Object

Kyle's Message Disk

A small, palm‑sized physical disk presented by Kyle as a prepared briefing — tactile, handheld, and deliberately formal. Kyle places the disk on the observation lounge table and offers it across a cold, guarded space; Riker receives it as a procedural token rather than a personal olive branch, handling it with restrained suspicion.

2 appearances

Purpose

To carry and deliver briefing material or recorded information as a compact, portable medium for a formal meeting or presentation.

Significance

Functions as a symbolic stand‑in for intimacy: Kyle uses the disk to convert a professional visit into a personal overture. The disk crystallizes the emotional distance between father and son, serving both as a rehearsed briefing instrument and a failed attempt at reconciliation that precipitates Riker's refusal to engage.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S2E14 · The Icarus Factor

Briefing or Rehearsal: A Formal Offer Rejected

Kyle uses the small message disk as both functional briefing material and a physical token of outreach; by handing it across the table he attempts to convert an emotional overture into a procedural exchange that Riker can accept without intimacy.

Before: In Kyle's possession, prepared as briefing material and intended as a formal, tactile communication.

After: Taken by Riker and held/studied as he walks away, now functioning as a barrier and substitute for direct emotional engagement.

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S2E14 · The Icarus Factor

Outstretched Hand, Closed Door: A Reconciliation Collapses

Kyle hands Riker a palm‑sized message disk that functions both as a compact mission briefing and as a physical olive branch; it is the pretext for the meeting and a stand‑in for the conversation Kyle cannot otherwise give. The disk materializes institutional business while trying—and failing—to facilitate personal connection.

Before: In Kyle's possession/hand, prepared as the briefing medium and gesture of outreach.

After: Accepted by Riker for study; remains with Riker as he withdraws, its informational purpose intact but its humanly conciliatory function unfulfilled.

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