My instinct is to use the word Podium (which is what I searched for), but I'm not sure if readers will know what that is. It's not really important enough to the story to describe with more than a word or two, but I also don't want to leave readers scratching their heads. It's important because it's in a place where you wouldn't expect one to be.
The dictionary I consulted said a podium was like a stage or dais--a platform, not the stand thing that speakers use to hold their notes.
posted
A podium is something the speaker stands on (think podiatry -- feet). A little table for the speaker is a lectern. You can put your lecture notes on one. A podium is usually not enclosed like a pulpit. If I found a lectern in an unexpected place, say on the surface of a neutron star, I'd assume Asimov had been there.
[This message has been edited by Rick Norwood (edited September 13, 2007).]
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