I’m locked out of my iPad after an update restart. I have never used a pass code on this device. It won’t unlock without a pass code. Apparently I have to wipe it and start over. I don’t have it backed up. I just can’t lose some things on there.

If your iPad is disabled, or you have forgotten your iPad passcode, you have no alternative other than to follow this process:

If you’ve forgotten the passcode on your iPad, or your iPad is disabled – Apple Support

You’ll need access to either a PC (with iTunes installed) or a Mac (with iTunes or Finder - as appropriate for the installed version of MacOS). All locally stored data will be unavoidably lost, but can be restored from an iCloud or iTunes backup upon conclusion of the procedure. If you don’t have a backup, its now too late; stored data will be irretrievably lost.

You’ll also need your AppleID and associated password. If these have also been forgotten, they can be recovered here:

https://iforgot.apple.com

To recover your credentials, you’ll need access to one of the following:

• Your primary email address mailbox that corresponds with your AppleID
• Any of the secondary/recovery email addresses that should be configured for your AppleID account
• Any of the trusted telephone numbers (fixed line or Cellular/Mobile) that are associated with your AppleID

Unless you AppleID account has not been fully/correctly configured, or has been seriously neglected, recovery of the AppleID and password should not be difficult.

More information about recovery of your AppleID:

If you forgot your Apple ID - Apple Support

More information about recovery of your AppleID password:

If you forgot your Apple ID password - Apple Support

When you recover access to your credentials, you would be well advised to log-in to your AppleID account from a web browser - and verify/update any email addresses and trusted telephone numbers:

https://appleid.apple.com

No update has ever put a passcode on a device. A screen lock passcode has to be manually enabled by the user. So someone put a screen lock passcode on that device. And since it didn’t have one initially, anyone who picked it up could have done so.

If the iPad is challenging for a Passcode, you have no alternative other than to follow the documented procedure. Whether or not your understanding suggests that a Passcode was not present is, respectfully, irrelevant to the problem at hand.