66: No Longer Pinocchio

Jeffrey Lang: Immortal Coil. For most of Data's existence he was a subculture of one. He was alone in the universe as a unique being with a unique future. Over the course of his life he went from being the son to being the caretaker in a sense. Once Data gained emotions, he had to come to terms with the understanding that he would outlive everyone around him. His life would, potentially, go on forever. In his 2002 novel Immortal Coil, Jeffrey Lang tackled this reality as Data deals with the death of his "mother," Julianna Tainer, and learns the astonishing secret of artificial intelligence that stretches far back into the galaxy's past. In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Matthew Rushing and Christopher Jones are joined by Jeffrey Lang to discuss the book, what he wanted to achieve in moving Data forward beyond Generations and First Contact (the latest film at the the novel was written), and how the concept of responsibility is dealt with in the Star Trek universe. In our news segment we check in on Jeffrey's new book, The Light Fantastic, and Scott Pearson's The More Things Change.