Roger Korby

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dr. Roger Korby is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe.

[edit] Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Featured in the original series episode What are Little Girls Made Of?, Korby is revealed to be Nurse Christine Chapel's former fiance, who had disappeared. When Dr. Korby is found by the USS Enterprise, he is revealed to be the leading expert in robotic engineering. Building on technology left behind by a long-dead alien race known only as "the Old Ones," Korby has succeeded in inventing androids who act and look exactly like their human counterparts. Unfortunately, years of isolation have driven Dr. Korby mad, and he dreams of granting humanity immortality by replacing the entire race with android counterparts, starting with key individuals in Starfleet. He tries to convince Chapel and Captain James T. Kirk of the logic behind his vision, and temporarily succeeds in replacing Kirk with an android.

Korby's plans are foiled when a couple of his androids -- including his hulking bodyguard, Ruk (who had been built by the Old Ones) turn on him. In the end, Korby himself turns out to be only an android copy of the original inventor. Some viewers view this twist ending as a narrative goof; if Korby himself is an android who obviously feels emotion, why is he so surprised when the other androids start exhibiting emotion? Some fans speculate that the cause for this apparent discrepancy is that Korby was programmed to believe himself to be the real Korby, and that he is only reminded of his android nature at the sight of his injured arm, which reveals metal and wiring instead of blood and bone.

Korby was played by veteran actor Michael Strong.

[edit] Trivia

Dialogue between Dr. Korby, Captain Kirk, and Nurse Chapel reveals that Korby's androids follow the Three Laws of Robotics although the laws are never specified by that name.
In a later episode ("I, Mudd"), Harry Mudd also discovers and uses android technology to much greater comic effect.
Both the use of the Three Laws and the title of the Harry Mudd episode are homages to science fiction writer Isaac Asimov, who was a friend of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.