Starfleet Academy Holographic Characters Explained

In the world of “Star Trek,” the idea that a humanoid hologram could possess consciousness dates back to the 1988 “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episode “Elementary, Dear Data.” There, Geordi (LeVar Burton) is shown playing a game of Sherlock Holmes with Data (Brent Spiner) on the holodeck, only for the pair to discover that Data’s android brain is too advanced for the pre-written detective stories in the base ship data; in other words, he can solve cases too easily. As such, Geordi asked the ship’s computer to create an enemy with whom they could compete in wits. The computer then proceeded to create Professor Moriarty (Daniel Davis)an ultra-intelligent hologram who, during the episode, was revealed to have self-awareness and a conscience of his own (making him a worthy foe for Data).

Since that episode, “Star Trek” has repeatedly returned to the idea that holograms can be imbued with life. In Star Trek parlance, they are called “photonics,” meaning they are life forms made of photons. Computers are so advanced on “Star Trek” that they can manifest artificial consciousness by accident. This was explored in depth in “Star Trek: Voyager”, in which the crew of the USS Voyager had to leave their emergency medical hologram (Robert Picardo) operating 24/7 after their flesh-and-blood medical staff died in an accident. The Doctor eventually developed a conscience and personality of his own.

Because he is only made of light and force fields, the Doctor does not age. This, in turn, allowed Picardo to reprise the Doctor for “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy”, a series set eight centuries after the events of “Voyager”. But it turns out that the Doctor isn’t the only photonic in the series. One of his students, Series Acclimation Mil or Sam (Kerrice Brooks), is a Kasqian, who is a sort of hologram.

In “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, holograms were confined to the holodeck, as it was the only place on Starfleet ships where hologram emitters had been equipped. Later on “Voyager”, the titular spaceship’s sickbay was additionally equipped with the same types of transmitters, allowing a holographic doctor to walk anywhere in the office. Complex force fields also made the holograms physically tangible. Over the course of the series, the Doctor eventually revealed that he had more than a conscience; he even had his own personal interests and dreams. So, not being able to explore a ship beyond the sickbay made the character restless. Eventually, Starfleet engineers found a way to transfer his program to the holodeck, so he could at least have a change of scenery.

In the 1996 “Voyager” episode “Future’s End, Part II”, however, a rogue time machine gave the Doctor access to a special mobile transmitter, technology that would not be invented for another 500 years. The mobile transmitter allowed the Doctor to walk wherever he pleased, with his hologram projected from a small floating widget on his arm.

This newfound freedom allowed everyone to see the Doctor as an autonomous individual with rights and not as a simple living hologram. But if the Doctor had rights and holograms required equal protection under the law, it sparked a delicate ethical debate at Starfleet headquarters. It seems Starfleet has already invented hundreds of holographic workers to perform dangerous manual jobs, like mine for dilithium. Since it was assumed that holograms were not sentient, this did not seem to pose an ethical problem. The Doctor, for his part, believed that these workers had been reduced to slavery and demanded their autonomy, thus winning his case.

The issue of rights to holograms was settled in the 2001 “Voyager” episode “Author, Author.” At that time, of course, there had been plenty of “Star Trek” stories about the ethics of using humanoid holograms. For example, in the 2000 “Voyager” episode “Body and Soul,” the titular ship encountered a species that invented holographic soldiers to fight their wars, only to face a hologram rebellion when photonics revolted. Also, Moriarty from “Next Generation” returned and he complained about being stored in a computer memory bank. The characters in “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” even recklessly and deliberately created Vic Fontaine (James Darren), a sentient holographic lounge singer in 1960s Las Vegas. So living holograms were very, very common at the end of “Voyager.” And that’s not even mentioning the Emergency Command hologram (Kate Mulgrew) in “Star Trek: Prodigy,” a character who has a similar arc to the Doctor.

Now, “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” – set in the 32nd century – has introduced Sam, a character who appears to be around 17 years old, but is actually only a few months old. She even has to consult her program manifesto to find out her personal interests. Sam is a hologram who was activated by the Kasqians on the planet Kasq, specifically to study as a student at Starfleet Academy “for the sole purpose of reintegrating into organic life forms”, as she explains in the series pilot. Kasq, as she also notes, is a colony of holograms, although they are called “photonic.” A lot can happen between now and the 32nd century, and it seems like a photonics colony has been around long enough to become isolationist. Sam is their new envoy.

“Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” is streaming on Paramount+.