M-5 multitronic unit

{{sidebar individual
|image         = M-5 multitronic unit.jpg
|caption       = M-5 computer in 2268
|gender        = [[Male]]
|species       = [[Computer]]-machine
|status        = Deactivated
|datestatus    = 2268
|actor         = [[James Doohan]] (voice)
}}

{{aquote|This unit must survive.|M-5|2268|The Ultimate Computer}}

The '''M-5 multitronic unit''', or the '''M-5 computer''', was an advanced [[multitronic]] [[computer]] system and [[prototype]] created by [[Doctor]] [[Richard Daystrom]] during the mid-[[23rd century]]. It utilized very sophisticated [[Tools and technology|technology]], probably similar to the [[Human]] [[neural network]], and much more sophisticated than the [[Duotronics|duotronic computer]] commonly in use at the time. According to Dr. Daystrom, the computer could think and reason like a Human. He had used his own [[memory engram]]s as a model for the computer. Models [[M-1 multitronic unit|M-1]] through [[M-4 multitronic unit|M-4]] were not entirely successful.

M-5 was installed on board the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701}} in [[2268]] as a test of its capabilities. The [[M-5 drill]]s were designed to allow the unit to command and control the ship during several exploration simulations and [[war games problem]]s, where up to four other [[starship]]s would attack the ''Enterprise''. Manned with only a skeleton crew of twenty, the ship was completely run by the computer.

The unit was located in main [[engineering]], and tapped directly into the ship's main [[power grid]]. When requiring more power, it would shut down unnecessary systems, including life support on decks without crewmembers.

During battle drills, the computer's self-preservation instinct became dominant, resulting in the destruction of the robot ship ''[[Woden]]'' and the [[death]]s of several hundred [[Starfleet]] officers when it severely damaged the {{USS|Excalibur|NCC-1664}} and {{USS|Lexington|NCC-1709}}.

The senior crew attempted to cut off the computer from the ship's controls, but M-5 rerouted command functions through new data lines, and kept sending false signals through the original ones. The computer could also generate a [[force field]] around itself, effectively preventing anyone from coming near it.

{{Captain}} [[James T. Kirk]] made the computer [[Induced self-destruction|self-destruct]] by asking it if it was right to kill another being. M-5 said that it was a crime against the laws of Man and [[God]], and, believing that such a crime was punishable by death, deactivated itself. ({{TOS|The Ultimate Computer}})

{{bginfo|The voice for the M-5 was played by [[James Doohan]].|In a draft of the script for {{e|The Offspring}}, the failure of the M-5 was considered a catastrophe for Starfleet for years. A century later, [[Admiral]] [[Anthony Haftel]] used this incident as a case in point for closely guiding [[Lal]]'s development of her [[artificial intelligence]], blaming the incident on Daystrom's near-isolation during his research. {{st-minutiae|resources/scripts/164.txt}}}}

== Apocrypha ==
In the non-[[canon]] novel ''[[Immortal Coil]]'', the failed M-5 became a part of Dr. Vaslovik's (aka [[Flint]] the Immortal's) collection on Valhalla. It helped defend the station in [[2374]] during the [[Dominion War]].

In the game ''[[Star Trek: Shattered Universe]]'' the player must defeat the M-5 which has taken control of the [[mirror universe]] counterparts of the USS ''Excalibur'', {{USS|Hood|NCC-1703}}, {{USS|Lexington|NCC-1709}}, and {{USS|Potemkin|NCC-1657}} and their fighters by destroying all four starships which shuts down the smaller vessels.

== External link ==
* {{mbeta|M-5 computer}}

[[de:M5]]
[[Category:Computer technology]]
[[Category:Individuals]]