lady-sci-fi:

A cute scene from IDW Star Trek #8-

So Sisko is in Cardassian jail awaiting trial, and Data seems to be for a daring jail-break plan. Garak is the one to tell him no like “Please don’t do that. I got this trial thing, bro.” xD

abe-jpg:

Trouble with Tribbles

Struggle with Spots

tough-girl9:

Just musing on Data’s different attitudes towards the words “robot” vs “automaton” vs “android”. In a technical sense of course, Data is all three, but his reactions towards each one make extra sense when considering his goal of “becoming human.”

The word “robot” comes from the Czech “robota” which means “forced labor”. It’s pretty clear why he’d dislike being called by this term, especially with the high likelihood that his strength, speed, and ability to work nonstop have almost definitely probably been exploited before he came to the Enterprise. It’s an inherently demeaning word for a sentient being like Data.

To the best of my memory, Data only uses the word “automaton” once, which is in The Measure of a Man when he’s giving the technical definition of an android. He doesn’t seem opposed to the word, but nor does he choose to identify himself with it beyond a clinical definition of what he is. “Automaton” comes from Greek meaning “moving on one’s own.” It’s a fairly neutral definition; it’s not particularly dehumanizing but nor is it particularly humanizing. It seems fairly evident why Data would be neutral towards it, but wouldn’t prefer to be called by that word.

Then there’s “android.” I know there’s jokes about how often Data says the phrase “I am an android” but jokes aside, he clearly has a very strong preference for identifying himself with this word. “Android” comes from Greek words meaning “in the likeness of Man”. Given this definition and Data’s ambitions, it’s pretty clear why this is the term he prefers. His whole goal is to emulate humanity, find his own humanity, and become as close to human as he possibly can. So of course he’d choose to identify by a word that reflects and affirms his humanity.

hellostuffedtiger:

TNG/DS9 crossover idea - Data asks early season Bashir to teach him how to talk to women (under the mistaken belief that his reputation for hitting on lots of women means he knows what he’s doing), so Bashir does, very sincerely, and Data just politely observes and gently asks if he was (once again) demonstrating what not to do.

Ends with Data treating Bashir to a “practice date.”

Came up with this while driving to work.