One of the most famous additions to Star Trek lore that came during the Next Generation era was the creation of the Holodeck. Essentially, this holographic recreation program on Federation starships allowed for their crews to experience whatever environments their minds could think up. And then, to live-action role play in there while off duty. Many a TNG, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager episode revolved around the Holodeck running amok.
Now, thanks to Laughing Squid, we’ve learned about one Trekker in California who has taken the notion of the Enterprise’s sophisticated techno-play room and applied it to their local park. A runner in Los Angeles’ North Hollywood Park named Arthur Edward Chadwick decided to take two metal pylons that were on park property and give them a 24th-Century makeover.
To do so, he opened all hailing frequencies and contacted the Dangling Carrot Creative. They then made several decorative vinyl stickers that would turn those ordinary metal boxes into Holodeck control panels, as seen on the ’90s era Trek series. Chadwick even gave his art project a name, calling it “Holdeck 9.”
Since news started spilling out on social media about these Starfleet style pylons cropping up in the park, many fans have gone there to take photos of them. One fan even took a selfie while doing the famous Vulcan “Live Long and Prosper” salute.
One of Star Trek’s favorite places to recreate in the Holodeck was a pastoral park-type area, so it is only fitting that Holodeck 9 should show up in a real life public park. It would be very tempting to play around with these metal boxes and not try to see if our current pandemic situation would go away. Maybe just lightly touch a display panel and say, “Computer, end 2020 apocalypse program. Then computer, please DELETE that program.” Star Trek is all about giving us hope for the future, after all.
Featured Image: CBS