Data's Love Life

[Mojochi]

As for Data's Love Life, would there even be any debate or discussion on the matter if he were a STAN WINSTON plastic robot, modelled off of Brent Spiner? Or a Box on Wheels? No. Not at all. He'd probably be assumed to attach sex toys to himself and that would be enough conjecture on the matter. BUT..........because he's played by a Human wearing face paint, now, ALL of these possibilities of what he might experience or be capable of become limitless and worthy of investigation. There are those who dismiss the fact that Data's portrayed by a Human actor in makeup as having anything to do with that, but I don't really buy it. Again, were he realised as a puppet, a lot of conjecture about Data would never eventuate, more than likely.

I don't think that's true. Even if he were a cartoon, it could still be done believably

This really touches on the subject of touch. If you touch Data, does he sense that, and if in fact he does, which I figure is so, then what are the boundaries of that, and how is it represented in him? It's not a subject they delved into much, but I assume it's similar to his ability to taste or smell. Will he derive the nuanced personal connection that a human derives when they smell, taste or touch? Very unlikely, but he does have the ability to do those things. And is equipped for upgrade to the point where he'll become totally capable of that human connection, as I'm sure Lore actually is

Lore does not suffer from a diminishment of anything a Human has. (Lore's problem being that he has an overabundance of human things, physical prowess, intelligence, emotion, sensation, etc... the result being that it's made him maniacal) Data has had these things purposely diminished by way of removing the full emotional connection with them

However, since he CAN do them, then he has some kind of connection to them. He is interpreting them in some way perhaps unique to him

 

[HIjol]

Hmm...might be time for a DataPoem!

I hope you write it! You've been too quite, as of late, on the STAR TREK poetry side of town. Your readership is demanding more product, HIjol ...

As for Data's Love Life, would there even be any debate or discussion on the matter if he were a STAN WINSTON plastic robot, modelled off of Brent Spiner? Or a Box on Wheels? No. Not at all. He'd probably be assumed to attach sex toys to himself and that would be enough conjecture on the matter. BUT..........because he's played by a Human wearing face paint, now, ALL of these possibilities of what he might experience or be capable of become limitless and worthy of investigation. There are those who dismiss the fact that Data's portrayed by a Human actor in makeup as having anything to do with that, but I don't really buy it. Again, were he realised as a puppet, a lot of conjecture about Data would never eventuate, more than likely.

It is done!~

 

[T'Girl]

if he were a STAN WINSTON plastic robot

Who's Stan Winston?

 

[Ithekro]

I would assume the late Stan Winston, special makeup effects creator.

 

[Mojochi]

BTW, Yoda was a green lizard shaped muppet, and no one had any problem at all accepting it as a fully realized person. Ash was portrayed by Ian Holm, with almost no makeup at all, and likewise, no one has any trouble accepting that he isn't

 

[ManOnTheWave]

I would assume the late Stan Winston, special makeup effects creator.

I had no idea Daniels from Enterprise was his son.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Data could absolutely get aroused.

private double endorphins(Lady lady, Area area)
{
return lady.attractiveness * (area.sensitivity * area.pressure)
}

if(endorphins(lady, area) > AROUSAL_THRESHOLD) divertBloodFlow(p);

Somewhere in Data's memory banks lies a unit test for his sexuality.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

What we do know is that Data shows little desire for pursuing romantic relationships, and until she suggests dating him - Data is oblivious to this crewmember as a romantic partner.

That may have been true at the point when "In Theory" took place, but I'm sure that Data eventually realized that he wants companionship, just like any other being would.

I mean, I hate to keep saying the same thing over and over again, but remember: Data is sentient. He is alive. Any life form that is alive is going to want companionship. It's a basic biological drive that any life form will have. Nobody wants to be alone.

Data may not know what it means to be in a relationship - he may not know what to expect from one - but eventually he is going to realize that he wants the closeness and caring that a relationship will bring. Data has friends, we've all seen it...and any life form that is capable of having friends will also be capable of love.

For example, look at the EMH. We've also seen that he is capable of forming friendships among the Voyager crew, and also appears to be capable of love as well (even I can see that he is very fond of Seven of Nine). Now I know we're kind of getting into very deep philosophical issues here, but I see absolutely no reason whatsoever to assume that artificial beings such as Data or the EMH can't feel love, or don't want it.

The desire for love and companionship is an absolutely basic drive that ALL life forms have - even if they don't yet know they want it. Anyone who says they don't need or want love is, IMHO, in deep denial.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I don't know if Data wanted companionship as much as he wanted to be able to experience that element of the human condition. But the reason In Theory didn't work out wasn't because Data didn't want it, it was because he was presently incapable of meeting her emotional needs.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ True dat.

Data simply didn't know how to be a romantic partner. But he can always learn - and I know he wants to.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

One day Data discovered how to trigger the unit test suite for his sexual functions.

He was late to work the entire next week.

 

[Mojochi]

^ True dat.

Data simply didn't know how to be a romantic partner. But he can always learn - and I know he wants to.

Plus, it's fair to say he didn't have the necessary attributes to be a romantic partner for just her. This was my whole point in making the thread. It's the Star Trek universe. Even if we make the wild assumption that Data currently lacks the necessary attributes to be a romantic partner for anyone Human, that still doesn't negate him as being a potential mate to someone who isn't

Anyone who says they don't need or want love is, IMHO, in deep denial.

Well... hold on a second. Point taken, but with the notable exception of some sociopaths or aspergians, etc...

 

[Makarov]

Data's man made, so I'm not sure he would have the nature to want companionship as other biological lifeforms. He doesn't even have a sex drive without his emotion chip, although Im sure he could turn it on/off whenever he wants if he added a sex drive program to himself. There's an episode idea: Data's sex drive gone wrong.

It's worth mentioning that in All Good Things future Data is still single apparently.