B-4 (Star Trek)
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- For other meanings, see B4.
| B-4 | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Species: | android |
| Gender: | male |
| Hair color: | dark brown |
| Eye color: | yellow |
| Home planet: | Omicron Theta (found on Kolarus III) |
| Portrayed by: | Brent Spiner |
B-4 is a fictional character in the science fiction universe of Star Trek. He was played by Brent Spiner.
[edit] Overview
B-4 was first seen in the movie Star Trek: Nemesis. He is a Soong-type android (named after Dr. Noonien Soong, their creator). He is one of the five other androids built by Dr. Soong before Lore and Data (hence the name, B-4).
B-4's history is somewhat suspect, because at one point Praetor Shinzon of Remus was able to obtain the disassembled B-4 and placed some special programming into him, so he could infiltrate the USS Enterprise-E to gain tactical information of the Federation from the ship.
Knowing B-4 would be found by the Enterprise-E, Shinzon left him disassembled on Kolarus III. After leaving Earth for Betazed, the Enterprise-E picked up the possible existence of another Soong-type android on Kolarus III. Going down to the surface, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Lieutenant Commander Worf and Lieutenant Commander Data found the disassembled B-4. After gathering up all of B-4's component parts, they managed to escape the Kolarans and get back to the Enterprise-E.
The crew reassembled B-4 and found a "redundant memory port" on the back of his neck. His "self-actualization subroutines" were underdeveloped, and he acted like an inquisitive child. Data transferred all his memories and programs into B-4 in the attempt to make him more "normal", but this appeared to have failed.
A short time later, Shinzon activated B-4's programming. B-4 helped transfer information from the Enterprise-E to Shinzon, which enabled them to kidnap Picard. However, the crew of the Enterprise-E had found out that B-4 was a spy, and were able to replace him with Data, who had transported to Shinzon's vessel, the Scimitar, to rescue Picard. Once back aboard the Enterprise-E, Data deactivated B-4 so that Shinzon's programming could be removed.
After Data died sacrificing himself to destroy the Scimitar, the crew of the Enterprise-E was able to find and remove all of Shinzon's modifications from B-4's programming. He was later reactivated when he no longer posed a threat.
When Picard told B-4 about his "brother" at the end of Nemesis, it became evident that the memory transfer may have been at least partially successful, as B-4 began singing the same song by Irving Berlin that Data had sung at the wedding of Commander William Riker and Counselor Deanna Troi. B-4 may continue to evolve - other Soong-type androids such as Data had a "childhood" of sorts where their systems evolved.
Unlike Lore, who was truly evil, B-4 appears to be only a less advanced version of Data. Some have described B-4 as being "childlike". As Data was also very childlike when he was first created, this leaves open the possibility that B-4 will mature in the future. He has been seen as a possible replacement for Data. However, the fact that Brent Spiner has aged visibly since playing Data may prevent that, unless another actor is hired to play B-4. It also must be noted that in the seventh-season episode of Next Generation, "Inheritance", it was established that Data had an aging program that ages his appearance.
[edit] External links
- B-4 article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
