Background: Dr. Noonian Soong and Juliana were not evil people. Dr. Soong wanted children. He would not have programmed Lore to be evil, or to kill. He gave his son an ethical program. Perhaps it malfunctioned, became damaged or diluted over the years. Lore would have observed violence on the Omicron Theta colony, and definitely got his violent ways from the colonists, since Dr. Soong didn't initially program him to be violent. The reason he didn't program Lore or Data with Asimov's Laws of Robotics is because he didn't want them to be slave robots, but children.

Lore, like Data began to mimic human behaviour. Unlike the crew on the Enterprise, regarding Data as a dear friend and a valued crew member, the colonists did not see Lore as alive. Having emotions, Lore was able to be 'more human' then his brother. Lore felt angry and resentful and can't be entirely blamed for what happened to him. He wanted someone to blame for the way he'd become - so he blamed Data and humans, but deep down he knows that Data and all humans are not responsible for what happened to him on the colony. Lore does feel a certain kinship with humans, because his parents were human.

Rejection: In DataLore, it was evident that Lore was rejected by the Omicron Theta colonists because he was an android. Their harsh feelings upset him and as time went by, the hurt inside him turned into anger, then into resentment. These feelings built up inside him. In about two years, he lost control of his emotions, thus became unstable. His instability got worse, as time went by he needs to be repaired.

The colonists petitioned Dr. Soong and Juliana, to disassemble him. If the colonists really cared about Lore, they would have wanted to repair him - and if Lore were human they would not have petitioned to kill him. They didn't treat Lore as the sentient being he is. Lore made himself think that he was better than the colonists, because of his extraordinary android abilities - strength, intelligence and speed, and he began resenting them. He was like a child at school who got left out and treated like a machine with no feelings by others. Lore was abused, mentally which is often much more devastating and damaging. Many people would be better adjusted and content had they not been rejected at school or other places because they were 'different' or 'strange.' Many people relate to Lore as rejection and misunderstanding is extremely painful and soul destroying. With this in mind, perhaps others will look upon Lore in a different light.

Jealousy: Lore was jealous of Data for what he had - Data was accepted, had caring friends, who he could talk to, and a place to call home. Lore hid the pain and hurt by expressing it as anger and jealousy. Things would have been better if someone really tried to befriend Lore on the Enterprise and help him. It's a pity the crew didn't realize he was unstable until it was too late. If they did they could have fixed him, helped him and understood how he felt on the colony - what life was like for him. Lore wanted to be accepted by the Enterprise crew, but he lied to them because he was frightened that they'd treat him like the colonists had, and if they knew what he'd done, he thought they'd just disassemble him again. He had enough hurt in his life. However, lying made the Enterprise crew suspicious, but there was no way for them to know much about Lore until it was too late. Lore still resented humans for what the colonists did to him and he wasn't totally lying when he said they were envious of him. To a certain extent they were. In a way Lore knows more about humans than Data, but Data too knows much, as he's been around humans for longer than Lore. There's a great deal they can teach each other.

False Sense of Superiority: Lore bragged, and told Data that he was less perfect than him which gave him a false sense of superiority. Lore was very insecure, and he hides it by pretending and creating a false egotistical facade. In DataLore every time Lore lied, his face twitched. The facial twitch would give him away, so he got rid of it. As for the scene where Lore bashed Worf in the turbolift - it was in self defence. Lore didn't want his head blown off. Lore was bluffing when he threatened to shoot Wesley. If he wanted to kill him he would have killed both him and Beverly, but he just shot her in the shoulder. He would not have missed if he intended to kill her.

Lore showed no indication of what he would do with the Enterprise if the Crystalline Entity succeeded. He led it to the colonists, which ultimately killed them. It appreciated what Lore had done and Lore called it to the Enterprise.

The Entity was the closest thing he ever had to a friend and he wanted to keep its friendship. It's a pity no one cared enough about Lore to see past his faults and make friends with him.

Alone: After DataLore, Lore was beamed out into space where he drifted for two lonely years. A very horrible and cruel fate. Imagine yourself drifting alone, never expecting to be rescued, or to see another living soul. Being in an empty, black vacuum, Lore wouldn't have even been able to hear himself talk to himself. One can't blame him for being angry with Data for that. But in a way, Data had no choice. He couldn't get Lore, because Lore had grabbed the phaser. Data knew Lore would not be killed. He didn't want to beam him out and seemed upset and hurt when he found Lore talking to the Crystalline Entity. He wanted to know more about his brother, but there wasn't time.

Family: In his second episode, Brothers, Lore showed his true feelings for his father, Dr. Soong and Data and he was being sincere which shows he's more than a 'evil mirror twin.' Understandably, he felt betrayed by his father, for taking him apart, but Dr. Soong explained why and Lore understood and forgave him for it, but still felt hurt that someone he loved could do that to him and no doubt he feels the same way toward Data now. As resentful as Lore felt, these two people were the only family he knew. Here's this android that thinks he's God's gift to the universe, almost in tears, showing true compassion for his dying father. It proves he's not all evil. He does have good, caring feelings. If he didn't care, he would have left Data and Dr. Soong without another word.

Dr. Soong was very charming and witty, and he cared for both his sons but there was nothing to stop him from going back to Omicron Theta, and fixing Lore or taking his parts and fixing them on the planet he settled on with Juliana. He also constructed Data's emotion chip, and Juliana's android body. (she was human when she married Noonian, but she was fatally injured, and Dr. Soong constructed an android body in her image and performed mind transference)

But there was time after Juliana left him. Dr. Soong does loves both his sons, despite Lore's shortcomings. He did intend to fix Lore. It was extremely moving when Lore said: "I don't have to imagine. I know how hard it's been." He was warning Data what emotions could do to him. He almost cried when he said, "perhaps you'll learn to ... understand your 'evil' brother...to forgive him..."

And Dr. Soong agreed that Lore was never given a chance to live.

Lore feels hurt and angry, because he knows that his father's disappointed in him. He wants Noonian to be proud of him and another of the reasons he's jealous of Data is that Dr. Soong is proud of him and Lore wishes he could do something right. Dr. Soong said Lore and Data had some differences, but Lore is not is made of substandard parts, although he thinks he is. He stole Data's emotion Chip for two reasons:

1) It would have given Data stable emotions and Lore thought it would stabilize his emotions, and, 2) Getting emotions was Data's fondest wish, and Lore was upset now that his father was dying there would be no time to fix him. To be repaired, understood, to belong somewhere and to be loved is Lore's fondest wish and he feels he deserves that after all he's been through.

Unfortunately the Chip made him worse. He wouldn't have hurt his father in any way - he loved the old man. The chip

totally unbalanced Lore - and he did not kill Dr. Soong.

He would have felt guilty at stealing his father's hard work and Data's fondest wish, but he made himself believe it was for the best and that someone else would help Data - he'd get his wish somehow and he tried to push the guilt away. But it didn't change things for Lore - he still did not have his fondest wish.

At the end of Brothers, Dr. Beverly Crusher on the Enterprise says to Data, regarding the human brothers on the ship, "they're brothers, Data. Brothers forgive..." and Data is considering wether he can forgive Lore. Lore wants to be forgiven and it's up to Data to forgive him someday.

There is sanity in Lore, which can be helped if he were rehabilitated. He was jealous of Data at first, but in the time he was alive he came to realize he loves and cares for Data and his parents. That came through in Brothers and also the third, fourth and final Lore episodes Descent Parts I and II. It's a pity there was no episode with Lore meeting his mother, Juliana.

The 'Evil' Twin: Lore only came in at the end of Descent I. Almost everyone loathed Descent II. It made Lore out to be nothing more than an 'evil thing.' He's not that evil. He's not simply just the 'evil twin.' He's much more than that. He's not a killing machine. Many people were outraged by this episode. Lore's compassionate feelings were totally ignored.

The Teaser of Descent I was the only part of the entire two parter which was beautifully done. It'd be good to have had Professor Stephen Hawking giving Data tips on how to fix Lore!

Deactivation: It was heartbreaking to see Lore deactivated and the scene where Lore's eyes went white was horrible, disgusting, revolting and frightening. Why couldn't they have had just closing his eyes? It was like death - a sickening empty whiteness. It was like watching someone you love die, but Lore is NOT dead. He's been disassembled before, so he can be put back together and repaired.

Data shot Lore in self defence, not to kill - the blast did not permanently damage him despite what the extremely biased novel of the episode (written by Diane Carey) says. Data had no way of knowing what Lore's weapon was set on. It was on set stun, so was the phaser Lore gave to Data to "kill" Picard. Picard would be more useful to Lore alive, but to prove Data's loyalty to him, Lore gave Data the phaser, which Data assumes is set to kill, so if he did shoot Picard, it would have proven to Lore that Data is loyal to him, but Data didn't. He could have easily killed Lore as he lay helpless, across the chair, but he didn't, which proves he does care about him. He said: "I am sorry, but you leave me no choice." And he sounded sad. He did not want to do it. It was extremely moving when Lore said, "I love you ... Bro...ther..." It was beautiful and most definitely sincere, and that little smile on his face said that Lore had settled an inner peace within himself, because he's known all along that he loved his brother, but never admitted it, and he was scared that he may never get another chance - and since Lore loves his brother, he definitely would not have killed him. Some people think Lore said it just to save himself, but those people obviously don't know Lore or care about him. It was one of the most sincere things he'd ever said.

It was harsh to disassemble Lore. If he were human, he would not have suffered this fate. The Federation didn't disassemble Data because he was a sentient life form. Lore is no less sentient than his brother. The Federation is out here to seek new life, not disassemble it. When Data said Lore had to be disassembled so that he's no longer a threat - was at that particular time, if Lore was not disassembled, he would carry on perhaps causing more havoc and had to be stopped. Data would have wanted to repair Lore at a later stage and believes he can stabilize him, but it could not be done at that time. He doesn't intend to leave his brother deactivated. That would be cruel and unfair - like a death sentence and Data is not a cruel person - he would not want that for himself.

Lore already has 26 years of his life missing. He's like a juvenile delinquent. He's 37, but subtract 26 for the years he was disassembled -- he's not even a teenager. He hasn't had experience how to handle his emotions. Hopefully he won't have to wait very long before he's repaired again, and since the chip was removed, he won't be as unstable. Lore would feel grateful that Data has it now. In a way it was better that he got disassembled, instead of being vaporized or killed, because he can be fixed and given the chance and the love he's always wanted and needed. That possibility is wide open.

Pain and Misunderstanding: When Lore was with the Borg, he was going on about how he'd found his cause and so on, but he sounded uncertain and unsure, as if he didn't even know where he was. He suppresses his feelings, because he thinks if he shows the emotional pain he's been going through he'll look weak. He wants to be strong in front of others, but feels weak inside. He's got a huge ego, but it's a facade. He seems self-assured, but inside he's holding a lot of pain back and needs someone to help him, because if he goes on hurting others and pretending he's better, people won't understand what he's really feeling. If someone (preferably human) sat down with him and talked to him, earned his trust, or just a little of it, they could help him straighten out his feelings, and teach him that it's okay to show compassion and inner feelings, and they can also teach him that he doesn't have to hurt others in order to get his point across and that it would be good for him to tell others the pain he's been through - that makes him who he is, and other people will be able to relate to him if they know more about his true self. It's not wimpy to cry for a good reason, and Lore has a lot to cry about. He won't look weak if he does, but he doesn't know that. If he were to open himself up to someone and show his true feelings like he did in Brothers, people will be open to him if he changed for the better, and he can help people who have similar backgrounds to him. Lore is scared to show his vulnerable side in fear of being hurt or taken advantage of, but people will be willing to help and understand him if he lets them. He does things differently, and others have to realize that - everyone is different and unique in their own special ways, although it may be strange to other people. If others put themselves in Lore's shoes, they would know how he feels. One cannot blame him for the way he feels. He's not a mindless, insane killing machine - he's a child that needs to be loved. Lore may be bad, but not as bad as some make him out to be. If his character were to develop, he'd become a better person, but he'll still be himself, still witty, sarcastic and mischievous of course - Who could change that!

Insecurity: Emotionally, he's very insecure, and he needs to deal with that. He wants a chance to prove himself, but doesn't exactly know how to go about it and he wants - needs to sort things out with his brother, but he's scared he'll botch it up. He needs to feel loved and wanted. If someone showed him love and trust, Lore will show the same in return. Lore can grow, as Data has. He's not a lost cause. He has a kinder side. He is not all evil. He'd listen to someone trying to help him. He'll be dubious at first, but appreciate it in the end. He won't beat the crap out someone, because if they really care about him, he'll know it and he'll care about them too.

A Hopeful Future: There have been occasions where Lore has been given a chance or an opportunity, but he hasn't realized it, or he's done the best he can with it. Put yourself in his shoes, and see his point of view, which a lot of people don't see, or understand.

1) It is imperative that someone guides him, otherwise, as he demonstrated before, he won't know what to do with himself or how to go about it.

2) Lore doesn't know what his true purpose is. He needs someone patient and caring to give him that, perhaps a counsellor at first, and then someone to be with him, to lead him through tough and easy times. Someone like a best friend, or a wife to love and care for him.

Data is very capable of helping him to get started. In many ways Data is more experienced. Unless someone's willing to help Lore, he may never find his true purpose. It makes no difference whatsoever that he's an android. He's a sentient being with needs and feelings. Just because Lore and Data are androids, doesn't mean they should be looked at or treated differently than humans. Lore isn't Data's prototype. When twins are born, the first isn't the prototype. It's no different with Lore and Data because they're androids. They are as sentient as anyone. Androids are people too. People accept Data, because he's sweet, naive and innocent, but when it comes to Lore, they just dismiss him as 'an evil thing' and don't care about what he's been through or how he feels. Anyone who looks past that will see the truth. The good in Lore should be nurtured. Lore's a tad on the bad side, but that doesn't make him a thing. Unfortunately some see in black and white and don't seem to care.

Lore shouldn't be let of scott free after what he's done. He should be punished, but not by giving him a virtual death sentence or condemning him for all eternity - A fair trial and a rehabilitation period, say 2-5 years, longer if needed, would be excellent. It would help him come to grips with himself, his brother and with the universe of which he is a part. Data loves his brother deep down, even if he doesn't realize, even after what Lore has done, but it may take some time for him to admit it, as it did with Lore. The resolution is far from over. There is still a lot to sort out between the Soong Sons. Data is capable of repairing Lore and will want to repair him, especially now that he had the chip installed and has emotions. No doubt he'll feel guilty for what he did to Lore. They both have to explore their feelings and sort out their differences.

Brent Spiner said he loves playing Lore. If Lore ever does come back in a movie, he can help Data with his new emotions and Data can help Lore come to grips with his. If Lore ever does return, it will be upsetting and devastating if he's just there to be the bad guy to blow to bits at the end or have him doing the "noble sacrifice act" and dying. He does not have to die to prove himself. There would be no point in developing him just to kill him. Lore needs to be nurtured, loved and given the freedom and care he so desperately wants - and needs. Lore's parts just need to be assembled, and his instability repaired. I doubt Data intends to leave Lore or Lal 'dead,' and hopes to repair them someday, because they are his family. Not everyone in the universe can condemn Lore forever. Many want to give him another chance - a pity we're in the wrong time line. It's upsetting when people put Lore down. Surely someone out there, in Lore's time line who will find him, repair him, care for him, love him and give his life meaning. It's not too late.

Lore is capable of learning, growing, and learning from his past mistakes. He doesn't want to be hurt or rejected anymore. It would be a wonderful, positive example of growth, and maturity and the legend of Star Trek if Lore and Data reconcile their differences and Lore continues to grow, helping others like him and giving them meaning in their lives as he now has, grateful that he finally has his fondest desire and boldly going where no android has gone before ...

* * *

Back to DataLore Page