Object

Data's Desk Drawer

A functional drawer built into Data's personal desk in his quarters: a rectangular storage compartment used to stage and contain intimate artifacts. The drawer holds a holocube of Tasha Yar, a small box of medals, and an antique sonnet book; Data methodically removes these items while packing. It appears orderly and utilitarian, emptied during Data's resignation ritual and inspected indirectly when Maddox enters and handles the sonnet. The drawer serves as the immediate physical holding place for objects that make Data's interior life tangible.

2 appearances

Purpose

To store and organize personal effects and small containers within Data's desk; in the scene it functions as the staging area from which Data retrieves items to pack.

Significance

The drawer transforms private mementos into evidentiary stakes: its contents externalize Data's interiority, catalyze the confrontation with Maddox, and embody what would be lost if Data is disassembled—making the drawer narratively crucial as the locus where personal objects become plot objects.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

Packing Memory — Data's Quiet Resignation

Data's desk drawer functions as the staging area for intimate artifacts; he removes a box of medals and the drawer is opened and emptied. Maddox later reaches into the drawer to lift the book — the drawer's contents become the point of friction between privacy and institutional access.

Before: Closed or containing personal items (holocube, box of medals, sonnet) in an orderly fashion.

After: Opened and partially emptied; items removed and being packed, privacy breached by Maddox's rummaging.

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S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

Violation of Quarters — Data's Resignation

The desk drawer is the locus where Data stages intimate artifacts — the holocube, medal box, and an antique sonnet. Maddox physically invades this private repository by lifting the book, turning a private ritual into evidence and provocation.

Before: Closed but containing a box of medals, a holocube, and an antique sonnet book.

After: Open and partially emptied as Data continues packing; the sonnet has been handled by Maddox and the drawer's privacy has been compromised.

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