Top-Secret Schematics — Riker's Moral Reckoning
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Riker authenticates with the ship's computer and orders access to all technical schematics for Lieutenant Commander Data; the computer acknowledges and initiates the retrieval, launching his private investigation into the case.
A schematic flagged 'Top Secret — Need to Know' appears on a screen, surfacing classified technical material that represents a concrete legal lever to win the case.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Not present to display emotion; narratively the moment renders Data vulnerable and objectified, implying anxiety and violation even if not shown.
Data is not physically present but is the subject of the retrieved schematic; as the object of evidence he is implicitly acted upon — his internal structure is now legal property and a point of institutional scrutiny.
- • (Implied) Maintain autonomy and avoid being reduced to property or a specimen.
- • (Implied) Preserve his dignity and personhood in the face of institutional scrutiny.
- • (Implied) His internal architecture should not determine his moral or legal status alone.
- • (Implied) Technical facts may be misused to justify ethically problematic conclusions.
Initially quietly triumphant and focused, instantly collapsing into bleak, exhausted moral anguish — professional resolve shaken by personal horror.
Riker sits alone at a bank of terminals, authenticates himself, searches and opens classified files, makes a notation on a PADD, records a personal log, reacts with sudden excitement at finding the schematic and then with crushing bleakness before switching off the recorder.
- • Locate demonstrable, admissible evidence that can win the legal hearing over Data's status.
- • Prepare his case and clarify facts so he can perform the duty he does not want to perform.
- • Privately record and process his conflicted feelings about prosecuting his friend.
- • A concrete technical schematic will decisively influence the hearing and Starfleet's judgment.
- • Starfleet procedures and classified documentation can be wielded as tools — and that is ethically fraught.
- • Personal loyalty must not (but maybe will) interfere with the obligations of duty and chain of command.
Impartial and mechanical — no emotion; functions as an institutional mouthpiece.
The ship's computer voice responds to Riker's voice authentication, confirms identity and clearance, executes the search, and returns/display the requested files including the flagged Top Secret schematic without inflection or judgment.
- • Accurately authenticate user credentials and enforce clearance protocols.
- • Retrieve and present the requested technical and legal files per command.
- • Clearance validation is the determining factor for access to classified materials.
- • System protocols and flags (e.g., 'Top Secret — Need to Know') are authoritative and must be honored.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Picard's supplemental log recorder is appropriated here as Riker's personal log device; Riker activates it to capture a late-night, weary statement that frames his moral conflict. The recorder converts private emotion into a formalized timestamped record and is then deliberately shut off in a gesture of exhaustion.
The Technical Schematic file appears on the terminal flagged 'Top Secret — Need to Know.' It acts as literal evidence: dense, decryptable technical data that Riker can use at the hearing but that also objectifies Data and crystallizes the moral stakes of the trial.
The PADD is used by Riker to make a notation while researching files. It functions as his private working tool — a tactile, human counterpoint to the sterile computer displays and a way to translate information into actionable notes.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Riker's authenticated retrieval of ship data produces the flagged 'Top Secret' schematic—the computer-room investigation yields the technical evidence he will use in court."
"Riker's authenticated retrieval of ship data produces the flagged 'Top Secret' schematic—the computer-room investigation yields the technical evidence he will use in court."
Key Dialogue
"RIKER: "Computer, identify Riker, William T. Clearance level blue.""
"RIKER: "Access all technical schematics of Lieutenant Commander Data.""
"RIKER (V.O.): "Personal log. Zero three hundred. I should be resting. Instead I continue to prepare for a duty I do not wish to perform. Truth should not be reduced to a prize in a battle of wills and words.""