Why can some holodeck matter leave the holodeck, while other holodeck matter (notably people) cannot?

Question

Related to Would Star Trek holodecks physically affect you once you exit the Holodeck?

I was watching Elementary, Dear Data last night and I noticed that when Data realizes that something has gone terribly wrong, he leaves the holodeck with the holodeck generated paper with a drawing of the Enterprise. The paper does not disintegrate as he leaves the holodeck. If this can leave the holodeck, why can't Professor Moriarity? Indeed, the original ending to this episode according to Memory Alpha:

The original ending filmed was cut from the episode. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion 2nd ed., pp. 68-69) Hurley recalled, "In that ending, Picard knew how to defeat Moriarty. He tricked him. He knew all along that Moriarty could leave the holodeck whenever he wanted to, and he knew because when Data came out and showed him a drawing of the Enterprise, if that piece of paper could leave the holodeck, that means that the fail-safe had broken down. In turn, this means that the matter-energy converter which creates the holodeck, now allowed the matter to leave the holodeck, which was, up to that point, impossible. When he knew that paper had left the holodeck, he knew that Moriarty could as well, so he lied to him."

This is interesting because the whole premise of this episode and Ship in a Bottle is that Moriarity can't leave the holodeck. Moreover, the Doctor from Voyager always needs some kind of portable emitter to go places.

Given this and the water/other matter that leaves the holodeck in the linked question, why can some matter exist outside the holodeck while other matter cannot?

Is it tied somehow to the replicator - i.e. replicating a piece of paper into real matter is trivial, but replicating a human being or anything more sophisticated would be non-trivial?

DVK-on-Ahch-To · Accepted Answer

The was actually addressed in one of the comments to the linked question.

From http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Holodeck#Design

A holodeck combines transporter technology with that of replicators, by generating actual matter, as well as projecting force fields to give the objects the illusion of substance.

There are different reasons proposed for having both, one of them is that anything ingestible MUST be real matter (otherwise the user would have negative health effects after ingesting and leaving the Holodeck); another is that it's cheaper/easier to replicate some matter (e.g. water, or any such dynamic matter) than to fully computer-simulate and then holographically generate it.

On the other hand, as you noted, replicating a human is a whole lot more of a big deal that holographically project one.

Valorum · Answer

This issue was specifically addressed in the "Star Trek : Voyager Technical Manual" handed out to potential scriptwriters for the Voyager series.
Simply put;

Anything that people are likely to interact with (props, food, clothing, etc) is created by using a matter-replicator.
Anything that visitors are unlikely to interact with (or that doesn't require physical texture) is created using a coloured forcefield.

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 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 force beam 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.

LogicDictates · Answer

The very first time a holodeck appeared in live-action Trek -- way back in the pilot episode of TNG, Encounter at Farpoint -- Data clearly indicated that holodeck programs employ a combination of holograms and real matter.

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..."
Riker: "Yes, of course; then these rocks and vegetations have much simpler patterns."
Data: "Correct, sir."

Naturally, actual holograms like Moriarty and the Doctor can't exist in environments where there are no holo-emitters, but real matter can, regardless of whether it's been transported, or replicated, or whatnot.

Why can some holodeck matter leave the holodeck, while other holodeck matter (notably people) cannot?

3 Answers

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question