Frakes as Commander William T. Riker

Also starring [ ]

• LeVar Burton as Lt. Geordi La Forge
• Denise Crosby as Lt. Tasha Yar
• Michael Dorn as Lt. Worf
• Gates McFadden as Doctor Beverly Crusher
• Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data
• Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher

Guest star [ ]

• Biff Yeager as Argyle

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• James G. Becker as Youngblood
• Darrell Burris as operations officer
• Dan Campise as operations officer
• Dexter Clay as operations officer
• Jeffrey Deacon as command officer
• Lorine Mendell as Diana Giddings
• Brent Spiner as Lore
• Guy Vardaman as Darien Wallace
• Command crewmember
• Female command crewmember
• Female medical technician
• Female operations officer
• Operations officer
• Sciences officer
• Three civilians
• Three operations crewmembers
• Three sciences crewmembers

Stunt doubles [ ]

• Al Simon as stunt double for Michael Dorn
• Brian J. Williams as stunt double for Brent Spiner
• Unknown stunt performer as stunt double for Gates McFadden

Stand-ins and photo doubles [ ]

• James G. Becker – stand-in for Jonathan Frakes
• Darrell Burris – stand-in for LeVar Burton
• Dexter Clay – stand-in for Michael Dorn
• Jeffrey Deacon – stand-in for Patrick Stewart
• Susan Duchow – stand-in for Denise Crosby
• Ken Gildin – photo double for Brent Spiner
• Tim McCormack – stand-in for Brent Spiner
• Lorine Mendell – stand-in for Gates McFadden
• Guy Vardaman – stand-in for Wil Wheaton / photo double for Brent Spiner
• Unknown actor – photo double for Brent Spiner

References [ ]

2338 ; 2341 ; 2345 ; 2348 ; 2360 ; " a bit "; ability ; accuracy ; adult ; alarm clock ; " all right "; " a lot of "; Altairian Grand Premier ; ambition ; amusement ; android ; android assembling tools ; antiseptic ; apology ; appointment ; area ; Isaac Asimov ; assignment ; " at all "; " at fault "; attack ; " at this point "; away party ; B., John ; bed ; birthplace ; body ; bogey ; bridge ; bridge crew ; brother ; category ; Cargo Room 3 ; case ; champagne ; child ; Chinese language ; choice ; circle ; class M ; close parking orbit ; cold ; colonist ; " come in "; computer ; consciousness ; construction ; contraction ; corridor ; creature ; cruiser ; Crystalline Entity ; custom ; danger ; day ; deactivation switch ; death ; debriefing ; deflector shield ; degree ; designer ; desire ; desktop monitor ; dimension ; disappearance ; discovery ; disease ; drawing ; dream ; duplicate ; dust ; Earth ; Earth colony ; electrochemical ; electromagnetic spectrum ; ensign ; entity ; epidermal mold ; event ; experience ; experiment ; eye ; farm / farmland ; father ; fear ; fibroid-like connection ; finger ; floor ; " for example "; frequency ; friend ; Galaxy class decks ; genius ; gift ; grammar ; gratitude ; hailing frequency ; heading ; heating device ; helm control ; home ; home planet ; " home sweet home "; hour ; Human ; Human form ; Human language ; Human quality ; humor ; hypotenuse ; idea ; ID signal ; identity record ; image ; imagination ; importance ; impression ; information ; " in other words "; inquiry ; insect ; instruction ; " in the open "; " in time "; jealousy ; joke ; Josh ; " keep an eye on "; kindness ; knowledge ; laboratory ; landing party ; language ; lie ; lieutenant ; life ( lifeform ); life force ; loyalty ; M., Jae ; M., Josh ; machine ; main phaser ; main viewer ; macrotool ; meaning ; measurement ; medical tricorder ; memory ; mental ability ; message ; meter ; micro-circuitry ; micro-miniature work tool ; microscope ; Milky Way Galaxy ; million ; mind ; minute ; mirror ; mister ; moon ; motherhood ; " move away "; " my God "; mystery ; name ; nature ; number one ; observation lounge ; o'clock ; " of course "; off switch ; offense ; ointment ; Omicron Theta (planet); Omicron Theta (star); Omicron Theta colony ; Omicron Theta moons ; Omicron Theta star system ; only child ; " on the nose "; opinion ; pain ; painting ; parent ; pattern ; payment ; permission ; photon torpedo ; physical strength ; place ; positron ; positronic brain ; potato ; promise ; proof ; Pythagorean theorem ; quadratanium ; quarters ; question ; ready room ; reason ; recording signal ; red alert ; refit ; report ; reputation ; research ; respect ; right angle ; right triangle ; ritual ; robot ; robotics scientist ; rule ; science ; secret ; security team ; senior officer ; sensor ; ship's store ; sickbay ; signal device ; sneeze ; snowflake ; soil ; soil bacteria ; Soong, Noonien ; Soong-type ; sound ; Southern Vineyard ; space duty ; specialist ; speech ; standard orbit ; Starfleet ; Starfleet Academy ; Starfleet uniform ; starship ; storage area ; subspace channel ; subwarp ; sweet ; switch ; syntax ; tangent ; teaching ; terrain ; thing ; thousand ; tic ; Timon of Athens ; toast ; tomato ; topographically ; torch ; training ; transporter ; tree ; tricorder ; Tripoli , USS ; Tripoli landing party ; Tripoli log ; turbolift ; turbo-sensor ; type I phaser ; type II phaser ; unconscious ; unnamed plants ; value ; vegetation ; viewscreen ; VISOR ; warrior ; weapon ; word ; work area ; world ; year ; yellow alert

Library computer references [ ]

NCC-1700 ; Argelius II ; Bayard's Planet ; concussion ring ; Constitution -class ; Constitution II -class ; deflector ; Diana ; Excelsior -class ; Galileo ; Greyhound , USS ; hangar deck ; impulse drive ; impulse subsystems ; Jewel Stars, The ; light year ; Martian insect ; Muleskinner , USS ; phaser bank ; Phi Puma ; primary hull ; secondary hull ; sector ; sensor array ; supernova ; Type 7 shuttlecraft ; Wanderer -class ; warp nacelle ; warp subsystems

External links [ ]

• "Datalore" at StarTrek.com
• " Datalore " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Datalore " at Wikipedia
• " Datalore " at the Internet Movie Database
• " Datalore " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• "Datalore" script  at Star Trek Minutiae

Star Trek: Forget Lore, The Next Generation Almost Gave Data An Android Love Interest

Data's brother often appeared in Star Trek: The New Generation to stir up trouble, but the original version of the character was completely different.

The evil twin concept is one of the most prevalent tropes in popular culture and is often used to stir up drama among the main cast and keep the audience guessing. Such is the case with the android character Lore, the brother of Star Trek: The Next Generation 's Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner). Manipulative and cunning, Lore appeared in four episodes of The Next Generation and always stirred up trouble for Data and the crew of the U.S.S Enterprise . However, Lore was a deviation from the original concepts of the character, as he was initially supposed to be a female love interest for Data.

Lore debuted in Season 1 Episode 13, "Datalore, and" like his brother, he was created in the image of Dr. Noonian Soong, a famous cyberneticist. He was Soong's first successful attempt to develop a sophisticated positronic brain, but unlike Data, he programmed Lore with emotions. The android saw himself as superior to humans, and his cruelty and emotional instability frightened the colonists on the Federation planet of Omicron Theta. Lore later betrayed Soong and the colonists to a creature known as the Crystalline Entity, which wiped out all life on the planet. But before the Crystalline Entity's attack, Soong created Data and deactivated Lore, leaving the android in storage. He was discovered years later by the crew of the Enterprise, who reactivated him and unwittingly kickstarted his quest for vengeance.

RELATED: Star Trek: How an Early Original Series Villain ALMOST Got Revenge on Captain Kirk

Executive producer Rick Berman often cites "Datalore" (originally titled "Apocalypse Anon) as one of the few episodes of Season 1 that changed the most from its initial inception. Lore was originally supposed to be a female android and love interest for Data. Her job was going to be going out and repairing dangerous situations, but because of delays and rewrites of the episode, Star Trek's creator Gene Roddenberry suggested the "evil twin" concept, leading to the creation of Lore.

Spiner is often credited with coming up with the idea for the episode, but in an interview with StarTrek.com , the actor revealed this wasn't the case. "The idea wasn't mine. Maybe someone is confusing that with my desire to play Dr. Soong after the character was already written. They originally thought of Keye Luke ( Gremlins , Night Court ) for the role, but I talked Rick into using me instead. Lore was completely Gene's idea as far as I remember," he explained.

RELATED:  Star Trek Introduced the Holodeck YEARS Before The Next Generation

Lore only appeared sporadically across The Next Generation 's seven-season run, but he'd have a profound impact on Data. While he operated within the strict parameters of his programming, Lore was unpredictable and dangerous, and rather than trying to be like humans, he wanted to dominate them. Eventually, Lore became the leader of a group of disconnected Borg and began replacing their organic brains with positronic parts, causing them to become even more violent and murderous. Data would eventually confront his brother and deactivate him, though his ultimate fate is left unknown.

While the idea of the female android was scrapped for "Datalore," the concept was reused in Season 3, Episode 16, "The Offspring," in which Data creates a daughter, Lal. In many ways, Data's daughter was a better version of her father and was likely what Soong intended to create with Lore. So, while Data never had an android love interest, he did eventually gain a female companion that, even after her death, helped him become a better android.

KEEP READING:  Star Trek: A Key The Next Generation Character Could Have Left in the Pilot

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Star Trek: Picard

‘Star Trek: Picard’ Season 3, Episode 5 Recap: Old Friends Return

In this week’s “Picard,” Jean-Luc encounters a familiar face. And he must contain his anger.

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By Sopan Deb

Season 3, Episode 5: ‘Imposters’

I am rarely truly surprised when it comes to television, but my jaw literally dropped when Ro Laren, played by Michelle Forbes, appeared as one of the Federation officers sent to upbraid Jean-Luc and Riker for their antics.

A genuinely stunning callback. The last time we saw Ro, she had become a traitor to the Federation by joining the Maquis in their fight against the Cardassians. This was a betrayal so cutting that it left Captain Picard speechless in one of Patrick Stewart’s stronger acting moments. That wasn’t supposed to be the last we saw of Ro, one of the more storied occasional characters in Trek lore. “Deep Space Nine” wanted Forbes to resurrect Ro as part of the cast, but she turned it down.

What made Ro a brilliant character is that she was one of the rare figures in “Next Generation” who didn’t automatically buy the righteousness of Starfleet hook, line and sinker.

She notes to Jean-Luc during their tense reunion: “Blind faith in any institution does not make one honorable.” 

Ro questioned the status quo and valued her personal identity — as was signified by her insisting on wearing her Bajoran earring, which Jean-Luc astutely notes is missing when we see her again. This makes her the perfect person to tell the captain she once turned on that Starfleet is compromised at the highest level. Ro, on some level, has always believed that Starfleet is corrupt — just not as blatantly as it is now.

It falls somewhere between appropriate and ironic that Ro wants to question her former commanding officers about committing treason. Jean-Luc, understandably, is still enraged that Ro betrayed him all those years ago, though it’s a bit rich at the moment, given why he is in trouble.

“Empathy is one thing; betraying a commanding officer is another,” Jean-Luc rages, though we should remember that Jean-Luc just stole a shuttle from the Titan and put the entire crew in danger. But let’s move past that.

In the “Picard” version of Ro, she is a commander now, not an ensign. I was mostly fine with the story of how she got there. She was court-martialed, did some time and was recruited to Starfleet Intelligence, which included an “arduous rehabilitation program.” One small quibble: At no point during this process did Starfleet let Jean-Luc know that Ro had turned herself in.

Jean-Luc is able to vent his frustrations to Ro directly, though he does it at gunpoint in the holodeck. Historically, Jean-Luc’s family has always been his crew, not his actual family. So to be betrayed by someone he took under his wing is the deepest shiv someone could stick in him, especially on a Starfleet mission. But he has always fundamentally misread Ro: Jean-Luc wanted Ro to be Starfleet’s finest — as she notes — whereas Ro just wanted to be Ro.

But even so, Picard’s crew is still family. So when Ro asks Jean-Luc if he trusts her, he immediately says yes. Changelings are everywhere within Starfleet, Ro tells Jean-Luc; and as it turns out, they are right next to her, planting a bomb on her shuttle and thus bringing a closure to Ro’s character that she never properly received on “Next Generation.” 

That Ro was the behind-the-scenes handler of Worf and Raffi was a nice touch. The three of them have much in common as outsiders who never quite fit the Starfleet mold. Using Ro’s earring as a data chip that could reunite Worf with Riker and Jean-Luc was innovative — and it tells us something else about Ro: She knew she was going to die when she handed the earring to Jean-Luc.

This was the best episode in what is turning out to be a strong season for “Picard.” 

Odds and Ends

Genuinely loved the shots showing the Titan being repaired in space. Good example of how much the visuals of Trek have advanced over the decades.

Even after all this, Jean-Luc still insists on trying to get his Jack to join Starfleet. “Perhaps you might consider choosing a more honest vocation,” Jean-Luc says. The elder Picard, at his core, is a company man through and through, and even in trying to guide Jack, all roads lead back to Starfleet, despite its being obviously not a good fit. And as we find out later in the episode, the honesty of that vocation is up for debate at the moment.

The ship that Starfleet uses to bring its investigators is the U.S.S. Intrepid, a descendant of a ship that appeared on the original series.

Ro tells Jean-Luc that she has transferred most of the Titan crew to the Intrepid. Why would they need to be reassigned? If Ro didn’t trust anybody on her own ship or in the rest of Starfleet, wouldn’t she be putting those crew members in danger? This is borne out when Ro crashes her shuttle into the Intrepid to give the Titan time to run, but that also presumably hurt the Titan crew members that were beamed to the Intrepid.

I was also surprised that Jean-Luc and Riker encouraged Shaw to take the Titan and run so quickly with Titan crew members on board the Intrepid. Let’s assume the corrupted Starfleet ship wants to frame the Titan for Ro’s death. And lets assume that everyone knows the changelings aren’t afraid to murder.   It stands to reason that Picard, Riker and Shaw would want to take their crew with them.

I’m enjoying the show’s willingness to offer fresh takes on members of certain species, like Krinn, a villainous Vulcan, or Sneed, the gangster Ferengi. But this story line is turning out to be unintentionally hilarious. How exactly did Worf and Raffi come up with their plan to capture Krinn? 

Worf: “OK, Raffi. You set up with your rifle up top while a hologram version of you stands next to me on the ground. Then they’ll discover that. Then Krinn will make us fight each other. Then you stab me, but not too hard. Then when they think I’m dying, I’ll surprise them.”  Raffi: “That seems complicated. What if they shoot us on sight?"  Worf: “Trust me.” 

A mea culpa: Last week, I wrote that Picard, while having his haddock, “blithely discusses the accident” that killed Jack Crusher Sr. Multiple readers noted that Picard was talking about a different incident, not the one that killed his old friend. My apologies, a changeling took over my body.  

An earlier version of this recap misidentified the species of the gangster Sneed. He is a Ferengi, not a Vulcan.

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Sopan Deb is a basketball writer and a contributor to the Culture section. Before joining The Times, he covered Donald J. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign for CBS News. More about Sopan Deb

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Published May 16, 2024

WARP FIVE: Elias Toufexis Gives Face to the Breen and L'ak's Unfortunate Gamble

The Discovery actor talks making Star Trek history, denouncing his role as the Scion in pursuit of love and freedom, and more.

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains story details and plot points for the fifth season of Star Trek: Discovery.

Getty Images / StarTrek.com

Welcome to Warp Five, StarTrek.com's five question post-mortem with your favorite featured talent from the latest Star Trek episodes.

As we near the conclusion of Star Trek: Discovery 's fifth and final season, the U.S.S. Discovery 's lead chasing their Red Directive mission across the galaxy faces its biggest hurdle yet following the events of " Erigah ."

While in the custody of Federation, Moll and L'ak make a desperate gamble to escape their current predicament resulting in devastating consequences. While in his biobed, L'ak self-administers a massive dosage of tricordrazine in order to distract the guards and get them to lower the containment shields so Moll can flee. While his partner and wife manages to take out the guards and seek for a getaway transport for the pair, L'ak's already precarious state takes a turn for the worse. Unfortunately for Moll and Discovery , the Breen Scion is now gone and they've attracted the ire of the Breen Primarch Ruhn who has now lost his key to ascending the Imperium as emperor.

Ahead of the release of "Erigah," StarTrek.com had the opportunity to further explore Star Trek: Discovery actor Elias Toufexis about his love of the franchise, making Star Trek history by revealing the true face of the Breen, his approach to his character L'ak, the extent of the Scion's love for Moll, and more.

Point of First Contact

"Red Directive"

StarTrek.com

Like many others, Elias Toufexis first encountered Star Trek in his childhood. "I’ve literally grown up with Star Trek ,” he explains, “I mean that in a different way than it comes across. When I was a kid, I obviously was too young to have watched The Original Series [when it first aired], but it was on all the time. My dad recorded it, and I remember watching it with my dad and his brothers — my uncles — all the time."

"Then we would have these marathons," Toufexis continues. "I don’t remember what channel it was, but they would air full days of Star Trek episodes, like top 10 Star Trek episodes. It always ended with ' The City on the Edge of Forever .' ' The Trouble with Tribbles ’ was also in the mix. I just memorized those shows, particularly the top five Star Trek episodes. Then, when I was a young teenager, I got into The Next Generation , and it grew with me. When I was about 19, Deep Space Nine came along. That was a much more mature show and I was getting more mature, so I grew with that."

"When I started college, Star Trek took a little bit of a backseat compared to when I was growing up," notes Toufexis. "But I still watched Voyager , I still watched Enterprise , and the movies. Star Trek II is part of my DNA. There’s not a frame of that movie I don’t know by heart."

Toufexis then shares another reason why Star Trek was such a huge part of his upbringing. "Another big part of me loving Star Trek was William Shatner. We grew up not only in the same town in Montreal, but we grew up on the same block. Exactly the same block. Obviously, 30 years apart. We grew up on the same street in Monkland. I was on the corner street he was on. I always looked at him as a role model because this guy literally grew up right here and is one of the biggest stars in the world. I always looked up to him because of that, which got mixed in with my adoration for Star Trek . So I’ve been a fan my whole life."

The Breen Scion

[ RELATED : WARP FIVE: Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis on Star Trek’s Unrelenting Star-Crossed Lovers ]

Unlike Toufexis, his character L'ak had a more difficult upbringing as the Scion of the Breen Imperium . In " Mirrors ," we saw as the direct descendent of the emperor, he turned his back on the Imperium in the name of love to be with Moll, marking them both with a Breen erigah — a blood bounty. Then, in the latest episode, "Erigah," as the Imperium faces discord between warring factions in a bid for the throne, it's revealed that Primarch Ruhn (L'ak's uncle) needs him back in order to make claim of the entire Imperium.

In the flashback in "Mirrors," Moll questions why L'ak spares Ruhn, he reveals that his uncle was who raised him. Toufexis shares his approach on focusing on the familial aspect of the Breen defector, "I kept it mostly personal. I thought about, 'Okay, my uncle means a lot to me, but he's forcing me into this life I don't want.'"

"The face that L'ak chooses is almost like a screw you to his uncle and his heritage," explains Toufexis. "He's, 'I don't want to do this; this is me.' When Moll asks to see his other face, he tells her, 'It's not me. That's not what I am.' I kept it very personal, the history of it all. I discussed it with Michelle [Paradise] and Tunde [Osunsanmi]. For me, I focused on the personal relationship with L'ak's uncle, what I wanted to achieve by getting out of [the Breen Imperium], what Moll means to me, and what her asking me to go with her means to me. That's what I played. There was a little bit of hierarchy, which is shown in ['Erigah'] when L'ak talks about not wanting to be this; it's worse than death, being this slave to the Imperium."

"Not only was Moll an out for him," continues Toufexis, "but he fell in love with her, a new chance at life. In Episode 5, the idea of going with her does not even occur to him until she says it. When he gets into the muck with shooting his fellow Breen, he decides to chance it and go with her."

Giving Face to the Breen

"Mirrors"

[ RELATED : Who Are the Breen? ]

The Breen Imperium remains a mysterious yet powerful presence in the Alpha Quadrant and Star Trek lore. With Toufexis' arrival, the Discovery actor not only pulls back the curtain (and helmet) and gives face metaphorically and literally to an indomitable species.

On the opportunities this role presented, following his brief stint as a human convict in the first season, Toufexis proclaims, "When I was offered the role, I was very excited to take it. I would have taken it anyway, no matter what. I thought it was maybe a couple episodes, which I didn't care; I just wanted to be on the show again. I love the show. I love Sonequa [Martin-Green]. I love Doug [Jones]. I've known them for a while, and I just wanted to be on the show. Then when they showed me concept art, and they told me it was Breen, my brain went from, 'I'm really happy to be on the show,' to 'Oh my gosh, now I'm making Star Trek history.'"

"Suddenly, I'm going to be in the technical manuals and the things I collect," continues Toufexis. "I'm going to be in magazines about this stuff. It really blew my mind and got me especially excited, even more than I already was. Being the first [unmasked] Breen historically is amazing and incredible. It's a great feeling, but also as a fan, especially of Deep Space Nine , this is so cool. We get to update the species and what they do. Everyone's been saying the two faces of the Breen, but for me, it's the three faces of the Breen — the one with the helmet, the gelatinous version, and the one L'ak chooses to be, which is inherent to his character, a really big, important choice he makes for himself. The layers of complexity of L'ak because of him being Breen was so enjoyable to play."

Giving Voice to the Non-Federation

"Face the Strange"

For Star Trek , the stories predominantly center on the Federation and the members who uphold its values. However, to show the strengths as well as its limitations is to juxtapose their actions is to highlight those who exist outside of the Federation, who don't understand or resist their tenets, or who actively demonstrates themselves as a foil.

Toufexis enjoyed the entire experience, giving a rich and nuanced look to L'ak and Moll's journey alongside co-star Eve Harlow. Their star-crossed lovers sought to outrun the Federation just as much as their erigah .

"Seeing something outside of Discovery and outside of a species like the Breen, it was my favorite part," Toufexis reflects. "It's its own little story, these people. I play a lot of bad guys. For the most part, their backstory is written for you, and you maybe talk a little about it. But it was different [with L'ak and Discovery ]. We got to feel it and show it often. I don't like calling Moll and L'ak 'bad guys.' They’re antagonists for sure, but they're not really bad guys."

"When I saw Episode 5, it had taken us a long time to see it, but Michelle [Paradise] had told me about it," recalls Toufexis. "We were going to go back and talk about their love story, and we get to see them falling in love. That was the best part because I thought, 'This is new.' I don't think there are villains in Star Trek , maybe one-offs in little episodes here or there, but villains don't get to show the reason they're doing this. Because they want love and freedom. If we did our jobs correctly, you want to root for them. You don't want to root for them to kill Burnham or anything, but you want to root for them to get away [from the Federation and Breen Imperium] and be free. That was important to me. The best part about the whole thing was the love story for me and trying to get that across, make people empathize with the characters, was the most important thing."

The Cost of L'ak's Gamble

"Erigah"

In the care of Dr. Hugh Culber aboard the Discovery , but still in custody of the Federation, as the Breen Imperium closing in on them, the severely injured L'ak makes a bad call in order to give Moll an opportunity to escape.

Explaining how he viewed the events of L'ak's actions in Sickbay in "Erigah," Toufexis states, "That’s what it was — a gamble. I didn't play it as a straight up sacrifice. He didn't know that he was going to die. Just that he knew he could die because he was taking a big chance. Moll's safety and freedom is more important to him than anything else. Of course, he wanted to get out of there [with her]. He even says, 'I'm sorry I took too much. I didn’t mean to do it.' He apologizes because he didn't mean to do it. He knew the odds weren't great, which he hints at when he says, 'You’re not going to like it,' about his plan. They didn’t have a lot of options."

"In retrospect, after watching the episode, I wish I could have played up seeing that she's still there after all this," Toufexis reveals. "That he just wanted to get her out of there, but now that he's dying, recognize that she came back and was there with him. He trusts her; they're married. Even if the plan didn't work out, she could do whatever it takes for their freedom, or her freedom at least. That's why he says, 'You'll be okay.'"

At the end of "Erigah," Moll reveals their married status to Breen Primarch Ruhn in another gambit to escape both the Federation and the erigah 's clutches, and potentially resurrect her late lover. Despite not being privy to Moll's plans, Toufexis ponders how things could have played out if L'ak would have survived, "If he was still alive, he obviously would say, 'No, no, no, we’re not doing this.' But given the situation, he would understand why she was doing this. She has to get away from the Federation."

"While we built Moll and L'ak as maybe they're not so bad, maybe they could join up with the Federation," Toufexis muses. "And the first thing Moll does when L'ak dies is stab the Federation in the back and throw them under the bus [with the Breen Imperium]. He does trust her."

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Christine Dinh (she/her) is the managing editor for StarTrek.com. She’s traded the Multiverse for helming this Federation Starship.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the UK, Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and Austria. Seasons 2 and 3 also are available on the Pluto TV “Star Trek” channel in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The series streams on Super Drama in Japan, TVNZ in New Zealand, and SkyShowtime in Spain, Portugal, Poland, The Nordics, The Netherlands, and Central and Eastern Europe and also airs on Cosmote TV in Greece. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

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