Object
Teacher's Office Shutter Window
A twenty-fourth‑century interior shutter set into the teacher's office wall that opens inward to reveal an adjacent classroom. Constructed of functional composite slats with a simple hinge, the shutter slides or folds to create a tight aperture through which ambient classroom light, movement, and sound spill into the office. Lieutenant Ballard physically opens the shutter to expose Lal sitting alone while toddlers play; Data and the children register the sudden, stark visual contrast. The piece reads as workmanlike and well‑maintained, operating cleanly as a deliberate, controlled architectural aperture.
1 appearances
Purpose
To provide the teacher a controlled view and auditory access to the adjacent classroom—allowing selective surveillance, supervision, and momentary visual disclosure between office and playroom.
Significance
The shutter converts abstract concern into a tangible, heartbreaking reveal: exceptional intellect sits literally framed and isolated from peers. It intensifies Data's emerging parental responsibility, sharpens ethical stakes about Lal's future, and foreshadows institutional pressure by making social alienation visually undeniable.
Appearances in the Narrative
When this object appears and how it's used