2.12 Holodecks & Computer System

Holodecks

In brief: The HOLOGRAPHIC ENVIRONMENT SIMULATOR is wonderfully useful for crew training, recreation, and exercise. It can recreate, with virtually 100% fidelity, almost any environment in the computer's memory. The ship's computer holds a large selection of simulated environments which can be recreated at a moment's notice.

How it works: The Holodeck uses two main subsystems, the holographic imagery subsystem and the matter conversion subsystem. The holographic imagery system creates images of incredibly realistic background environments. The computer-driven holographic projectors also control a series of shaped-field forcebeam projectors which are capable of giving physical substance to these images. The second major subsystem is the matter conversion system. Using transporter-based technology, this system creates physical “props” and “set dressing” from raw material. Under normal conditions, a participant in a holodeck simulation should be unable to tell the difference between the two types of props.

The Holodeck and animated characters: The holodeck often generates astoundingly life-like simulations of humans and other life-forms. Such animated characters are composed of solid matter created by transporter-based replicators and manipulated by highly articulated computerized tractor beams. This results in incredibly realistic “puppets” which look and behave almost exactly like living beings. (Note that transporter-based matter replication is incapable of duplicating an actual living being.)

The Holodeck and the reality of objects: Objects created on the holodeck which are pure holographic images cannot be removed from the holodeck, even if they have apparent physical reality because of focused forcebeam imagery. Objects created by transporter matter conversion do indeed have physical reality and can indeed be removed from the holodeck, even though they may no longer be under computer control.

(Note: In the episode “Elementary, Dear Data”, the character of Moriarty was “alive” in the sense that the holodeck control computer created a program for the character that was so sophisticated that the computer program — not the “puppet” — became “alive”.)

Personal holodecks: In addition to the large holodecks normally seen on the show, the Enterprise has a number of smaller “PERSONAL HOLODECKS”. These rooms are the holodeck equivalent of a treadmill. In one of these rooms, one can jog for miles in Yosemite National Park, climb Mount Seleya on Vulcan, or even go Scuba diving.

Computer System

In brief: One of the Enterprise's most important components is its massive library computer system which is used in virtually every element of ship and mission operations. Nearly every control panel on the ship is, in effect, a computer terminal and can respond to voice commands as well as keypad input. The Enterprise computer — like all its systems — are designed for the ease and convenience of the crew. Unlike its clumsy 20th century ancestors, the ship's computer is easy to use.

Iso-linear optical chips: The information storage medium of the Enterprise's computer system is the iso-linear chip. This small rectangle of iso-chromatic linear memory crystal incorporates a large amount of information storage and a considerable amount of computer processing power. These chips are throughout the ship's optical processing network, often found mounted in “chip panel” racks. Iso-linear chips are also used for portable information transport, much as we use books or videocassettes today.

Operating system: The main library computers of the Enterprise employ optical (rather than electronic) processing. There are two massive computer cores near the center of the primary (saucer) hull, and one in the secondary (engineering) section, each incorporating a series of miniature subspace field generators, allowing information to be processed faster than lightspeed. (This is a key limitation to 20th Century computers.) Information is carried by a complex network of optical fiber conduits. The proper name of the main computer is the Library Computer Access and Retrieval System, sometimes called “L-CARS”.