Star Trek: The Next Generation

Work Title: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Medium: TV Episode
Episode Title: Evolution
Year: 1989
Writer(s): Michael Piller
"Original" Writer: Yes Writer(s): Michael Wagner
"Original" Writer: Yes Own work?: Yes
Summary:

(copied from http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TNG/episode/68406.html) Dr. Paul Stubbs, an eminent scientist, has come aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise to study the explosion of a star in the Kavis Alpha Sector, which occurs only once every 196 years. As the crew prepares to launch Stubbs' research unit, the ship is suddenly drawn into the fiery path of the stellar matter. The U.S.S. Enterprise computers initially fail to respond to commands to stabilize, yet even after the ship is restored to normal, the computer reports no malfunction. Faced with the potential breakdown of the ship's main computer, Picard warns Stubbs that the mission may have to be aborted. Stubbs, who has devoted his career to studying the once-in-a-lifetime event, is insistent that his project be completed at any cost. Meanwhile, Wesley Crusher is shaken by the realization that an experiment he had been working on may be at the root of the ship's trouble. Knowing he must confide in someone, Wesley talks to his mother, Dr. Beverly Crusher, who has returned to the U.S.S. Enterprise after a year's service at Starfleet Medical. He explains that during a genetics experiment, he allowed two nanites, robots tiny enough to enter living cells, to interact. It now appears that they are rapidly replicating and essentially eating the main computer, shutting down the power, weapons, communications and life support systems on the ship, one by one. What's more, the nanites have evolved to the point where they have become, in effect, a civilization capable of intelligent thought. When Picard refuses to destroy them, Stubbs fears that his life's work will be ruined and attempts to kill them. In retaliation, the nanites attack Stubbs and render the ship powerless. Desperate to stop the nanites, Picard asks Data to find a way to communicate with them. The robots, distrustful of humans, refuse to agree to a cease fire. As a gesture of good faith, Data allows the nanites to enter his circuits and manipulate his verbal programs, thus using him as a conduit for face-to-face communication. "Speaking" through Data, the nanites reveal that they meant no harm, but needed to explore the computer system. After Stubbs apologizes for trying to kill them and arranges a new home for them on planet Kavis Alpha IV, the nanites relent and even help reconstruct the computer core in time for Stubbs to complete his experiment.

Era/Year of Portrayal: distant_future
Distinctive characteristics of the world in portrayal:

It takes place in the 24th century aboard a starship.

Technology

  • Name of portrayed presence-evoking technology: The nanites
  • Description of the technology: The nanites are microscopic "organisms" of nanotechnology, which can only be viewed under a microscope.
  • Nature of task or activity: Ensign Wesley Crusher is working on an experiment for a school science project. He puts two nanites together to see if they can assist one another and increase their productivity.
  • Performance of the Technology: The nanites escape their "petri dish" and somehow get into the ship's computer, where they eat through systems like termites and cause major malfunctions in the computer. They appear to be evolving at great speed and developing a collective consciousness and intelligence.
  • Description of creator(s): The creators of the nanites are not explicitly identified, but they are used primarily in medical procedures. They can enter the body and fix problems from the inside.
  • Major goal(s) of creator(s): Medical treatment is the primary purpose mentioned.
  • Description of users of technology: Wesley Crusher is a 17-yr-old Starfleet officer who is trying to get into Starfleet Academy. He is a straight-A student and a responsible young man. His mother is the ship's doctor, and she also uses nanites in her work.
  • Type(s) of presence experience in the portrayal: social_presence
  • Description of presence experience: The nanites are invisible, and their existence is only noticed when their growth begins to affect the ship's computer. Later, they agree to "enter" Data, an android, in order to communicate face-to-face with the ship's crew. With the nanites in control of Data, his language becomes more simplified, his movements less fluid.
  • User awareness of technology during experience: Everyone knows that the nanites are tiny computers, but Dr. Stubbs and Capt. Picard disagree on how to handle them. Stubbs wants to exterminate them as if they're bugs, but Picard wants to negotiate with them, recognizing that they've evolved to become intelligent beings.
  • Valence of experience: Wesley feels guilty for having let the nanites out of their "perti dish" and multiply as a result of his experiment. Stubbs is angry because their actions threaten the completion of his life's work. Picard is confused and concerned about the ship's malfunctions caused by the nanites' actions. Nevertheless, he respects the nanites' right to exist.
  • Specific responses: Dr. Stubbs shoots a Gamma radiation beam at the nanites to attempt to destroy them. They counter-attack and leave him injured. When he later confronts them in the form of Data, he is contrite and humble, and says he is at their mercy.
Long-term consequences:

In the end, Picard and Stubbs arrange for the nanites' continued existence on a nearby planet. They respond by helping to fix the ship in time for the completion of Stubb's mission.

Other:

It's interesting that the nanites are intangible and seen quite literally as computer bugs, until they take "human" form by entering an android to communicate face-to-face with humans. Also, the portrayal of the rapid evolution of artificially intelligent beings is noteworthy.

Coder name: Tina Peterson
Coder email: tina.peterson@temple.edu
Coder affiliation: Temple University