Fabula
Object
Object

Isolinear Optical Chips

Small, delicate circuit components essential to the USS Enterprise's engine control and command systems. These chips form the critical digital interface that manages engine functionality and command computer systems. These high-precision optical control chips constitute the fragile heart of the ship’s control architecture, their meticulous reassembly critical to restoring failing engines amid external threats and chaos. Their removal or damage causes catastrophic system failures and engine shutdown. The crew's desperate efforts to recover and reassemble these chips embody the fragile lifeline holding the ship’s survival in balance.
16 appearances

Purpose

To house and route command‑level isolinear chips and interfaces that restore and arbitrate the ship’s core computer functions, enabling engineering to reestablish control of propulsion and systems.

Significance

A linchpin in the episode’s survival gambit: repairing this board enables Data’s circuitry restoration and the repulser redirect that frees the Enterprise. It embodies technical ingenuity under pressure and the crew’s reliance on precise, hands‑on repairs at the edge of catastrophe.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

16 moments
S1E3 · The Naked Now
Riker Reveals Engineering Sabotage to Picard

The isolinear optical chips are the critical components removed by the assistant chief engineer, causing the complete shutdown of the Enterprise's engines. Their extraction disables the digital command interface, rendering the engines unresponsive and escalating the crisis.

Before: Installed within the engine command systems, fully operational and managing engine functionality.
After: Physically removed from their slots by sabotage, causing engine systems to go offline and rendering propulsion disabled.
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S1E3 · The Naked Now
Wesley Secures Engineering with Portable Tractor Beam

The portable tractor beam, activated by Wesley, functions as a physical barrier blocking the entrance to the Engineer's Office, effectively isolating the space and symbolizing his attempt to impose order in the face of rising chaos aboard the ship.

Before: Inactive, carried or held by Wesley prior to activation
After: Emitting a wide beam that blocks the Engineer's Office entrance, under Wesley's control
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S1E3 · The Naked Now
Wesley Holds the Tractor Beam Lock Against Sabotage Attempts

Isolinear optical chips are handled by Shimoda, who organizes them on the floor, highlighting ongoing efforts to maintain or repair engine systems amidst the command crisis, though disconnected from the tractor beam conflict.

Before: Scattered near console, partially organized by Shimoda.
After: Remains in Shimoda’s possession, still being sorted but vulnerable to disruption.
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S1E3 · The Naked Now
Engineering Team’s Desperate Attempt to Disable Wesley’s Tractor Beam Lock

Isolinear optical chips lie scattered on the floor as Jim Shimoda mechanically sorts them into orderly groups. These delicate components represent fragments of the ship's engine control systems and highlight the fragile technical state amidst the ongoing crisis and crew infection.

Before: Disorganized and scattered on the floor, at risk of damage due to sabotage and infection-induced chaos.
After: Partially grouped by Shimoda’s mechanical sorting, but still vulnerable and not fully restored.
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S1E3 · The Naked Now
Fractured Focus: Engineering’s Desperate Gambit

The isolinear optical chips, essential for engine control, are painstakingly being reassembled by Shimoda and observed by Wesley to restore ship power. MacDougal’s forced entry scatters these delicate components, dramatically interrupting the fragile technical recovery and symbolizing the fragility of the crew’s efforts amid escalating disaster.

Before: Carefully handled and partially assembled on a surface in the Engineer's Office, under close attention from Shimoda and Wesley.
After: Scattered chaotically across the Engineer's Office floor and surfaces, disrupted by MacDougal’s forced breach.
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S1E3 · The Naked Now
MacDougal’s Reckless Breach Jeopardizes Engine Recovery

Isolinear Optical Chips scattered across the Engineer's Office as MacDougal forcefully pushes through, disrupting the delicate assembly process Wesley and Shimoda were engaged in. These critical components’ scattering represents a tangible setback to the fragile efforts to restore the ship’s engines and power systems.

Before: Carefully arranged and partially assembled isolinear optical chips being manipulated by Wesley and Shimoda.
After: Scattered chaotically across the floor, complicating repair efforts and threatening the ship’s power restoration.
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S1E3 · The Naked Now
Bridge Chaos and the Race to Reassemble Control Chips

The isolinear chips, critical modular components for the ship’s command computer system, have been deliberately removed, rendering the Enterprise’s controls inoperable. Their fragile, scattered state demands rapid reassembly, a task complicated by the contagion's mental impairments on the crew, but seen as potentially achievable through Data’s computational skills.

Before: Scattered and missing from the main control systems, rendering the ship’s operations compromised.
After: Awaiting urgent reassembly by Data to restore command functionality.
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S1E3 · The Naked Now
Wesley Proposes Data-Driven Chip Reassembly to Beat the Clock

The isolinear chips, critical modular data processors essential for the Enterprise’s control systems, have been forcibly removed, causing a catastrophic failure. Wesley identifies them as manageable by Data through rapid computational reassembly, likening the process to shuffling cards, which becomes the foundation of the crew’s plan to restore ship functions swiftly.

Before: Scattered and missing from their slots in the main computer system, rendering system control inoperative.
After: Awaiting Data’s rapid reassembly and reintegration to restore critical control functions.
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S1E3 · The Naked Now
Riker’s Infection and Desperate Engine Repairs

The scattered optical control chips serve as the critical, fragile components that MacDougal and Data must correctly reassemble to restore the Enterprise's failing engines, representing the tenuous grip the crew has on technical control amid chaos.

Before: Disorganized and scattered across the floor of the Engineer's Office in a state of disarray.
After: Partially reassembled as Data urgently works to place them back into operational order, though not yet fully restored by event end.
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S1E3 · The Naked Now
Crusher’s Antidote and Picard’s Steely Command

The scattered optical control chips in the Engineer’s Office represent the fragile core of the Enterprise’s engine control systems. Data, MacDougal, and Riker focus on restoring them in the correct order to bring the engines back online under extreme time pressure.

Before: Disorganized and scattered across the Engineer’s Office floor and workbench.
After: Partially reassembled and ordered by Data, with continued efforts ongoing.
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S1E3 · The Naked Now
Data’s Urgent Assembly Amid Encroaching Star Debris

The isolinear optical chips are painstakingly reassembled by Data, acting as the physical linchpins for restoring the command computer’s critical functionality. Their fragile state represents the tenuous grip the crew holds on survival, as each chip must be correctly set to revive the ship’s systems.

Before: Scattered and disassembled, incomplete within Engineering Office amidst chaos and system failure.
After: Partially reassembled into the command computer board under Data’s careful hands, enabling partial system restoration attempts.
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S1E3 · The Naked Now
Wesley’s Ingenious Reversal of the Tractor Beam

Isolinear optical chips are methodically reinstalled by Data and assisted by Riker, forming the critical digital interface necessary to restore the command computer’s functionality, serving as the fragile linchpin between chaos and control in this high-stakes moment.

Before: Scattered and partially disassembled, removed from the command computer board amid sabotage and system failure.
After: Progressively reinstalled on the command computer board, moving towards restored operational status.
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S1E3 · The Naked Now
Wesley Envisions Tractor Beam Amplification Amid Star Debris Threat

The command computer board serves as the physical substrate into which isolinear optical chips are being reinserted, a focal point for repair efforts to regain ship control.

Before: Partially non-functional due to missing or damaged chips, under repair in the Engineer's Office.
After: Partially restored functionality as chips are reinserted, continuing the repair process.
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S1E3 · The Naked Now
Frantic Engine Chip Repair Under Imminent Star Debris Impact

The isolinear optical chips are carefully set into the engine command computer board by Data, forming the crucial digital interface needed to restore engine control and power under extreme time pressure.

Before: Scattered and disassembled within Engineering, damaged or removed from the command board during sabotage.
After: Partially reassembled and reinserted into the engine command computer board, beginning restoration of the ship’s propulsion control.
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S2E22 · Shades of Gray
Engineering Scramble — Data Races, Riker Falls

Isolinear optical chips are the critical modular components Data and MacDougal handle; their correct identification and seating on the command computer board directly determine whether engine control can be reestablished. They are the microscopic hinge of the escape.

Before: Scattered, disarranged on the Engineering floor and work surfaces, some dirty or misseated.
After: Most chips are reseated correctly on the command computer board, glowing to indicate successful reconnection.
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S2E22 · Shades of Gray
Repulser Gambit — Last‑Second Engineering Rescue

The isolinear optical chips are the immediate mechanical puzzle: scattered and misseated, MacDougal and Data sort and reseat them into the command computer board. Their correct orientation and placement directly enable the restoration of control signals necessary to power the engines.

Before: Scattered, disorganized, some misplaced; several sockets on the command board vacant or misseated due to trauma.
After: Many chips correctly reseated and glowing on the board, contributing to restored system control and engine responsiveness.
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