Object
Signal Analysis Readout (Ficus Beacon)
A single printed page—thin white stock densely annotated with timestamp headers, a jagged oscilloscope trace, frequency spectrogram thumbnails, and a stamped provenance line identifying an obsolete European Hegemony distress beacon. Hand-sized and slightly creased from handling, the page lies on Picard's ready room desk and is passed between officers; Picard leans over the sheet, Riker traces a waveform with a finger, and the computer voice's readouts echo the page's data as the document anchors their technical assessment and argument.
0 appearances
Purpose
To present a compact, human-readable summary of the incoming beacon's signal analysis—timestamps, spectral traces, and archival identifiers—so officers can evaluate provenance and decide whether to investigate.
Significance
Serves as the inciting piece of evidence that crystallizes the anomaly: the beacon's archaic dates and unexplained presence. The readout converts an abstract computer scan into a tactile, shareable object that propels Picard and Riker to open an investigation and establishes the moral and operational imperative of the episode.
Appearances in the Narrative
When this object appears and how it's used
No events recorded for this object