Object

Dixon Hill Secretary's Small Notepad

A pocket-sized paper notepad with a narrow, top-bound spine and several cream pages clipped at the edge; its cover is plain and slightly scuffed from frequent handling. The secretary flips it open, taps a page and reads terse, jokey entries—'the tailor', 'the landlord'—using the pad as a tactile prompt and timing device. Characters react to its contents with light, comic rhythm that punctures Picard's seriousness.

2 appearances

Purpose

To record and cue short, on-the-spot notes or lines for the holonovel secretary; functions as a mnemonic prop for delivering brief reports, comic timing, and administrative details.

Significance

Serves as a low-stakes tactile anchor that lets Picard inhabit the Dixon Hill respite; the notepad's dry, jokey entries facilitate his small ritual (paying the tailor, stalling the landlord), providing comic relief and a transitional beat before the scene shifts back to interpersonal pressure.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S2E19 · Manhunt

Noir Respite — Pay the Tailor, Stall the Landlord

The secretary pulls out and consults her small notepad to cue lines and report incoming calls; it structures the comic timing, lists the tailor and landlord, and acts as a prop that both anchors the scene's mundanity and triggers Picard's ritual response.

Before: On the secretary's desk, closed or ready; easily accessible.

After: Consulted and replaced on the desk after the secretary's chuckle and the phone action.

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S2E19 · Manhunt

Lwaxana Declares an 'Alternate Plan'

The small notepad is produced by the Dixon Hill secretary as a timing and comic device: she checks entries that cue her punchlines, reads off calls (tailor/landlord), and uses the pad to punctuate the ritual exchange that undercuts Picard's fantasy with mundane obligations.

Before: Resting on the secretary's desk, closed or lightly scuffed but readily accessible.

After: Returned to the desk after use; remains a visible prop anchoring the receptionist's ritualized actions.

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