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In the movie Star Trek Generations Geordi is captured by Doctor Soran. During the course of Geordi's incarceration Dr. Soran modifies Geordi's visor to transmit a live feed of whatever he sees, providing critical intelligence to the Duras sisters.

Why did no one on the Enterprise notice this transmission coming from Geordi, especially after something similar was done, and discovered, in one of the series' episodes (when Geordi is manipulated into attempting to assassinate a Klingon governor).

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    Wasn't there also an episode in TNG where the Romulans essentially did the same thing, using his VISOR to spy on the Enterprise? Or was that the same episode? (It's been a while!)
    – eidylon
    Commented Jan 26, 2012 at 16:59
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    @eidylon That would be TNG 4x24, "The Mind's Eye". The Klingon ambassador was in league with the Romulans.
    – Izkata
    Commented Jan 26, 2012 at 23:57
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    Canon answers would consist of technobabble.
    – John O
    Commented Jan 27, 2014 at 16:24

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First, it is never said how the visor sends those signals. But I think there are several simple possibilities:

  • Jamming/Hiding: The Duras sisters might have jammed and/or flooded certain frequencies with noise to hide the signal coming from the Visor. Done right it would still be possible to receive, and of course find the signal, but it would not so obvious at first glance.
  • It was overlooked: There was a Bird Of Prey right before the Enterprise which could open fire any moment, the Captain was gone and a weird scientist was about to blow the whole solar system to smithereens. Who checks in that moment for a single signal?
  • It was well hidden: F.e. utilising the same technology/frequencies as the communicator. There are over a thousand people on board the Enterprise, all fitted with a communicator.
  • It was found, too late: I'm not sure about the timespan which is going on there, but I think some hours sound reasonable. Maybe the signal was found, checked and then consoles and terminals started to explode.
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    "Who checks in that moment for a single signal?" The ship's computer, ideally. The place is loaded with internal sensors for just this purpose.
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Commented Oct 10, 2019 at 11:03
  • My point still stands though, even if it was picked up, it might have been shrugged off as "we'll look at that later". The idea that this could be Klingons which have compromised the Enterprise is extremely far fetched, especially as most of the crew most likely did not even know that Geordi was a hostage and neither did they have the full picture of the situation.
    – Bobby
    Commented Oct 13, 2019 at 17:35
  • Well, you're not wrong
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Commented Oct 13, 2019 at 17:41
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It seems quite obvious any sort of spy tech in the 24th century would use Steganography, well-known and widely applied already today. No need for any fancier explanation. Essentially, it was hidden in the overall EM noise.

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  • Steganography is not magic; there are still transmissions that have to be sent.
    – DougM
    Commented Jan 24, 2014 at 1:28
  • @DougM: It doesn't have to be magic. Even today the atmosphere is full of all kinds of EM waves from natural and artificial sources. A starship that is loaded with sensors and communicating with other ships/planets and emitting all kinds of radiation from the warp core, warp field and deflectors would also have plenty of signal sources to hide a message within. This has been made abundantly clear (and used as plot mechanisms) throughout TNG and other series.
    – Lèse majesté
    Commented Jan 24, 2014 at 7:02
  • True enough, but just saying "steganography" doesn't add much more than saying "they hid it".
    – DougM
    Commented Jan 24, 2014 at 16:46
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    Not to mention this doesn't explain why this time was different from the previous time when the transmission WAS detected.
    – Paul
    Commented Mar 3, 2014 at 6:38
  • @Paul: Umm, yes, indeed. The strange thing is for transmissions to be detected, unless they're very high-power and high-bandwidth.
    – einpoklum
    Commented Mar 3, 2014 at 9:44

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