star trek - Positronic signature in Nemesis

In Nemesis, the Enterprise E is lured to Kolarin III by a positronic signature, which ends up being B-4, another Soongian android.

Would starships of that time period (circa 2379) normally monitor for positronic signatures? Are sensors able to pick up a such a signature from several systems away? (Equivalently, could the Enterprise detect Data, if he happened to be several systems away?)

Answer

I'll bite.

I'll answer two and three first. The answer to two is a definite yes. Of course, since they did pick B4 up, therefore they can. The answer to three is probably yes. It's possible Data has some special shielding to stop him being picked up, but there's no reason to think so based on available evidence.

The answer to one is more fun. Positrons are pretty exotic. They're only used in a limited number of technologies. None are mainstream, so all are significant. I imagine normal scans will include positrons just because they're significant whenever you find them and, upon detecting them, sensors will beep to let you know. Plus, as Richard commented, Geordi's visor can pick them up. Since that's basically a sight-aid, complex ship-board sensors meant to do detailed scans of anomalies will be even more attuned to exotic particles.

There's nothing to indicate they were doing anything out of the ordinary with their sensors. However, we don't know that for sure. Clearly they are able to pick up positronic technologies from that range, but whether it's usual for them to try is a question I can't answer for definite. I would assume so, and there's good reason to think so.

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