Humanity's first experiments in robotics occurred in the mid-20th century, but it wasn't until the 24th century that the first self-willed, thinking, humanoid automation -- android -- was successfullly created.  Its exestence was due to the efforts of renowned cyberneticist Dr. Noonien Soong.  Born on Earth in the late 23rd century, Soong's brilliance soon saw him become Earth's foremost robotics scientist.  His early professional life was filled with success, but his reputation foundered after several failed attempts to construct a positronic brain.  First postulated by Isaac Asimov in the 20th century, the positronic brain was Soong's answer to the problems plaguing the current theories in cybernetics.  His colleagues, however, did not agree.  His reputation plummeted, and Soong, reclusive by nature, left Earth under an assumed name, traveling to the Federation scientific colony on Omicron Theta where he continued his experiments in secret.

While on Omicron Theta, Soong met colonist Juliana O'Donnell.  They married in secret during a trip to Mavala IV, and then Juliana, herself a scientist, helped Soong perfect his work.  The first three androids they created "died" of positronic matrix failure (earning Soong the nickname "Often-Wrong Soong" among the colonists).  But the fourth android, Lore, survived.  Lore's programming faltered, however.  His increasingly disruptive behavior scared the colonists, and Soong was forced to dismantle him.

The fifth android created by Soong was Data, who functioned successfully and became Soong's legacy to the future.  Data, however, was not given emotions, since it had been Lore's emotional programming that had malfunctioned.  Before Soong could perfect an emotion chip, the Omicron Theta colony was attacked by the Crystalline Entity, which had been lured there by Lore before his dismantling.  The Soongs escaped, but Juliana sustained injuries and made it as far as the unpopulated jungle planet of Terlina III before lapsing into a fatal coma.  Unable to live without her, Soong built a highly advanced android of Juliana, programming it with her personality and memories.  Upon its activation, the android believed it was Juliana just recovered from an injury.  Soong was content with his new "wife," but the android, nearly as human as her original, yearned for more than laboratory work on an empty planet.  She left Soon, who remained alone on Terlina III for the rest of his life.

In 2367, the aged Soong finally perfected an emotion chip for Data.  He activated the android's homing beacon, and Data dutifully arrived on Terlina III.  Soong was preparing to install the emotion chip when Lore unexpectedly showed up, having answered the same beacon.  Soong was unaware that Data had found and reassembled his "twin brother," whose emotions were still highly unstable.  Jealous of Soong's attention to Data, Lore stole the emotion chip and fatally injured Soong.  The old scientist died in his laboratory, but he died content in knowing that Data would continue to live on after him.