![]() As Picard is far too old to ever fulfill his dream of having a family, ensuring his departed friend’s child well-being is the closest he will ever get to being a father himself. Dahj’s instinctual visions of Picard certainly lend credence to the veracity of Dr. Jurati told Picard is true, then the essence of Data is in Soji and she truly could be considered Data’s daughter. Having witnessed Lal’s death, and then failing to save Dahj in Picard’s premiere, there is ample justification for Picard’s investment in the safety of Soji. The creators of Picard are well-versed in the lore and the choice of making Data’s offspring a daughter was a deliberate call back to “The Offspring” designed to prod Jean-Luc out of his slump. RELATED: Star Trek: How Picard Reprograms Robotics in the Star Trek Universe The fact that Dahj’s appearance on the chateau was enough to spur Picard into action speaks volumes of his friendship with Data. The experience does indeed seem to have stuck with Data, as he composed a painting entitled “Daughter,” which cyberneticist Bruce Maddox purposefully used as the appearance for Dahj and Soji, the androids derived from Data’s tech. One can only imagine how much it compounded the guilt Picard feels in the aftermath of Data’s sacrifice to save Jean-Luc. Witnessing Data try his hardest to be a good parent only to lose his child regardless, was an experience that haunted Picard for the rest of his life. Picard had his own issues with wanting a family he’d never be able to have. For his part, Picard carried immense sorrow over the death of Lal, feeling the loss of a child that Data could not. In an attempt to preserve who she was, Data downloaded Lal’s memory into his mind and was grateful for the entire experience. Her consciousness quickly fades thereafter, with Data shutting her down after complete neural failure.ĭespite lacking emotions, the death of Lal had a profound effect on Data. Her final complete thought was to thank her father for the life she was given. He tries all he can, only admitting in Lal’s final moments that he cannot correct the failure and that she is about to die. Exhausted, he informs Picard that Lal’s death is inevitable.ĭespite this, Data never ceases. He helps Data for hours, but the Admiral is unable to continue. Seeing Data’s concern, the Admiral who came to take Lal away instead offers his considerable skill in robotics and joins Data in his attempt to save her life. He discovers that his daughter’s positronic brain is suffering from a cascade failure and her emotions are a side effect of her imminent death. When Data is informed of this development, he begins diagnostics, as Lal shouldn’t be capable of the emotions she was feeling. Inexplicably, Lal begins to display emotions to Counselor Troi, irritated and clearly frightened at the prospect of being taken away from her father. Picard was prepared to take this fight to the highest levels of Starfleet, but tragically his commitment proved to be in vain. RELATED: Who is Bruce Maddox? Star Trek PIcard's Surprise Return Character At this point Captain Picard had acknowledged Data and Lal’s relationship and told Data to disregard the Admiral's orders, rebuking his superior “Order a man to hand his child over to the state? Not while I’m his captain.” Data argued that she was his child and his responsibility, he hoped that she would one day follow in his footsteps and join Starfleet voluntarily, as he did. Ultimately deciding that Data was unfit to properly train Lal, he decided to have her transferred to his care. Things became complicated when an Admiral from Starfleet visited the ship to observe Lal. Lal struggled with being different and grappled with the knowledge that like her father, she would never be able to feel emotion. However, like Data her interpersonal skills proved to be woefully deficient. She shows early promise, asking questions that Data cannot answer, such as her purpose in life, but he encourages this behavior as it shows signs of her developing sentience.
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