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Pretty much what the question asks. Has anyone ever hidden something inside a Replicator, and possibly left clues on which keywords to use to get it out?

DCOPTimDowd
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    Not the replicator, that I know of, but the transporter has been used as a storage device on at least two occasions. – Xantec Mar 28 '17 at 15:48
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    Can a replicator even be used that way? – DisturbedNeo Mar 28 '17 at 16:24
  • @DisturbedNeo Nobody really knows. Which is why I think it's possible. – DCOPTimDowd Mar 28 '17 at 16:28
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    If I'm not mistaken, we have seen the replicator "scan" an unknown item in order to add it to the database of replicable things, and obviously it can replicate anything in its database (sort of the point.) We've also seen people "recycle" things like dirty plates. So, barring restrictions on what can be put into the database, this should be possible. I can't think of any instance where it was done, though. – Steve-O Mar 28 '17 at 17:00
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    I can't think of a specific case of a replicator being used to hide something, but I do remember that in the DS9 episode "Visionary", a replicator gets modified into a transporter and a surveillance device/booby trap are transported near Romulan quarters. So, since you can hide stuff in a transporter and you can turn a replicator into a transporter, you can therefore hide stuff in a replicator... albeit probably not the way you're thinking. – TheIronCheek Mar 28 '17 at 18:31
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    Oh god, don't give my wife any ideas or instead of just moving things into the garage to declutter the house (garage clutter doesn't count), she will just vaporize everything and store it in the cloud. – ThePopMachine Mar 28 '17 at 18:47

2 Answers2

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Yes

In the DS9 episode "Civil Defense" Gul Dukat has hidden an automated phasor turret in the replicators. This is activated by Sisko and O'Brien accidentally triggering an old Cardassian security measure while cleaning one of the mining areas. Eventually the protocols decide that the bridge had been taken over by rebels and the turret appears, targeting all non-Cardassians.

That is something that was hidden in the replicator and was revealed by a specific set of circumstances.

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Jack B Nimble
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  • Did Gul initially hide it with the intent of using it for security? – DCOPTimDowd Mar 29 '17 at 15:44
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    @SonOfSam yes, it was a hidden protocol, at least to the Bajorans. – Jack B Nimble Mar 29 '17 at 15:59
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    @SonOfSam If memory serves, it was a security measure to try to assist in putting down any potential revolts in that area of the station. – hBy2Py Mar 29 '17 at 16:00
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    The other guy also hid a protocol from Dukat, that if he should try to flee the station, the security parameters would change and the auto turret would fire at HIM. This modified the turret in the replicator, and was a protocol unknown to Dukat. – Jack B Nimble Mar 29 '17 at 16:03
  • @JackBNimble How did the turret get "accidentally" tripped, exactly? – DCOPTimDowd Mar 29 '17 at 16:07
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    I discounted this because there's no indication that there was an original item hidden in the replicator. It appears to be a programmed item that the replicator has made out of raw stock. It's no different from any of the other things you see being replicated. – Valorum Mar 29 '17 at 16:08
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    @SonOfSam You can read the synopsis or watch it on Netflix. http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Civil_Defense_(episode) The short answer is, they were attempting to clean up the computer in the ore processing area, this tripped the security measure, which locked down Ops, Kira attempted to break out of ops with her phasor, which triggered the automated security turret to appear out of the replicator. – Jack B Nimble Mar 29 '17 at 16:10
  • @SonOfSam - Full script is here; http://www.st-minutiae.com/resources/scripts/453.txt – Valorum Mar 29 '17 at 16:11
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    @Valorum Part of O'Brien's first job on DS9 was fixing all the broken replicators, I'm sure if he knew there was an automated turret in there, he would have removed it. That isn't standard Federation cuisine. – Jack B Nimble Mar 29 '17 at 16:11
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    @JackBNimble - That's precisely my point. The item wasn't hidden in the replicator, it was hidden in a separate computer program that interfaced with the replicators and said "here are the plans for a turret, please build it to these specifications" – Valorum Mar 29 '17 at 16:13
  • @Valorum Is there no internal security measure to prevent users from replicating anything dangerous? Or would that be a separate question? – DCOPTimDowd Mar 29 '17 at 16:15
  • @SonOfSam - I think it's been asked before. The short answer is yes, certain items are prohibited to non-officers; Poisons, naughty food and weapons are things that jump to mind on the no-no list. – Valorum Mar 29 '17 at 16:19
  • @Valorum Then how could a turret have been programmed to come out? Was there an override beforehand that allowed it in this instance? – DCOPTimDowd Mar 29 '17 at 16:20
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    @SonOfSam - Yes, it would appear that there was a pre-existing security program that Starfleet missed. Note that these are Cardassian replicators interacting with Cardassian computers. – Valorum Mar 29 '17 at 16:29
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Theoretically such a thing is possible since you can add items to the database by scanning them and use the replicator to reclaim suitable materials back into the bulk storage.

That being said, the replicator doesn't seem to have been used for this purpose in any Star Trek episode.

For what it's worth, the "Transporter Buffer" has been used to store produce and even people on several occasions. The engineering principles are similar (replicators contains a small transporter) so I wouldn't expect it to be more than trivially difficult to accomplish.

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Valorum
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    The major difference between replicators and transporters, as I understand it, is the scanning resolution. The replicator really only needs to be able to scan/create on the molecular level, to be able to reproduce food and simple items. Whereas the transporter scans/creates on the quantum level, so that it can accurately recreate complex objects such as people. – Xantec Mar 29 '17 at 14:44
  • @Xantec - Yes. But for most items the difference would be indistinguishable. – Valorum Mar 29 '17 at 16:09