Star Trek The Next Generation
Object

Stubbs' Experimental Test Probe (Intact Unit)

A compact, sealed experimental test probe — one of three visually identical intact units arrayed in the cramped transporter room among four wrecked counterparts. Each unit presents as a squat, hand‑portable capsule with an unbreached casing, stamped lab markings, and handling scuffs from repeated trials. Technicians set them on transporter pads and inspect connectors with tired, urgent movements; Wesley reaches for a console to initiate a trial while Geordi and O'Brien hover, body language taut with fatigue and impatience.
10 appearances

Purpose

Serve as a launchable experimental payload/probe used in repeated transporter and launch trials to test a scientific deployment procedure.

Significance

Functions as the immediate technical focus that drives the crisis: the probes' survival or destruction frames the crew's exhausted decision‑making, catalyzing a dangerous bypass attempt and O'Brien's emotional snap. The intact units embody both the experiment's stakes and the fragile cohesion of the night‑shift team.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

10 moments
S3E1 · Evolution
Wesley Conceals the Open Nanite Container

The experimental unit (the 'egg') functions here as the tangible focus of Wesley's panic: among his tools it is found open, quickly closed and implicitly hidden. Its momentary exposed state operates as the narrative clue that something from Wesley's experiment may have escaped containment.

Before: Resting on the lab bench among Wesley's equipment; one container cover left open, exposing internal contents.
After: Container snapped closed and equipment put away; the object remains on the bench but its openness is no longer visible and the possible breach is concealed.
View full event
S3E1 · Evolution
Authorizing the Egg — Neutronium Approach

Stubbs' Experimental 'egg' is the tangible focus of the launch decision: repeatedly referenced by Stubbs and Picard as ready, its provenance and integrity justify the captain's order to begin the launch sequence, converting theoretical study into a physical deployment.

Before: Sealed and inspected per Stubbs' assurance, staged for launch in Shuttle Bay Two under specialist oversight.
After: Formally authorized for launch and placed on standby by shuttle bay personnel following Picard and Riker's orders.
View full event
S3E1 · Evolution
Commit to Launch — Picard Orders the Egg

The compact, sealed experimental 'egg' functions as the tangible focus of the scene: it is the physical apparatus Stubbs has inspected for decades and the device the captain formally authorizes for launch. Its presence transforms abstract discussion about neutronium into a concrete operational target that the ship must prepare to move and deploy.

Before: On the bridge or immediately available for a final inspection; inspected and vouched for by Doctor Stubbs; contained and mission-ready.
After: Formally queued for the launch sequence and moved into shuttle-bay preparation — the ship has committed to transferring and deploying it for the experiment.
View full event
S3E1 · Evolution
Wesley's Precision Wins Stubbs' Respect

Stubbs' experimental 'egg' is the unstated but present subject of the question; it functions as the narrative MacGuffin motivating the exchange and the subsequent pre-launch order, symbolizing the technical risk and the reason for testing Wesley's knowledge.

Before: Contained and prepared for deployment as the focus of pre-launch procedures, under Doctor Stubbs' custodial care.
After: Remains the mission object ready for the impending pre-launch sequence that Riker orders to begin.
View full event
S3E1 · Evolution
Shuttle Bay: Double Star — Awe Shattered

Stubbs' Experimental Egg stands as the visual and emotional focal point, physically positioned near the bay door so that when the door opens the egg is dramatically framed against the double-star backdrop. It operates as a prop that embodies scientific ambition and vulnerability in this moment.

Before: Sealed and cradled near the shuttle-bay threshold, stationary and intact, awaiting deployment or observation.
After: Still in place and visually emphasized by the opened bay; its exposure to the vista underscores its narrative significance and foreshadows subsequent risk.
View full event
S3E1 · Evolution
Duty vs. Discovery: Framing the Core Crisis

Stubbs' experimental 'egg' functions as the contested stake: though not physically shown in this moment, it is verbally invoked as the irreplaceable objective whose deployment depends on the command decision being argued over.

Before: In the ship's custody and scheduled for deployment as part of the experiment; its future hinges on command authorization.
After: Still on board and subject to the pending decision; its potential deployment and the crew's exposure remain unresolved.
View full event
S3E1 · Evolution
Stubbs' Ultimatum — Picard Holds the Line

Stubbs' experimental 'egg' functions as the implied object of contention — the scientific prize whose once-in-two-centuries timetable Stubbs invokes to pressure Picard. Even if not physically described in the lounge, the experiment's existence frames the moral stakes and motivates Stubbs' desperate rhetoric.

Before: In the custody or stewardship of Doctor Stubbs and slated for deployment in the scheduled experiment.
After: Narratively endangered — its deployment is now contested and dependent on command decision and unresolved computer repairs.
View full event
S3E1 · Evolution
Stubbs' Fatal Gambit

The experimental 'egg' is the unstated but central object motivating the exchange; Stubbs' line and Troi's diagnosis explicitly reference the experiment's stakes, making the egg the narrative catalyst that transforms scientific risk into personal sacrificial drama.

Before: Positioned as the focal experiment under Stubbs' care (physically in departmental custody or prepared for imminent testing aboard the Enterprise).
After: Remains the contested object of potential danger; its presence continues to drive command deliberation and concern about containment and safety.
View full event
S3E1 · Evolution
Troi Unmasks Stubbs' Martyr Complex

The experimental 'egg' (the experiment itself) functions here as the absent yet central object of obsession — the named referent for Stubbs' stake in identity and the risk he is willing to take, turning a scientific apparatus into a psychological totem.

Before: Prepared as the focus of the ongoing experiment; its deployment and associated procedures are under discussion by the senior staff.
After: Remains scheduled and symbolic of heightened risk, with its future now more contested due to the exposed psychological stakes.
View full event
S3E2 · The Ensigns of Command
Data's Calculated Ultimatum

A compact probe at Gosheven's belt that he instinctively reaches for when threatened; it functions as a personal tool and potential weapon but is not used — its presence underscores Gosheven's readiness to act but also his impotence in the face of Data's decisive action.

Before: Attached to Gosheven's belt, a visible personal device indicating preparedness.
After: Remains on Gosheven after he reaches for it but does not deploy it; Gosheven later bends to the silent pool, probe unused.
View full event