In the novelverse, what became Data was originally planned to be Soong’s body via brain uploading. So the meme kinda still works.
spoiler
And in a “comes full circle” series of events, what was Soong’s current android “golem” body became Data’s which resurrected him after the events of Nemesis.
The “Cold Equations” trilogy is really quite good.
It’s been a minute but I don’t think so; just “android body”. I just called it a golem since that’s what they’re called in PIC when they’re meant to accept a human mind upload.
An android that is wholly of manufactured parts can not be an augment of an individual. Unless Dr. Song ploped his brain in there. And then he would be a cyborg.
While the Federation’s laws target genetic manipulation specifically, the motivation behind them was an enduring fear of the one time they created a “superior” type of person who then became tyrants. Data certainly could be seen as superior to a human, so I’d say he (and moreso Lore, obviously) does fall within the spirit of the law.
Add in the fact that a Soong was involved in both creations, and Picard’s augment ban actually makes a bit more sense.
Eh, at a philosophic level I think it has validity. Pretty sure Soong dumped a fair bit of himself, and then augmented TF out of it. Not genetic, true, but does that actually matter in the long run?
I agree it’s a really loose (and maybe poor) comparison, but Data is kind of a complete augment of Dr. Soong
In the novelverse, what became Data was originally planned to be Soong’s body via brain uploading. So the meme kinda still works.
spoiler
And in a “comes full circle” series of events, what was Soong’s current android “golem” body became Data’s which resurrected him after the events of Nemesis.
The “Cold Equations” trilogy is really quite good.
Do they refer to artificial bodies as golems in the novels? I’ve only heard that in Neal Asher’s books but it’s a very cool label
It’s been a minute but I don’t think so; just “android body”. I just called it a golem since that’s what they’re called in PIC when they’re meant to accept a human mind upload.
An android that is wholly of manufactured parts can not be an augment of an individual. Unless Dr. Song ploped his brain in there. And then he would be a cyborg.
Nothing about Data is about genetic manipulation.
While the Federation’s laws target genetic manipulation specifically, the motivation behind them was an enduring fear of the one time they created a “superior” type of person who then became tyrants. Data certainly could be seen as superior to a human, so I’d say he (and moreso Lore, obviously) does fall within the spirit of the law.
Add in the fact that a Soong was involved in both creations, and Picard’s augment ban actually makes a bit more sense.
Eh, at a philosophic level I think it has validity. Pretty sure Soong dumped a fair bit of himself, and then augmented TF out of it. Not genetic, true, but does that actually matter in the long run?
There’s no “augment” there - Data is a wholly constructed being.
He’s an android, not a cyborg.
Ok but he’s still significantly physically and intellectually superior to just about everyone, which is the reason why they have the ban