A holosuite was a form of holotechnology which ran holographic programs in a room in much the same way that a holodeck did, however, holosuites were smaller, modular and therefore easier to deliver to a wider range of facilities than large starships and buildings. As such, they tended to be more for commercial use and had a variation of designs. (DS9: "The Alternate", "Meridian", "His Way")
Purpose and design[]
Holosuites had fundamentally the same technology as holodecks, such as holographic projectors, however, different civilizations had slightly different designs. Holographic programs were able to be ran on both holodecks and holosuites. (DS9: "Take Me Out to the Holosuite") Some wealthy individuals had their own private holosuites, although, due to the costs and maintenance, this was uncommon. (DS9: "Meridian")
Generally, holosuites were intended for individual or small group usage unlike holodecks which were known to accommodate dozens of people. (TNG: "Homeward") They could be used for playing sports like springball and baseball. (DS9: "Shadowplay", "Take Me Out to the Holosuite") Ferengi operators particularly advertised their holosuites' potential for acting out sexual fantasies. (DS9: "The Forsaken", "Meridian", "The Emperor's New Cloak") Holosuites were also used for merchants to show off products as holograms without actually bringing them into possible regulated regions, provided the potential buyer believed the holographic replica was accurate. (DS9: "Business as Usual")
Aboard Sovereign-class starships, holosuites could also be used by several people. Although, the term holosuite may have just have become more widespread and used interchangeably with the word holodeck. (Star Trek: First Contact)
History[]
The Ferengi entrepreneur Plegg was credited with designing the first modular holosuite in the 24th century and was responsible for its subsequent spread across the galaxy, even to remote locations. (DS9: "The Alternate")
Aboard space station Deep Space 9, Quark's Bar, Grill, Gaming House and Holosuite Arcade had several holosuites available for renting programs. (DS9: "The Alternate", "Meridian", "Move Along Home", "Vortex")
Quark offered the bidders at his auction free use of the holosuites to calm them down after Q told them about the doom of Deep Space 9. (DS9: "Q-Less") He also offered the Wadi use of the holosuites after he was caught cheating at the dabo game. (DS9: "Move Along Home")
In 2369 the Rakhari Croden shot the Miradorn twin Ro-Kel in a holosuite in Quark's Bar. (DS9: "Vortex")
The same year Julian Bashir proposed that the visiting Federation ambassadors Taxco, Vadosia, Lojal, and Lwaxana Troi used the holosuites at Quark's Bar. Taxco was insulted by the proposal to use these "disgusting Ferengi sex programs." (DS9: "The Forsaken")
A Klingon crew who visited Quark's bar damaged holosuite six and the furniture. (DS9: "Dramatis Personae")
In 2370, Kor was arrested by Odo and Quark outside a holosuite for Public drunkenness and had to spend the rest of the afternoon in the Brig.
In 2373, Quark briefly helped his cousin Gaila sell weapons using his holosuites as a showcase for holographic replicas. (DS9: "Business as Usual")
In 2375, Nog spent medical leave inside a holosuite to escape his life for awhile. Eventually, he was able to cope and left. (DS9: "It's Only a Paper Moon")
Appendices
Appearances[]
- DS9:
- "A Man Alone" (Season 1)
- "Vortex"
- "The Siege" (Season 2)
- "Blood Oath"
- "The Abandoned" (Season 3)
- "Meridian"
- "Facets"
- "The Way of the Warrior" (Season 4)
- "Our Man Bashir"
- "Sons of Mogh"
- "For the Cause"
- "Body Parts"
- "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" (Season 5)
- "Rapture"
- "For the Uniform"
- "Business as Usual"
- "You Are Cordially Invited" (Season 6)
- "The Magnificent Ferengi"
- "His Way"
- "Time's Orphan"
- "Tears of the Prophets"
- "Image in the Sand" (Season 7)
- "Afterimage"
- "Take Me Out to the Holosuite"
- "The Siege of AR-558"
- "It's Only a Paper Moon"
- "Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang"
- "What You Leave Behind"
Additional References[]
- TNG:
- "Birthright, Part I" (Season 6)
- "Firstborn" (Season 7)
- DS9:
- "Captive Pursuit" (Season 1)
- "Q-Less"
- "Dax"
- "Move Along Home"
- "The Nagus"
- "The Storyteller"
- "If Wishes Were Horses"
- "The Forsaken"
- "The Homecoming" (Season 2)
- "Rules of Acquisition"
- "Second Sight"
- "The Alternate"
- "Shadowplay"
- "Playing God"
- "Profit and Loss"
- "The Wire"
- "The House of Quark" (Season 3)
- "Second Skin"
- "Defiant"
- "Life Support"
- "Heart of Stone"
- "Visionary"
- "Distant Voices"
- "Shakaar"
- "The Adversary"
- "The Visitor" (Season 4)
- "Indiscretion"
- "Starship Down"
- "Little Green Men"
- "Homefront"
- "Crossfire"
- "Bar Association"
- "Accession"
- "Rules of Engagement"
- "Hard Time"
- "The Muse"
- "Broken Link"
- "Things Past" (Season 5)
- "The Begotten"
- "Doctor Bashir, I Presume"
- "A Simple Investigation"
- "Soldiers of the Empire"
- "Blaze of Glory"
- "Empok Nor"
- "In the Cards"
- "Sons and Daughters" (Season 6)
- "Favor the Bold"
- "Sacrifice of Angels"
- "Resurrection"
- "Who Mourns for Morn?"
- "Change of Heart"
- "Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night"
- "Inquisition"
- "The Sound of Her Voice"
- "Chrysalis" (Season 7)
- "Prodigal Daughter"
- "Field of Fire"
- "Chimera"
Background information[]
Herman Zimmerman commented that the holosuites "are like the holodeck of Next Generation and we can program pretty much any kind of experience for any kind of location we want to. But what we are doing on Deep Space Nine that we weren't able to do on Next Generation is we see the inside of the holodeck and we see the machinery that runs it. When we did Next Generation we were in a budget constraint that made us do a set that is a wireframe look; it's a grid of squares when the holodeck is not activated and they just see a black void with yellow grids. In the Cardassian holodeck when the lights go off, so to speak, you see the machinery that creates the imagery. It's a step forward for us and it's something we've always wanted to do on Next Generation and we were never able to achieve." (The Deep Space Log Book: A Second Season Companion)
The Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual states that aboard Galaxy-class starships, there were twenty holosuites on decks 12 and 33.
The holosuite interiors for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine third season episode "Meridian" were filmed on Paramount Stage 17. Additional scenes were filmed on 2nd unit on Paramount Stage 6.
Apocrypha[]
In the Deep Space Nine book trilogy Millennium it is revealed that Jadzia Dax and Worf enjoyed using Quark's holosuites to re-enact the events from TOS: "Day of the Dove". Dax would dress as an Enterprise crewmember, while Worf would take on the role of Kang.
External link[]
- Holosuite at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works