I think if you read carefully enough Tyler, you could see that she was caught between following the Data and what it said to her, and presenting a palatable conclusion to science. Who knows, maybe BF refuses to be palatable because it's not.
A and C are correct.
Sure you can. I am also a Realist, and I know that indeed such a thing is there. Realism has to do with What Is, rather than make up stories. IOW, dealing with knowledge rather than belief.