Object
Spinning Wheels (Mariposa Manifest Cargo)
Logged on the Mariposa manifest simply as 'spinning wheels' — implied to be hand-operated wheel-and-flyer assemblies of wood (with possible metal fittings), compact enough for ship cargo. The manifest gives no visual detail; the items function as catalog entries rather than shown props. Data flags the listing as a logistics anomaly; Picard reads the entry aloud, and the term's unexpected presence among advanced equipment and livestock snaps him from curiosity into an executive investigation.
2 appearances
Purpose
To convert raw fiber (wool, flax, etc.) into spun thread or yarn by manual operation for textile production.
Significance
Serves as a key narrative clue: the presence of primitive domestic equipment alongside advanced electronics on the Mariposa manifest creates a cultural and technological contradiction that propels Picard to treat the vanished colony as a command-level mystery and frames the episode's thematic tension between tradition and technology.
Appearances in the Narrative
When this object appears and how it's used