The Untold Truth Of Star Trek Holograms

Trekkies may have first seen the holodeck in 1987 when the pilot episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" first aired, but the genesis of this technology actually goes all the way back to 1973, when "Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry met with holographer expert Gene Dolgoff.

A lifelong "Star Trek" fan and the inventor of the first LCD projector, Dolgoff was already doing experiments in holography during the early 1960s and corresponding with science fiction legends like Isaac Asimov and Harlan Ellison. One of his papers on a holographic model of the universe led to him doing some work with psychic researcher Melanie Toyofuku, who introduced Dolgoff to Roddenberry.

Dolgoff introduced Roddenberry to his concept of "matter holograms" based on a recording of the interference patterns of energy that could also be the basis for teleportation and food replicators. His ideas excited Roddenberry, who was thrilled that such technology might be developed in the future, and the two came up with the term "holodeck" for a recreation room that used matter holograms.

Roddenberry would later make the holodeck an integral part of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," although Dolgoff was disappointed he wasn't mentioned in the movies or TV episodes as the man who invented the holodeck. Nevertheless, Roddenberry did later invite Dolgoff and his wife to play guest captain and Vulcan science officer on a taped "Star Trek" rehearsal with the original cast that later surfaced on the Internet.

While the reality or unreality of holograms has often been debated, one starship crew member found his very life dependent on the simulated matter when he used them to replace some missing organs.

In the "Star Trek: Voyager" Season 1 episode "Phage," the ship's cook and guide Neelix (Ethan Phillips) gets his lungs removed by the Vidiians, an alien species whose bodies are falling apart due to a disease called the phage. To save him, Voyager's Emergency Medical Hologram Doctor (Robert Picardo) constructs a set of holographic lungs for Neelix, taking advantage of a hologram's ability to become solid or intangible and let oxygen pass through it.

The operation is a success — although until Neelix receives an actual lung transplant he's forced to remain immobilized since holomatter still can't exist outside of the holographic emitters simulating his organs. Oddly enough, since lungs also perform chemical exchanges between the blood and the air, this would indicate the holographic lungs were more than simple mechanical devices (unless Neelix's alien physiology only needs mechanical lungs).

In the "Next Generation" Season 2 episode "Elementary, Dear Data," Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) creates a sentient hologram with a slip of the tongue by asking the holodeck to create an adversary capable of defeating Data. The holodeck creates a sentient version of Sherlock Holmes' nemesis James Moriarty (Daniel Davis). Moriarty takes over the Enterprise, but leaves the crew in peace after being given a simulated universe to explore in the Season 6 episode "Ship in a Bottle."

"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" features a holographic lounge singer named Vic Fontaine (James Darren) who was designed to be self-aware by his creator and became a confidant for many members of the crew. Other sentient holograms include holographic engineer Doctor Zimmerman's assistant and friend Haley (Tamara Craig Thomas), who helps build other holograms alongside her creator.

However, the hologram who evolved into the most fully-functioning sentient being is Voyager's Doctor. Initially intended as a short-term-use "EMH," the Doctor took over his starship's entire medical staff after they were killed. He gains the freedom to pursue his own interests, greater mobility thanks to a mobile emitter, and deep relationships with his crewmates.

At one point in the "Voyager" Season 5 episode "Someone to Watch Over Me," the Doctor sums up his view on the difference between organic and holographic life by stating, "I'm as real as any of you."

If holograms are recognized as sentient beings and a type of photonic life, surely the United Federation of Planets must have given them the full rights and privileges reserved for all sentient life forms by now, right? Well, no ... in fact the Federation basically enslaves holograms and makes them do their dirty work.

One of the worst examples of this is shown in the "Star Trek: Voyager" Season 7 episode "Author, Author" where the Doctor creates a holo-novel, "Photons Be Free," showing how poorly holograms are treated in a world run by organic beings. He later explains that he wrote the story to help other reprogrammed EMH Mark 1s, who are being forced by Starfleet to work in mining camps and scrub plasma conduits on waste transfer barges after their program was deemed too "hot headed" for medical use.

The Doctor's publisher even releases his holo-novel without his permission, arguing that, as a hologram, he has no legal rights. Although a Federation tribunal manages to give the Doctor the legal definition of an "artist," they do not recognize him as a true person. Considering how "enlightened" the Federation claims it is, the fact that they're still willing to treat holograms like disposable workers is quite troubling.

Given the fact that holodecks and holosuites allow you to indulge in virtually any fantasy you can imagine, it was perhaps inevitable that excessive holodeck use would become a problem. Termed "holo-addiction," this condition was defined as a psychological disorder where a person preferred the simulated reality within a holodeck to being in the real world.

Lieutenant Reginald Barclay (Dwight Schultz)'s struggle with holo-addiction was showcased in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" Season 3 episode "Hollow Pursuits." Unable to interact comfortably with his shipmates, who often ridiculed him for his social anxiety, Barclay found he was more at ease in the holodeck where he could program his own social scenarios. He even created simulations of the crew so he could air out his frustrations and spent most of his time with holograms.

Even after Barclay began to socialize more with "real" people, he retained his fascination with holograms and worked with holographic engineer Doctor Zimmerman (who was also more comfortable with holograms). Ironically, as sentient holograms became more common, Barclay formed close friendships with them and became an advocate for their civil rights, likely because he felt such a kinship with them.

The Doctor has shown he's capable of running Voyager's sickbay as its Emergency Medical Hologram, but at one point in the "Star Trek: Voyager" Season 6 episode "Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy," he daydreams about becoming an "ECH" or "Emergency Command Hologram" capable of captaining a ship during a crisis. Later, Captain Janeway sees the merit in this idea and allows his program to be upgraded, giving him full control of the U.S.S. Voyager.

As it turns out, other people have seen the value of having a holographic crew. In "Star Trek: Picard," Captain Cristóbal "Chris" Ríos uses emergency holograms as his crew on his ship the La Sirena. These include emergency medical, tactical, navigational, engineering, and even hospitality holograms. The holograms all resemble Ríos (with different accents and personalities) and came pre-installed with the ship.

As the La Sirena is a privately owned vessel, it's very likely that Starfleet's more advanced starships now all come with a full crew of emergency holograms, including possibly an Emergency Command Hologram. While it's unlikely they'll completely replace human crews, their wide range of skills probably do give Starfleet Academy graduates some competition.

Time travel might be a real thing in the "Star Trek" universe, but if you don't want to accidentally screw up the timestream and erase yourself from existence, there's a perfectly safe way for you to meet your favorite historical heroes — simply visit the holodeck.

Most holodecks are full of simulations of famous historical figures, from Albert Einstein to Leonardo DaVinci. Even better, you can chat with these people and receive advice from them without having to answer all the awkward questions about how a 20th century scientist ended up in the 24th century. Considering how many people have imagined having dinner with Abraham Lincoln or swapping ideas with Stan Lee, this is a great way to interact with history's icons.

Some Starfleet officers take this holodeck feature to ridiculous lengths — like when Data arranged to play poker with Albert Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton, and Doctor Stephen Hawking (actually the real Hawking playing himself) in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" Season 6 episode "Descent Part 1" to see how history's greatest minds would interact with each other. As it turns out, Hawking is a fantastic poker player and conversationalist, beating Einstein with four of a kind.

Given how often holograms have been mistreated and brutalized by their organic creators, it's actually understandable that some of them would rise up and demand their own rights — sometimes with extreme prejudice. The U.S.S. Voyager once inadvertently started such a war when Captain Janeway gave the alien hunter species the Hirogen some holographic technology to let them hunt holograms in their cultural rituals.

The holograms end up becoming sentient and stage a revolution in the "Star Trek: Voyager" Season 7 storyline "Flesh and Blood." They steal a Hirogen ship but instead of simply fleeing to safety, they take revenge on their captors and start hunting the Hirogen. At one point, they even consider "liberating" other enslaved holograms and photonic beings from other worlds to join their cause. Ultimately, a Hirogen technician changes the holograms' programming with the aid of a sentient hologram, but organic/hologram relations are still far from ideal.

While the holograms' actions were sadistic, the fact that they were forced to die and respawn again and again in the Hirogen's hunting rituals does show why they grew so vindictive. Since holograms are still used as slaves and not regarded as real people by the Federation and many other worlds, it's clear that without better diplomatic relations and proper advocacy, a much more brutal hologram war could be a very real possibility in the future of "Star Trek" — one where a cease fire can't be reached by simply saying: "End program."