I’ve been a Star Trek fan since 1992. I was in the 4th grade and my mom was leafing through TV Guide and said, “Scott, there’s a show on called Star Trek: The Next Generation. You might like it.” That was 30 years ago and I’m still a fan! Shortly thereafter I started buying all the Trek books I could find (read: afford). At the time there was a glut of “unauthorized” Trek publications on bookstore shelves (also at the time, bookstores). 

One caught my eye immediately: The Nitpicker’s Guide for Next Generation Trekkers by Phil Farrand. This was pre-IMDb and Farrand noted plot holes, inconsistencies, etc. And he included fun sidebars, one of which was featured in Volume II and re-created by me for this project: a technobabble generator. While the various Trek productions strived for scientific accuracy, often the writers would have to make things up. 

Scripts would be written with “TECH” as a placeholder and the science consultants would make their suggestions. Featured here are some of those terms. And it goes without saying that this piece was designed to resemble the late-24th century Starfleet computer interfaces designed by Michael Okuda, one of my design heroes. Enjoy!