Holodeck Refuge and Persona as Coping

Private ritualized worlds (Picard's Dixon Hill holonovel) function as controlled escapes from the isolating moral weight of command. The holodeck offers identity play and psychological respite, but those refuges can be breached by real‑world responsibilities and danger (Slade's violent commission). The theme examines the double‑edged nature of escapism: restorative and stabilizing, yet porous when duty or threat intrudes.