CBS Data and his daughter
When you begin watching Star Trek: Picard‘s first episode, you may find yourself wondering what happened to Data’s daughter. Die-hard Star Trek fans who watched The Next Generation will remember that eventful episode called “The Offspring,” when Data built a daughter. What happened to her? This article has spoilers for “The Offspring” from The Next Generation.
Data’s Daughter Did Not Survive
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In “The Offspring,” Data created a new android that he referred to as his daughter. He truly wanted to continue Soong’s legacy and build new androids with positronic brains just like his. But sadly, his daughter Lal would not survive. She was an amazing creation, but her positronic brain could not endure.
“The Offspring” first aired on March 12, 1990 as part of Season 3 (Season 3 Episode 16.) It’s an episode that fans have been talking about ever since.
Data had just returned from a cybernetics conference, inspired to create a Soong-type android named Lal. Lal’s brain is a positronic brain that Data created using a submicron matrix transfer to lay down complex neural pathways. He transferred from his brain into Lal’s in order to create her.
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The android starts out looking androgynous because Data wanted Lal to choose its own gender. Ultimately, Lal chose to be a human female after trying different appearances on the holodeck.
Data teaches Lal all about life, including how to paint, understand touch, and learn social skills. Lal eventually wants to know her purpose, and Data says that it is to bring something positive to the world. Lal has a tough time assimilating with others, but Data guides her along the way.
Of course, Starfleet is concerned about this development and Admiral Haftel decides he must visit personally. Starfleet wants to transfer Lal without Data. Haftel is angry that Lal is learning human interactions by working as a waitress. After talking with Haftel, Lal wants to stay on the Enterprise and she becomes very upset, starting to stutter. Her emotions are overwhelming her. Yes, Lal — unlike Data — had emotions.
Data is also against transferring Lal, as it goes against his ideals of parenting.
Lal, overwhelmed by emotions, reports back to the lab, sensing that she’s malfunctioning. Data says she’s experiencing a cascade failure and her base matrix must be initialized again. But sadly, there is nothing Data can do. He cannot save his daughter. He and Lal say goodbye, with Lal telling him that she loves him.
Data ultimately transferred Lal’s memories into his brain, so part of her would always be with him.
So, sadly, something went wrong with Data’s daughter and her positronic brain experienced a cascade failure. She had to be shut down as a result. As far as we know, Data did not try that experiment again.
This was one of the best episodes of The Next Generation, in my opinion. It touched on the rights of a sentient android and how Starfleet was not ready to accept those rights. It showcased Data’s genius and his heart, and posed some intriguing questions about his ability to create new life.
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