The USS Enterprise intends to test a new method of propulsion that in
theory could make engines unnecessary. It would send a wave of energy
that a vessel could ride. Riker and La Forge have an exchange that is
approximately:
WR: So you think it might work?
GL: The technology and theory are sound.
WR: That thing might just put you out of a job.
GL: I hope so.
Riker was going for a joke, hoping to playfully make Geordi insecure
about his value. But La Forge is so sincerely loyal to progress that
the joke either does not land or goes completely undetected.
Furthermore, Geordi is defined neither by his rank nor by his being
essential to the crew. He is a ray of light on which knowledge is in-
vited to travel, that it may be seen. The particles and waves shining
become obsolete once the information is absorpbed. It is eager to get
there, so eager that it literally travels as quickly as possible.
Let us all be as Geordi La Forge: eager to be made obsolete.
