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The Measure of a Man

Captain's Log, Stardate 42523.7.

We are en route

to the newly established Starbase 173 for port call.

Crew rotation is scheduled

and we will be off-loading experiment modules.

Hold it. That's my chair.

My luck is always lousy unless I start on the dealer's right.

That would seem to be superstition.

Bitter experience has taught me it's a fundamental truth.

Okay. The game is five-card stud nothing wild.

Ante up.

This game is exceedingly simple.

With only 52 cards, 21 of which I will see and four other players there are a limited number of winning combinations.

There's more to this than just the cards, Data.

But of course.

The bets will indicate the relative strength of each hand.

Time to pluck a pigeon.

Five.

I'm in.

I, too.

Mm-hmm.

Call.

A seven and a six.

Ladies.

I bet ten.

I'll see that.

Call.

Fold.

Yeah, me, too. I'm out.

I bet five.

I'll see it.

Your five and five.

Too rich for me.

No help.

( players oohing )

I bet ten.

Your ten and ten.

Is that what is known as a poker face?

Are you playing or not?

I fold.

( groans and laughter )

You had nothing.

He bluffed you, Data.

It makes very little sense to bet when you cannot win.

But I did win.

I was betting that you wouldn't call.

How could you tell?

PULASKI: Instinct, Data.

Instinct.

The game is seven-card high/low with a buy on the last card.

And just to make it more interesting the man with the ax takes all.

My god.

Phillipa Louvois and back in uniform.

It's been ten years but seeing you again like this makes it seem like 50.

If we weren't around all these people do you know what I would like to do?

Bust a chair across my teeth?

After that.

Oh, ain't love wonderful?

PICARD: Space, the final frontier.

These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise.

Its continuing mission--

to explore strange new worlds

to seek out new life and new civilizations

to boldly go where no one has gone before.

♪♪

So, what are you doing out here?

I am in charge of the 23rd Sector JAG Office.

We're brand-new.

I have no staff, but one terrified little Ensign.

And, hopefully, we can make some good law out here.

Anything is possible.

So you came back to Starfleet.

Still the most worthwhile place to be.

You had no reason to leave.

They forced me out.

Mm.

No, that was your own damn stubborn pride.

When I prosecuted you in the Stargazer court-martial

I was doing my job.

Oh, you did more than your job.

You enjoyed it.

Not true.

A court-martial is standard procedure when a ship is lost.

I was doing my duty as an officer of the Judge Advocate General.

You always enjoyed the adversarial process more than getting at the truth.

Well, I hope that you've learned a little wisdom along the way.

You know, I never thought I would say this but it's good to see you again.

It brings a sense of order and stability to my universe to know that you're still a pompous ass.

And a damn sexy man.

MAN: Captain Picard?

Admiral. Captain Louvois.

You're acquainted with Captain Picard?

Oh, yes.

We're old... friends.

Excuse me.

Picard, call me.

You can buy me dinner.

Captain, it's good to see you again.

Admiral.

May I present Commander Bruce Maddox.

Commander.

He has an interesting proposal for you, but that can wait for awhile.

I'm eager to see the Enterprise.

Yes, sir. This way.

RIKER: Admiral on the Bridge.

I was a little surprised at the decision to put a base in force so close to the Neutral Zone.

ADMIRAL: As you know, we've had disturbing news from both sides of the zone.

We're here to respond when needed.

And it won't hurt to have the Romulans know that we're nearby.

Ah. Well, Captain, I want to thank you for this opportunity.

For 500 years, every ship that has born the name of the Enterprise has become a legend.

This one is no different.

Admiral.

Ah, yes.

Captain, Commander Maddox is here to work on your android.

Please take care of him.

How have you been, Data?

My condition does not alter with the passage of time, Commander.

Are the two of you acquainted?

Yes, I evaluated Data when it first applied to the academy.

And was the sole member of the committee to oppose my entrance on the grounds that I was not a sentient being.

What exactly will this work entail?

I am going to disassemble Data.

All right, explain this procedure.

( clears throat )

Ever since I first saw Data at the entrance evaluation at the Starfleet Academy

I've wanted to understand it.

I became a student of the works of Dr. Noonien Soong, Data's creator and I've tried to continue his work.

I believe I am very close to the breakthrough that will enable me to duplicate Dr. Soong's work and replicate this.

But, as a first step I must disassemble and study it.

Data is going to be my guide.

Data?

It sounds intriguing.

How will you proceed?

I will run a full diagnostic on Data evaluating the condition of its current software.

I will then dump its core memory into the Starbase mainframe computer and begin a detailed analysis of its construction.

You've constructed a positronic brain?

Yes.

Have you determined how the electron resistance across the neural filaments is to be resolved?

Not precisely.

That would seem to be a necessary first step.

I am confident that I will find the answer once I examine the filament links in your anterior cortex.

But, if the answer is not forthcoming your model will not function.

I do not anticipate any problems.

You seem a little vague on the specifics.

What are the risks to Commander Data?

Negligible.

Captain, I believe his basic research lacks the specifics necessary to support an experiment of this magnitude.

Commander Data is a valued member of my Bridge crew.

Based on what I've heard, I cannot allow Commander Data to submit himself to this experiment.

I was afraid this might be your attitude, Captain.

Here are Starfleet's transfer orders separating Commander Data from the Enterprise and reassigning it to Starbase 173 under my command.

Data, I will see you in my office tomorrow at 0900 hours.

( door chimes )

Come.

You sent for me, sir?

Data, please sit down.

Well, we have a problem.

I find myself in complete agreement with that assessment of the situation, sir.

Your service to this ship has been exemplary.

I don't want to lose you.

I will not submit to the procedure, sir.

Data...

I understand your objections, but I have to consider Starfleet's interests.

What if Commander Maddox is correct?

There is a possibility that many more beings like yourself can be constructed.

Sir, Lieutenant La Forge's eyes are far superior to human biological eyes, true?

Mm-hmm.

Then why are not all human officers required to have their eyes replaced with cybernetic implants?

I see.

It is precisely because I am not human.

That will be all, Mr. Data.

Computer, pull all relevant information with regard to Starfleet regulations on the transfer of officers.

COMPUTER: Working.

My God.

Twice in as many days.

I need your help.

An historic moment.

I have been trying to make sense of this gobbledygook, but it's beyond me.

The fact is, my android officer, Data, is being transferred compulsorily to be made part of a highly dangerous and ill-conceived experiment, and I want it stopped.

He can refuse to undergo the procedure but we can't stop the transfer.

Once this Maddox has... got control of Data anything could happen.

I don't trust that man.

We agree to certain risks when we join Starfleet.

Yes, acceptable risks, justified risks but I can't accept this.

It's unjustified. It's unfair.

He has rights.

All this passion over a machine?

Don't start.

This is important to me.

Is there an option?

There is always an option.

He can resign.

I see.

So you came to me for help.

Yes, I came to you.

You're the JAG Officer for this sector.

I had no choice but to come to you.

Wait.

I didn't mean it that way.

I'm glad you felt you could... well, come to me.

The word "trust" just isn't in your vocabulary, is it?

Good try-- nine out of ten for effort.

I wish things were different.

I wish I could believe that.

"When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes

I all alone beweep my outcast state."

Is it just words to you?

Or do you fathom the meaning?

Is it not customary to request permission before entering an individual's quarters?

I thought that we could talk this out.

That I could try to persuade you.

Your memories and knowledge will remain intact.

Reduced to the mere facts of the events.

The substance, the flavor of the moment could be lost.

Take games of chance...

Games of chance?

Yes, I had read and absorbed every treatise and textbook on the subject and found myself well prepared for the experience.

Yet, when I finally played poker

I discovered that the reality bore little resemblance to the rules.

And the point being?

That, while I believe it is possible to download information contained in a positronic brain

I do not believe you have acquired the expertise necessary to preserve the essence of those experiences.

There is an ineffable quality to memory which I do not believe can survive your procedure.

"Ineffable quality."

I had rather we had done this together but, one way or the other, we are doing it.

You're under my command.

No, sir.

I am not under yours nor anyone else's command.

I have resigned from Starfleet.

Resigned?

You can't resign.

I regret the decision, but I must.

I am the culmination of one man's dream.

This is not ego or vanity, but when Dr. Soong created me he added to the substance of the universe.

If, by your experiments, I am destroyed something unique, something wonderful will be lost.

I cannot permit that.

I must protect his dream.

And so must I.

But keep packing because one way or the other you will be reporting.

Captain's Log, supplemental.

Commander Bruce Maddox, having been thwarted

by Data's abrupt resignation,

is now seeking a legal remedy for his woes.

Captain Louvois has requested my presence

at those discussions.

Your response is emotional and irrational.

Irrational? You are endowing Data with human characteristics because it looks human, but it is not.

If it were a box on wheels

I would not be facing this opposition.

Overt sentimentality is not one of Captain Picard's failings.

Trust me, I know.

I will tell you again.

Data is a valued member of my crew.

He's an outstanding Bridge Officer.

If I am permitted to make this experiment, the horizons for human achievement become boundless.

Consider, every ship in Starfleet with a Data on board.

Utilizing its extraordinary capabilities, acting as our hands and eyes in dangerous situations.

Look, you're preaching to the choir, here.

Why don't you get to the point?

Data must not be permitted to resign.

Data is a Starfleet Officer.

He still has certain rights.

Rights, rights!

I'm sick to death of hearing about rights.

What about my right not to have my life work subverted by blind ignorance?

We have rule of law in this Federation.

You cannot simply seize people and experiment with them to prove your pet theories.

Thank you.

MADDOX: Now you're doing it.

Data is an extraordinary piece of engineering but it is a machine.

If you permit it to resign it will destroy years of work in robotics.

Starfleet does not have to allow the resignation.

Commander, who do you think you're working for?

Starfleet is not an organization that ignores it's own regulations when they become inconvenient.

Whether you like it or not, Data does have rights.

Let me put it another way.

Would you permit the computer of the Enterprise to refuse a refit?

That's an interesting point.

But the Enterprise computer is property.

Is Data?

Of course.

( sighing ) There may be law to support this position.

Then find it.

A ruling with such broad-ranging implications must be supported.

Phillipa...

I hope you will use the same zeal that you did in the Stargazer court-martial.

Data, you're supposed to rip the wrapping off.

With the application of a little care, Wes, the paper can be utilized again.

Data, you're missing the point.

The Dream of the Fire by K'Ratak.

Thank you, Worf.

It was in the hands of the Klingons that the novel attained its full stature.

I couldn't disagree more but we'll save that argument for another day.

DATA: Excuse me, please.

Is something wrong?

Of course there is.

You're going away.

No one regrets that necessity more than myself, but you do understand my reasons?

Sure, I understand.

I just don't like you being forced out.

It's not fair.

As Dr. Pulaski would, at this junction, no doubt remind us

"life is rarely fair."

Sorry, that just doesn't make it any better.

I shall miss you, Geordi.

Yeah.

Me, too.

Take care of yourself, Data.

I have completed my research.

Based on the Acts of Cumberland passed in the early 21st century

Data is the property of Starfleet.

He cannot resign and he cannot refuse to cooperate with Commander Maddox.

What if I challenge this ruling?

Then I shall be required to hold a hearing.

Then I so challenge.

Convene your hearing.

Captain, that would be exceedingly difficult.

This is a new base.

I have no staff.

Surely, Captain, you have regulations to take care of such an eventuality.

There are.

I can use serving officers as legal counsel.

You, as the senior officer, would defend.

Very good.

And the unenviable task of prosecuting this case would fall on you, Commander as the next most senior officer of the defendant's ship.

I can't.

I won't.

Data's my comrade. We have served together.

I not only respect him, I consider him my friend.

When people of good conscience have an honest dispute we must still sometimes resort to this kind of adversarial system.

You just want me to prove that Data is a mere machine.

I can't do that, because I don't believe it.

I happen to know better so I am neither qualified nor willing.

You're going to have to find someone else.

Then I will rule summarily based on my findings.

Data is a toaster.

Have him report immediately to Commander Maddox for experimental refit.

I see.

I have no choice but to agree.

Good, and I expect you to do your duty in that courtroom.

If I find for one minute that you are not doing your best

I will end this, then and there.

You don't have to remind us of our duty.

You just... just remember yours.

I have never forgotten it.

Not then, and certainly not now.

( door chimes )

Come.

Data...

Captain Louvois has issued a ruling.

You are the property of Starfleet Command.

You cannot resign.

I see.

From limitless options

I am reduced to none, or rather one.

I can only hope that Commander Maddox is more capable than it would appear.

Data, you're not going to submit.

We are going to fight this.

I've challenged the ruling.

Captain Louvois will be compelled to convene a hearing.

She may be overly attached to the letter of the law but I suspect that she still understands its spirit.

We will put to rest this question of your legal status once and for all.

Now, I have been asked to represent you but if there is some other officer with which you would feel more happy...

Captain, I have complete confidence in your ability to represent my interests.

Computer, identify Riker, William T.

Access code theta alpha two, seven, three, seven, blue enable.

COMPUTER: Riker, William T., identified.

Ready.

Access all available technical schematics on Lieutenant Commander Data.

Working.

This hearing, convened on Stardate 42527.4 is to determine the legal status of the android known as Data.

The Office of Judge Advocate General has rendered a finding of property.

The defense has challenged.

Commander Riker?

Your Honor, there is only one issue and one relevant piece of evidence.

I call Lieutenant Commander Data.

COMPUTER: Verify Lieutenant Commander Data.

Current assignment: USS Enterprise.

Starfleet Command decoration for valor.

Your Honor, we'll stipulate to all of this.

Objection, Your Honor.

I want this read.

All of it.

Sustained.

...valor and gallantry, Medal of Honor with clusters

Legion of Honor, the Star Cross.

LOUVOIS: Proceed, Commander.

Commander, what are you?

An android.

Which is?

Webster's 24th Century Dictionary, Fifth Edition, defines an android as an automaton made to resemble a human being.

"An automaton."

Made by whom?

Sir?

Who built you, Commander?

Dr. Noonien Soong.

And he was?

The foremost authority on cybernetics.

More basic than that.

What was he?

Human?

Thank you.

Commander, what is the capacity of your memory and how fast can you access information?

I have an ultimate storage capacity of 800 quadrillion bits.

My total linear computational speed has been rated at 60 trillion operations per second.

Your Honor, I offer into evidence

Prosecution's Exhibit "A."

A rod of parsteel, tensile strength 40 kilo-bars.

Commander, would you bend that?

PICARD: Objection.

There are many life-forms possessed with megastrength.

These issues are not relevant to this hearing.

I'm afraid I can't agree, Captain.

Proceed with your demonstration, Commander.

Drawing on the log of the construction of the prototype android Lore also constructed by Noonien Soong

I request to be allowed to remove the Commander's hand for your inspection.

Objection.

It doesn't matter.

Objection withdrawn.

Proceed, Commander.

I'm sorry.

The Commander is a physical representation of a dream an idea conceived of by the mind of a man.

Its purpose-- to serve human needs and interests.

It's a collection of neural nets and heuristic algorithms.

Its responses dictated by an elaborate software written by a man.

Its hardware built by a man.

And now...

And now a man will shut it off.

Pinocchio is broken.

Its strings have been cut.

I request a recess.

Granted.

Do you mean his argument was that good?

Riker's presentation was devastating.

He almost convinced me.

Well, you've got the harder argument.

By his own admission Data is a machine.

Mm-hmm, that's true.

You're worried about what's going to happen to him?

No.

I've had to send people on far more dangerous missions.

Well, then this should work out fine.

Maddox could get lucky and create a whole army of Datas-- all very valuable.

Oh, yes, no doubt.

He's proved his value to you.

In ways that I cannot even begin to calculate.

And now he's about to be ruled the property of Starfleet.

That should increase his value.

In what way?

Well, consider that, in the history of many worlds there have always been disposable creatures.

They do the dirty work.

They do the work that no one else wants to do because it's too difficult or too hazardous.

And an army of Datas, all disposable...

You don't have to think about their welfare.

You don't think about how they feel.

Whole generations of disposable people.

You're talking about slavery.

Oh, I think that's a little harsh.

I don't think that's a little harsh.

I think that's the truth.

But that's a truth that we have obscured behind a comfortable, easy euphemism-- property.

But that's not the issue at all, is it?

PICARD: Commander Riker has dramatically demonstrated to this court that Lieutenant Commander Data is a machine.

Do we deny that?

No, because it is not relevant.

We, too, are machines, just machines of a different type.

Commander Riker has also reminded us that Lieutenant Commander Data was created by a human.

Do we deny that? No.

Again, it is not relevant.

Children are created from the building blocks of their parents' DNA.

Are they property?

I call Lieutenant Commander Data to the stand.

What are these?

My medals.

Why do you pack them?

What logical purpose do they serve?

I do not know, sir.

I suppose none.

I just wanted them.

Is that vanity?

And this?

A gift from you, sir.

You value it?

Yes, sir.

Why?

It is a reminder of friendship and service.

And this?

You have no other portraits of your fellow crew members.

Why this person?

I would prefer not to answer that question, sir.

I gave my word.

Under the circumstances, I don't think Tasha would mind.

She was special to me, sir.

We were... intimate.

Thank you, Commander.

I have no further questions for this witness.

Commander Riker, do you want to cross?

I have no questions, Your Honor.

Thank you.

You may step down.

I call to the stand Commander Bruce Maddox as a hostile witness.

COMPUTER: Verify, Maddox, Bruce, Commander.

Current assignment: Associate Chair of Robotics

Daystrom Technological Institute.

Major papers... Yes, yes, yes.

Suffice it to say he's an expert.

Commander, it is your contention that Lieutenant Commander Data is not a sentient being and, therefore, not entitled to all the rights reserved for all life-forms within this Federation?

Data is not sentient, no.

Commander, would you enlighten us?

What is required for sentience?

Intelligence, self-awareness, consciousness.

Prove to the court that I am sentient.

This is absurd.

We all know you're sentient.

So I'm sentient, but Commander Data is not?

MADDOX: That's right.

Uh-huh. Why?

Why am I sentient?

Well, you are self-aware.

Ah, that's the second of your criteria.

Let's deal with the first, intelligence.

Is Commander Data intelligent?

Yes.

It has the ability to learn and understand and to cope with new situations.

Like this hearing.

Yes.

What about self-awareness?

What does that mean?

Why... why am I self-aware?

Because you are conscious of your existence and actions.

You are aware of yourself and your own ego.

Commander Data, what are you doing now?

I am taking part in a legal hearing to determine my rights and status-- am I a person or property?

And what's at stake?

My right to choose.

Perhaps my very life.

"My rights."

"My status."

"My right to choose."

( sighing )

"My life."

Well, he seems reasonably self-aware to me, Commander.

I'm waiting.

This is exceedingly difficult.

Do you like Commander Data?

I...

I don't know it well enough to like or dislike it.

But you admire him?

Oh, yes.

It's an extraordinary piece...

Of engineering and programming.

Yes, you have said that.

Commander, you have devoted your life to the study of cybernetics in general?

Yes.

And Commander Data in particular?

Yes. And now you propose to dismantle him?

So that I can learn from it and construct more.

How many more? As many as are needed.

Hundreds, thousands, if necessary.

There is no limit.

A single Data and forgive me, Commander is a curiosity.

A wonder even.

But thousands of Datas-- isn't that becoming a race?

And won't we be judged by how we treat that race?

Now tell me, Commander, what is Data?

I don't understand.

What is he?

A machine.

Is he? Are you sure? Yes!

You see, he's met two of your three criteria for sentience.

So, what if he meets the third, consciousness, in even the smallest degree?

What is he then? I don't know.

Do you?

Do you?

Do you?

Well, that's the question you have to answer.

Your Honor, a courtroom is a crucible.

In it, we burn away irrelevancies until we are left with a pure product-- the truth-- for all time.

Now, sooner or later, this man, or others like him will succeed in replicating Commander Data.

Now, the decision you reach here today will determine how we will regard this creation of our genius.

It will reveal the kind of a people we are what he is destined to be.

It will reach far beyond this courtroom and this one android.

It could significantly redefine the boundaries of personal liberty and freedom.

Expanding them for some savagely curtailing them for others.

Are you prepared to condemn him and all who come after him to servitude and slavery?

Your Honor, Starfleet was founded to seek out new life.

Well, there it sits.

Waiting.

You wanted a chance to make law.

Well, here it is.

Make it a good one.

It sits there looking at me and I don't know what it is.

This case has dealt with metaphysics with questions best left to saints and philosophers.

I'm neither competent nor qualified to answer those.

But I've got to make a ruling to try to speak to the future.

Is Data a machine? Yes.

Is he the property of Starfleet?

No.

We have all been dancing around the basic issue-- does Data have a soul?

I don't know that he has.

I don't know that I have.

But I have got to give him the freedom to explore that question himself.

It is the ruling of this court that Lieutenant Commander Data has the freedom to choose.

I formally refuse to undergo your procedure.

I will cancel that transfer order.

Thank you.

And, Commander, continue your work.

When you are ready, I will still be here.

I find some of what you propose... intriguing.

He's remarkable.

You didn't call him "it."

You see, sometimes it does work.

Phillipa.

Dinner?

You buying?

Sir, there is a celebration on the holodeck.

I have no right to be there.

Because you failed in your task?

No, God, no.

I came that close to winning, Data.

Yes, sir.

I almost cost you your life.

Is it not true... that had you refused to prosecute

Captain Louvois would have ruled summarily against me?

Yes.

That action injured you and saved me.

I will not forget it.

You're a wise man, my friend.

Not yet, sir but, with your help, I am learning.

♪♪