Of course, to those of you who know me, this means that I will be addressing yet another obscure thought I've had regarding the Star Trek franchise.
Wireless technology seems to be developing at an astounding rate, to the point that there are now devices small enough to embed in wallpaper and tablecloths that relay power to your handheld doohickeys while they are still in your pockets! Really! For instance, the entire family could be seated around the dinner table, each intently focused on their cell phone, videogame, iPod...whatever, and these devices would ensure that nobody's batteries ran out o' juice. Hooray!
Reading about these thingies got me thinking about Data, from Star Trek: TNG. It seems obvious that, in order to perfect such a brilliant artificial intelligence as Data, there had to have been a TON of prototypes that never saw the light of day. Now, I know that all you Star Trek fans out there are saying, "But Sam...we saw the prototypes in the show - you're forgetting about Data's brother, Lore, and B4, Data's special-ed brother from Nemesis." I assure you, friends, that I am not forgetting them, but I am merely referring to earlier versions that theoretically must have existed as Data went through the R&D and QA periods of product development.
Neatly tying the two preceding paragraphs together, my question is: Did earlier versions of Data need some sort of power cord, or was wireless technology already commonplace in regards to robotic men? The reason I ask is, I imagine the beta versions of Data undergoing initial testing in Main Engineering on Enterprise - they must've been pretty cool to have around, but if LaForge kept stumbling over the long orange extension cord running out from under Data's pants leg, that just wouldn't do. Safety hazards, you know? I mean, with all the reactor leaks and forklift accidents already prevalent in Engineering, this Data guy's like a moving tripwire - who needs that?
So...in addition to slowly microwaving the human race to a nice medium rare, perhaps the advancements we're so rapidly making in the realm of wireless technology are going to make possible the ultimate in wireless gadgets: pasty-faced, yellow-eyed robot men that like cats.
The future's so bright, I gotta wear Visual Instrument Sensory Organ Replacements.
S
worst post ever, damn Star Trek
ReplyDeleteTwo things come to mind upon reading your comment, Michael Louis Avery.
ReplyDeleteOne: You should have stopped reading when I notified you of the imminent Star Trek content, and I have to assume that, since you dumbly continued, that you might have some sort of serious vitamin deficiency - one in which your body pays no heed to your brain's opinions. If that is indeed the case, I'm terribly sorry, and tomorrow, I'll put an extra quarter in that little box next to the register at Burger King - just for you, buddy.
Two: Whilst this may be related to the vitamin deficiency, you still had the gall to not only post a comment on my blog, but you gave me an insulting post, at that. I think everyone who reads this blog (and the comments therein) will support me when I say, "If you can't say something nice..."
No. You know what? Eat a fat one, kiddo. This is MY blog.
Worst. Comment. Ever.
Ummm...yeah. I'm voting in the "yay for star trek nerds!" camp as far as the quality of content is concerned--here's looking at you Avery!
ReplyDeleteAnd all I can really say in response to the blog post itself is...
Things I am not allowed to aboard the Enterprise
#47 - Spell Geordi's name G-E-O-R-D and claim that Star Fleet took his 'I'...
BRILLIANT!
ReplyDeleteHa. Good stuff, man. (How many times have I started a blog comment like that?)
ReplyDeleteI thought Data was powered by some sort of advanced, atomic energy??? Am I revealing my utter lack of Star-Trek knowledge?
OMG! Danielle!
ReplyDeleteI was gonna say "We've missed you!" but, heck - I'VE missed you!
And here you come, bein' all funny on my blog. Just remember: don't be any funnier than me, or I'll start losing readers. You cut it close with that "butthat'snotworkingyet" remark, but I'll give you some slack just this once.
Ryan, you are so utterly, unwittingly, unforgivably RIGHT about Data and his self-contained power pack (of which even I cannot recall the details), so don't be ashamed!
Still, logic suggests that there had to have been some popsicle-stick-and-Elmer's-glue mockups of Data tottering around the workshop before there was a fully realized mandroid such as Data, and THOSE are the ones I'm referring to. You know, the ones with salad tongs for hands and stick-on googly eyes?