TNG s6e16 - Birthright, Part 1

  • HikingVet@lemmy.ca
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    6 days ago

    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.

    • usernamefactory@lemmy.ca
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      6 days ago

      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.

    • MalReynolds@slrpnk.net
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      6 days ago

      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?

      • Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe
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        6 days ago

        There’s no “augment” there - Data is a wholly constructed being.

        He’s an android, not a cyborg.

        • Amnesigenic@lemmy.ml
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          6 days ago

          Ok but he’s still significantly physically and intellectually superior to just about everyone, which is the reason why they have the ban