Object
Ralph's Requested Communication Device (Phone/Radio)
A palm‑sized handheld communication device—conceived as either a compact phone or a portable radio—rectangular with a worn casing, a small speaker grille and the hint of an antenna. In the guest lounge it becomes a physical focus of desperation: Ralph seizes at the idea of it, fingers tightening as he demands access and attempts to place an outside call. The device’s imagined immediacy fractures the room’s fragile calm and provokes Picard’s physical and verbal reclamation of ship authority.
3 appearances
Purpose
To establish external voice/data contact—specifically to place urgent calls to outside parties (legal counsel, Geneva) or summon outside assistance.
Significance
Functions as the concrete locus of the episode’s clash between private wealth and shipboard authority: Ralph’s insistence on external contact dramatizes his fear and desire for control, while Picard’s refusal reasserts communal rules and operational priorities. The device escalates emotional stakes, catalyzes conflict, and precipitates the shift from ideological sparring to emergency command.
Appearances in the Narrative
When this object appears and how it's used