23rd century scientist Doctor Richard Daystrom (William Marshall) is a hugely important figure in Star Trek history, who still influences the United Federation of Planets in the 25th century. An esteemed expert in computer science, Doctor Daystrom's intelligence and influence were compared to that of Albert Einstein. So esteemed was Daystrom that his name adorns one of the Federation's most prominent research facilities, the Daystrom Institute, and one of its most secretive storage facilities, Daystrom Station.
It was Richard Daystrom who invented the duotronic technology that was used aboard the USS Enterprise and other Constitution-class starships. Daystrom made this game-changing discovery at the age of 24, and spent the intervening years developing multitronics with the intention of creating artificial intelligence. It was Daystrom's work in multitronics that brought him aboard Captain James T. Kirk's (William Shatner) Enterprise in Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, episode 24, "The Ultimate Computer".
Star Trek's Richard Daystrom Explained
In "The Ultimate Computer", the USS Enterprise hosted the first field test of Daystrom's M-5 computer, which had the potential to fully automate a starship. Daystrom used his memory engrams as a model for M-5, which he believed would make the computer able to think and reason like a human. Unfortunately, the M-5 computer was unable to distinguish between the battle drills it was engaging in and an actual battle. This led to the tragic deaths of several Starfleet officers aboard both the USS Lexington and the USS Excalibur, and the destruction of the automated starship Woden. Attempting to reason with his creation, Daystrom had a breakdown, brought about by the stress of the situation and the considerable risk the malfunctioning M-5 posed to his reputation.
It was therefore up to Captain Kirk to reason with the computer. Kirk successfully convinced M-5 to shut itself down so it could be removed from the Enterprise's systems. After the incident, and upon the recommendation of Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Richard Daystrom was sent to a rehabilitation facility for treatment. This unfortunate incident didn't damage Daystrom's legacy, nor did it convince Starfleet to abandon the pursuit of automated starships. iral Les Buenamigo (Carlos Alazraqui) followed in Daystrom's footsteps with his fleet of robotic Texas-class starships, which predictably turned against their human creator in the Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3 finale.
Star Trek's Daystrom Institute Explained
Located in Okinawa, Japan, the Daystrom Institute is a Federation research and development facility named after the legendary 23rd-century scientist. The Institute is separated into separate departments, and the majority of the departments seen in Star Trek are, unsurprisingly, focused on computing and cybernetics. Commander Bruce Maddox (Brian Brophy) was the Associate Chair of Robotics at the Daystrom Institute, and had considerable interest in Starfleet's resident android, Lieutenant Commander Data (Brent Spiner). Maddox's fascination with Data and the work of his creator Dr. Noonien Soong would continue for the rest of his life, creating Data's "daughters" Soji and Dahj Asha (Isa Briones) via a process called fractal neuronic cloning, which he pioneered with Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill).
The Daystrom Institute also built the synthetic androids that were responsible for Star Trek: Picard's Attack on Mars in 2385, leading to the synth ban that was swiftly imposed across the Federation. Mars was also home to the Daystrom Institute of Technology, where Dr. Leah Brahms (Susan Gibney) earned her doctorate and became a Professor of Theoretical Physics. Interestingly, an early draft of Leah Brahms' first Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "Booby Trap" introduced Dr. Navid Daystrom, a descendant of Richard Daystrom.
The Daystrom Institute also has a section designed for the storage of "Self-Aware Megalomaniacal" computers, which includes Ensign Peanut Hamper (Kether Donohue) and AGIMUS (Jeffrey Combs) among the incarcerated. Star Trek: Lower Decks teased that this may play a larger role in future seasons, creating the possibility that the show will return to the Daystrom Institute in season 4. As well as the Institute in Japan, and the college on Mars, there are other Daystrom facilities elsewhere in the galaxy, including the annex on Galor IV, where Vice iral Haftel (Nicolas Coster) wished to work with Data's daughter Lal (Hallie Todd) before her tragic death. The most mysterious of external Daystrom facilities is the Federation black site, Daystrom Station, first seen in Star Trek: Picard season 3.
Star Trek: Picard's Daystrom Station Explained
Daystrom Station holds Starfleet's darkest secrets, and some of its most ghoulish artifacts, such as the dead body of Captain James T Kirk and the body of iral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) from "before he went positronic". Daystrom Station was also where Section 31 conducted brutal experiments on Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer) and her nine fellow Changelings during the Dominion War. Overseeing the top-secret black site was a highly sophisticated artificial intelligence which was revealed to be a new hybridized version of the entire Soong family tree from B-4 to Data to Altan Inigo Soong (Brent Spiner). After years of trying, Starfleet had finally got their hands on Data, but thanks to the efforts of Captain Worf (Michael Dorn), Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd), and Captain William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes), he was freed once more.
Daystrom Station was at the center of Worf and Raffi's Star Trek: Picard season 3 story arc, as they investigated a theft at the highly classified storage facility. The first item stolen was the devastating portal weapon that was used in the attack on the Starfleet Recruit Center on M'Talas Prime and used to devastating effect by the Shrike in its battle against the USS Titan-A in the Ryton Nebula. However, the portal weapon was merely a distraction from the theft of Jean-Luc Picard's body, which contained something vital to the Changelings' plans for Frontier Day.
Now that Star Trek: Picard's 25th century has introduced Daystrom Station into canon, it will be interesting to see if future Trek shows revisit the location. The collection of items on display at the facility could have wide-reaching ramifications for the Star Trek universe, and so far only a small section of Daystrom Station has been depicted on-screen. Tantalizing teases such as Kirk's corpse and "Project Phoenix" or the second Genesis device have the potential to change everything. As the home of the Federation's darkest secrets, it would be a missed opportunity if future shows, like Terry Matalas' proposed Star Trek: Legacy, don't return to the station in the future.