The Fatal Temptation of the Holodeck Portal
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Data spots the reappearance of the Holodeck exit’s blue streak on the closet door; Picard announces it as the way back to their world, drawing Redblock’s greedy attention.
Redblock gleefully contemplates the two-way portal and mocks Data’s warning, laughing with his gang and dismissing risks, while tension mounts as he prepares to use the portal.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Determined yet cautious, carrying a guarded hope mingled with the heavy pressure of leadership and the danger of the collapsing simulation.
Picard passionately advocates for repairing the computer to save the wounded, eyes the fragile holodeck exit portal as a potential escape route, and analyzes the situation contemplatively while balancing hope with caution.
- • Find a way to get the injured to Sickbay by fixing the computer
- • Seize the opportunity to escape the holodeck via the blue portal
- • Protect crew members from hostile threats
- • Prevent Redblock and Leech from exploiting the portal
- • The computer malfunction is key to the crisis resolution
- • The portal is the only viable escape route
- • Redblock and Leech's reckless actions will have serious consequences
- • Logical caution is necessary to survive the holodeck malfunction
Calm and logically alert, focused on protecting the crew and mitigating threats with clinical precision despite the escalating chaos.
Data provides a precise technical explanation of what a computer is, points out the shimmering holodeck exit portal, issues calm but firm warnings about the portal’s dangers, and physically disarms and incapacitates the armed thug to protect Picard and crew.
- • Clarify the nature of the computer to aid understanding
- • Warn against the dangers of entering the portal
- • Protect Picard and the crew from the armed thug
- • Maintain order and safety amid the holodeck malfunction
- • The portal is dangerous and should not be crossed recklessly
- • Logical intervention is the best way to resolve threats
- • Physical force is justified to protect innocent lives
- • Knowledge and reason can mitigate chaos
Concentrated and serious, aware of the technical crisis and motivated to aid resolution despite the dangerous consequences of the holodeck glitch.
Wesley works diligently outside the holodeck, triggering the blue flash and abrupt simulation shift. His focused technical efforts indirectly cause the brief but impactful transition into the snowy alien landscape and back.
- • Diagnose the holodeck malfunction
- • Trigger system responses to stabilize the simulation
- • Support the crew’s safety through technical expertise
- • Facilitate eventual escape of trapped personnel
- • Technical skill can resolve the holodeck crisis
- • Acting quickly is essential to prevent disaster
- • The holodeck environment is unstable and dangerous
- • He must contribute despite his junior rank
Nervous and hesitant, masking his fear with irritation, struggling internally with the danger but following Redblock out of loyalty or lack of alternatives.
Leech grows irritated with Data's technical explanations, trembles fearfully amid the violent climate shifts, but ultimately succumbs to Redblock's leadership and steps through the portal, revealing a fragile confidence mixed with fear.
- • Follow Redblock’s lead to avoid conflict
- • Survive the hostile environment and uncertain situation
- • Avoid direct confrontation with Data and Picard
- • Escape the simulation by any means necessary
- • Data's rambling is a distraction rather than help
- • Redblock’s decisions are ultimately authoritative
- • The portal may be dangerous but is the only chance
- • Resistance to the group is futile and dangerous
Confident and gleefully reckless, driven by greed and hubris, displaying an almost manic amusement at the idea of escaping through the portal and seizing power beyond the simulation.
Redblock is fascinated and amused by the shimmering blue portal, laughing with his thugs and exuding reckless confidence. He leads Leech to step boldly through the portal, dismisses Data’s warnings, and orders his thug to kill the remaining crew after his departure.
- • Escape the simulation via the portal to gain power and wealth
- • Eliminate Picard and his crew to secure his dominance
- • Exploit the fragile boundary between fiction and reality
- • Assert control over his henchmen and the situation
- • The portal offers a two-way passage to untold riches
- • He can control and manipulate outcomes despite warnings
- • Killing enemies is a viable tactic to secure his goals
- • His bravado will protect him from consequences
Aggressively obedient, ready to use lethal force but quickly overwhelmed by Data’s calm and precise intervention.
The thug obeys Redblock’s orders, aggressively pulls a large pistol on Picard, but is immediately subdued as Data clamps down on the pistol’s muzzle and decks the thug, neutralizing the threat.
- • Intimidate and threaten Picard and his crew
- • Execute Redblock’s orders to kill the enemies
- • Maintain loyalty and control under Redblock’s command
- • Prevent escape or resistance by Picard’s group
- • Violence is an effective means to control opposition
- • Redblock’s commands are absolute and must be followed
- • Fear is a tool to ensure obedience
- • Physical force will secure their dominance here
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Secondary Computer Panel functions as a symbol and control interface referenced during the dialogue about computer repairs, underscoring the technological stakes tied to the holodeck's stability and the crew's survival.
The thug’s large pistol is brandished aggressively against Picard, symbolizing the escalating physical threat. Data’s swift action to pinch the muzzle closed and incapacitate the thug neutralizes the immediate danger the pistol represents within the fragile holodeck environment.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Dixon Hill’s Office serves as the primary battleground where the boundary between simulation and reality becomes perilously thin. The appearance of the blue holodeck exit portal on the closet door transforms this familiar noir office into a liminal, charged space of hope and deadly risk. The office is frozen and tense, echoing the shattering of the simulation and the dangers encroaching on the crew.
The Snowy Alien Landscape briefly envelops the characters during a violent holodeck glitch, subjecting them to extreme cold, howling winds, and disorienting sensory assault, before snapping back to the Dixon Hill office. This fleeting environment starkly contrasts the noir setting and underscores the fragility and unpredictability of the holodeck's malfunction.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Wesley's Holodeck repair triggers a violent environmental glitch, impacting the trapped crew and revealing the precariousness of their rescue attempt."
"Redblock and Leech's decision to step through the Holodeck exit portal out of greed directly causes their dematerialization and death, showing the fatal boundary between fiction and reality."
Key Dialogue
"PICARD: If we can find the way of getting him to our Sickbay by fixing our computer --"
"REDBLOCK: Computer? I do not know this word."
"DATA: A mechanical or electronic apparatus capable of carrying out repetitious and highly complex mathematical operations at high speed."
"REDBLOCK: Remarkable. Is this a two-way passage? Can one enter your world and return to this one simply by stepping through?"
"PICARD: Yes. Allow us to help Mister Whalen, and we'll return with the item."
"REDBLOCK: By God, sir, you are a scamp! To think that I would wait here"
"DATA: If you are thinking of going through yourself sir, I can assure you that is not possible."
"REDBLOCK: Not possible! One look at you sir, proves anything is possible."
"REDBLOCK: Stand back, Mister Hill. I would shoot you myself, but I don't want to rob my assistant of his greatest pleasure."
"REDBLOCK: After we've gone, kill them all. Make sure no one ever finds the bodies."
"REDBLOCK: Our destiny awaits. Au revoir et bon chance, mon ami!"