Why did holographic bullets work?

[The Borg Queen]

On the holodeck, holograms are created by light contained in a force field, right?

The force field is a form of energy and it can be directed, can't it?

Even with the safety protocols off, a holographic bullet is still a little bit of light inside a tiny little force field... and doesn't that make it essentially the same as any other force field, like the ship's shields, or internal force fields?

Borg technology can adapt to the frequency modulation of energy fields and force fields, that's how their weapons can adapt to the ship's shields, and phasers, and containment fields... so what makes the energy field of a hologram any different?

If the bullets were made of replicated lumps of metal, then I could understand how the kinetic power of the velocity and inertia of the pieces of metal could damage the hardware of a Borg's systems, but not a hologram, which is just another form of energy field.

The Borg shielding should have easily been able to adapt to anything the holodeck could throw at a Drone, because (as far as I'm aware) you can't set the holograms to a random modulation.

 

[Good Will Riker]

Once the holodeck's safety protocols were off, the bullets became physical matter within the confines of the holodeck.

 

[The Borg Queen]

There was nothing to say the bullets had suddenly become made of metal, though. The implication being that the "bullets" were still made of photons and force fields...

 

[Indysolo]

The safety protocols were turned off. They were very explicit about mentioning that in the movie. If that explanation doesn't work for you, "just repeat to yourself 'it's just a show, I should really just relax'".

Neil

 

[BriGuy]

Could there be some confusing going on here between the holodeck and, say, the EMH?

I remember The Doc saying he's light and forcefields.

I remember in TNG the holodeck's function being described as similar to a transporter, turning energy into matter. Maybe the people are like the EMH, but inanimate objects are actually solid.

 

[Trekker4747]

I remember in TNG the holodeck's function being described as similar to a transporter, turning energy into matter. Maybe the people are like the EMH, but inanimate objects are actually solid.

That's what I always figured. There's plenty of evidence of solid matter making it off the holodeck. If a person looks at an object it is likely a true, intangeable, hologram. But once he interacts with it it becomes a replicated object, once it leaves his hands again it once again becomes a hologram (explaning the book demonstration Picard gave in 'Ship in a Bottle' but how Geordi was able to march of the Holodeck in "Elementary, Dear Data.")

"Turning off the safeties" simply makes holographic objects stay "real" and without them "even a holographic bullet can kill."

Holodeck matter CAN exsist off the holodeck, plenty of evidence to suggest it throughtout trek. However, holodeck CHARACTERS cannot exsist off the holodeck.

 

[Timo]

Also, I see no reason why a forcefield construct could not punch holes in Borg drones. If a forcefield can simulate a chair or a table or a fist, why not a lethal bullet? There should be no physical difference.

And finally, we mustn't consider a holographic Tommy-gun the ultimate Borg-killing weapon. Any weapon that can kill humans can kill a Borg Drone. Picard mowed down two Drones with his holo-gun, which is what he would also have achieved with a regular phaser, or a disruptor, or a knife, or a tri-isophasic frammistat. Two to three Drones always die before the Collective adapts.

(Also interestingly, two to three Drones always die even if the weapon is one that has been previously used against the Collective. The Drones apparently don't carry any "pre-adapted" protection, but prefer to travel light.)

Timo Saloniemi

 

[MacLeod]

Remember the holodeck shares similarties to the replicator system. We've seen things like water and paper leave the holodeck, so things created on the holodeck can have an actual physical form, rather than light and forcefields.

The holodeck of course can not recreate living matter such as humans, planets etc..

 

[mvkemp]

The Borg Queen said:
Even with the safety protocols off, a holographic bullet is still a little bit of light inside a tiny little force field... and doesn't that make it essentially the same as any other force field, like the ship's shields, or internal force fields?

Even Borg tech takes time to adapt something new it encounters. They are still able to get a few phaser shots in even though the Borg have been encountered before. They just hadn't adapted yet to the holodeck force fields.

 

[SmoothieX]

MacLeod said:
Remember the holodeck shares similarties to the replicator system. We've seen things like water and paper leave the holodeck, so things created on the holodeck can have an actual physical form, rather than light and forcefields.

The holodeck of course can not recreate living matter such as humans, planets etc..

I agree. They use the replicators to fashion inanimate objects all the time. I doubt bullets would be any different.

 

[The Borg Queen]

So they weren't actually "holographic" bullets then, they were holodeck-replicated real metal bullets?

 

[cultcross]

^probably, yes. As others have said, the holodeck, at least to some extent, creates and dematerialises real matter as part fo creating the realistic holo world. The safety protocols (ever helpfully vague) would presumably return a bullet to a harmless light construct once it left the weapon, but without them they remained metal until they hit the Borg.

 

[Candlelight]

I wanna know how Picard got the holodeck working when the Borg had cut primary power to those decks.

 

[David cgc]

Blame Voyager, and the holodecks' independent, incompatible power system.

 

[MacLeod]

Which I'm fairly sure they used later on in Voyager as a compatible power system.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Why, when the ship is in trouble, would the holodecks need to keep working?

 

[Steven Of Nine]

Peach Wookiee said:
Why, when the ship is in trouble, would the holodecks need to keep working?

Why, when the ship loses power, would you strand someone in a dangerous situation... say, hang gliding, swimming underwater or such without power to safely implement safety protocols.

 

[clever_username]

Timo said:

a tri-isophasic frammistat.

i want one of those for christmas

 

[DanTheGrey]

clever_username said:

Timo said:

a tri-isophasic frammistat.

i want one of those for christmas

They come in chocolate, strawberry and cherry french vanilla, which would you like?

On topic though, I think that the idea of a projectile weapon might be somewhat outside the Borg experience. Probably a culture using firearms would be "beneath" their notice. Also the armour doesn't appear to do much except provide a minimal level of protection and since a Tommy Gun has some kick, I'm not surprised bullets could get through.

 

[Therin of Andor]

DanTheGrey said:
On topic though, I think that the idea of a projectile weapon might be somewhat outside the Borg experience.

Exactly. And the very first edition of the TNG Bible, or "Writers' Guide", mentioned that the holodeck experience included mini-transporters, so that real food and clothing could appear in a scenario.

That's why Wesley's snowball, Moriarty's piece of paper and Picard's tommygun seemed so real. Because they were.