Hey, remember that scene in Hitchhiker's Guide, where they find the planet which makes planet, and they get attacked by an automated system? Star Trek does!
TNG 1x21: The Arsenal of Freedom, or DIE WAFFENHÄNDLER
Alright, moving right along and past the and on to the terrible, terrible bit of science that was buried in this episode. Memories are not encoded in RNA, Data. In fact, RNA has fuck all to do with memory. This goes even beyond the standard regular genetic memory non-sense. Later on Crusher also pulls some random abbreviation out of a medical dictionary to explain the comas. And so, this episode beats out Rascals and is crowned
The Most Outstanding Shit-Science Episode of Star Trek Yet
And much like a virus, they lack the quality of being able to reproduce by themselves, which is the standard definition of life. Something Data has done.
Red Shirt Count: 410 (+2 one biological being, one mechanical) Actual Death Count: 30 Ripped Shirt/Bare Chest Count: 125 Cameo Count: 38 Shut Up Wesley Count: 20