Geordi La Forge
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- Geordi redirects here; for a similarly named regional culture in England, see Geordie.
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Geordi La Forge is a character in the Star Trek fictional universe. During the first season of the television series [[Star Trek: The Next Generation]], La Forge is the flight controller (pilot or con) of the USS Enterprise-D. After this, he becomes the starship's chief engineer. In [[Star Trek: First Contact]] and later movies, he also assumes this role on the successor USS Enterprise-E. Played by LeVar Burton, the character was named after Jordan La Forge, a fan of the [[Star Trek: The Original Series|original Star Trek series]] who died from muscular dystrophy.
Born blind, La Forge wears a VISOR, a half-moon-shaped prosthetic attached at the temples that provides him with vision. Interfacing directly with his brain, the device enabled him to "see" throughout much of the electromagnetic spectrum – radio waves, infrared, light, and ultraviolet. Although the neural interaction of the device caused him considerable chronic pain, La Forge declined alternate treatments as they could have hampered the functioning of the VISOR and his ability to see. Eventually, La Forge receives ocular implants with electric blue irises and the same abilities.[1]
Biography
Geordi was born February 16, 2335 in the African Confederation on Earth to parents Silva La Forge (who would later command the USS Hera) and Edward M. La Forge, a noted exozoologist who eventually achieved the rank of Commander. He attended Zefram Cochrane High School and then Starfleet Academy from 2353 to 2357.In 2357, he was assigned as an Ensign aboard the USS Victory under Captain Zimbata. After his first cruise, he was transferred to the USS Hood for her 2361-64 cruise, during which he was promoted once, to Lieutenant Junior Grade. On the Hood La Forge knew the young spitfire Executive officer (XO) William Riker only professionally (though several books have said they were friends at the Academy), but the two would later develop a close friendship. In 2364, he was named chief engineer of the starship Enterprise-D under Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
In 2365, he was promoted to a full Lieutenant and transferred from command to the operations division and named chief engineer. In 2366, he was promoted again to Lieutenant Commander (sometime between [[Star Trek: The Next Generation]] seasons two and three) and held that rank up to and throughout the events of [[Star Trek: Nemesis]] (2379).
Sometime between [[Star Trek: Generations]] and [[Star Trek: First Contact]] La Forge received ocular implants which replaced the VISOR, giving him a more 'normal' appearance.[1] The actual reason for replacing his VISOR has been speculated as needing a "normal" look to blend into 21st century Earth and that Burton had been asking for its removal for some time. His VISOR was also demonstrated to be a security risk. At one point during The Next Generation episode ("The Mind's Eye"), Romulans captured him and used the input ports to send commands directly to his brain. Later, in Generations, Tolian Soran captured La Forge, attached a concealed transmitter to the VISOR, and released him. Back on the Enterprise-D, La Forge looked at a computer screen showing information on the ship's deflector shields, allowing a Klingon vessel receiving the transmission to penetrate the shields and damage the ship so badly that the Enterprise-D became a total loss.
In 2372, he was transferred to the new Sovereign class starship Enterprise-E. During the Ba'ku incident ([[Star Trek: Insurrection]]), La Forge began to experience annoying pain in his eyes after sojourning on the planet. Doctor Crusher removed his ocular implants to discover that his optic nerves had regenerated and he had gained normal sight. This effect was caused by the healing properties of the Ba'ku ring system and, at the time, it was speculated that the effect would fade after Geordi left Ba'ku. That diagnosis was eventually discovered to be correct, as La Forge resumed wearing the ocular implants in Nemesis.
In the [[Star Trek: Voyager|Voyager]] episode "Timeless", La Forge was shown with the rank of Captain as being the commanding officer of the ship USS Challenger in the year 2390, doing his best to stop Harry Kim and Chakotay from altering the timeline, but they were successful and that reality was nullified.
In a different future timeline ("All Good Things...", TNG), La Forge had by 2395 married Leah Brahms and had three children with her (Alandra, Brett, and Sydney). He had left Starfleet and become a novelist; however, these future events may never happen because of the divergence of the timeline at of the end of "All Good Things...".
Personal life
The major childhood trauma of being alone in his burning home caused him great distress, though he was pulled to safety after only two minutes. His parents always being stationed away exacerbated this traumaGeordi La Forge's outstanding characteristic is his adaptability to and satisfaction with life. His sense of humor remained strong, despite his irreverence being tempered with his growing responsibilities.
Geordi was slightly insecure concerning dating and women, though he has had significant relationships with Christy Henshaw, Lt. Aquiel Uhnari, and Dr. Leah Brahms. He was best friends with Data, and maintained close relationships with Miles O'Brien and Susanna Leitjen. He and Data often role played Sherlock Holmes, where Data portrayed the famous fictional detective and La Forge assumed the role of Dr. Watson.
He enjoyed the senior officer's weekly poker game, and though his artificial "eyes" allowed him to detect bluffing and see his opponents' cards in the ultraviolet spectrum, he never "peeked" until a hand was over. LeVar Burton is himself an avid poker player.[link]
He also delighted in scale model building of old sailing ships, chess, swimming, skin-diving, the history of his profession, and fencing. He was not well-suited for writing or the mandolin, despite a prefence for guitar music. He liked iced tea and pasta, such as fungilli. Because of his nomadic upbringing, he was adept at various languages including Hahlian.
Engineering specialties
La Forge had great talent for engineering and a keen judgment for needed modifications in the field; his faith in technology and his ability to master it were normally an inspiration to those around him. His intense focus enabled him to master the complexities of warp engineering and other starship systems. As a junior officer, his specialties included antimatter power, dilithium regulators, Holodeck computer programs, and climate-control computers. An all-night refit of a shuttle engine after an off-hand comment by a superior officer garnered the attention of Jean-Luc Picard, as it was testament to his no-nonsense skill and insight. During the Cochrane project he recalled the Phoenix test vehicle's intermix chamber from memory.Legendary forces
In [[Star Trek: First Contact|First Contact]], La Forge helped his idol Dr. Zefram Cochrane, Terran scientist, eccentric genius, and inventor of the warp drive, launch his warp test vessel Phoenix in order to make the historic initial meeting with the Vulcans. Similarly, when a transporter loop allowed Geordi to come into contact with the near-mythic engineer Montgomery Scott, in 2369 the two joined forces to free the Enterprise from a Dyson sphere's interior.Notes
- 1. With his ocular implants, La Forge is a cyborg. Born without formative matter in his eyes, La Forge's VISOR was installed early in his youth and he wore the prosthetic throughout TNG (during fictional years 2364-2370). The VISOR was replaced with spherical ocular implants between the events of Star Trek: Generations (2371) and Star Trek: First Contact (2373). In 2364, Commander Riker, under the influence of Q, granted La Forge normal sight which he rejected (TNG: "Hide and Q"); he temporarily regained normal sight in 2375 during Star Trek: Insurrection on the Ba'ku homeworld because of the unique properties of that planet.
- 2. The options of ocular implants or even surgery to ease the pain from wearing the visor were eliminated early in the series in order to give Geordi a pretext to wear a visor that causes him to see things differently. The producers felt it more appropriate as Geordi was intended as a role model for physically challenged persons.
External links
- [Character biography] at the official Star Trek website
- [[MemoryAlpha:|}}}]] article at Memory Alpha, the Star Trek wiki
| Regular characters on Star Trek | |||
| [[Star Trek: The Original Series|The Original Series]] | Kirk | Spock | McCoy | Scott | Uhura | Sulu | Chekov — [[Star Trek: The Animated Series|Animated Series]]: Arex | M'Ress | ||
| [[Star Trek: The Next Generation|The Next Generation]] | Picard | Riker | Data | La Forge | Worf | B. Crusher | Troi | W. Crusher | Yar | Pulaski | ||
| [[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Deep Space Nine]] | B. Sisko | Kira | J. Dax | Odo | Bashir | O'Brien | Worf | J. Sisko | Quark | Rom | Nog | E. Dax | Garak | Martok | Damar | Dukat | Weyoun | Winn | ||
| [[Star Trek: Voyager|Voyager]] | Janeway | Chakotay | Tuvok | Paris | Torres | Kim | Doctor | Neelix | Seven | Kes | ||
| [[Star Trek: Enterprise|Enterprise]] | Archer | T'Pol | Tucker | Reed | Phlox | Sato | Mayweather | ||
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