Memory Alpha
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Memory Alpha

In Earth Literature, Pinocchio was a wooden puppet who longed to become a real boy. William Riker referred to Data as "Pinocchio" upon learning of Data's desire to be Human (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint"). When forced to argue the case that Data was only a machine, he referenced the name again to demonstrate how, though Data aspired to be a living human being, he was not and never would be one. (TNG: "The Measure of a Man").

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