10 Reasons Why Data Was A Dangerous Threat To The Enterprise
7. He Once Raged-Out On a Borg Drone And Beat Him To Death
This happened in an episode called “Descent,” and it’s not the only troubling action Data took during the episode. Descent starts like so many other TNG installments- with a distress call.
The Enterprise arrives in orbit of a planet and to find a hostile and unknown vessel. Riker takes Data and others on an away mission to the other ship. Once there, the away team is swarmed by, oddly emotional, Borg drones.
Data engages in hand-to-hand combat with one of these drones. During the fight, he experiences anger for the first time. Then he snaps the drone’s neck.
Needless to say, this is a cause for worry among the crew. Riker confronts Data about the incident, but Data is like, “Yeah, I’m confused too. idk, man,” to paraphrase.
Turns out, Data’s brother Lore discovered a way to beam emotions into Data’s brain. At this point, Lore brainwashes Data. The two Soong-type androids are set to go on a murderous rampage.
Lore even goads Data into almost lobotomizing his best friend, Geordi. Data almost does it, but the crew reboots his “moral subroutines” just in time.
Take a second to consider the ramifications of a crew member who can have his morality switched off like a light bulb.
Actually, you don’t need to think about it. Just watch Descent. He starts carving into his buddy’s frontal lobes almost immediately!