I watched the first episode from the first season of Star Trek - TNG yesterday. Since it’s the first episode, it includes some scenes that explain how certain constructs in this fictional world work. One of them introduces the Holodeck. When commander Riker enters the holodeck to search for Data, he is surprised by how realistic it feels. As soon as this scene started, I started to imagine how the holodeck could be implemented in future. (Yes, sadly we are not in that future yet, even though TNG is more than three decades old.) I started thinking how the current VR tech could be employed to create this illusion. How the VR headsets and haptic feedback suits could take us closer to the vision of holodeck. But I was baffled by the space mapping problem. How could multiple people be in a limited “real” space and yet explore a “virtual” environment that might be much bigger. May be omnidirectional treadmills. Anyway, this post is not about that.
Riker finds Data practicing to whistle like a human. They strike up a conversation which segways into Data explaining Riker how the Holodeck works.
RIKER: I didn't believe these simulations could be this real.
DATA: Much of it is real, sir. If the transporters can convert our bodies
to an energy beam, then back to the original pattern again
RIKER: Yes, of course. And these rocks and vegetation have much simpler
patterns.
I can’t appreciate enough how masterfully expository these lines are. But more impressive is the actual explanation of the workings of the holodeck. It’s not a simulation at all. Not in a way, we are trying to create virtual environments in our world. The holodeck is not merely an illusion to fool the senses. It’s apparently created by replicating physical objects. It’s an Alternate Reality, not a Virtual one.
TNG was indeed ahead of its time.