Why did Data lie to Geordie about the phaser discharging during transport when about to kill Fajo?

[Twilight Phoenix]

Data being the better killing machine.

Depictions of a 'killing machine' (spoiler tagged to avoid shocking sensitive viewers) :

Spoiler

Data crushing a child's han...oh wait. I think he actually violated the prime directive because he couldn't ignore her desperate calls...

Data shredding a Chinese finger trap into pieces with his mega-streng....Ah. No. He's just pulling it gently with an awkward expression... Nevermind.

Another act of violence against a chi....Damn.

Data poisoning a whole villag.....
Damn. Is he putting his life at stack to protect others again ? !

Free will is something we can believe in despite genetics, falsely or not.

Yes. Free will and the choices Data made during the whole series using his free will are the best proofs that he's not a 'killing machine' at all. I'd definitely feel safer with him than with any real life human being around despite his bone-crushing strenght.

 

[Mojochi]

Data would be in an exceptionally good position to do so - he's in an airlock of some sort and could make Fajo suck vacuum, say.

He has no access to any of it. They've shown he can't open doors, has no computer control, can't touch Fajo, or coerce him, etc... It doesn't matter that you don't agree that he has no control over these things. It's thoroughly illustrated that they've accounted for him to not.

And like any other weapon, it can easily be wrestled from him and used against him.

Only by what you've concocted in your mind, which I find questionable on the subject, as you ignore what's present in the episode, in lieu of your own narrative

That sidearm has many uses

This is what I mean. Nothing like that is ever said about it... ever. You are making up what you think the weapon is, to support your head canon. I'm not watching the show you make. Timo's idea of what a Veron T Disruptor does is moot.

Getting the airlock open is a triviality that basically only requires his great speed, his technological knowledge and his independence from a source of breathing air, say.

Everything's shown to be security locked around him. He only made it into the shuttle bay, because Varia's access allowed it, & only it was allowing an exit. It's a prison ship, expressly outfitted to hold Data. That was their plan. That you won't accept that they've done that, & opt to invent alternate narratives instead, is again moot. I'm not watching your show. I'm seeing theirs

The default "theory" or narrative is that Data always wins,

False as can be. Often, they write him as able to lose, even more than most of the other characters, since he's later killed off dead. Data literally loses everything a character could lose.

So Data is Superman. One out of many, but what does that have to do with anything?

You've based all your conjecture upon Data being unbeatable, specifically here. It's not for you alone to decide, based on your head canon, how beatable he is. They're telling you. If you don't like it, that's fine, but your claim that you know the character or the meaning of events better, based on your musings, holds value nowhere but your own mind.

Of course it does, though. If the writer failed in his job to create the intended narrative A, it defaults to the narrative B that he actually wrote.

Well, that's just a nonsensical claim. Basically, you're saying that if something someone wrote makes no sense to you, then whatever you think does make sense is what it really is. That is conveniently living in your own head.

Where did you get that absurd idea? I hope you never try to act upon it - you may well be facing the death penalty.

Oh, just everything about self-defense from a lethal threat. In the broadest sense, if someone kills someone who poses a mortal threat to others = justifiable homicide. That's what this is, or rather would be. Had Data actually did it, I figure he'd have to make a routine defense of that. That he did not, means no such defense is needed, & therefore no such commentary on said events is required. That he isn't choosing to comment on it is not any kind of admission of guilt, as there's no guilt to admit

Lives are literally in danger, & Data acts to prevent further danger befalling them, with what is largely illustrated to be his only option.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

If somebody locks you up in their basement, and you have a gun, and your choices are to shoot your captor or surrender the gun, there's no moral or legal ambiguity in your right to pull the trigger.

As to why Data lied to Riker, it's not clear, maybe it was a desire not to let Fajo have any small victory. Or maybe it's a lack of desire for Fajo to have any kind of upper hand over him. Human victims of imprisonment will often do whatever it takes just never to have to deal with their captor again in any kind of long legal proceeding. Data often maps human feelings to cold technical processes. Maybe he has a protection mechanism, to avoid activating the circuit pathways that are associated with the despair and helplessness he felt as a prisoner.

And no, Data was not 'designed to kill', he was designed to live among humans. Soong said explicitly he would rather Data have settled down with a normal family than joined Starfleet. That's explicitly his creator's intent. Willingness to kill when the situation demands it is part of living among humans.

 

[cgervasi]

Look, Data just tried to kill an unarmed dude because Data was really pissed off and decided to mete out some instant android justice.

He was on as ship run by criminals who were known to be willing to murder innocent people. Fajo still had the ship and crew. He murdered one of his people. He pointed to another and suggested he might murder him too. I can't imagine a Star Fleet officer is not allowed to use lethal force in such cases in order to escape and arrest the criminals. Is he supposed to just remain a prisoner until he finds a means of escape without killing?

For these reasons, I don't think Data lied (or omitted the truth) because he thought he would be accused of wrongdoing.

My guess for is reason is at that moment he thought it was moot since he didn't kill anyone, and he didn't feel the need to explain that Fajo just murdered someone and was threatening to murder someone else. We don't know if he put it in his log later. It's possible he logged everything that happen but omitted pulling the trigger because it was upsetting that he was almost forced to kill someone horribly. Maybe he has hints of human emotion.

 

[Leviathan]

Frankly, he could have given some much cooler replies:

"...He needed killin' sir"

"Hasta la vista.....baby."

"...nobody puts Data in a chair."

"....EXTERMINATE"

"....yeah, and you're next meatbag. Did I say that out loud? I apologize, sir. While you are a meatbag, I suppose I should not call you such. It's just that...you have all these squishy parts, and all that water! How the constant sloshing doesn't drive you mad, I have no idea."

"Observation: I am a droid, sir, with programming. Even if I did not enjoy killing, I would have no choice. Thankfully, I enjoy it very much."

"Sorry about the mess."

 

[CuriousCaitian]

I wonder - how many people commenting in this thread would have been willing and able to pull the trigger in Data's situation? How many people have been in a similar one? I haven't, so I can't be as confident and absolute as some of you. I certainly can't put a clear, black-and-white, right-and-wrong structure on it - too many unknowns.

For example - how would the others aboard that ship react to the killing of Fajo? Would the act diffuse the tension, or shift its focal point, or even intensify it? Would they vaunt Data as a saviour, or fear him as a new threat? He just killed Fajo, so he might be willing to kill them, if he perceived them as dangerous. No matter what, the act of killing Fajo wouldn't put a neat full stop on things.

Then there's the matter of Data's motivation. Fajo didn't just shoot anyone, he shot the person who'd helped Data to get so close to escape, someone who'd suffered greatly, someone he was intent on having escape with him. If he were human, we'd expect that sight - of them dying so horribly right in front of him - would spark an angry, vengeful, distraught reaction. Is Data capable of that? Maybe the idea here was to hint that he could be, to suggest he's already more than his programming. Since this is episodic television, though, it was never likely to be followed through. Just another possibility left to drift in the ether.

Frankly, we're dealing with individuals here, all of whom would react in their own, different ways, so trying to be absolute is doomed to failure. Even the one supposed fixed point, here - Data - might not actually be so. I suppose that's a big reason (another's the ever-fantastic Saul Rubinek) this episode's a personal favourite. It gives no clear, simple answer, because there isn't one. it just leaves you to decide.

 

[Mojochi]

Frankly, he could have given some much cooler replies:

"...He needed killin' sir"

"Hasta la vista.....baby."

"...nobody puts Data in a chair."

"....EXTERMINATE"

"....yeah, and you're next meatbag. Did I say that out loud? I apologize, sir. While you are a meatbag, I suppose I should not call you such. It's just that...you have all these squishy parts, and all that water! How the constant sloshing doesn't drive you mad, I have no idea."

"Observation: I am a droid, sir, with programming. Even if I did not enjoy killing, I would have no choice. Thankfully, I enjoy it very much."

"Sorry about the mess."

Riker: Mister O'Brien says the weapon was in a state of discharge...

Data: Interesting. Was he also able to detect my absence of givable shits, which contributed to that?

 

[Leviathan]

Riker: Mister O'Brien says the weapon was in a state of discharge...

Data: Interesting. Was he also able to detect my absence of givable shits, which contributed to that?

O'Brien: Beaming him back....transport initiated...whoops matter stream was routed to waste extraction.

 

[NigellaDeanna20]

It wasn't really a lie. Data probably said that as a means of explaining, to Riker that he had witness Fajo kill Varia and let's face it had fired because Varia had died.

 

[Jedman67]

Data was attempting to escape; not killing Fajo - AT THAT MOMENT - (as the disruptor had no "non-lethal" setting) would have meant that Data would continue to be held captive, and that all the other prisoners aboard the ship (were there other prisoners??) would continue to be held captive. To the best of his knowledge, the Enterprise thought him dead, so no rescue was likely. He faced an impossible choice - continue to be captive, possibly for the rest of his "life"; or kill his captor in order to escape. The fact that his captor was a willing murderer makes it easier on Data. As an officer of the law, it is his duty to protect the innocent, which means killing Fajo. As an officer of the law, it would be his responsibility to report the killing and if necessary stand before a military tribunal (or the starfleet equivalent) to defend his actions for the record.
Fact is, Data lied to Riker about his intent to kill Fajo, making him to be a little more human, which I believe is what the writers intended.

Writer Shari Goodhartz related, "I asked Brent Spiner whether he thought Data purposefully pulled the trigger or not, and he was adamant that Data did fire the weapon, which was my intent as well, but the powers-that-be wanted that kept ambiguous, so it was. If I had a chance to do it over, with all the experience I have behind me now, I would argue passionately for Data's actions and their consequences to have been clearer, and hopefully more provocative." [4]

http://www.marvwolfman.com/marv/Speaking_With_Shari_Goodhartz_Part_Two.html

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

For example - how would the others aboard that ship react to the killing of Fajo? Would the act diffuse the tension, or shift its focal point, or even intensify it? Would they vaunt Data as a saviour, or fear him as a new threat? He just killed Fajo, so he might be willing to kill them, if he perceived them as dangerous. No matter what, the act of killing Fajo wouldn't put a neat full stop on things.

I'm thinking that the rest of the Jovis' crew would be grateful to Data for killing Fajo.

We saw how cruel Fajo was to Varria and Data, so it stands to reason that he would have treated the rest of the crew the same way.

And no, Data didn't lie. His exact words were, "Perhaps something occurred during transport." That is not a lie. Data never said that he didn't fire.

Side note: I'm wondering if the other Jovis crew would have been arrested like Fajo was? Were they all equally responsible for Fajo's crimes? We know that the rest of Fajo's "collection" was impounded, but what about the ship itself? In a military like Starfleet, a captain is responsible for the actions of the crew, but does the reverse also apply? (It's murkier in this case because the Jovis is a civilian vessel...)

 

[Jedman67]

It wasn't really a lie. Data probably said that as a means of explaining, to Riker that he had witness Fajo kill Varia and let's face it had fired because Varia had died.

I'm thinking that the rest of the Jovis' crew would be grateful to Data for killing Fajo.

We saw how cruel Fajo was to Varria and Data, so it stands to reason that he would have treated the rest of the crew the same way.

And no, Data didn't lie. His exact words were, "Perhaps something occurred during transport." That is not a lie. Data never said that he didn't fire.

Side note: I'm wondering if the other Jovis crew would have been arrested like Fajo was? Were they all equally responsible for Fajo's crimes? We know that the rest of Fajo's "collection" was impounded, but what about the ship itself? In a military like Starfleet, a captain is responsible for the actions of the crew, but does the reverse also apply? (It's murkier in this case because the Jovis is a civilian vessel...)

It was a lie by omission.
Unless the crew willingly served Fajo, I'd think that they wouldn't be held responsible to the same degree, if they were in effect prisoners of him.

 

[Christopher]

Here's my problem with the episode: The premise is that Data was forced into a situation where he had no choice but to kill Fajo in order to escape/attain justice, and that he made the decision to kill Fajo and was spared from having to follow through by being rescued, then glossed over the lethal-force decision because it no longer mattered.

However: Data did have a nonlethal option that the writer and producers missed. The reason Data couldn't overpower Fajo without a weapon was because Fajo had a belt device generating a field that disrupted Data's systems, so Data couldn't get close enough to restrain him or knock him out. But -- the field device was worn on Fajo's belt, to the right of center. And Data has superhumanly precise aim. It therefore should've been possible for Data to hit the field device with a grazing shot from the disruptor without hitting Fajo in the process. If the disruptor's blast was as horrifically deadly as described, even a graze should've been enough to knock out the device. All he had to do was take a step far enough to Fajo's left that he could get a clear shot at the device without Fajo's body being in the line of fire. That would've let him neutralize the field and overpower Fajo nonlethally.

I saw this solution pretty much immediately when I first saw the episode. And Data's a lot smarter than I am; therefore he should've been able to think of it too, and to carry it out faster than Fajo could react. It was only the people making the episode who failed to think of it, and therefore let this plot hole get through. If, say, they'd designed the field generator differently, made it a belt buckle right over his center of mass, say, then I could buy that Data had no way to disable it without killing Fajo. But as depicted, there was a way, and if I could see it, so could Data.

Therefore, despite the intentions of the episode's creators, I don't believe that Data actually did try to kill Fajo. I assume he was speaking the literal truth -- that the gun was somehow accidentally triggered by the beaming process or something, and Data was genuinely unsure how it discharged. I know that's not what we're supposed to think happened, but it's the only interpretation that makes sense to me, given the plot hole the creators failed to catch.

 

[Mojochi]

the field device was worn on Fajo's belt, to the right of center. And Data has superhumanly precise aim. It therefore should've been possible for Data to hit the field device with a grazing shot from the disruptor without hitting Fajo in the process. If the disruptor's blast was as horrifically deadly as described, even a graze should've been enough to knock out the device. All he had to do was take a step far enough to Fajo's left that he could get a clear shot at the device without Fajo's body being in the line of fire. That would've let him neutralize the field and overpower Fajo nonlethally.

This claim presumes to know something about what a Veron T Disruptor can do, beyond what is stated in the episode. All that is shown & stated is that it is a "Most lethal" energy weapon, that's effect is "Vicious", & "a torturous, painful death"

That's all we know about it. From that description & the later demonstration of it, there's no knowing by us whether it is capable of anything more precise, or any other use at all even. A 4 foot battle axe is a weapon, & so too could a scalpel be, but no one would ever think it reasonable to suggest Data could remove a tumor from your brain with a battle axe. We have nothing to back up a claim that the weapon Data is holding can do anything besides "tear a body from the inside out"

My personal opinion is that the tone with which it is described implies that it might've been cruelly designed, solely for that specific purpose alone, which is why it is likely banned in the Federation, & that there ISN'T likely any other specific application for it, unlike a Starfleet phaser, which has multitudes of uses.

We don't know what it can or can't do... but Data does, & he implies that he has no choice but to use it, & use it as it is intended to be used. I think Data has earned a little good faith from the audience in assuming that he was neither too stupid to have known otherwise, nor too barren of virtue to care to use it in some other way. It's evident it wasn't an easy decision for him

However, he makes the decision to use it. He initiates an action that implies he's about to use it, the weapon discharges, & he doesn't seem terribly surprised to find out it had discharged. Face it. He fired. It's the whole basis of the dilemma. It's pointless to leave it the way they did, if he hadn't.

It was a lie by omission.

It is an omission, but in order for it to be a lie of omission, we must presume that Data is required to make an admission of it right then, & I don't necessarily think he is.

Riker didn't ask him directly if he'd fired the weapon, & that leads me to think maybe it's not really for him to ask, under these circumstances. Data is not on duty. He's been declared dead, & found to be in captivity, possibly in a struggle for his life. This was a personal situation, & maybe isn't Starfleet's business how he conducted himself, especially since the discharge was neutralized anyhow, & no harm was done. It's a moot point ultimately

Data may well be within his rights to say "None of your business" & dismissing the topic as a... oh, I guess "Something" could've happened, is just a more delicate way of saying "No comment"

In fact, if it had been me, "No comment" would've been exactly what I would've said, & I doubt there'd have been any push back on that statement either, just like Riker left Data's alone

 

[Christopher]

This claim presumes to know something about what a Veron T Disruptor can do, beyond what is stated in the episode. All that is shown & stated is that it is a "Most lethal" energy weapon, that's effect is "Vicious", & "a torturous, painful death"

That's all we know about it. From that description & the later demonstration of it, there's no knowing by us whether it is capable of anything more precise, or any other use at all even. A 4 foot battle axe is a weapon, & so too could a scalpel be, but no one would ever think it reasonable to suggest Data could remove a tumor from your brain with a battle axe. We have nothing to back up a claim that the weapon Data is holding can do anything besides "tear a body from the inside out"

Yes, I'm aware of all that. I was aware of it when I first thought this up 28 years ago, and I was aware of it every time I've rewatched the episode since. That's exactly why I specified that it would need to be a grazing shot aimed away from Fajo's body.

As I've already said, the whole reason this is a problem is because the device is a box he's wearing on his side, sticking out from his body. So your "brain tumor" analogy misses the entire point. Since it's sticking out from his side rather than centrally located, that means there are firing angles that would graze the device yet miss Fajo's body altogether. As for what we know about the Varon-T disruptor, we know that it fires a fairly narrow beam, so such a grazing shot is possible. And Data is precise enough to make such a shot.

We don't know what it can or can't do... but Data does, & he implies that he has no choice but to use it, & use it as it is intended to be used. I think Data has earned a little good faith from the audience in assuming that he was neither too stupid to have known otherwise, nor too barren of virtue to care to use it in some other way. It's evident it wasn't an easy decision for him

I'm not talking about the failings of a nonexistent, fictitious 24th-century android, I'm talking about the failings of the real, 20th-century TV writers and artists who created a story about him. If the field generator had been something like, say, a belt buckle, an armband, or a mesh suit covering Fajo's entire torso, then the setup would've worked as written, because there would've been no firing angle on the device that didn't also hit Fajo. Similarly, if the animators had made the disruptor's beam much wider, or had it spray around unpredictably like a Ghostbuster's proton beam, then that also could've ruled out my alternative, because then there would've been no chance of Data aiming precisely enough to hit the box and miss Fajo. But that's not what they did. Given the way the box and the beam were depicted, Data had an option the episode's creators didn't intend him to have. And that's why I can't buy the episode's conceit that he was out of options.

And this is far from the only time this has happened in fiction. Lots of times when characters say they have no alternative but to do X, it's not that hard to think of one or more other alternatives that the writers overlooked.

 

[CuriousCaitian]

And this is far from the only time this has happened in fiction. Lots of times when characters say they have no alternative but to do X, it's not that hard to think of one or more other alternatives that the writers overlooked.

I was nodding throughout your last two posts, but have to say this last note especially resonates. True 'no other choice' scenarios are, in my opinion, really hard to realise, as they have to be thought through to the Nth degree. They also have to be followed through if they're to have all the hoped for impact. Far too many attempts rely on contrivance, and I honestly struggle to think of one I've seen that actually works.

 

[Makarov]

Does anyone else think it's a missed opportunity? They could have had a heart to heart with Data and Riker there. Riker himself had to phaser some people in self defense, like his girlfriend in that one episode

 

[Armus]

Under the circumstances it would have been immoral for Data not to fire. Fajo left him no choice.

It would be interesting to know why the powers that be decided to end the episode the way they did. Data's ambiguous comment to Riker does leaves the audience guessing. He may have reasoned his decision to kill Fajo was a moot point and he saw no logic in trying to address his conduct after O'brien deactivated the disruptor and now that Fajo would be apprehended. He saw no violation of his programming to keep it a secret.

This is from Memory Alpha:
Writer Shari Goodhartz related, "I asked Brent Spiner whether he thought Data purposefully pulled the trigger or not, and he was adamant that Data did fire the weapon, which was my intent as well, but the powers-that-be wanted that kept ambiguous, so it was. If I had a chance to do it over, with all the experience I have behind me now, I would argue passionately for Data's actions and their consequences to have been clearer, and hopefully more provocative."

 

[Mojochi]

Yes, I'm aware of all that. I was aware of it when I first thought this up 28 years ago, and I was aware of it every time I've rewatched the episode since. That's exactly why I specified that it would need to be a grazing shot aimed away from Fajo's body.

As I've already said, the whole reason this is a problem is because the device is a box he's wearing on his side, sticking out from his body. So your "brain tumor" analogy misses the entire point. Since it's sticking out from his side rather than centrally located, that means there are firing angles that would graze the device yet miss Fajo's body altogether. As for what we know about the Varon-T disruptor, we know that it fires a fairly narrow beam, so such a grazing shot is possible. And Data is precise enough to make such a shot.

"Beam" is rather unspecific isn't it? We have no idea what that beam does, like whether it's capable of "Grazing" at all. All we see it do is rip through Varia entirely, which IMHO, based on the flavor of its description, might be the only thing it's capable of doing, ripping through everything & every adjoining thing it's fired at.

It has to fire through Fajo's forcefield. We've no idea what effect that will have, such as dispersion, & we've no idea what kind of beam it fires, or what firing it at something adjoined to Fajo, via his belt, will do, like possibly total annihilation ala Varia, because its effect spreads, & it's attached to him

I'm sorry if my analogy fell short for you, but removing a tumor from the side of a brain is just as impossible with a battle axe, compared to a scalpel, as it would be centrally located. You're inventing what you think it should be able to do, to claim the episode doesn't hold up. That's on you, man, because I don't concoct my own narrative to shoot down the show. If I ever do it, it's to support what we see, or offer an alternative perspective that is just as supportive

I'm not talking about the failings of a nonexistent, fictitious 24th-century android, I'm talking about the failings of the real, 20th-century TV writers and artists who created a story about him. If the field generator had been something like, say, a belt buckle, an armband, or a mesh suit covering Fajo's entire torso, then the setup would've worked as written, because there would've been no firing angle on the device that didn't also hit Fajo. Similarly, if the animators had made the disruptor's beam much wider, or had it spray around unpredictably like a Ghostbuster's proton beam, then that also could've ruled out my alternative, because then there would've been no chance of Data aiming precisely enough to hit the box and miss Fajo. But that's not what they did. Given the way the box and the beam were depicted, Data had an option the episode's creators didn't intend him to have. And that's why I can't buy the episode's conceit that he was out of options.

You're just describing what you think they should do in order to fully satisfy your own personal interests. I'm sorry, but no writer can do that for every individual viewer. If you want to believe Data could make this hypothetical shot you describe, you can invent an indeterminate number of ways, that would be wholly unrealistic for a writer to predict or address, let alone that scene's production staff, costume designers, prop department etc...

Heck, I could suggest Data actually didn't fire at all, as he never pulled a trigger or switch. He only leaned in a bit. So it's possible he's being wholly truthful, & that some inadvertent thing occurred during transport that caused the weapon to misfire in the matter stream. I could say that, but don't, because it shoots down what the episode is presenting, & doing so would just be a nit pick at the prop department for not having a noticeable triggering mechanism on it

No offense, but your example is exactly the same imho

Edit: OOO! I just thought of another just as plausible, made up narrative... Follow me here. Data DID shoot at Fajo's field emitter. Sure, it may look like Data is aiming for a kill shot, but he could know exactly how a Veron T Disruptor will make contact with Fajo's forcefield. So he knew exactly what precise angle to aim the disruptor, in order for its beam to get redirected after hitting the field, such that it will "Graze" the field emitter, & lower the forcefield, allowing Data to apprehend Fajo. There, problem solved... even though that's not what happened

 

[Christopher]

"Beam" is rather unspecific isn't it? We have no idea what that beam does, like whether it's capable of "Grazing" at all. All we see it do is rip through Varia entirely, which IMHO, based on the flavor of its description, might be the only thing it's capable of doing, ripping through everything & every adjoining thing it's fired at.

No, we see it fire an extremely narrow beam whose initial point of impact on Varia's body is only a few centimeters across and then spreads, eating her up from inside as described. Thus, it stands to reason that if it were fired just past someone's body, it wouldn't kill them. This is why I stress "grazing," a word you seem determined to ignore. From a certain vantage, the box on Fajo's belt extends several centimeters past his body. If the inner edge of the beam just grazes the outer edge of the box, like so: (beam)[box](Fajo), then the fringe effects of the beam might be enough to short out the box without coming into contact with Fajo's body. At least it's worth a try.

It has to fire through Fajo's forcefield. We've no idea what effect that will have, such as dispersion, & we've no idea what kind of beam it fires, or what firing it at something adjoined to Fajo, via his belt, will do, like possibly total annihilation ala Varia, because its effect spreads, & it's attached to him

Yes, that occurred to me 28 years ago too. But there's nothing in the episode that indicates that, so it's just speculation. What I'm saying is that the episode does not rule out the alternative I'm suggesting. Again, I'm talking about how the writers set up the situation. They attempted to create a scenario that ruled out every possibility except lethal force, so that it would be convincing that Data had no choice but to kill. What I'm saying is that they overlooked one possibility. The only way you can rule out is by adding further ad hoc conjectures of your own, which merely proves my point that the makers of the episode did not succeed in ruling it out.

I'm sorry if my analogy fell short for you, but removing a tumor from the side of a brain is just as impossible with a battle axe, compared to a scalpel, as it would be centrally located.

A brain tumor is still inside somone's body rather than dangling off of their belt.

You're just describing what you think they should do in order to fully satisfy your own personal interests.

It's called criticism. A work of fiction is a human creation intended to satisfy its audience. If I, as an audience member, am not satisfied that the creators of the work succeeded in what they attempted to convey to me because they overlooked something that I noticed, I am absolutely entitled to criticize them for it, just as you would be entitled to criticize a chef who accidentally left an ingredient out of your meal order at a restaurant.

Fiction depends on the audience's willing suspension of disbelief -- and the key word is "willing." The job of the storyteller is to sell the story to the audience, to make them believe it makes sense as presented. If something makes it hard to believe what you're being shown, like if a special effect is obviously fakey or if you can see the microphone dipping into the shot, then that undermines the illusion. "The Most Toys" required us to believe that Data had no choice but to kill, and I was never able to believe that, because I saw an alternative the writers didn't notice and thus didn't rule out. And my lack of belief in that premise was a problem, because the story depended on our belief in that premise.

Heck, I could suggest Data actually didn't fire at all, as he never pulled a trigger or switch. He only leaned in a bit. So it's possible he's being wholly truthful, & that some inadvertent thing occurred during transport that caused the weapon to misfire in the matter stream.

Yes, that is exactly the alternative interpretation I suggested in my initial post -- that he didn't actually fire and was telling the truth. Did you not even read my whole post?