A Funny Thing about Sickbay

[TIN_MAN]

Franz Joseph also drew an inaccurate profile view of the Type 2 phaser because he was working from a poor-quality photograph that had a large shadow on it.

I'm gonna chime in here and suggest something that I've wondered about for a long time, and see what others think.

In FJ's tech manual W/O page TO: 01:08:53 which shows the phaser contours and dimensions, so that fans can recreate their own if they want, there's a notation at the bottom of the page that reads "WARNING! DISCARD ANY UNIT SHOWING ANY DIMENSIONAL CHANGE!".

I think this might be a wink and a nod to the fans that he knows this doesn't match what they see on TV, but is nevertheless his preferred "official" version for the Tech Manual?

So did he know the picture in TMOST was inaccurate but used it anyway???

 

[ZapBrannigan]

I'm gonna chime in here and suggest something that I've wondered about for a long time, and see what others think.

In FJ's tech manual W/O page TO: 01:08:53 which shows the phaser contours and dimensions, so that fans can recreate their own if they want, there's a notation at the bottom of the page that reads "WARNING! DISCARD ANY UNIT SHOWING ANY DIMENSIONAL CHANGE!".

I think this might be a wink and a nod to the fans that he knows this doesn't match what they see on TV, but is nevertheless his preferred "official" version for the Tech Manual?

So did he know the picture in TMOST was inaccurate but used anyway???

I think it means that if heat from the battery causes parts to melt or expand, it's time to put that one down the disposal chute. You how, if you used the wrong charger, a cell phone can burst into flames hours later? It would be along those lines. That's how I read it.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

The forewords in the Tech Manual provide sufficient explanation in-universe for any discrepancies that there might be. I have no doubt that Franz Joseph knew there were inaccuracies.