“Datalore”
Written by Robert Lewin and Gene Roddenberry, Story by Robert Lewin and Maurice Hurley
Directed by Rob Bowman
Season 1, Episode 13
Original air date: January 18, 1988
Star date: 41242.4
Mission summary
Enterprise is passing near the planet where the android Lt. Commander Data was found, so Picard decides to make a short detour in the hopes of unearthing fresh clues to the fate of the colonists who disappeared twenty-six years before.
The away team discovers that since Starfleet was last there, Data’s homeworld has become completely lifeless. They return to the manmade crevice where Data was first activated, and La Forge detects a hidden door with his VISOR. They enter the vast underground laboratory of Khan Noonian Singh Dr. Noonien Soong, a brilliant roboticist who they now realize was Data’s father. They also happen across another android that looks just like Data—some assembly required.
Dr. Crusher and a team of Enterprise engineers manage to put Data’s double back together. He introduces himself as Lore, claiming to be the replacement for his imperfect brother. Data doesn’t quite buy it, but the new, more human android quickly charms the crew and enrolls in the standard “How to Take Over a Starfleet Vessel” seminar that is offered to all guests on Enterprise.
It turns out that Dr. Soong built Lore first, but he was forced to dismantle him because the colonists complained that he was too human. Lore also reveals what happened to the colony: They were attacked by an alien being, a “Crystalline Entity,” which sucked all life from the planet. The scheming android fails to mention that they’re BFFs; in fact, Lore brought the creature to the planet in the first place. Jerk.
Lore disables Data, steals his identity, and summons the Crystalline Entity to Enterprise for dessert. Wesley groks the switcheroo when Lore slips up and uses a contraction, something that Data isn’t capable of (as of this episode). No one believes the boy until Lore slips up again: he fails to recognize Picard’s catchphrase, “Make it so.”
Now under surveillance, the duplicitous android easily knocks out Worf and evades the crack security team following him from a discreet distance of three feet. Lore heads to the cargo bay to communicate with the entity. Dr. Crusher finds Data unconscious in his quarters and switches him back on so he can confront his brother.
With Wesley’s help—of course—Data transports Lore into deep space, and the Crystalline Entity beats a hasty retreat. All that remains is for Data to get back into uniform and for Enterprise to head for its next mishap.
Analysis
First season or no, this has always been one of my favorite episodes. There’s something compelling about the idea of encountering a long lost relative, and an identical twin at that. Lore’s introduction presents an opportunity to explore all of Data’s identity issues at once: his feeling of loneliness, his desire to be more human, his questions about his origins, and the matter of his mechanical nature. There’s enough material here for several episodes, and indeed, better stories will delve into each of these themes more successfully than “Datalore.”
The tale of sibling rivalry is older than the Bible. This episode directly taps into the jealousy between Cain and Abel, with Data cast as “his brother’s keeper,” just as season four’s “Brothers” riffs on Esau and Jacob. Much of the discomfort caused by Lore’s sudden appearance is handled very well, with Data’s crewmates forced to acknowledge the fact that he is a machine. Even the subplot concerning the disappearance of the colony ties in more satisfactorily, and even surprisingly, than we’ve seen in most episodes so far this season. The mystery is interesting and the brutal existence of the Crystalline Entity has monstrous implications that are barely touched upon here. One of the best details is the fact that Data stores the memories of more than 400 human colonists, a remarkable aspect to his character which I wish had been better exploited throughout the series.
Then there’s the startling realization that the only thing separating Data, a character most viewers probably like at least a little bit by now, and his psychotic counterpart is their programming. In fact, one wonders why Soong had to build an entirely different android from scratch when he could have just scrapped the original brain or reprogrammed its software. Soft sentimentality, no doubt. I was struck, however, by their different, yet similar names. There is a cold, distant quality to Data’s name, while “Lore” sounds more romantic, more human, more appealing (consider it as a homynym of “lure,” which he does with the Crystalline Entity); interesting that it is Data who is the living archive of the experiences of the human colonists, while his brother–who actually knew these people–is more calculating and unfeeling.
The biggest drawback to this episode is that it requires too much suspension of disbelief. The show basically ignores the continuity of the original series, in which sophisticated androids appeared all the time. Even worse, it retcons the fact that Data can’t—excuse me, cannot—use contractions. As the crew literally puts the pieces together, with a fair bit of clumsy exposition, and realizes that Data is a Soong-type android, it seems ridiculous that no one figured out his origin before this. They talk of “Asimov’s dream of a positronic brain” and how Soong failed… while they’re hanging out with proof that it was more than a dream. It seems Starfleet has never bothered to study Data before now! Shouldn’t they have detailed schematics of him by now? And why didn’t anyone returned to investigate the missing colony?
The ending is also pretty weak and anticlimactic, considering the buildup. Lore tips his hand pretty early, then continues with his original plan as though he hadn’t just knocked out a Klingon and escaped armed officers. Data defeats him by tossing him into a transporter and beaming him into space. (Hello, he’s an android! This is just going to piss him off.) And the mighty Crystalline Entity, devourer of worlds, just runs away.
Even if the show’s producers didn’t know it at the time, this episode only gave us the first part of a story that would not pay off for years. Data and Lore’s story arc would continue into the feature films, and even the story of the Crystalline Entity—and most intriguingly, Data’s memories of the colonists—would not reach a conclusion until season five.
When I think about “Datalore,” I find myself anticipating the many excellent stories to come, so those may influence my appreciation of this episode as the start of it all. On the other hand, it also reminds me of B4 from Star Trek Nemesis, and anything seems better than that.
On a happier note, we’re halfway through season one!
Eugene’s Rating: Warp 4 (on a scale of 1-6)
Thread Alert: No real fashion disasters here, but I’ll point out that I liked how Lore’s jumpsuit echoes the colors of Data’s Starfleet uniform. And though I won’t post any screencaps, did anyone else notice that Data seemed kind of, well, chilly in that Spandex for most of the episode?
Best Line: Multiple: “Shut up, Wesley!”
Trivia/Other Notes: Lore was originally intended to be a female android as a love interest for Data, but Brent Spiner suggested the “evil twin” concept. Coincidentally, this gave him more screen time.
This was the last episode of Star Trek written by Gene Roddenberry. At least he went out on a decent note.
Previous episode: Season 1, Episode 12 – “The Big Goodbye.”
Next episode: Season 1, Episode 14 – “Angel One.”
My goodness, could I be the first one here? That never happens!
Now to actually read it, having indulged for the first time ever in InternetFIRST!ing. :D
It’s a decent enough episode, but I think I would rate it a little lower. Aside from the flaws Eugene mentions, my biggest problem is that the crew is not only slow to pick up on the rather obvious impersonation by Lore, but that are also very slow to connect the Crystal Entity to what happened to the colony. Despite the very obvious (and creepy) clue of the children’s drawings. I mean, we have all these pictures of people fleeing in terror from the thing, but they accept it as potentially benign and go all Federation touchy-feely just on Lore’s say-so.
Also, the off-switch is in a very plot-convenient, but stupid place. It really ought to be somewhere much more inaccessible, like deep in the left ear canal and only operable with a long, thin probe and Data’s full consent.
To be fair, DemetriosX, at least the switch isn’t in as stupid a place as the one in the Doctor Who episode 42, where the Doctor had to put on a spacesuit and hang from the edge of an airlock trying to reach the switch that would pull back an escape pod. It had me howling with laughter at the idea of the engineers who decided to put that switch in that particular spot, they must have been on psyllocybin or peyote or something when they did it.
This episode is among my favorites. I was so worried that on re-watch, like so many others, itwouldn’t work–but I think it still holds up.
I love Lore. Brent Spiner actually gets a chance to act, for one, and I just think Lore is an exceptional character. The things that make Lore evil are the things that make him more human: ambition, manipulation, power. He can deceive and lie and cheat and gloat. I adore his interactions with Data, who calls him on his machinations. And I love the way that his arrogance at his own successes are what leave him weak enough to be defeated. Very, very human.
There’s a theme I really admire here that got picked up in DS9, which is if you’re the only one of your kind you’ve ever met and you’ve spent your whole life trying to find out who and what you are only to discover that the rest of your kind are, well, kind of evil, what does that mean about you? Does it change who you are? Data does a great job with this idea. Lore represents everything he’s ever wanted to be, and yet without the compassion to check all those other human emotions and desires, he’s a monster. It’s the first of a very long thread in which Data comes to terms with his own limitations and learns to embrace his so-called shortcomings as virtues.
I also just like the way the supporting cast works together in this episode. Picard comes right out and says, look, this is awkward for everyone, but we all need a vocabulary to discuss it and we have to admit our own reservations. Maturity! For once!
As for major complaints, I have two. The first is, unsurprisingly, how much I hate that Wesley Crusher seems to figure out what none of the competent adults can put their finger on, and they all yell at him. He is so obviously not Data and what’s wrong with Wesley that he can’t explain it to the bridge crew? When Lore points that phaser at Wesley you really hope for a second that the episode ends differently than you remembered… The second complaint is that the resolution is kind of half-assed. I guess they were setting him up to return but I think Lore would have executed his plan a little more intelligently than we see him doing at the end.
All in all, though, I was immensely pleased with this one and am finally starting to get excited again about this series.
Warp 5
I’ve come to loathe Brent Spiner’s mugging, which in the first season corrupts even his ordinary performance as Data. He’s always tossing in inappropriate smiles and double-takes in these early episodes but he did learn to flatten his affect more as the show went on.
And then there were the times Spiner thought he could play a villain. *sighs* You have to admit, he gave it his all even though the results were often ghastly. He tries to come across as a dangerous psycho but Michael Rooker or Tom Noonan he is not; the unhinged voice and ruthless-sounding phrases are always so forced-seeming. It’s scarier when you underplay it, Brent.
In this case, though, I may grudgingly have to admit that the acting style is warranted. Lore is not a human psycho, he’s a machine imperfectly acting the part of a human psycho. Maybe it really would sound “forced-seeming”, just a bit too exaggerated and off the mark, because those first attempts of the (yet) unseen Dr. Soong to duplicate human emotions wouldn’t be spot on. They’d be just wrong enough to fall into a kind of “uncanny valley” not of human appearance but of human behavior.
Oh, I can entirely believe that. When a project goes wrong, a lot of programmers I’ve encountered struggle with the desire just to redo everything from scratch even if it means a terrible waste of time.
The first screenshot in this episode recap reminds me of something that’s always bugged me slightly in all the episodes featuring Data’s or Lore’s disconnected head. It’s some sort of waxen figure, I assume, but couldn’t they give it a matte finish? The fake head always looks like it’s been spray-lacquered with really glossy varnish. That might make it easier to handle, I suppose.
Finally, the ridiculous notion that Data cannot use contractions reminds me of the Monty Python routine in which one man (Michael Palin) runs into another (Eric Idle) who mispronounces all words with a hard ‘C’. Palin teaches Idle that he can merely mentally substitute ‘K’ for ‘C’ to get the correct pronunciation, whereupon Idle exclaims, “I never thought of that! What a silly bunt!” So Data can’t say “can’t”, eh? Presumably he can utter the word “cant” (no apostrophe)? Same with “won’t” and “wont”?
Eugene,
You pointed out how Lore’s jumpsuit echoed Data’s uniform but did you catch how it tied in with the non-uniform fashion sense of the original series? Look at the Spock’s unzipped jumpsuit in the tag for “Laugh Treks”. Look at Dr. Daystrom’s garb in The Ultimate Computer then look at the gray / black combination seen several times throughout the original series.
“Datalore” is an interesting play on words and concepts. That play is part of why I really like this episode even though the ending fizzled as quickly as the end of a Monty Python sketch.
data: factual information (as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning.
lore: 1: archaic: something that is taught; Lesson. 2: Something that is learned: a: knowledge gained through study or experience. b: traditional knowledge or belief. 3: a particular body of knowledge or tradition.
By this point in the series, Data is a fact. We know basically what and who he is – even though we still have more to learn. Lore is an unknown. He gives us his (or a chosen) particular body of knowledge. But what can we infer about him by the end of the episode? He is traditional knowledge or belief – mostly belief. He is the boogieman. The thing that goes bump in the night. He is the evil spoken of in the stories told around the campfire at night. He is lore.
I confess, this always irked me, Data’s backstory or “mysterious” origins and operations. He was obviously found, activated, and (somehow) allowed to join Starfleet Academy. Why, without full details of his background and operating parameters? More, he is given rank and allowed to rise in rank, rising to Command rank, where he is able to command other officers… and yet the nature of his identity—whether machine or organism—still remain in doubt.
A future episode (”The Measure of a Man”) will declare Data “a toaster” and property of Starfleet. In a later episode, his offspring is similarly confiscated as property. I’m glad they tackled this issue, but it’s clear Data’s status as a being is still largely in doubt. After—what’s his backstory, again?—20 years in the Federation?
Does the Enterprise have a rank? It is no less a machine than Data, and actually seems to have fewer quirks.
Obviously Data used to be much more human-seeming. Not too long before the events of “Encounter at Farpoint” he suffered the mechanical equivalent of a stroke, which is why he was apparently able to get through Starfleet Academy and rise through the ranks without trouble. It makes sense that his ability to command was not questioned so long as you assume that he used to function better. But then he got shot in the head or something and now he functions less efficiently than a drug-addled Deadhead, which is why questions about his sentience only just come up now.
@ 7 Ludon
I was trying to parse this out when I watched it, too. He was discovered 26 years ago, and says he spent 4 years in the academy, 3 years as an ensign, and then 10-12 years as a mid-grade officer before he reached his current rank. This doesn’t seem to jive with Riker talking about learning the Picard Maneuver (which happened about 10 years ago on the Stargazer) in the Academy, unless he like, went back to teach for a semester. Otherwise Riker is barely in his 30s and already a Commander. (I think Wesley enters the Academy at like 16, so presumably one would graduate at 20?)
However, it is mentioned later that Data has been deliberately prevented from being promoted to actual command positions, due to Starfleet’s unease with him. So maybe that makes sense?
@ etomlins
Wow, so much hate here. What TNG do you like?
Watched this episode last night after completing a meager 1 page on my newst novel. Frankly the faults have already been laid bare, but I do enjoy watching Brent go at the scenery like he hasn’t eaten in a week. LOL
@8 etomlins
Makes as much sense as the idea that this oft-malfunctioning mechanoid, whose very “search for humanity” is—in a sense—a design deviation since such was not programmed in, would be given rank and command as he bumbles about in child-like exploration. Throughout the series arc, he gets commandeered more often than Auxiliary Control Room on the old USS E.
A thought that just occured to me. I wonder what those security dudes did after Lore performed the ’emergency close’ manouver in the turbo-lift? I mean you’re following you lead officer, ready to descreetly keep an eye of a person of interest, and that person of interest snatches your officer and leave you standing dumbfounded like like someone late to a movie. Did they turn around and go for coffee?
Fritz: Well, that’s done, how about a trip to the lounge?
George: Shouldn’t we follow Lt. Worf?
Fritz: Naw, he’s was riding my ass all week, Let him deal with I’m unstaisfactory.
George: faie enough.
They leave for scones and coffee.
What do I like? Most Romulan episodes aside from the weak first one, most Borg episodes, Family of course, almost anything Picard-centered really once they get away from just having him make speeches, a whole bunch. I freely admit to hyperbole. I even like Data in a few episodes (the one where he sulks at losing a board game comes to mind) but hate how TNG kinda became the Data show at times.
Accusing me of just hating everything is a *little* premature. 2nd season brings Pulaski and mostly I liked her.
Agreed. I like the episodes where he functions with machine precision while other members of the crew deteriorate (“The Naked Now” grates because it represents the exact opposite of this). I also like the episodes where his emotionless state is taxed… and found wanting or lacking, his awareness of same. I even like his discussion with Spock about their essential differences (Data doesn’t have to try to be emotionless). I can even tolerate his failings with contractions nonsense.
I guess what gets me is the evident foolishness of the crew patiently indulging his Pinocchio follies. One even going to the point of striking up a romantic relationship… like falling in love with an inflatable sex toy.
Solemnly, patiently watching a robot perform music flawlessly, knowing full well there is no “soul” or feeling or art underlying it, just accurate mimicry, always struck me as an absurd indulgence… (this is what passes for recreation in the 24th Century?)… on the level of admiring a forgery or complimenting your phonograph.
Guess that’s why I also found Pulaski refreshing.
Wesley has single handedly saved the ship how many times now? He was proclaimed a unique super-genius by a superior race?
And yet Capt. Picard, who commissioned him f’r crissakes, won’t yield three seconds to listen to Wesley’s theory that Data might be an impostor, when the scenario for exactly that is absolutely plain? Picard is certainly smarter in later episodes in his willingness to at least entertain ideas that are clearly on the face of them possible.
Is it not at least POSSIBLE that a duplicate might try to impersonate the thing he duplicates? Gah.
And, yeah, Torie @ 4, the Boy Genius should’ve been able to, in two seconds, articulate a persuasive argument that, given the stakes, his theory should at least be tested.
@2 DemetriosX
It really ought to be somewhere much more inaccessible, like deep in the left ear canal and only operable with a long, thin probe and Data’s full consent.
The only problem with this is that if Data goes nuts, as he does in Insurrection for instance, you need a way to deactivate him without his consent. A good designer would plan a failsafe in case the tool malfunctions. I do think that his back is a little too accessible, and it would make sense to require a specific tool to limit the people who can interfere with him. I found it interesting, though, that there’s a timer on the off-switch so that Data can turn himself off for a set period of time.
The flipside of this discussion is in Voyager when the holographic Doctor lobbies for override control over computer commands to turn him off.
@5 etomlins
The poor quality of the fake head always bugged me too, as it will again in “Time’s Arrow.” I had actually forgotten that Lore wasn’t already assembled when they arrived; for some reason I thought they found him and just had to activate him. I’m surprised that given what happens later in the series that Starfleet gave Enterprise permission to put a new android together, particularly if they haven’t quite worked out what to do with the first one.
@6 Ludon
Great observation on the jumpsuit! It did look really familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. I almost posted a picture of Dr. Crusher on fire, because I find that hilarious.
I think I like your comparison of “data” and “lore” better than mine. I was trying for something like that, and also considered including the dictionary entries.
@11 Lemnoc
Throughout the series arc, he gets commandeered more often than Auxiliary Control Room on the old USS E.
I’d like to see a tally of how many times the ship gets taken over, Data is commandeered, and people are possessed by aliens or under mind control.
@12 bobsandiego
Ha! Considering Worf was unconscious and Yar is useless, they probably just stood there waiting for new orders. Does it seem like Picard is always making excuses for Yar? She says something stupid or wrong and then he explains to the crew that she was just doing her job and she gets a goofy smile on her face.
I’ll drop the undue Data scorn from now, but as a last defence I point to one of my favorite shows, “The Simpsons” (at least before 8th or 9th season.) I loved almost every episode but grew to dislike Homer Simpson intensely. Even in some early episodes he was already vile and stupid and not always sufficiently redeemed by a last-minute change of heart. You’d never guess I actually enjoyed much “Simpsons” based on anything I’d ever say about Homer.
I do have to admit something about this episode that will seem odd based on what I’ve already said about Data and Spiner: it is the first TNG episode I ever saw where I really feared for the good guys. There are plenty of 1st season episodes that fail to establish any suspense but this isn’t one of them; it’s hard to imagine that anything can really stop Lore once Data’s apparently down for the count. The phaser shot that Lore almosts gets off in the transporter beam is a nice touch (and one that would be reflected, possibly by accident, in a later Data episode).
And just think, even after this greatest threat to the ship was defeated almost by chance (which doesn’t actually bug me), Picard still thought that putting randomly found android bits together was an OK idea in Nemesis.
@17 etomlins
You and I are in total agreement on The Simpsons. I stopped watching after the eighth season; in addition to the focus on Homer, the show shifted to a different structure and style of humor that just didn’t work for me anymore.
The feeling of danger for me came more from the Crystalline Entity, perhaps because as much as I enjoy Spiner as Lore, he was a rather cartoonish villain. I think they built him up as this unstoppable force of evil, but that’s instantly negated when you realize, “Oh, all you have to do is beam him off the ship.” I feared more for Data’s fate, because he was far more vulnerable than anyone. The entity, on the other hand, kills without malice–to survive–and even though it was being manipulated by Lore, it is capable of incredible destructive power. It’s like the probe in STIV, or even, on some level, like the Borg.
Picard still thought that putting randomly found android bits together was an OK idea in Nemesis.
SUCH a good point! This episode prompted me to read up on B-4, and everything about it still seems ridiculous. Apparently it was passed around from alien race to alien race, who each failed to understand its value and origin, until finally it fell into the hands of the Talosians? Better that all of that stayed in the script instead of making it to the screen.
I haven’t rewatched the episode since original (UK) broadcast, but you know the comments here are reminding me of how much I always found Data’s ‘search for humanity’ a bit…well…embarrassing. I can’t pin down why, exactly. it always comes across as just trying a bit to hard somehow.
Having said that, ‘Measure of a Man’ is one of my all-time favourite episodes.
@19 bookzombie
You know, I didn’t find his search for humanity too embarrassing, until I re-watched this episode. I think the distinction is that we can sympathize with Data’s efforts to understand humanity, even to become more human, but too often he resorts to simply mimicking human behavior. And when that involves learning to sneeze, it’s almost insulting. You think that’s what makes us human? No, that’s what makes us a living organism. And when he sneezes or laughs or tries to tell a joke, all his friends know he’s just pretending, which is embarrassing for him.
As Lemnoc points out, it’s weird that people would praise his efforts to play music or paint a picture by rote; the thing that makes art special is the creative element, a unique and personal style, not simple reproduction of another person’s work. On the other hand, people do learn by practicing famous compositions or copying master artist’s paintings, but these are to learn the craft, not a creative act in itself. And as far as I can tell, they are neither challenging for Data, nor does he derive any pleasure from the pursuit. Anyway, perhaps I’m misremembering, but I expect we’ll get more into this later. And I agree that “Measure of a Man” is one of my favorite episodes.
Regarding Data’s attempts to be human — I think the sneezing thing was a fundamental misunderstanding on the part of the author of that episode. Like Eugene says, humanity doesn’t consist in correctly performing reflex responses (which, logically, Data ought to be able to do anyway, if he is “fully functional” ::shudder::). That’s not being human, that’s twitching appropriately.
I think when he tries to tell a joke, that’s an entirely different thing — sneezes are way better documented than humor. Any of us could explain sneezing pretty effectively, but humor is still a mystery to a lot of humans. Similarly with painting and music — what makes a particular performance great, what makes a particular painting great? Opinions vary from person to person. Data’s quest to be human is interesting when it addresses the ways in which all of us are a little confused, or the ways in which there aren’t absolute-truth standards to point to.
I also think it’s interesting the way Data tries to combine the performances of great musicians in his own violin playing — because this is exactly what a human musician (performing a repetoire work) might do, try to synthesize a bunch of existing interpretations and create one that’s original. There are two differences — the human might have some intentional deviations from any prior performance (though Mozart would have been recorded for what, 600 years at this point? Probably every plausible variation has been done on tape before), and the human would have some unintentional deviations, being an imperfect mimic. So if the method isn’t really any different, and the result isn’t really any different… on what grounds do we put down his artistic product? Sure, he believes that there’s an essence or core there that he isn’t understanding, but it’s probably still pretty. For it to be like his attempts at humor, he’d have to be a bad violin player, which doesn’t seem to be the case (?)
In any event, the crew has very questionable taste in what performances they’ll sit through. I mean, don’t they even kibbitz Barclay’s Cyrano rehearsals? I guess sometimes the holodeck is booked…
I think was bothered me about Data questo to be human is just how limited a view of a view he had about humanity. Humans are big messy complex creatures full of contradictions, flaws, and failings as well as the heroci, the noble, and desirable. We never saw Data trying to understand, by way of experiencing, even lighter shades of darkness. Say like cheating at the poker game.
Far be it from me to say anything nice about Data, but he does attempt to explore feelings of anger in the first half of “Descent” (before Lore shows up and the whole episode goes pear-shaped.)
Easily one of my fav TNG episodes. I love the whole Lore- Data interaction. Does not hurt that Data has always been my favorite star trek character. Spiner is such a great actor, and it shows in all of the episodes with the 2 brothers..and the Dr. later on.
This was much better than most of the episodes of TNG that preceded it, but I thought that “The Enemy Within” from TOS was a much better Evil Twin episode, because THAT episode suggests that we actually need our negative side, whereas this one doesn’t get anywhere near that philosophical.
Glad someone has figured out that Brent Spinner can act. Now if only they’ll figure out that Jonathan Frakes can’t… :-)
I always wondered why the crystal entity did not retrieve lore. why would it flee if it didn’t know he left the ship thus losing its only way to get to the life aboard it. lore coulda just ridden in a crevasse or held on. and knowing lore could communicate with the entity (surely it was not auditory…no air around it) and knowing space has no effect on a soong android, what was the end game and why was that abandoned when they too just flew off.