In the Star Trek: The Next Generation books, how can Geordi La Forge be in a relationship with Tamala Harstad? I thought he was in a committed relationship with long-term girlfriend / Future wife Dr. Leah Brahms.
He's not up to no good, is he?
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4This sounds a lot like a discussion question. Honestly, the best possible answer is that Star Trek books don't really have a shared continuity, so the effects of one book have very little influence on the next one.– FuzzyBootsCommented Feb 16, 2016 at 17:56
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3I can't really tell if this kind of question is on-topic or not. However, there is an answer that at least explains why Geordi isn't in a relationship with Leah Brahms.– EllesedilCommented Feb 16, 2016 at 18:03
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3Several books had his relationship with Brahms continuing whereas others had a new character, Tamala Harstad as his love interest. In Star Trek: The Light Fantastic they played with canon discontinuity and made it a "love triangle" betweem all three– ValorumCommented Feb 16, 2016 at 18:42
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1he isn't having an affair. books aren't canon. the end!– CherubelCommented Feb 22, 2016 at 14:37
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3Let’s not forget that the last time we see Leah Brahms on the show, she’s married to someone other than Geordie. So maybe Geordie is having an affair... with Leah Brahms!– Paul D. WaiteCommented Feb 25, 2016 at 23:38
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2 Answers
Let's start with the most important tidbit of information:
Star Trek: TNG novels are not canon.
The stories you read in the novels are not considered "this is how things are in the Star Trek universe." They're great stories, so by all means enjoy them. However, the various shows and movies don't depend on them in anyway, and different novels need not refer to each other either. If one book has LaForge in a relationship, a different one could show him to be single, married, having a slew of one-night stands, or whatever. Different novels can be independent of each other. This answer is from the canon perspective.
Now, the premise of the question is that Geordi LaForge has a relationship with Leah Brahms, so the book must be depicting LaForge as cheating on Brahms. This is not so.
We know about Leah Brahms through two epsidoes: Booby Trap and Galaxy's Child. In Booby Trap, LaForge creates a holographic simulation that features a life-like image of Brahms in order to help work through the engineering issues the ship was having during the episode. The computer ended up programming Brahms to be pretty friendly, at which point LaForge develops an attraction to the simulated Brahms.
About a year later, Leah Brahms visits the Enterprise-D in the episode Galaxy's Child. About half way through the episode, LaForge discovers that Brahms is married. At the conclusion of the episode, they have become friends. This makes it clear that LaForge is not in a relationship with Brahms.
But....
Alternate Timelines
In the future alternate timeline of All Good Things..., a future LaForge visits a future Picard at the later's vineyard. LaForge offers to help Picard tying some vines. The following exchange occurs:
GEORDI: Looks like you've got leaf miners. Might want to use a bacillus spray. (off his look) My wife is quite a gardener. I've picked up a little bit of it.
Geordi takes a tie and begins carefully tying the vines. Picard bends down with a little difficulty... and the two of them start to work on the vines.
PICARD: How is Leah?
GEORDI: Busy as ever. She's just been made director of the Daystrom Institute.
The reference to Geordi's wife in this timeline appears to be Leah Brahms. Levar Burton confirms this in a panel at 2016's Salt Lake Comic Con FanX.
Question: The Leah referenced in “All Good Things…”, was that Leah Brahms?
Burton: Yes.
However, this is moot since this timeline is destroyed when Picard, with Q's help, solves the temporal anomalies and returns the space-time continuum back to normal.
answered Feb 16, 2016 at 18:51
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3Assuming that the Leah referenced in "All Good Things..." is Leah Brahms provides a fuzzy warm feeling, but has no basis in any presented facts. All we know is that Geordi married someone named Leah.– XantecCommented Feb 22, 2016 at 23:17
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2@Xantec: There is some circumstantial evidence to support it being Brahms. 1) She attended the Daystrom Institute. 2) She was a leading contributor to warp drive systems on the Galaxy class vessels (Memory Alpha lists her occupation as "Senior Design Engineer" and the whole point of the episode Booby Trap). 3) She later becomes Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Daystrom Institute. Fast forward a few decades, and a strong correlation between Leah Brahms and a character named "Leah" becoming director of the Daystrom Institute being the same is not only possible, but entirely believable. Commented Feb 22, 2016 at 23:25
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2Points 1, 2, and 3 provide acceptable circumstantial evidence. The last one "for completeness" is inconsequential since anyone can make any edit to Memory Alpha, and without a cited reference the existence of a hyperlink doesn't mean anything.– XantecCommented Feb 22, 2016 at 23:30
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1@Xantec: I understand why you feel that way, and generally, I do too. I included it only because it exists, has existed like that for quite some time, and some people might find it relevant. Commented Feb 22, 2016 at 23:53
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2Good news! Levar Burton was asked about Leah of "All Good Things..." being Leah Brahms at Salt Lake Comic Con Fax 2016. He said that is her. scifi.blogoverflow.com/2016/03/… Commented Mar 28, 2016 at 18:51
Books aren't canon, so discrepancies can (and do) happen.
answered Feb 16, 2016 at 18:33
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Just checked on google and her husband did die in the genesis wave series, so Geordi could have been in a relationship with her...I know, I know, books aren't canon! Commented Feb 16, 2016 at 22:19
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2You've got a lot of nerve asking a question about non-canon material. If you do it again, I'll send a team of Gorn after you! Commented Feb 16, 2016 at 22:38
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@T-1000's Son: Asking about non-canon material is not an issue. However, assuming anything else (canon or not) makes sense with respect to a piece of non-canon material usually is ;) Commented Feb 22, 2016 at 16:42
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That's why I was readying a team of Gorn, and not Nagilum or Armus. I have some compassion, you know! Commented Feb 22, 2016 at 16:57
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Not on this subject but, in All Good Things, why was O'b Commented Feb 26, 2016 at 21:11