Welcome to Sentience, Crystal's small dedication for Data from the TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation. Online since July 28, 2010 this site has served as a small tribute to this intriguing and admirable character. After finally watching through the whole series I found that it was Data who stood out to me the most so in an attempt to show why I like this character I created this site. Please be warned that this site may likely be full of unmarked spoilers so if you are unfamiliar with the show be sure to watch your step! If you have any comments or questions regarding Data or the site feel free to contact me about them. Aside from that please enjoy your stay!

Sentience was made in participation for Amassment's One Page, One Month shrine marathon and has since become The Fanlistings Network approved fanlisting for Data also which can be found over here! So if you are a fan of Data do be sure to join!

May 29, 2011 : Part of ZerudaORG : Listed at Amassment & Idiot Box

Data is the second-officer aboard the Starship Enterprise ranking lieutenant-commander. He is a sentient android created by a Dr. Noonien Soong, a robotic scientist. Data was discovered deactivated by Starfleet personnel on Omicron Theta 2 years after the planet had been attacked by the Crystalline Entity, a spaceborne creature which converts life forms to energy for sustenance. After they reactivated him he decided to join Starfleet. He attended Starfleet Academy for 4 years and then served on 2 ships before serving aboard the Enterprise.

Because Data does not posses any sort of emotion he has a rather interesting personality. He is the curious type when it comes to trying to understand human emotions, actions, and humor. He finds it difficult to understand these things and majority of the time can't grasp the concept of them. At times he can also seem a bit cold and insensitive but he tries his best at trying to understand how to deal with these situations by studying up on them or asking questions. Most of which still leave him just as confused as when he started.

In attempts to learn more about humans Data has also taken up some activities like painting and poetry and has even taken an interest in programming holographic recreational activities involving Dixon Hill and Sherlock Holmes in attempts to learn various behaviors in attempts to helping him understand humans better. This is met with little success however as the personalities he tries to use aren't his own and are immediately put away at the conclusion of their usefulness in that given situation.

Because Data is an android he was obviously made to be better than your average human. Intellectually he is smarter than a human and can quicksolve problems that would take us a while to figure out. His storage capacity is stated as "800 quadrillion bits" or 100 petabytes (88.817842 pebibytes), and his processing speed is stated as "60 trillion operations per second" or 60 teraflops (don't ask me what that means because I have absolutely no idea!).

Data is immune to nearly all biological diseases and other weaknesses that can affect humans and other carbon based lifeforms which has often benefited the Enterprise in multiple situations. However, because he is a machine he is vulnerable to technological hazards such as computer viruses, certain levels of energy discharges, ship malfunctions (when connected to the Enterprise main computer for experiments), remote control shutdown devices, and so on. Despite being mechanical in nature, Data is treated as an equal member of the mostly carbon based lifeform crew. However, being a mechanical construct, technicians such as Chief Engineer Geordi LaForge prove to be more appropriate to treat his mechanical or cognitive function failures.

Data's physical strength is also beyond any human's as he can effortlessly bend a plasteel rod packing a tensile strength of 40 kilobars with his bare hands (I dunno what that is really but he makes it look like something you can easily bend in half like...licorice!). His hearing is also incredible which is more sensitive than a dog's hearing and that he can identify several hundred distinct sounds at once which would just sound like noise to a normal human. For aesthetics purposes limits it to about ten (which is still just noise to me).

Starfleet is a humanitarian and peacekeeping armada of spacecraft, that provides defense, research, diplomacy, and exploration services to the United Federation of Planets which is a interplanetary federal republic dedicated to the exploration of space and discovering new life and civilizations. Guided under the prime directive they study the natural flow of various worlds and do not interfere with any that have not achieved warp drive. As of the year 2373 there are more than 150 planets and thousands of colonies spread across 8,000 light years within the federation.

Throughout the series Data interacts with many different characters. However I am only going to list the ones I feel most significant to Data's character, otherwise this will get long.

Lieutenant-Commander Geordi La Forge I feel is the most significant to Data's character--aside from the fact that they seem virtually inseparable. In the episode The Next Phase when Geordi and Ensin Ro Laren are presumed dead in an supposed transporter malfunction Data reveals to Lieutenant Worf that he never knew what a friend was until he had met Geordi nor was it really something he had thought about. He considers Geordi to be his best friend for the fact that he speaks to him as if he were human and treated him as such. He accepted Data for what he was. Also Geordi is the only person Data calls by name rather than rank signifying a bond of trust and respect between them.

I think for Data and Captain Jean-Luc Picard it is more of respect and admiration than anything. Despite being a machine Picard acknowledges Data's sentience and treats him as he would any other person. He is even willing to risk everything (even his career in Starfleet) to help Data when he's in trouble. Likewise, Data is willing to do the same. One perfect example is in Star Trek Nemesis when Picard was going to sacrifice himself to save the Enterprise from the Reman threat. Instead of Picard destroying the Reman ship from within, Data sends the captain back to the ship sacrificing himself instead.

In all honesty I hate Q. However I felt he deserved a spot here. In the episode Deja Q when Q is thrown out of the continuum and looses his omnipotence the interaction between him and Data makes me less resenting and more sympathetic to his character. As Data called it, it was an irony that Q became a human because it meant that he had achieved in disgrace everything that Data had aspired to be. After that it just seems to spark an interesting relationship between these two and Data even goes out of his way to help Q whenever he was attacked by one of his enemies (primarily the Calamarain). Afterward when Q becomes omnipotent again he gives Data a gift for helping him which allowed him to experience laughter for the first time.

There has been a constant argument throughout the series as to whether Data is to be considered a machine or his own individual person. Among the crew of the Enterprise everyone considers him a person and a invaluable member of the crew. Among other areas of Starfleet though they have their own opinion. One perfect example is in the episode The Measure of a Man where Data refuses to let Commander Maddox take him apart and let the Doctor examine him in order to learn how he works in an attempt to replicate Data without guarantee that he will be back to normal afterward. Then the debate begins as to whether Data is the property of Starfleet or a sentient being. When Data is declared the property of Starfleet Picard challenges it in attempts to fight it. When Picard asks Maddox what makes a "sentient being" he answers with intelligent, self-awareness, and consciousness. Picard then argues those points that Data does indeed posses all 3 aspects making him very much a sentient being. As a result Data is no longer considered the property of Starfleet and has the freedom to choose whatever he wants for himself.

Because I really can't figure out how I'm going to incorporate these into the site I thought I'd make a special section for these. These are random things that appear during the series that amuse me in some way, shape, or form and I thought it would be interesting to show them off here.

· #1: Data cannot use contractions like can't and isn't. Instead he says cannot and is not.
· #2: Data looks hideous in red. Yellow is definitely his color.
· #3: When defining friendship Data says, "as I experience certain sensory input patterns my mental pathways become accustomed to them. The inputs eventually are anticipated and even missed when absent."
· #4: Dr. Soong gave Data the choice to do whatever he wanted but questioned him on why he joined Starfleet. He have preffered it if Data became a scientist and continued his work instead.
· #5: Data has a pet cat named Spot which first started out as a male Somali cat, but later appeared as a female orange tabby house cat.
· #6: Data doesn't like it when his name is pronounced wrong.
· #7: Data has at least 5 robotic siblings.

For the longest time I figured Picard was my favorite character but after rewatching the series with my Mom on our special "date nights" I learned that wasn't entirely true. While Picard does rank up there it was Data that intrigued me the most. His aspiration to become more human and his trying to understand things that we simply take for granted (like humor for example) just make me like him all the more. It amused me how he would try to imitate various human behaviors like laughing and yawning and look awkward by doing it and how when he's asked to explain something he is always interrupted because if left alone he could probably go on for hours with how specific he is on the details.

Version 1 of Sentience was made by me using Adobe Photoshop, and Notepad. The fonts used are called Eurostile were default with my computer. All images used were screencapped by me using VLC Media Player. Patterns used were made by me and textures used were from a site that is sadly no longer online. :( The various quotes seen around the site are all quotes used by Data or Picard in the series. Credit goes to tubemandreke1's Channel and Wikipedia for information used on the site.

If you wish to link back here feel free to use one of these codes. Just please remember to not direct-link them. :)

Made by Saya! <3

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