Star Trek The Next Generation
Object

Antedian Hooded Crimson Robes (ultritium-lined ceremonial robes)

Full-length Antedian ceremonial hooded robes—visually crimson and hooded to obscure identity—whose interior construction includes embedded ultritium-lined material detectable by sensors. In scenes where Lwaxana inspects the garments, an inner metallic ultritium mesh (and slim explosive strips) is revealed; Data verifies volatility and Worf detains the robe-bearers. Consolidates the plain visual description with the later-discovered explosive lining, reflecting that these robes are the same objects across multiple linked events.
6 appearances

Purpose

To conceal and enclose the wearers—serving as ceremonial dress that also functions as a travel enclosure or protective covering during the Antedians’ catatonic transport.

Significance

Marks diplomatic formality and otherness while creating immediate biohazard and containment stakes; the robes visually signal vulnerability and secrecy, heightening medical uncertainty and foreshadowing a concealed threat during transporter processing.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

6 moments
S2E19 · Manhunt
Antedians Materialize — Catatonia, Containment, and the Worms

The hooded crimson robes visually conceal the Antedians' anatomy and head structure, amplifying strangeness and diplomatic mystery; they both mark cultural ceremony and functionally obscure potentially alarming physiology during transport and examination.

Before: Arranged around the delegates during transport materialization, hanging motionless on catatonic forms as they rematerialize.
After: Remain draped on the motionless delegates while medical instruments probe beneath the hoods and the crew debates holding them until Pacifica.
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S2E19 · Manhunt
Catatonic Delegates: Containment, Hunger, and a Moment of Beauty

The hooded crimson robes conceal the Antedians’ heads and bodies during transport, amplifying their strangeness and heightening the crew’s reaction. They function as both cultural costume and practical containment, preserving the delegates' catatonic state and shaping the visual shock of their reveal.

Before: Worn by the delegates during materialization; hanging motionless due to the wearers' catatonia.
After: Remain on the delegates as Pulaski examines them; robes continue to conceal and mark them as ritualized, not immediately to be disturbed.
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S2E19 · Manhunt
Guard Duty, Awkward Compliments and Lwaxana's Appraisal

The red hoods conceal the Antedians' faces and amplify their grotesque anonymity, provoking both Worf's solemn respect and Mrs. Troi's comic shudder; they function as a visual shorthand that elicits social commentary and the awkwardness between the sentries.

Before: Draped over the delegates' heads, intact and concealing physiognomy, contributing to a ceremonial, unsettling tableau.
After: Remain in place, unchanged; continue to be the object of jokes, revulsion, and respectful silence, maintaining the delegates' anonymity.
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S2E19 · Manhunt
Lwaxana's Unsolicited Appraisal

The red hoods conceal the Antedians' faces, creating anonymity and ceremonial distance; they visually emphasize alien otherness and heighten the awkwardness of Lwaxana's interpersonal appraisal by making the delegates silent, unreadable props in her social ritual.

Before: Properly draped over the Antedian delegates, obscuring facial features and maintaining ceremonial appearance.
After: Remain draped and unchanged; continue to mask the delegates' physiognomy and sustain the mystery around their condition.
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S2E19 · Manhunt
Lwaxana Unmasks the Assassins

The Antedian Ultritium-Lined Robes function as the hidden explosive device in narrative terms: Lwaxana names the lining and Data's tricorder quantifies it. They are the decisive clue that changes the scene from social absurdity to verified security threat.

Before: Concealed within the Antedian robes, undetected by casual inspection and undetectable by normal transporter checks until specifically scanned.
After: Identified by sensor readouts and become the basis for detainment; they are now evidence in an active security investigation.
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S2E19 · Manhunt
Lwaxana's Vindication and Parting Rebuke

The ultritium-lined robes are the lethal MacGuffin: Lwaxana names the internal ultritium lining; Data's tricorder detects it, making the robes the decisive evidence that converts suspicion into a security operation and averts mass casualties at the conference.

Before: Concealed within the Antedians' ceremonial robes and undetected by casual inspection.
After: Detected by tricorder and thus flagged; the wearer-suspects are taken away for removal of the robes and safe containment.
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