Android operations officer of the Enterprise, played by Brent Spiner, in The Next Generation. Created by Dr. Noonian Soong on Omicron Theta IV, he is first found by the ship USS Tripoli and later attends Starfleet Academy. When a Turing Test declares hi, sentient, he is awarded several different posts on Starfleet vessels before coming aboard the Enterprise. Data and his twin, Lore, are designed in their father Soong's image. Data and Lore, who is created first, have very pale skin, yellow eyes and are physically human in every way, except for off switches on their backs. Data's fondest wish is to know what it is like to be mentally and emotionally human. He comes close many times to attaining feeling, but each attempt results in disaster. His hobbies include music; acting; writing poetry; his cat, Spot; painting ; stand up comedy; solving mysteries (his favourite sleuth is Sherlock Holmes); and playing poker. He says he cannot speak in contractions, yet he does so easily when imitating a human or acting out a role. An accomplished engineer, often assisting Geordi with mechanical problems, Data is also an expert on many subjects, and can pilot the Enterprise out of tough situations with ease. Although designed to be completely rational, he is one of the most compassionate crewmembers on the Eneterprise. He even breaks the Prime Directive in TNG episode "Pen Pals," going against command orders to save a little girl calling for help from a doomed world.
