Geordi La Forge

Template:ST Character Geordi La Forge, a character in the Star Trek fictional universe, holds the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and is the Chief Engineer of the USS Enterprise-D and later the USS Enterprise-E, both under captain Jean-Luc Picard. He is played by LeVar Burton, and was named after George La Forge, a Star Trek fan who died from muscular dystrophy.

He wears a VISOR, a half-moon-shaped device allowing La Forge, who was born blind, to see.

Geordi was born February 16, 2335, in the African Confederation on Earth to parents Captain Silva La Forge and Commander Edward M. La Forge. He attended 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 XO William Riker only professionally, but the two would develop a close friendship during their later years together on the Enterprise. 2364 he was named chief con officer, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-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, replacing Lieutenant Commander Logan. In 2366 he was promoted again to Lieutenant Commander (sometime between Star Trek: The Next Generation seasons two and four). As of 2379, LaForge still held the rank of Lieutenant Commander although in an alternate history (seen in Star Trek: Voyager) he eventually rises to the rank of Captain.

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. This was also done because the VISOR and the input ports on La Forge's head had proved to be a security risk. At one point during The Next Generation, 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, 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 became a total loss.

In 2372 he was transferred to the new Sovereign class Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) after the previous Enterprise was destroyed in Generations. During the Ba'ku incident (Star_Trek_Insurrection) Geordi began to experience annoying pain in his eyes after sojurning on the planet. Doctor Crusher removed his Ocular implants to discover that Geordi's optic nerve had regenerated and he had gained normal sight. This effect was caused by the healing properties of Ba'ku's atmosphere. At the time it was uncertain if the effect would fade after Geordi left Ba'ku. However it soon became apparent that the restoration of his sight was permanent.

In the Voyager episode "Timeless", La Forge was shown as being the captain 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 erased. It is possible La Forge will still someday end up as captain of the Challenger, but it is not at all certain.

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, the certainty of this future is likewise suspect, especially considering it was essentially a product of Q's mind.

External links

• Geordi La Forge (http://www.memory-alpha.org/en/index.php/Geordi_La_Forge) at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek WikiWiki
• Character Bio (http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TNG/character/1112463.html) at StarTrek.comit:Geordi La Forge