B-4

B-4
Species:	Soong-type android
Gender:	male
Born:	2330s
Family
Parents:	Noonien Soong ("father") Juliana Tainer ("mother")
Sibling(s):	Lore Data

B-4 was a prototype Soong-type android constructed by Doctor Noonien Soong in the 2330s, and, like the majority of Dr. Soong's works, was modelled after Soong's own likeness.

Biography

As a prototype unit, B-4's positronic brain was considerably less advanced than his younger brothers' Lore and Data. This meant that B-4 would often ask simple questions and call out the names of people and objects he recognized. (TNG movie: Star Trek Nemesis; TNG novel: Resistance)

Sometime prior to 2379, Shinzon discovered B-4 and decided that he could use the android as part of an elaborate scheme to draw Captain Jean-Luc Picard near to Romulus so that he could capture him. Shinzon had B-4 equipped with a second memory port which had subversive programming installed into it; with which compelled B-4 to access Starfleet computer systems and download vital data in ship movements and their coded communications frequencies. Following the installation of these additions, Shinzon had B-4 disassembled and scattered across the surface of Kolarus III, so that he could draw Picard in.

Shinzon's plan paid off as the USS Enterprise-E was drawn to Kolarus III after detecting a positronic signature on the planet's surface. The dissembodied android was then returned to Enterprise and reassembled. Data soon became aware of B-4's limitations, but decided to copy all of his memories to him, in the hopes that Data's added experience would help B-4 expand beyond his programming. Unfortunately, B-4 had to be deactivated soon afterward when his part in Shinzon's plot was revealed.

Shortly after Data's death aboard the Reman warbird Scimitar, B-4 was reactivated, and while some of Data's memories began to surface, his programming failed to expand as he was still reduced to asking simple questions and parroting the words of those around him. A few months later, he was relocated to the Daystrom Institute, where scientists planned to disassemble him in an attempt to replicate a Soong-type android. This was opposed by Captain Bruce Maddox, who made a legal petition to the Federation Judiciary Committee, the highest court in the Federation. After testimony from the Doctor, he was declared a sentient being and therefore could not be disassembled. (TNG novel: Resistance; ST novel: Articles of the Federation)

Return of Data

The Soong Foundation's science team and Geordi La Forge worked to subvert his personality in favor of the "Data" personality. The group managed to unravel the Data matrix, allowing for all of Data's memories, personality and experiences to override B4's. When Data first returned to consciousness, he refused to allow himself to exist at the expense of his brother's life. He therefore created a program in his mind to destroy his own consciousness before it destroyed B-4's. However, B-4 commandeered the program and, having heard that Data was crucial to the war with the Undine, deleted himself before Data could stop him. Data therefore survived in B-4's body.

Through this, Data was able to help the Soong Foundation in upgrading positronic brains and help in the recreation of the emotion chip originally developed by Doctor Soong. Ambassador Spock likened it to his resurrection a hundred and two years previously, though Data likened it more to a return. Meanwhile, a backup copy of B-4 was saved, and thus the science team hoped to create a "B-4 matrix", and possibly eventually bring Data's brother back to life in a new body. (ST comic: "Countdown, Number Two"; ST website : The Path to 2409; STO novel: The Needs of the Many)

Appendices

Appearances

• Pocket TNG:
  • Star Trek Nemesis (2002)
  • "The Very Model" (short story, Strange New Worlds 10, 2007)
  • Resistance (2007)

References

• Articles of the Federation (2005)

External links

• B-4 article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
• B-4 article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.