Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series)
Prototype (1996)
Roxann Dawson: Lt. B'Elanna Torres
Photos
Quotes
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[Unit 3947 tells Torres about the war between the Pralor and the Cravic]
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : Has anyone in all these years ever tried to stop this war?
Automated Personnel Unit 3947 : The Pralor and the Cravic called a truce.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : Wait a minute. If both sides called a truce, then why didn't they stop you from fighting?
Automated Personnel Unit 3947 : They attempted to do so.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : And?
Automated Personnel Unit 3947 : We terminated the Builders.
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Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : Automated Personnel Unit 3947 is an extremely well designed machine.
Automated Personnel Unit 3947 : Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres is an extremely proficient humanoid.
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The Doctor : [suggesting a comparison] But there have been instances when artificial blood was unavailable and existing blood cells were genetically altered for interspecies transfusions.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : It's a good idea, but warp plasma radiates at too high a frequency to alter electro-chemically. Unless...
The Doctor : Go on.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : I could modify a series of anodyne relays, attach them directly to the robot's power module. They could act as a sort of regulator to make the warp plasma compatible with the robot's energy matrix.
[Excited, B'Elanna exits]
The Doctor : That's exactly what I was going to suggest.
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Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : Mmm... I never thought Neelix's coffee could taste so good.
Kes : I'll tell him you said so.
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[last lines]
Captain Kathryn Janeway : It must have been difficult.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : Difficult?
Captain Kathryn Janeway : To destroy what you created.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : It was necessary.
Captain Kathryn Janeway : I read your report. It was no small achievement, B'Elanna. You gave that unit life.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : You should have seen it, Captain. It was incredible. I installed that module, and the prototype looked up at me... and asked me for programming.
Captain Kathryn Janeway : As I said - it must have been difficult.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : It was necessary.
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[Torres shakes Unit 3947's hand]
Automated Personnel Unit 3947 : What are you doing?
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : I am congratulating you. You're a father!
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The Doctor : I shouldn't have to remind you, I'm a doctor...
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : ...not an engineer, right, but...
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Torres : Apparently thousands of them were built as service modules, but the race who created them, these Builders, were killed off decades ago in a war.
Janeway : Leaving the automated units to fend for themselves.
Torres : Now they're wearing out, breaking down. They've learnt to make repairs to themselves, some pretty complex, but the construction of a power module, the device which sustains them, is beyond their grasp. It's an incredible challenge, Captain, but with enough time to study their systems, I might be able to do it.
Janeway : I don't doubt your abilities, B'Elanna, but helping them reproduce is a clear violation of the Prime Directive.
Torres : They've expressed a desire to procreate. That's basic to any life form.
Janeway : I'm not saying they don't have the same rights as any organic species. That's not the issue here.
Torres : Are you sure? Suppose they were organic but they had become sterile, and we had a treatment that would enable them to start reproducing again. Would you withhold that treatment?
Janeway : Maybe. I'd have to know more about the circumstances, but we're not talking about treating a disorder here, are we?
Torres : What's the difference?
Janeway : Unlike a species who's become sterile, the robots never had the ability to reproduce. What you're talking about is giving them new abilities, which is the equivalent of altering their genetic structure.
Torres : To correct a flaw.
Janeway : You can't call it a flaw. This is the way they were designed.
Torres : I'm trying to save them from extinction.
Janeway : Unfortunately extinction is often the natural end of evolution.
Torres : So you're just willing to let their entire society die off.
Janeway : We don't know that's going to happen. If they're adaptable, as you say, and capable of educating themselves, they might very well learn to build a power module themselves someday.
Torres : Someday could be too late. There are only a few hundred of them left.
Janeway : I feel for the robot's plight, but what you're proposing is exactly the kind of tampering the Prime Directive prohibits. We know almost nothing about these creatures or the race that built them. What would be the consequences of increasing their population, both to their own civilization and others in this quadrant? Who are we to swoop in, play God and then continue on our way without the slightest consideration of the long term effects of our actions?
Torres : Captain...!
Janeway : B'Elanna, I share your scientific curiosity and I admire your compassion, but the answer is no.
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Ensign Harry Kim : You may think you're tougher than everybody else, B'Elanna Torres, but I can go without sleep just as long as you can.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : Don't make me laugh, Starfleet. And don't make me pull rank on you, either.
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Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : Well, once we have the prototype, all you'd have to do is copy it. Tell me something, 39. Can I call you 39?
Automated Personnel Unit 3947 : I am automated unit 3947.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : Fine. 3947. Did you wake up on a bench like this one? How long have you been alive?
Automated Personnel Unit 3947 : I have been in service 1,314,807 hours and 33 minutes.
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Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : Chief Engineer's log, supplemental: I've tried thirteen different methods of reinitializing the robot's power source, and I'm still having no luck, so I've decided to go to the Mess Hall to recharge my own declining energy reserves.
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Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : The constant power depletion is like... a bleeding artery, and I haven't got a tourniquet.
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Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : My God, what have I done?
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Automated Personnel Unit 3947 : You have terminated the prototype.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : Yes. I have.
Automated Personnel Unit 3947 : You will build another.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : Never.
Automated Personnel Unit 3947 : Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres, I told 6263 you were not our enemy.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : I never wanted to be your enemy. I'm sorry.
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Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : Tell me something more about these Builders. Were they anything like us?
Automated Personnel Unit 3947 : I have insufficient knowledge of your culture to provide an adequate response. Will you provide additional information?
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : Well, I asked about your culture. Only fair you should ask about mine.
Automated Personnel Unit 3947 : Does your culture include artificial life forms?
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : As a matter of fact, it does.
Automated Personnel Unit 3947 : Are they similar to the automated personnel units aboard this ship?
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : Well, they come in different shapes and sizes. Some have limbs, some don't. Most don't have your cognitive abilities.
Automated Personnel Unit 3947 : Are they your servants?
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : Well, I guess you could say that the robots we use are servants in a matter of speaking, but they aren't sentient like you. In fact we have only one sentient artificial life form in our society, and he is treated the same as any human.
Automated Personnel Unit 3947 : The same. He is equal to a builder?
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The Doctor : If there has been a change in the official dress code, I certainly wish someone would have informed me.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : This is what I sleep in. I didn't have time to change.
The Doctor : I see. May I assume your haste is an indication that you have a medical problem of some kind?
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Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : Hey, do all you automated units give up the minute you hit a bump in the road?