constant pressure of the prop's arms on his temples caused headaches. In commentary for Star Trek Generations, film writers Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga noted Burton also felt the prop limited him as an actor, as it denied him the use of his eyes in conveying emotion. The original prop was inspired by a one-piece women's hair clip brought to production by Michael Okuda during the initial conceptual development of the VISOR prop. Fictional character biography In the series, we learn that Geordi was born blind and wears a VISOR, an arc-shaped prosthetic attached at the temples that provides him with vision. Interfacing directly with his brain, the device enables him to "see" much of the electromagnetic spectrum – radio waves, infrared, ultraviolet, and beyond, but not normal light perception, though it does allow Geordi to see the visible light section of the EM spectrum. La Forge was born February 16, 2335, in Mogadishu, Somalia of the African Confederation on Earth to Silva La Forge, a Starfleet command track officer and eventual Captain of the USS Hera (NCC-62006) and Edward M. La Forge, a Starfleet exozoologist. He has also mentioned having a sister, Arianna. La Forge stated that with two parents in Starfleet he was an "army brat", frequently moving homes depending on where his parents were stationed around Earth (or other planets), which mirrors Burton's own youth (he was born on an American base in Germany). 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 serving with then Lt. Commander William Riker for her 2361-64 cruise, during which he was promoted to lieutenant junior grade. La Forge once impressed Captain Jean-Luc Picard by staying up all night to fix a shuttle craft that Picard mentioned had a superficial problem. Upon learning this, Picard decided he wanted Geordi on his next command which ended up being the Enterprise-D where Geordi was assigned to him as a helmsman. At the beginning of Season 2, he was promoted to Lieutenant and named Chief Engineer; in Season 3, he rose to Lieutenant Commander, a rank that he held for the duration of the series and movies. In 2372, Geordi is transferred to the new Sovereign class starship Enterprise-E. When the ship