Object
Sickbay Neural Stimulator Control Interface (programming keys & start button)
A compact bedside Sickbay neural-stimulator control interface: a palm-sized panel integrating fingertip-sized rubberized programming keys (intensity, pulse width, frequency, mode), a raised recessed start button (STIM/START) with status LED, and a narrow numeric/status readout. The module combines tactile input elements, illuminated indicators, and stainless trim around a slotted fiole reader; operators (e.g., Beverly Crusher, Dr. Pulaski) jab and hold the keys and depress the start pad to program, adjust, and initiate controlled neural stimulation pulses during neuro-resuscitative procedures.
2 appearances
Purpose
To program, adjust, and activate the neural stimulator's electrical output patterns — specifically to set differential-current signatures delivered to a patient or specimen for therapeutic or experimental purposes.
Significance
The control interface becomes the story's tactical fulcrum when Pulaski reprograms the stimulator to emit a modified endorphin-linked current pattern; that reprogramming shifts treatment strategy from placation to countermeasure and directly determines whether Riker survives the organism's interaction.
Appearances in the Narrative
When this object appears and how it's used