To exterminate or to liberate an intelligently accelerating nanorobotic civilization.

S03E01

[@Donnerino]

21st Century Education: "Alright, your science project is to make a paper mache volcano" Star Trek Education: "Make a nano-robotic civilization, bonus points if they become sentient."

[@EdgardoCervantesP]

Or if your wasted antimatter experiment can power a whole starship, even if for a fraction of a minute. What the hell was Keiko O'Brien teaching those kids?

[@solarisone1082]

Keiko wasn't a teacher in TNG.

[@sethmacadam3253]

Did she teach Botany or simply work as a Botanist?

[@nedimsisic2370]

@@julioricardolopezaguirre1206 Exactly the same in Bosnia. The thing is some faculties still have standards and operate on ant Bologna doctrine, despite painting it as such, so they are actually more difficult and you need to learn more useless information than on western universities(a professor told me that his course was more difficult than on the university in Oxford it originated from(I study computer science and that course is about operating systems, mainly UNIX, made in 1983)). The result is that generations of students are worse and worse, year for year and my was the worst one so far in its history.(only 50 passed from 287 newcomers) The government does nothing to address this, middle and high schools keep getting worse, so new students go to private universities, which dont offer any knowledge, you basically just buy a degree.(in the same faculty as mine, but a private one, there are graduates that dont know multiplication from 1 to 10) The other state university faculties(except medicine, mechanical and pharmacy) are corrupt af. They are easy as well, we call them faculties for the afternoon.(since you can learn them in your free time, without much effort) The ones who finish them are of low quality knowledge and cant compete on the market and thats why they bribe our politicians to get a government job. The ones who finish the insanely difficult faculties cant find a job because of corruption or it is not paid well, so they leave Bosnia and go abroad.(except IT and comp. science, cause there is a job shortage of them, so they get employed and dont leave, but stay in Bosnia) Sorry for the rant. Now you know that it can get worse than in your country.

[@julioricardolopezaguirre1206]

@@nedimsisic2370 seems like your country developed some form of Peronism... Sorry for u and your people :(

[@stephennielsen8722]

Wesley: “this is all my fault. I created a grey goo apocalypse for a school project”

[@kamenridernephilim]

All the more reason why Wesley is an awful character.

[@Siegberg91]

@@kamenridernephilim Wesley only Job was destroy all of humanity and he even failed that.

[@andrewpestotnik5495]

SHUT UP WESLEY!

[@daiujin]

Plot twist, the civilization is somehow the Borg, and it’s all Wesley’s fault lol

[@chickenbradly]

Everything is Wesley's fault. Even Discovery was his fault somehow

[@YinzerPitMaster412]

@@chickenbradly I knew he made discovery happened when he left with the traveral

[@lowereducation6631]

We only have one choice for the good of sentient life everywhere Wesley must be destroyed

[@weege001]

Shut up Wesley....

[@mavoc3094]

After Voyager, the Federation is the strongest in the alpha quadrant thanks in large part to their interaction with the Borg. So it would seem that even Wesley's mistakes lead to great progress for Starfleet. Thank you Wesley

[@TheChrisManChan]

Dr. Kelso playing another jerk Doctor...love this guy lol

[@ericconrad6936]

I was waiting for him to break out into one of his rants to the interns, a la Scrubs, in this TNG episode... love this actor!!

[@C0wb0yBebop]

Chris Manning yep

[@RijRij]

ROFL, I was trying to remember where I've seen him before

[@dlxmarks]

Being regularly typecast as a obnoxious authority figure for years lead to 'Scrubs' where Ken Jenkins finally had the opportunity to fully develop a character.

[@ramonserna8089]

When skynet rules the universe everybody would wich to have listened to the jerk doctor tho.

[@EcthelonEvendil]

To be fair, the stereotypical cynical "kill everything we don't understand" guy kinda has a point in this instance. The nanobots have shown no sign on any intellect beyond that of bacteria. Suggesting that they are in any way intelligent at this point is quite a leap.

[@89BlackGatomon]

Or they lack Communication skills and ones obtain it ownes them all including pranking the borg for LoLs

[@elmundodeFreeman]

@Han Lockhart The decision is not meant to be practical, it is meant to be idealistic. The shows main point is to portray that people could decide based on higher values and not just fear or a cold pragmatism.

[@XpaceTrue]

I don't agree with all of the arguments of either side. While I see the arguments of Wesley and Dr. Crusher as too idealistic, the arguments of the expert gentleman were way too dismissive. Certainly, they represent a major potential threat to the Enterprise. But these nanites certainly *behaved* in a way similar to life. Whether or not they are intelligent could be determined through communication or prolonged observation. Unfortunately, they evolve rapidly, which does not give much time to make such a determination. And it makes dealing with them riskier the more that time passes. I very much enjoyed this episode. For one thing, it really made one think. But, yes, it leaned far too much on the idealistic. There's a reason why sci-fi coined the phrase "grey goo" and often uses nanites as either a villain or nigh-unstoppable force. Often, they are responsible for consuming entire planets. I'm reminded of the nanites in Stargate SG1. Those things were terrifying.

[@peacenow42]

@Han Lockhart or, that guy could have killed a certain mold, you know, the one that grew penicillin. you would have

[@whatno5090]

Thats not a fair point because simply saying that they are probably not intelligent still isnt enough reason to kill them. Showing that they are definitely not intelligent is required.

[@shfelliotrpg]

Who hangs out on the Enterprise, has two thumbs and still doesn’t give a crap? BOB KELSO

[@53rdAndThird]

Pleased to meet you!

[@madlarkin8]

I notice Worf the chief of security wasnt invited to a meeting where they discussed a possible intelligent beings attack on the ship. Michael dorn must have been on vacation.

[@starry_lis]

He'd just propose firing proton torpedoes anyway.

[@Ny-kelCameron]

Raphaël Atherill that's exactly what I was going to say!! 😂😂

[@MrFunkhauser]

Unfortunately it was impossible to yell at or axe chop the nanobots so warf wasn't needed.

[@EdgardoCervantesP]

But if it were a Tribble Attack... i mean the guy took his bath'leth out when Tribbles overtook DS9.

[@robinvik1]

@@EdgardoCervantesP That was the correct reaction though. They are a known enemy of the Klingon empire!

[@Archone666]

Wesley: "I am responsible for this. I allowed two of the nanites to interact for a school project..." Everyone at the table who knows Wesley: "...Yeah. Wesley was involved, that explains it."

[@philiphunn194]

Arkone Axon If TNG’s pet Mary Sue is involved, nothing good can come of anything.

[@nedimsisic2370]

@TheAstrius No, not on fire. It would extinguish in the vacuum. Acid on the other hand...

[@zairman]

@@philiphunn194 Wesley was a good character. And had backstory as to why he was so gifted. And you can't even call him a Mary Sue.

[@DaglessMc]

@@zairman Jake Sisko is the better Starfleet son

[@zairman]

@@DaglessMcJake was pretty useless. At least Wesley was smart and as he got older and matured and found out about his powers, his character got a lot better.

[@zeusdemi6858]

Right right, I mean Data's on board, they've encountered energy beings, ones made of Silicon, and ones that can bend reality to their whim, but somehow an intelligent microbot is an impossibility

[@Trusteft]

Not impossible, just not acceptable.

[@robinvan7086]

the human race does that all the time. "this thing doesn't fit into the way we see things" -->therefore unacceptable. lets ignore a fact or two, change the thing we're looking at, until it is more palatable. then do what must be done. "no matter how hard that is."

[@roji556]

I think they've met the Borg by this point as well.

[@kamilnamyslak3906]

Abominable Inteligence

[@Bramswarr]

the impossibility at hand is not the potential existence of intelligent microbots, it is the capability of federation standard nanobots evolving to conscious intelligence

[@Gizziiusa]

dammit Jim, Im just a doctor, not a nano-ethicist !!!

[@kathyhorton4100]

😂

[@issakelly8071]

Damn it, wesley!! He let two nanites interact with each other. He really needs to learn the borg and the bees.

[@kentvesser9484]

He left out the most important part that he was playing Barry White music while allowing this "interaction" and uploaded the video to a subreddit for people with nanite fetishes. :)

[@boiledelephant]

Bob Kelso doesn't seem to age on a human timescale. Or at all.

[@startreker20]

Who has two thumbs and doesn't age, BOB KELSO!

[@EdgardoCervantesP]

I think kelso is a Q.

[@ThePanicPuppet]

Edgardo Cervantes Qelso

[@michaelmartin9022]

What about Patrick Stewart? They might need to age him up with CGI in the new show

[@YinzerPitMaster412]

@@EdgardoCervantesP that would be awesome

[@jdb2002]

"You can't have a civilization of computer chips" Sir, I would like you to meet Mr. Data. Apparently, you two haven't been properly introduced to each other.

[@0xD1CE]

Data is just one person, not a civilization.

[@jdb2002]

Jason Lee But he has the potential to become one. And if an android can potentially become a race, then computer chips should be able to as well.

[@OpenMawProductions]

He is a civilization of one.

[@Omnicloudx13]

He made his daughter Lal which in turn means they can further reproduce their kind in time effectively making them a civilization of androids.

[@roji556]

"Hi Dr Stubbs, Let me introduce you to this nifty civilization based around sentient nanites, they're called the Borg."

[@Emp6ft10in]

He had a really good point there at the end when he called out Beverly on her extermination policy on viruses and bacteria.

[@demosthenes995]

No he didnt. The difference between the two is obvious. One had been researched to death for centuries and revealed to be unintelligent, the other is potebtially a brand new lifeform. Although it is hasty to award them sentience, its obvious they should be researched in depth before all else.

[@ahumanbeingfromtheearth1502]

No he did not. And even if viruses and bacteria could be sentient, it still wouldn't be the same scenario as they are all actively working towards killing people.

[@Emp6ft10in]

@@demosthenes995 - We kill animals and consume all the planetary natural resources around us to survive too with very little thought about it. Does it make it okay because we do it while "sentient"? Or does that make us worse?

[@numnut154]

He really didn't.

[@Ragitsu]

No. There was no "good point".

[@picknroll8221]

Dr. Crusher always struck me as a bit self-righteous, if not genuinely concerned for the welfare of most living things. Dr. Stubbs really gets the better of her here though when he breaks out the line about how many diseases/viruses she has killed. She was speechless and had no answer. Picard interjected and saved her.

[@floppydisksareop]

Pick'n'Roll82 the difference was that those viruses weren't completely exterminated, it had specimens remaining. stubbs wanted to destroy every nanobot existing

[@dibbidydoo4318]

How do ya know some viruses weren't wiped out...

[@Archone666]

She would have had a response if Picard hadn't cut the argument short. The most obvious one being: "I only kill viruses when they're threatening the well being of the host body. Your body is filled with microorganisms that range from the harmless to the symbiotic. Some of my medical treatments involve using retroviruses to cure the patient."

[@lenglithad77]

Damien Green Damien Green I think it may be intetesting to note that smallpox virus, while eliminated from human population (its only reservoir for "living"), still remains in existence in two labs, one in Russia and one in the US. While modern medicine elimimated the disease with the last case occurring in 1977, for whatever reason the virus still remains in existence. So technically, no known virus has ever been totally "wiped out."

[@thefirstprimariscatosicari6870]

lenglithad77 Because wiping out deaseases risks making you vulnerable in case somehow a random desease really similar arise.

[@brandoncraig2321]

"How do machines evolve?" "Blow it out your ass Bob."

[@richardched6085]

The precursor of Borg Nanoprobes. Thanks Wesley. You effectively made the Borg that much more Dangerous. Picard's Knowledge of these Nanites was transferred to the Borg Collective in 2367 and then by 2373 the Borg Assimilation Process was Upgraded so it would no longer take over a week but just under an hour to fully assimilate a victim of the Borg.... However Voyager showed Nanoprobes in use during the early 2350s. And made it clear that the Borg always looked and functioned like they did in First Contact Onward. Rather than the "Evolution" that took place between TNG and First Contact.

[@thefirstprimariscatosicari6870]

Richard Ched I do not remember that part of Voyager. What episode was it?

[@richardched6085]

+The First Primaris Cato Sicarius It was the episode "Dark Frontier" which showed flashbacks of the early 2350s.

[@Wayoutthere]

...Goddamit Wesley..

[@gnerdeek5362]

You cannot really blame Wesley for what he was trying to do. If he had been successful in increasing the nanites' capabilities, it could have advanced medical science.

[@Dowlphin]

#CovidLivesMatter

[@RagicalPlays]

Better call in SG1

[@DomR1997]

HA I was deadass just thinking that

[@joesunshine4006]

Well they certainly know what they are doing.

[@ruach2283]

There simply aren’t enough stargate references on the internet. Thank you.

[@jmurphy2169]

They can shoot thier way out

[@jlf13766]

captain krieg A good old P90 always does the trick.

[@thegreenbaron6439]

"Life will find a way" ~ Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic Park.

[@Dowlphin]

The exact quote is: "...life... uh, finds a way. ". Then there's also the World of Warcraft Achievement: "Life Finds a Way... To Die!"

[@theodoreeliaseronsten5468]

Damnit wesley, you made the replicators! I gotta call Col. O'Neill again

[@tomf3150]

"Crap indeed"

[@Thejigholeman]

they never really gave kelso a good argument in this episode. just arguing that "the idea is insane" and "oh please" maybe instead give him something like "you cant destroy a race of intelligent beings" "you can when the alternative is to let them destroy you. once they destroy your ship, they will consume the next one they find. and the next one, and the next one, and the next one, and the next one, until the swarm is so large and advanced that it starts going after planets, wiping out all life and machinery in their path trying to satiate their hunger and desire to reproduce"

[@MrFunkhauser]

He had a good point about asking how many viruses dr crusher had eliminated in her time, they had no real response to that.

[@Gauntlet1212]

At that time, I think the "grey goo" scenario wasn't thet well known or explored. So they skipped it. But yes, this could potantially be the start of a catastrophe of galactic proportions.

[@LunaEllis]

in the same show, the characters have reasoned even with characters like that. e.g. the crystalline entity. the entire point of this episode is that life shouldn't be exterminated unless there is no other choice.

[@numnut154]

@@MrFunkhauser Was it really though? it's kind of a stupid sentiment, the virus' and bacteria aren't exterminated on sight, they're studied and specimens preserved, quite literally what Crusher is advocating for if the nanites aren't an intelligent lifeform. I'd take their shock at the statement as stunned by stupidity, rather than incapable of responding, and Picard making a level headed decision is the response to Stubbs' irrationality.

[@ertert4tetert]

In which the guest character speaking emotionally is far more reasonable than everybody else in the room

[@Ragitsu]

No...

[@CraniumSlows]

As I rewatch TNG I'm always amazed at how many times they have to convince people that non humanoid life is still alive.

[@songarakram]

Who has two thumbs and hates nanobots? 👍Bob Kelso👍 How ya doin?

[@user-lj2cb2pj8j]

I would have never noticed, that's so funny

[@SuperVstech]

songarakram kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZPZqYOJhrOAfcU

[@tipdub]

Lol!

[@Dowlphin]

Who has two middle fingers and doesn't like Bob Kelso?

[@JDGansGaming]

I was wondering where I seen that guy before.

[@TheEndKing]

Can you imagine calling an exterminator and saying, "There's a singular mosquito in my house biting me. Plz kill it!"

[@andrewpestotnik5495]

That was my reaction. Compete and total overreaction. Wouldn't hold it below him to apply this to people and aliens. "I don't like them, all phasers on full,!"

[@burakthecrow]

Maybe mosquitoes were a larger threat for their time

[@Dowlphin]

Could be a monsterquito.

[@doomyboi]

He's thinking of space skeeters. These suckers evolved on a planet that was like an earth-sized Australia.

[@TheRadicalOneNG]

Accidentally Grey Goo's the ship for a school project.

[@imonlyamanandiwilldiesomed4406]

God damn it, Wesley, /backhand

[@Phoenixesper1]

"School project? how far has it gone?!" I love how picard instantly realizes that a child may have unleashed the grey goo apocalypse unto the universe through the vehicle of a 24th century equivalent of a macaroni art project! "Well....." And that equally terrifying moment when you realize that even wesely crusher could destroy creation from simple boredom and have the same blasie response to it as though informing the captain the kitchens out of pudding! LMAO!

[@OpenMawProductions]

This is after they have had their first encounter with the borg. You will note none of them make the correlation between the Borg, their society, nanites, or anything of the sort. This is because, at least my belief, the borg did not have nanite-based assimilation until AFTER Best of Both Worlds. Assimilation before that was a much more complex process.

[@stars9084]

At least they weren't familiar enough with the process

[@ryansullivan7349]

Are you suggesting the Borg assimilated the nanite civilization?

[@OpenMawProductions]

More like they harvested the data on the nanites from Enterprise computer/Picard and began to adapt the process as a means of quickly incorporating their targets more quickly.

[@LEGOALEX97]

Up to this point, the borg appeared only interested in technology. Assimilation and nanites has not been written in the script yet

[@TheCaptainSplatter]

@@OpenMawProductions so wesely in a way created the modern day Borg. Oh goodie.

[@Draliseth]

"Who's got two thumbs and wants to stifle the development of an evolving species of nanites? Bob Kelso."

[@lkvideos7181]

"ThAts NoT pOsIblE mAaN" Data: "Sir .... am I a joke to you ?"

[@Norrie_Rugger]

Thanks for everything Jean Luc, sincerely

[@nicholasavasthi9879]

It occurs to me that pretty much this exact concept is how the Geth gained sentience.

[@zotaninoron3548]

Does this unit have a soul?

[@Siegberg91]

@@zotaninoron3548 yes you make me sad

[@damianich4824]

@@zotaninoron3548 no, it does not.

[@89BlackGatomon]

Holy shit.. your right!!!

[@Sage2000]

Although I hated the “Wesley super science strikes again” at first, the episodes debates are spot on Star Trek at it’s finest.

[@Jake007123]

Thing is, you could just use a random actual science officer for it, instead of the fucking child. I understand why Wesley was hated. No hate for Wheaton though, he was just acting a character.

[@Sage2000]

@@Jake007123 fully agree

[@JCDenton2012Modder]

Stops the doctor at 1:48... You mean like... The Borg?

[@rikosaikawa9024]

Bob Kelso never thought about being a doctor until he met Beverly Crusher

[@RomanCoronado]

The only thing missing from this scene is the conference room doors opening, the famous whistle from Dr. Cox as he enters the room followed by "say Bob-o, [insert Dr. Cox rant]".

[@nl-oc9ew]

Dr. Kelso really hasn't changed from his time at sacred heart.

[@batmanvspredator]

I'm surprised that Wesley wasn't more severely reprimanded for this.

[@MrFunkhauser]

I think they are all scared of him, if they punish him too much he'll go from stupid genius to evil genius.

[@Qardo]

@@MrFunkhauser Well, he got shot back in time. Became a hacker and makes fun of all the governments of the world.

[@davenathan2002]

Picard still wanted to bone Beverly.

[@brucewelty7684]

@@davenathan2002 don't you??

[@Jake007123]

@@brucewelty7684 Fair enough :D

[@DragoMusivini]

The SG-1 replicators found a new home.

[@mcazares48]

I just saw this episode. I'm officially spooked by the internet

[@gustavgnoettgen]

Dr. Kelso being Dr. Kelso on the Enterprise - didn't know about this 😄 this also means that I, as a kid, have seen him long before his cruel reign in Sacred Heart.

[@CharlesUrban]

Heheh, and the nanites overheard the angry guy and tried to kick his ass later.

[@hamarbiljungskile8953]

Why are we even debating? Deploy two-stage cyclonic torpedoes and be done with it. Emperor protects!

[@rahimel-mulla2894]

"Accidentally A waking Sleeping Giant"

[@Siegberg91]

and turn anybody involded into servitors for techno heresy

[@14kevinnivek41]

“Who’s got two thumbs and doesn’t give a crap? Bob Kelso! How are ya?”

[@T.S2036]

@2:07. "They are made in a plant in Dakar Senegal." Lol.lol.😂😂😂 Am cracking up. Big up west Africa! Big up Akon!

[@delcox8165]

So basically, medical science's approach to the situation was "keep these things strictly contained when not in use; god knows what would happen if we just left them turned on and undirected". Seriously? These things got released for military use with _not one person_ saying "hey, you know what? Maybe somebody should see what happens if we just left these turned on. We don't want some school science project filling in for _basic_ R&D and all manner of ethical saftey considerations." That's the least believable part out of this entire scene by a long shot, and there's a kid at a military senior officer's briefing.

[@metamorphicorder]

He was actually a material participant to this and a junior member of the crew at least by the captains discretion. So other than that, yeah it was a little naive.

[@DomR1997]

Welcome to Star Trek. I hate the Federations naivete.

[@Archone666]

@@DomR1997 Are you kidding? That's the best part about them. Ever seen this? i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/242/915/515.png

[@TNTspaz]

Wesley crusher is basically the biggest writing flaw in the whole show in general. He is literally where the Mary Sue troupe originated from. A horridly written self insert character. This scene would be much better with him removed and the evolution of the nanomachines coming out of the Doctors crowning achievement from this episode. Would help with the dynamics of the scene as well.

[@Dowlphin]

@@TNTspaz No, the trope(!) literally (and literarily) comes from the character "Mary Sue" - duh!

[@SoulWinner1986]

"Damnit Wesley!"

[@ColArana]

I wanted to make a Scrubs joke but it seems all the best references were taken. Oh well. Dave’s, Debbie’s and Slagathor I’ll be in my office.

[@ZenGeekDad]

So many good scifi novels and short stories have treated this core idea. Generally, with inescapable overtones of horror.

[@TheRogueWolf]

21st century: "I thought we had two boy mice, but now we have nine mice." 24th century:

[@OminousBagel]

2:25 "How many breads have you eaten?"

[@spaceanarchist1107]

Teacher: Where's your homework? Wesley: It ran away.

[@the.parks.of.no.return]

This is exactly how i expected dr kelso to react.

[@NotQuiteFirst]

Wesley: "I've created a new life form!" Nanobot collective: "Shut up Wesley"

[@joesunshine4006]

Stargate showed you why you need to destroy the replicators.

[@TheCaptainSplatter]

Star trek would be doomed. They use phasers. When they should be using bullets. Well there is that one gun. But was hardly ever used

[@hardwirecars]

oh god the second his eyes rolled i just let out a shut up wesley without thinking

[@SirSicCrusader]

Bob Kelso, still the same grumpy old Doctor in 400 years time.

[@tommypetraglia4688]

2:00 "... You can't have a civilization of computer chips. They're made in a plant in Dakar Senegal. ..." The year 2364 and still outsourcing tech manufacturing offshore

[@TroyConvers5000]

Starfleet isn't just American; it's a Worldwide organisation.

[@butcherboy2008]

Bob Kelso has an amazing plastic surgeon. He looks 20 years younger, even 200 years from now.

[@explosivemodesonicmauricet1597]

"You can't have a civilization of computer chips." Data and other IPs' synthethic lifeforms:*****Robotic Laws Overriding******

[@paimannamazi3064]

A fine Captain making the best choice of his career considering the limited choices presented before him.

[@zemorph42]

A virus is a bona-fide lifeform? Dr., in your timeline, when was the definition of biological life officially expanded to include viruses? And why do you think it should not be expanded again to include this, especially when it can reproduce itself, which viruses cannot, without a host?

[@TheCaptainSplatter]

Viruses have an incomplete DNA structure.

[@CryingFre]

“Why does a mosquito bite your ear? And who cares?” Is this how scientists think in the future? First of all, everyone knows why a mosquito bites. Secondly, the scientists who discovered it made a major contribution to the understanding of evolution of species dependent on other species.

[@jasonleslie203]

For a scientist he's truly closed minded at this moment

[@TheRealmDrifter]

I knew bacteria were lifeforms, but I always thought viruses weren't...

[@TheCaptainSplatter]

They are not, their DNA structure is incomplete.

[@damianich4824]

Just a matter of definition.

[@Tuzszo]

@@damianich4824 By definition, viruses don't qualify as life. They satisfy most criteria, but they can't produce their own components from raw resources independently. Provide a living organism with the right nutrients and it can make its own proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, regardless of where the nutrients came from. Present a virus with anything other than a living cell and it will do nothing. For a sci-fi mechanical analogy, a living organism is like an automated factory that can build and program all of its own components. Provide it with power and raw resources and it can make a full copy of itself. A virus is more like a computer virus (shocking, I know) or bootable drive on a USB stick that reprograms the factory to make copies of the USB stick. Fancy ones might have a robot body that carries the USB stick around, but unless they can find a factory to hijack they just sit there doing nothing.

[@Lordoftheapes79]

So I'm watching Scrubs atm and I find myself expecting Dr Cox to come out and stick it to Kelso 😆

[@augustday9483]

"Nanobots that think?! Frankly I find the idea of a nanobot that thinks offensive!"

[@fieldy409]

I read once that all you need for machines to evolve is for them to have imperfect self replication. If they can replicate perfectly they will stay the same but if the process is imperfect, then that error can be their machine version of mutation.

[@Tuzszo]

And in practice every self-replicator will replicate imperfectly to a degree, which means any self-replicating machine will mutate with enough generations. For machines with minimal error correcting code and in high radiation environments that mutation rate could be surprisingly high.

[@tiotoy99]

This all has the assumption that mutations are beneficial

[@logangustavson]

Given enough generations and time the likelihood that positive mutations occur increases until its a virtual certainty. Even if it doesn't, it's still evolution. Or if you want to be technical. De-evolution.

[@ahumanbeingfromtheearth1502]

@@tiotoy99 no it does not. Its the same principle as real life evolution. Most mutations aren't beneficial, but any that is will make that animal more likely to survive and spread that mutation. If a mutation is harmful, that animal is unlikely to survive to pass it on. To adapt that to machines, even if most imperfections in replication are harmful (or simply non beneficial), the few that are helpful is all the machine needs to "evolve'.

[@BoguslavSL]

We have enough experience with programming to understand that errors are not beneficial. Errors in the programme make the machine unable to perform its functions. That is why the need for error correction. These are pure speculations. Do not forget why it is called “science fiction”.

[@uwillnevahno6837]

Wesley screws up everything now he's made mini-Borg.

[@dembones5005]

You would think 'Evolve true communal machine sentience if left activated for a few extra hours than intended.' would have come up at some point during the R&D or even QA stages of product development.

[@ZeHoSmusician]

Ah, I see you're doing it the other way round, KZbin: showing me a clip from an episode I watched just yesterday evening...

[@camramaster]

Do not kill. Quarantine until they attempt contact.

[@We_Are_Borg_478]

Pretty smart.

[@thecianinator]

After watching Star Trek Acid Party I can't take this scene seriously anymore

[@torchiapet]

I’ve seen this episode of Stargate. 😛

[@Shaderox]

Yes, the Dr. Bob Kelso in Space episode

[@saymyname8925]

Wesley: "Im responsible for this" Picard: *shoots Wesley

[@2ndavenuesw481]

"They're made in a plant in Dakar Senegal"

[@NotQuiteFirst]

lol I thought this was science fiction not science fantasy

[@solexxx8588]

The paperclip paradox.

[@RivellaLight]

Hmm imagine THIS is where the Borg got their nanoprobe technology from... Thnx Wesley!

[@alexanderm2220]

5 years later *YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED* Imagine that

[@cliffordcrimson7124]

Dr. Kelso being right for the infinityth time

[@carlmadsen5734]

Dammit wesley do you want a new borg.... this is exactly how you wind up with a new form of Borg

[@GarrettDenton]

Bro, you need to exterminate those things IMMEDIATELY

[@shugaroony]

Riker : 'that bloody Wesley again!'

[@samlatifi3254]

I was wondering where I'd heard that voice before. Wow he really got typcast as the synical know-it-all didn't he? Bob Keslo... 😁

[@georgemcleod9967]

The expression on Picard's face

[@umitbilgi86]

thx bro.

[@AgentQQ8]

Imagine meeting your maker and asking why it's all here, and his response is "oops."

[@neuvocastezero1838]

The crystalline entity just wants to be our friend.

[@hamhouke]

I would say Wesley gets an "A" on his school project.

[@kentvesser9484]

Yeah, but it will still be some kid with a baking soda and vinegar volcano that wins the medal at the science fair.

[@fcbahamutzero]

Dr. Kelso: The After Years

[@Kalenz1234]

2:37 "My good Captain,..." Picard:" Let me stop you right there before you say something you will regret."

[@charabotte1]

my good captain

[@kemchobhenchod]

This really feels like it could easily segway into a Rick and Morty style caper with Wesley and Noonian Soong.

[@victorsalisbury3554]

Happy with options record

[@Ridgwaycer]

Goddamit Kelso. Where's Dr. Cox when you need him?

[@adamschaeffer1436]

Riker as Dr Cox impression: "Yeah, so.... apparently Judith here let some of these nanites play together and guess what? They loved his tea parties so much they decided to launch their own mini-rave smack dab in the middle of our central processing core! What I propose is... if Captain Linda-Lou agrees with me, is to round them up with magnets and kill them with fire! There, problem solved. I'll be on the holodeck taking a cruise to Tahiti, in case any of you nit-wits need me" =)

[@Elvisbackpack]

Me: "Jesus, Star Trek technobabble at -- IS THAT BOB KELSO?!"

[@89BlackGatomon]

Bursting out in laugther reading your comment

[@Thenewguytcs]

You heard it here... now is the time to open up a Nanite factory in Dakar, Senegal...

[@Balt21Raven]

Take a long look Jean-Luc....then run like hell.