Object

Bridge Computer Graphic — Nelvana System Sensor Magnification

A full-screen, high-resolution bridge display graphic that floods the main viewscreen with a magnified schematic of the Nelvana star system: a starfield backdrop, orbital markers, concentric sensor-range rings, and layered translucent data overlays. Color-coded readouts, pulsing nodes, numeric confidence bars, and a persistent elapsed-time/countdown ribbon animate the image. The graphic is ephemeral—rendered by the ship's computer—and responds to voice commands and Data's targeted sensor queries; officers lean forward, isolate frequencies, and study blanked zones as the display shifts under their input.

2 appearances

Purpose

To visualize magnified sensor data for the Nelvana system, enabling officers to inspect, isolate, and interpret readings (or the conspicuous absence of returns) during tactical and strategic assessment.

Significance

Acts as the scene's technical and emotional focal point: the blanked zones and lack of anomalous returns on the graphic turn a diagnostic interface into a narrative puzzle that drives Picard's and Data's investigation, precipitates Riker's hunch about a hidden transport, and triggers retrieval and security decisions.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S3E10 · The Defector

Nelvana Sweep Yields Nothing — Strategic Uncertainty Deepens

The high-resolution bridge display graphic fills the main viewscreen with a magnified schematic of the Nelvana system. It visually embodies the mystery — blank sensor zones, elapsed-time ribbons, and numeric confidence bars — converting technical null results into emotional and narrative pressure.

Before: Idle but ready to be manipulated; displaying broader Neutral Zone context prior to magnification.

After: Remains magnified on command, showing no anomalies and reinforcing the puzzle Picard must resolve.

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S3E10 · The Defector

Delayed Priority One — Two‑Hour Directive

The Nelvana System sensor magnification graphic is summoned and manipulated by Data to isolate the system; its enlarged, blank schematic literalizes the puzzle (nothing detectable where danger could be hiding) and becomes the emotional focal point for Picard's contemplation of cloaking threats.

Before: Idle or at default display level, not focused on the Nelvana system.

After: Active and magnified on the main viewscreen, showing layered overlays and an absence of anomalous returns for the duration of the scene.

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