"The Measure of a Man" Line-by-Line

[LeadHead]

Data: Is it not customary to request permission before entering an individuals quarters?

 

[CoveTom]

MADDOX: I thought that we could talk this out; that I could try to persuade you. Your memories and knowledge will remain intact!

 

[LeadHead]

Data: Reduced to the mere facts of the events. The substance, the flavor of the moment, could be lost. Take games of chance.

 

[Leandar]

Maddox: Games of chance?

 

[LeadHead]

Data: Yes, I had read and absorbed every treatise and textbook on the subject, and felt myself well prepared for the experience. Yet, when I finally played poker, I discovered that the reality bore little resemblance to the rules.

 

[Leandar]

Maddox: And the point being?

 

[LeadHead]

Data: That while I believe it is possible to download the information contained in a positronic brain, I do not believe you have acquired the experience necessary to preserve the essence of those experiences. There is an ineffable quality to memory that I do not believe can survive your procedure.

 

[Leandar]

Maddox: Ineffable quality. I had rather we had done this together, but one way or the other, we are doing it. You are under my command.

 

[LeadHead]

Data: No Sir, I am not under your or anyone elses command. I have resigned from Starfleet.

 

[Leandar]

Maddox: Resigned? You can't resign.

 

[LeadHead]

Data: I regret the decision, but I must. I am the culmination of one mans dream. This is not ego or vanity, but when Doctor 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.

 

[Leandar]

Maddox: And so must I. But keep packing, because one way or the other, you will be reporting.

 

[LeadHead]

Captains 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 these discussions.

 

[Leandar]

Maddox: Your response is emotional and irrational.

 

[LeadHead]

Picard: Irrational?

 

[Leandar]

Maddox: 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.

 

[LeadHead]

Louvois: Overt sentimentality is not one of Captain Picard's Failings, Trust me, I know.

 

[Leandar]

Picard: I will tell you again. Data is a valued member of my crew. He is an outstanding Bridge officer.

 

[LeadHead]

Maddox: If I am permitted to make this experiment, the horizons for Human achievement become boundless. Consider, every ship in Starfleet with a Data aboard. Utilizing its tremendous capabilities, acting as our hands and eyes in dangerous situations.

 

[Leandar]

Phillipa: Look, you're preaching to the choir here. Why don't you get to the point?