Fabula
Object
Object

Geordi La Forge's Engineering PADD (Engineering Systems Data)

A compact, handheld Starfleet Personal Access Display Device (PADD) used in Main Engineering to display and annotate ship logs. The slate-sized unit presents the Yamato's diagnostic records on a bright, interactive screen and accepts tactile or stylus input; Geordi grips it while rapidly scrolling entries, tapping to highlight suspicious entries and jotting diagnostic notes. Characters cluster around it, eyes fixed on its readouts as it converts scattered error reports into a focused thread of evidence.
8 appearances

Purpose

To display, analyze, and annotate engineering diagnostics and ship logs—specifically used to review the Yamato's logs and record technical observations.

Significance

Serves as the immediate evidentiary instrument that links the Enterprise's malfunctions to the Yamato's collapse. The PADD catalyzes the contagion hypothesis by collecting and presenting the probe-linked entries Geordi isolates, forcing command to treat random glitches as a coordinated, shipwide threat and accelerating urgent containment decisions.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

8 moments
S2E11 · Contagion (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
The Yamato Explodes — Romulan Cruiser Appears

The Yamato log functions as the crucial data artifact: Data promises the entire log will be downloaded by rendezvous and the log is the primary forensic trail that the Enterprise will use to investigate simultaneous system failures and the Iconia connection.

Before: Stored on the Yamato's internal computer and in the process of being transmitted to the Enterprise for full download.
After: Partially or fully transferred into Enterprise systems (per Data's statement), becoming evidence for post-explosion analysis and investigation.
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S2E11 · Contagion (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Picard Frames a Shipwide Contagion

Geordi uses the Engineering PADD to display and annotate the Yamato's diagnostic log entries, turning scattered error reports into a focused line of evidence. The PADD functions as the immediate conduit for linking past catastrophe to present anomalies and as Geordi's working tool for rapid hypothesis formation.

Before: In Geordi's hands, active and displaying Yamato diagnostic records; being scrolled through and annotated.
After: Remains in Geordi's possession, annotated with notes tying entries to the alien probe and serving as active evidence for command deliberations.
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S2E11 · Contagion (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Engineering: Probe-Linked Contagion

Geordi holds and actively consults this PADD, which displays and annotates the Yamato's diagnostic logs; it functions as the tangible evidence that converts abstract system glitches into a traceable data trail implicating an alien probe.

Before: In Geordi's possession at an engineering station, displaying Yamato diagnostic entries and open for annotation.
After: Remains in Geordi's hands as flagged, critical evidence — a focal point for requesting physical probe access and further forensic work.
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S2E11 · Contagion (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Iconian Code Aboard: 'We're Sitting on a Bomb'

Geordi's Engineering PADD (Yamato Log) is the concrete medium through which the Iconian program arrived: the Yamato log downloaded to the Enterprise contained the embedded program. The PADD/log is the forensic link connecting Yamato's destruction to the Enterprise's contamination.

Before: Held as a transferred data record from the Yamato; accessible on Engineering consoles and PADD readouts.
After: Marked as the carrier of the Iconian program; its contents are the subject of analysis and containment protocols.
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S2E11 · Contagion (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Quarantine, Casualties, and the Ticking Mainframe

Geordi's Engineering PADD (the Yamato log) is the concrete piece of evidence that transferred the Iconian program into Enterprise systems; Data states the program was contained in the downloaded Yamato log, making the PADD/log the forensic link between Yamato's fate and the Enterprise infection.

Before: Contained the Yamato diagnostic records and was in engineering/bridge possession as a digital file ready for analysis.
After: Has been used to identify the embedded program; functions as a confirmed vector in the investigation and as evidence for command decisions.
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S2E11 · Contagion (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Bridge Standoff — Iconian Probe Forces a Choice

Geordi's Yamato log PADD is referenced indirectly as the source of forensic data; Riker infers the Romulans have accessed Yamato's records, which ties the current systems failures to the earlier catastrophe and reframes the danger as contagious.

Before: Contains Yamato diagnostic records in Engineering (offstage).
After: Referenced as evidence; presumed unchanged physically but narratively activated as a causal clue.
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S2E11 · Contagion (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Data's Self-Purge and the Shipwide Reboot

The Yamato log (represented in engineering records/PADDs) is identified as the infected data source that propagated the Iconian program into the Enterprise. Geordi declares it and every subsequent download must be wiped as part of the surgical recovery; the log therefore becomes a primary target of deletion to stop further corruption.

Before: Contained downloaded Yamato diagnostic logs and subsequent memory loads; repository of corrupted/incompatible program fragments.
After: Designated for complete wipe/erasure as part of the shutdown procedure and reload from protected archives.
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S3E1 · Evolution
False Normalcy — Geordi Reports No Anomalies

Geordi's engineering PADD functions as the factual anchor for his statement—displaying rolling diagnostics and the computer log entries he references. It is the tangible evidence he consults, translating tabular readouts into the spoken conclusion that there is 'nothing unusual', thereby lending credibility to his reassurance.

Before: Displaying engineering system readouts and time‑stamped logs; in Geordi's possession at a workstation.
After: Still displaying relevant diagnostics and the same log entries; remains in Geordi's hands as he continues to monitor the systems.
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