Holodeck

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A holodeck on the Enterprise-D; the arch and exit are prominent.

The holodeck is a simulated reality facility located on board starships and starbases in the fictional Star Trek universe. The holodeck was first seen in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Encounter at Farpoint". An episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series, "The Practical Joker", had anticipated the idea by portraying a recreation room capable of holographic simulations.

1 Overview
2 Personnel usage and malfunctions
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Overview

According to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, the holodeck is an enclosed room in which objects and people are simulated by a combination of replicated matter animated with weak tractor beams, as well as shaped force fields onto which holographic images are projected. Sounds and smells are simulated by speakers and fragranced fluid atomizers, respectively. The feel of a large environment is simulated by suspending the participants on force fields which move with their feet, keeping them in one place (a virtual treadmill). Perspective is retained through use of sound damping fields and graviton lenses, which make objects, people, and sounds appear to be more distant. The effect is an ultra-realistic simulation of an environment, with which the user can interact.

Most holodeck programs run in first person "subjective mode", in which the user actively interacts with the program and its characters. The user may also employ third-person "objective mode", in which he or she is "apart" from the actual running of the program and does not interact with it (all of the program's characters will ignore the user as if they were not there). The user may then take more time to observe the trappings of the program, and even have conversations with other users, without interrupting the flow of the program itself.

Matter created on the holodeck requires the holoemitters to remain stable and will quickly disintegrate if it is removed from the holodeck, unless working with a mobile emitter.

According to the Starfleet Survival Manual, holomatter can be disrupted using an inverse photonic pulse from a phaser, which destroys the holomatter while leaving real matter unharmed. In theory, this could be used to escape a malfunctioning holodeck by repeatedly firing until the door is revealed. However, this never happened in any Star Trek episode.

User controls for a holodeck are typically located near its door (inside and out); an arch surrounds the exit and can be summoned by a user to start, modify, or stop a simulation. The holodeck includes safety protocols to protect the users. While it does not entirely shield users from minor injury (such as strained muscles or dislocated joints), it does prevent more serious injuries and fatalities. The protocols were designed so that users could derive maximum use from the holodeck with a high degree of realism and perceived jeopardy. The safety protocols are similar to the first of the Three Laws of Robotics by Isaac Asimov: "A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm."

The Emergency Medical Hologram is a spin-off from holodeck technology.

[edit] Personnel usage and malfunctions

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Two of the main purposes of the holodeck are recreation and training. In several episodes they are also used to recreate a crime or questionable incident to determine the forensics and logistics of it for law enforcement purposes. However, the technology is also used for morally questionable ends, such as the holosuites that are owned and rented out – often for sexual purposes – by Quark on Deep Space Nine.

Holodecks appear to be vulnerable when damage occurs to the computer controlling the holodeck. Malfunctions have at times resulted in the safety protocols being inadvertently disabled. Some malfunctions have also been known to trap users inside the holodeck. This happened in the first episode featuring a holodeck (The Practical Joker (TAS episode), non-canon, where it was called a recreation room.) This also resulted in the shooting of the ship's historian on board Enterprise in one instance, and several crew members were trapped. In the episode "A Fistful of Datas", Lt. Worf, his son Alexander Rozhenko, and Counselor Troi were trapped in an 19th century American West adventure with the safety protocols disabled when a computer experiment involving Lt. Cmdr. Data went awry. Worf received a minor gunshot wound when the computer began remaking all the characters as replicas of Data. However he was able to safely play out the story, and once the story ended the trio was able to leave the holodeck. The safety protocols can also be disabled in an emergency, In the Holodeck Club scene in Star Trek: First Contact, as the Borg are approaching, Jean-Luc Picard disables the security protocols and grabs a Tommy gun from a nearby violin case, shooting, and presumably killing them.

Writing stories and plotlines for the holodeck is an activity pursued by people known as holodeck novelists. It was the chosen profession of Lt. Tom Paris of the USS Voyager, and he pursued it when the ship finally returned from the Delta Quadrant in the show's finale.

Despite malfunctions, holodecks are a highly valued technology in Starfleet because of educational and recreational impact, enabling users to partake in scenarios that would otherwise be difficult to enact under normal circumstances.