The aphasia device was the mechanism through which Dekon Elig and Surmak Ren deployed the aphasia virus aboard Deep Space 9. The device was attached to a single replicator on the station and intended to release the virus at a random time. Unfortunately the device did not activate until nearly twenty years later, after the Cardassians had abandonded the station and it had been taken over by Bajorans. (DS9: "Babel")