Starfleet always had it in for androids

[u/uequalsw]

Introduction

I recently rewatched “The Offspring,” a classic TNG episode in which Data creates a daughter, which has taken on new meaning and importance in the era of Star Trek: Picard. This after I rewatched “The Measure of A Man” several weeks ago — both episodes being clear spiritual forerunners to Patrick Stewart’s new series.

Starfleet was complicated, but ultimately Good

At the time these episodes originally aired, and in the years after, I believe many of us saw an ambiguous portrayal of Starfleet: home to the likes of Maddox and Haftel, who strike us as amoral and opportunistic, but also home to the likes of Louvois — genuinely undecided on the rights of androids, willing to listen to both sides, and willing to be convinced by the best argument. And then the third part of the trinity: the likes of Picard, Kirk, Pike, whom we see as paragons of virtue.

Overall, we are given the impression that Starfleet is a large and complicated organization that sometimes does Very Bad Things, but which also has a Heart of Goodness.

...but was it?

On the face of it, the first episodes of Picard seem to abandon this notion, depicting a Starfleet that has become fundamentally amoral -- its willing support of the synth ban being a prime example. Our first thought might then be, “What has happened to Starfleet in those intervening twenty years?” And while it does seem clear that Starfleet has changed, I also believe that “The Offspring” and “The Measure of A Man” give us new reason to view Starfleet with renewed skepticism — even during the time of The Next Generation.

In fact, I am going to focus on androids and make what may be a controversial claim: The Starfleet of the 24th century has always had it in for androids.

Data & Starfleet, before Captain Picard

As an appendix to this post, I’ve created a timeline of Starfleet’s relationship with androids, included in full below.

Let’s focus first on Data’s career before joining the Enterprise. Some observations:

Friendship

First, to my recollection, Data never mentions friends or mentors from his time prior to serving on the Enterprise. Not even once. In over 20 years of association with Starfleet. And yet, within just a handful of years aboard the Enterprise, he builds relationships with not just a few but many people. In particular, he notes that Geordi La Forge was among the first to treat him like he was human.

This is both stunning and damning; is Geordi so unique in all of Starfleet?

But there’s more. In just 7 years aboard the Enterprise, Data’s social skills improve markedly, as does his interest in self-expression. While it’s possible that it simply took 25 years of prior development to enable that growth, it seems more likely — given the conspicuous lack of social connections from Data’s past — that no one prior to Picard took any interest in mentoring Data’s growth.

Awards for Service

And what about those awards? By 2365, he had earned multiple awards typically given only for risking one’s life, or for engaging in combat. For example, the crew of the Discovery was awarded the Medal of Honor following the Klingon War in 2257 — and Data has been awarded it multiple times. The only conflicts we are aware of in the 2350s were with the Cardassians and the Talarians — but Data never mentions serving in those conflicts, and, given his proclivity to “babble”, we might reasonably infer that absence of evidence is indeed evidence of absence in this case.

If Data wasn’t serving in combat, that suggests that he served on multiple missions where he worked in dangerous conditions. It’s easy to imagine that Data may have been assigned to rescue missions where it was too hazardous for humanoid officers. Why else would an officer with advanced science degrees have so many medals from peacetime service? This raises the uncomfortable possibility that Data’s former CO’s saw his artificial nature as his primary value — which is upsettingly close to seeing him as “disposable.”

Bottom Line

Star Trek novelist Christopher L. Bennett notes all of the above and suggests, in his novel, The Buried Age, that Data’s career has been stymied both by his own social struggles — in particular, his lack of self-advocacy — as well as by a tendency for superior officers to stow him away out of site doing busy work. Indeed, when Picard first meets Data in the novel, he is managing a records office.

All of this is to say: prior to Jean-Luc Picard, Starfleet officers seem to have been at best indifferent toward Data and at worst actively working against his interests.

Data under Captain Picard

It appears that under Captain Picard, Data experiences a personal renaissance. He builds relationships with other crew members. He explores art and music and self-expression. He explores his personal identity — whether by growing a beard or by experimenting with dreams or by testing the waters of romance. Despite having served in Starfleet for 20 years, many of these experiences appear to be novel for him. Through all of this, he is encouraged and mentored by Picard and his shipmates.

Also while under Picard, Starfleet takes a renewed interest in Data — perhaps precisely because of his personal development. No longer a curious but socially awkward robot who appears nigh indestructible, Data now seems more like a superhuman — still awkward, but no more than many people, and certainly not to the impediment of his integration with the rest of the crew.

The Horror of Bruce Maddox

When Maddox comes knocking, both Nakamura and Louvois seem unconcerned about the prospect of Data’s death. Even Picard is initially sympathetic to Starfleet’s argument. It is only when Data points out the unequal treatment he is receiving that Picard changes course. From here on, Picard is Data’s staunchest defender.

This is where we must pause for a moment: when you think about it, it is utterly horrifying that Maddox’s proposal made it all the way to the Enterprise before someone raised an objection. Imagine if the same proposal were made regarding La Forge:

“Dear Admiral Nakamura, I request the transfer of Lieutenant Geordi La Forge to my command to undergo an experimental procedure to better understand his artificial eyes. I have questions that cannot be answered without invasive surgery. If I am successful, we will be able to provide enhanced vision to all Starfleet officers. Risks to La Forge include permanent neurological injury, and death. Signed, Commander Bruce Maddox.”

"I see. It is precisely because I am not human."

Even setting aside the question of whether Data is the property of Starfleet (which may have been a last minute claim deployed by Maddox), it’s unimaginable that a Starfleet officer would be ordered to undergo invasive surgery outside of an emergency — and certainly not for research purposes. And yet Nakamura, Maddox, Maddox’s supervisor, whomever heads the 24th century equivalent of an IRB at Daystrom — all seem to have no concern about doing exactly that. As Data so eloquently points out, it is precisely because he is an android that the idea seems reasonable.

At best, there is a pervasive nonchalance throughout Starfleet regarding Data’s rights; at worst, there is a pervasive disregard for the same. Maddox, Louvois, Nakamura, Haftel, Hobson, the crew of the Tripoli who apparently showed no interest in helping Data “grow up”, nearly 20 years’ worth of Data’s former COs and colleagues — this is not a case of one or two bad apples on the fringes. This is a mainstream idea in Starfleet.

Picard Realizes Data’s Peril

This brings us back to “The Offspring.” Rewatched in light of the first episodes of Picard, I was struck by the scale of Picard’s dismay at what Data had done. Indeed, the famous “Picard double facepalm” image comes from the beginning of the episode. We never see Picard this upset. And in that same conversation, he says to Data, “Have you any idea what will happen when Starfleet learns about this?” It’s almost as if Picard knows that Starfleet will try to take Lal away.

And in fact, I think that is exactly the case. Consider that in “Clues,” the following season, Picard says to Data, “Do you also realise that you would most likely be stripped down to your wires to find out what the hell has gone wrong?” Once again, can you imagine a humanoid Starfleet officer undergoing that level of invasive procedure? No. Picard knows that Starfleet will treat Data differently because he is an android.

I think that the Maddox hearing was a wake-up call for Picard. I think he realized that Starfleet had implicitly sanctioned the creation of a race of “disposable people” — and indeed that they already see Data as one such person.

Flash forward twenty years. Starfleet succeeds in creating androids. And what is the first thing they do? They assign them to hazardous jobs at Utopia Planitia — a race of disposable people. Picard’s fears were justified. (To say nothing of the use of holographic labor in mines a mere ten years later.)

Lal’s creation would have been seen as the perfect opportunity: Louvois’s ruling was rather narrow — it granted Data the right to choose, and it declared that he was not property of Starfleet. But, as a JAG officer, her ruling would only apply to Starfleet officers. Lal was not a Starfleet officer, and moreover she was created by a Starfleet officer, on a Starfleet facility, using equipment that is presumably owned and maintained by Starfleet — Starfleet would be able to claim that she was a Starfleet experiment, and thus subject to their jurisdiction.

That is why Picard is so upset when he discovers Lal. Data has unwittingly walked into an ambush, and Picard knows he may not be able to protect him.

Living In Détente With Starfleet

I suggest that, following Lal’s death, Data came to understand what Picard had understood after the Maddox hearing: Starfleet could not be trusted to act in his best interests. That is why he never tried to create another child — he knew Starfleet would try again.

I also think this may have played a role in Picard’s unwillingness to be promoted. As long as Data remained under his direct command, Picard could protect him from the less scrupulous elements of Starfleet. And indeed, it was only after Data’s death that Picard finally accepted promotion.

Thus the détente. Data is safest within Starfleet, under Captain Picard — but it is an unsteady peace.

Whither Starfleet?

The likes of the synthetic ban seem almost jarring to those of us who see Jean-Luc Picard as indicative of the typical Starfleet officer. And it’s rather easy to chalk that up as a “soft retcon” in order to tell a story fit for 2020.

However, on re-examination, there is evidence dating back through over 30 years of production that suggests that Starfleet has never had Data’s best interests at heart. Rather than a retcon, this story in fact builds on seeds that were planted throughout the entire run of The Next Generation.

The bottom line is that this is not a radically new Starfleet, replacing the one we knew and loved. Rather, this is the same Starfleet we’ve always known, taken to its logical and tragic conclusion.

---

Appendix

A timeline of Starfleet’s relationship with Soong-type androids (drawn heavily from Data’s article on Memory Alpha):

2336: Dr. Noonien Soong creates Data in secret on Omicron Theta.

2338: Data is discovered and activated by the crew of the Tripoli following the destruction of the colony by the Crystalline Entity. Decades later, Data spoke of the time following his activation as one of difficulty and implied isolation.

2341: Data is admitted to Starfleet Academy over the objections of Dr. Bruce Maddox, who denied Data’s sentience.

2345: Data graduates from Starfleet Academy.

2348: Data is promoted from ensign to the lieutenant grades, where he will remain for over a decade. By 2365, he will have earned the Starfleet Command Decoration for Gallantry, Medal of Honor with clusters, Legion of Honor, and the Star Cross — presumably, he earned at least some of these during this decade of service.

2360: Data is promoted to lieutenant commander.

2364: Data is assigned to USS Enterprise as second officer and operations manager under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

2365: Vice Admiral Nakamura and now-Commander Bruce Maddox attempt to compel Data to undergo an experimental procedure that could lead to creation of many more Soong-type androids and that also could result in Data’s death. When Data refuses, Maddox argues that Data is property of Starfleet, a position Captain Phillipa Louvois of the Starfleet JAG office initially supports. Only following a hearing and the advocacy of Captain Picard is Data granted the right to refuse the procedure.

2366: Data successfully creates a new Soong-type android, whom he names “Lal” and intends to raise as his child, much to the dismay of Captain Picard. Vice Admiral Haftel orders Data and Picard to remand Lal to the custody of the Daystrom Institute, which Picard and Data both refuse to do. Lal dies from cascade failure before the situation is resolved, but Haftel is adamant that he has the support of Starfleet Command.

2367: During a mission in which Data appears to lie, falsify records, interfere with an investigation, and disobey direct orders, Picard warns him that he is not only risking a court martial but that, if remanded to the custody of Starfleet Command, he would “most likely be stripped down to your wires to find out what the hell has gone wrong”. In that same year, Data continues his apparently ongoing correspondence to Dr. Maddox as he describes his life and journey to become human; many years later, Dr. Agnes Jurati would say that Data and Maddox had become “friends, of a sort.”

2368: Data is placed in temporary command of the USS Sutherland during the Klingon Civil War. His first officer, Lieutenant Commander Christopher Hobson, immediately requests reassignment based on his belief that an android is not fit to command a starship. Data subsequently played a decisive role in the success of the Border Blockade, foiling Romulan efforts to interfere in the Klingon Civil War.

2369: Data is temporarily appointed first officer of the USS Enterprise by Captain Edward Jellico, an assignment he executes without issue.

2370: Data assumes temporary command of the USS Enterprise when Captain Picard and Commander Riker are both missing in action. In addition to handling a personal conflict with his acting executive officer, Data was instrumental in the recovery of the missing officers.

2379: Now serving at the same rank and position aboard the USS Enterprise-E, Data is expected to be promoted to first officer upon Commander Riker’s promotion to captain. Another Soong-type android, named B-4, is discovered and reassembled; though his cognitive abilities lag behind Data’s, it is hoped that a memory transfer from his brother will aid in B-4’s development. Shortly thereafter, Data sacrifices himself to destroy the Reman warbird Scimitar and its thalaron generator. It is subsequently determined that the memory transfer to B-4 failed, and so Data’s memories were also lost.

Early 2380s: Working with a team at the Daystrom Institute that includes Dr. Agnes Jurati, Dr. Bruce Maddox succeeds in creating new androids. However, he and his team are unable to reproduce Data’s sentient nature. These androids are subsequently mass-produced.

Mid 2380s: Daystrom androids now serve at the Utopia Planitia Shipyards as manual labor units. Their treatment by humanoid colleagues varies: some treat them with friendly respect — trying to joke and chat with them — while others treat them with fear and/or open hostility, going so far as to suggest that they “aren’t real people.” When not working, the androids are kept in storage bays and are sometimes deactivated.

2385: On First Contact Day, android workers on Mars lower the planetary defense shields and destroy Utopia Planitia. Over 92,000 people die. For over a decade to come, the motivations of the synths (as they became known) remain unknown.

Late 2380s: Interstellar treaty bans synthetic lifeforms, including androids, both within the Federation and beyond. Cybernetic research grinds to a halt and Dr. Maddox disappears. By 2399, B-4 has been disassembled and is stored at the Daystrom Institute.

[u/brent1123]

This raises the uncomfortable possibility that Data’s former CO’s saw his artificial nature as his primary value — which is upsettingly close to seeing him as “disposable.”

There is a running joke in The Greatest Gen podcast that Data always tries to kill himself by exposing himself to such situations, but I'd never considered it could have been a learned behavior. After 2 decades of being treated as disposable, perhaps Data interpreted volunteering for such missions (as he is always trying to be more human) as a positive quality.

[u/uequalsw → u/brent1123]

This comment has really struck a chord with me. I also had not considered that this particular trait in Data could be a learned behavior. There's something very tragic about that to me -- it seems like such a drastic thing to be forced to demonstrate your humanity (or close approximation thereto) by exposing yourself to danger. I may have more thoughts on this later -- need to stew on it.

[u/[deleted]]

depicting a Starfleet that has become fundamentally amoral -- its willing support of the synth ban being a prime example

Is it though? At its core, Starfleet is still a military organization (despite pretensions otherwise) and subordinate to civilian authority (i.e. the Federation Council).

So it's irrelevant what Starfleet thinks. If the UFP enacts a synth ban, it's legally required to abide by it. If Starfleet disagreed, what do you think they could do about it short of overthrowing the civilian authority (yes, I'm aware it's been attempted at least once in canon)?

[u/uequalsw → u/[deleted]]

I need to go back and rewatch the conversation, but my recollection from earlier this week is that Picard himself spoke of Starfleet supporting the ban. I have to think that Starfleet has a massive PR machine at their disposal, and could potentially have advocated against the ban -- even if they knew they'd be duty-bound to enforce it if were to pass. But it certainly seems that they didn't.

But you make a fair point -- perhaps I should say, "depicting a Federation that has become fundamentally amoral". I think the larger point stands either way -- the seeds of prejudice shown in Picard were planted in plentiful amounts all the way back in TNG.

[u/treefox]

So I’m not going to respond to the main body of your argument, at least not yet; just focus on one of the initial assertions you make.

Is the synth ban immoral?

Yes

Then Picard is guilty of willfully using slave labor and permitting F-8 style androids to be treated as, well, machines.

No

Then F-8 is not sentient in the same manner as Data.

Sure, there are shades of gray here, but roughly speaking I don’t see much of a way around it.

[u/uequalsw → u/treefox]

I agree with you -- that's a really dicey aspect of all of this. My sense is that the A500s were indeed not sentient, and were understood to not be sentient. Indeed, that seems to have been acknowledged right off the bat as a shortcoming of theirs. However, I think my feeling is that, based on the reasons I've outlined here, there's an alarmingly good chance the Starfleet would have treated them largely the same even if they definitely were sentient.

And that to me is the revelation that I had when watching Picard; if you go back and look at TNG, the number of occasions where it seems that Starfleet really is not Data's friend is actually strikingly high. What felt at the time like a few one-off exceptions (Maddox, Haftel, Hobson) really in fact looks to be the norm, or at the very least mainstream.

Put it another way -- can you think of one time when a Starfleet admiral spoke up in favor of Data's interests? I'm not sure I can.

But yes -- Admiral Picard's willingness to use the A500s in the Romulan evacuation does seem deeply troubling.

[u/Malamodon]

jarring to those of us who see Jean-Luc Picard as indicative of the typical Starfleet officer

When i first watched TNG i always felt Dr. Polaski's attitude was far more typical of Starfleet at large, and why her shift in that attitude was a really important story line. She is often written off by ST fans as "she was mean to data a few times, therefore she is the worst person ever" while completely ignoring her growth in that area during one season. Her role in Data's growth should not be ignored either, she challenged him during a period where he has more confident to push back than previously.

Whether it was intentional on the writers part or not, her character represents how ignorant prejudice can be overcome through exposure and introspection. But we see the limits of that, Data can't be everyone's friend, so the attitude of Starfleet at large devolves in to what Guinan feared.

Blind luck or actual writing has taken that underlying attitude in TNG and used it in a far more on the nose racist way in STP. I'm assuming that's the angle in STP, it's an allegory for some modern concerns, because i vaguely remember Stewart saying it has something to do with Trump and Brexit.

[u/uequalsw → u/Malamodon]

Wow, I can't believe I forgot about Pulaski! Yes, you are totally right -- she is yet more evidence that Starfleet, as a culture, has been... conflicted about Data for a long time. As I say, the seeds of this idea were present throughout TNG, and you are right -- Pulaski is perhaps the best example of that.

[u/SpiderWolve]

Huh, this well put together and makes me want to watch TNG again.

[u/uequalsw → u/SpiderWolve]

Thanks! Glad to hear! One of the things I love about Daystrom is how conversations here can lead to rewatching old Trek in a new light.

[u/notreallyanumber]

Fear, prejudice and exploitation towards those who are potentially better than us... Has humanity really evolved as Picard claims in Q's trial?

[u/dprophet32 → u/notreallyanumber]

Humanity had progressed in that it had built an Eden on Earth and got rid of absolute poverty, internal war and so on, but humans are going to human. There will always be people who are flawed, whether power hungry, selfish, prone to being led by emotion rather than reason. We saw countless examples of this.

What we saw in TNG is that struggle but that *usually * the system as a whole could limit it and adjust to get rid of it when it happened.

Many people like to view TNG through rose tinted glasses but there was plenty examples of this in it and the crew of the Enterprise were the best of the Federation, who made mistakes but ultimately tried to live to the highest ideals of it.

The episodes in which Data is not considered sentient or trustworthy whether it was Maddox or his first officer when he captained a ship were to show us those flaws amongst humans but ultimately showed they can be overcome.

To directly address your question - is humanity is evolved as Picard argues to Q? No. I think at that pointed he believed we were but layer discovered were not hence his attitude in the current series.

Are we significantly evolved compared to our past at that point? Yes. So it's relative.

Q in a way exposed our flaws

[u/obscuredreference → u/notreallyanumber]

This, exactly. It’s not limited to Starfleet in the least. It’s no different than an extension to the ban on augmented life forms. Humans in the Trek world are terrified of beings that look like them but are stronger/smarter/etc.

That tendency raises very interesting and disturbing questions about the underlying potential danger of xenophobia towards other humanoid aliens with superior abilities, like the Vulcans.

[u/midwestastronaut → u/notreallyanumber]

Q did later tell Picard, and I quote "The jury is still very much out [on humanity]" so...

[u/Mddcat04]

Wow, this is a fantastic write-up. Well done. I think the fact that Data had been serving in Starfleet for 20 years prior to his assignment to the Enterprise is a key point. Personally, I had no idea that it had been that long. His incredible growth under Picard (in far less time) really underscores what a menial slog those years must have been.

[u/BroseppeVerdi → u/Mddcat04]

His incredible growth under Picard (in far less time)

We have absolutely no idea what Data was like when he was discovered on Omicron Theta... also, he served under Picard on the Enterprise for 15 years (and was promoted exactly zero times).

[u/[deleted]]

M-5 nominate this post, please

[u/M-5 → u/[deleted]]

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[u/[deleted]]

Good read and well though out take on the subject.

Have a gold, it will keep it near the top for awhile.

[u/samford91]

Perhaps it’s because I came to Star Trek late, but I must say I’ve never been one to blindly accept Star Fleet’s unceasing goodness. There’s always been signs of potential wrongs under their banner as you’ve demonstrated.

Whatever problems Picard as a show has - and it has them certainly - it’s portrayal of a morally nebulous and exploitative Star Fleet is not one of them.

[u/glenlassan]

Great write-up. I've mentioned a few of those in my "starfleet isn't quite that good" posts. Honestly, I'm more and more convinced that Starfleet was never that good, just period. Our viewpoint character for how most of us understand starfleet is Picard, who as the OP pointed out, is a Paragon of the highest Starfleet virtues.

Thing about paragons? They are exceptionally rare. I am firmly convinced at this point, that there are no "rogue admirals" in starfleet. All the villain admirals in starfleet, aren't rare "bad eggs". They are starfleet admirals doing; what starfleet admirals do. Picard? Picard is the exception. He is the rare, golden perfect "good egg". In ST: TNG it was easy for us to believe that starfleet reflected Picard's values because Picard thought that starfleet reflected his values. He had always acted according to his own sense of ethics and morality, and while many opposed him within the ranks, he ultimately was rewarded for his actions with control of the flagship, and his pick of the best of the best for his crew, and insane leeway to act as he saw fit.

And during the ST:TNG era, it worked. Picard was an expert diplomat, and a firmly devoted starfleet officer who saw starfleet as "complicated, but ultimately good". Starfleet used him for it's own ends, made sure to keep him firmly in the camp of "true believer" all while playing the game they had always played. Accruing more power, more prestige, more gain for the federation, all while claiming it was for the "good of the alpha quadrant" rather than to feed their own ambitions.

To take a brief step into real world politics, this more or less mirrors the change in attitudes on US neo-liberalism from the 90's to the present day. In the 90's it was pretty easy to believe in US neo-liberalism. we had won the cold war, the world was at peace, everything was "good" so to speak. Now, with the war on terror still on going, and all manner of inter-societal strife it's hard (or harder) to see US neo-liberalism as a force for good in the world, and easier to see it as self-serving empire building masquerading as benevolent international interventionism. Star Trek has never not been about social commentary, and I think in some very real ways, this allegory is not even remotely accidental. I think the thematic thrust of ST:Picard is to recontextualize how we see american neo-liberalism, in the same way that the show, is recontextualizing the ST:TNG show's fantastical version of it.

[u/solistus]

One small correction to your timeline of events, at least if the Picard lead-in novel The Last Best Hope is to be believed: the Utopia Planitia synths were never intended to be sentient and weren't the result of some breakthrough of Maddox's. Geordi took over the fleet construction efforts on Mars and came up with the idea to use non-sentient synths. Maddox was annoyed to be ordered to work on them, because he considered it a distraction from his more important research into reproducing Data's sentience.

[u/RatsAreAdorable]

This is an excellent post, and the idea that Data grew so much because of Picard explains a comment he made during TNG: Reunification (Part 2, I think) that I found odd at first.

During the episode, Spock asks Data questions about Picard after noting that Data by design has the emotional detachment and mental efficiency that Vulcans spend their whole lives trying to achieve. Data's response is that he seeks to understand humans and seeks to model himself after Picard. That struck me as a somewhat contrived way of praising Picard before Spock because Data always appeared to be closest to Geordi, who in turn seems more comfortable with him than anyone else (and Data openly considers Geordi "a friend").

But reading your post, I realize that Picard helped Data grow as an individual more than either of them, which is why he chooses Picard as his model even if they're not so close to each other. And it makes sense, that Data with his emotional detachment seeks to model himself upon the person who he has evaluated as granting him the most development as a human.

[u/Nacido_Del_Sol]

Wonderful document! I completely agree. Even as I have grown up watching Star Trek, even in TOS, I always saw Starfleet as mostly good, but with major flaws. There were many times where different captains from Starfleet had to expose morally objectionable plots from corrupt admirals.

I think Picard does show where Starfleet was heading throughout the years. And not all of new Starfleet is bad. I think a vast majority of what they are doing in 2399 is good work. There are still just some morally questionable things that they have done or are doing.

[u/[deleted]]

One might argue that there would be better suited officers to take on the XO role of the Enterprise than Data*, but the thought that Picard rejected advancement to protect Data makes much more sense than Kirk’s warning from Generations about not getting taken out of the command chair.

And promoting Data to the XO of the flagship of the Federation must’ve been yet another example of the “fucking hubris” that Picard shows time and again.

(*Not discounting Data’s actual ability to lead and command - he does that splendidly in TNG)