Replicator. Huge step towards post-scarcity.
this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2023
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I assume the replicator still requires raw materials. Rare metals are likely still rare in the future
Can I replicate a holodeck with the replicator? 🤔
One emitter at a time...
Replicator
Yep, then I replicate myself a Holodeck.
Holodeck and I have it train me to make a replicator
A replicator of course.
I would use my replicator to make parts to build a holodeck.
And if you need parts bigger than the replicator can produce, you just replicate the parts for a bigger replicator.
If I could bring just one of these things into existence for the world it would definitely be the replicator, though I am not sure we have nearly enough power to supply it. Energy can become matter but it takes a fuckton of it to make a tiny amount.
But if this is about personal usage then I’m going with the holodeck. I’m not really hurting for material things. But manufacture any experience I want? I’ll take that.
Replicator. Then use it to replicate the parts to a new replicator. Rinse and repeat, and force us into a post scarcity society.
Then beg someone to make a holodeck.
A replicator. Then have it replicate a holodeck.
I assume they come with a sufficient power source?
That may be the real value.
With a replicator, you can turn matter into energy, which you can turn into other matter.
There are some super rare elements, structures and materials that cannot be replicated.
These unreplicatable ones become the most valuable. Likewise, the value of original or unique sentient-being created artifacts.
Conversely, the value of things that can be replicated is effectively reduced to the energy cost, give or take transportation costs for items that can only be replicated in large industrial replicators.
Energy cost becomes the key value. Not a problem generally, but in a constrained environment like a starship at maximum warp over long periods (e.g., Voyager’s first years in the Delta Quadrant), it can require rationing of replicator usage. (Holodeck had a separate and incompatible power source.)
The most widely known example of an element that can’t be replicated is latinum, which replaced gold as a measure of value. Gold is replicatable but latinum is not.
Other examples include dilithium crystals needed to regulate warp core reactions and benamite crystals needed for the quantum slipstream drive.
Some materials that cannot be replicated in the 23rd century can be otherwise created in the 24th century. The technology progresses through time in-universe.
I believe there was a post or file at the old place that listed all the canonically identified unreplicatable materials. It might be one to bring forward to c/DaystromInstitute. @khaosworks@startrek.website can you weigh in please?
I think you got most of it covered except for living materials, which can’t be replicated because of the resolution limitations of replicators - like cargo transporters they operate on molecular resolution instead of the quantum resolution required for live transport. Gagh is a good example; because it ideally needs to be live it can’t be replicated in its intended serving form but has to be kept in barrels in cargo.
The other limitation would be stuff that’s prohibited by program not to be replicated, like weapons, banned substances, although that’s of course a coding issue rather than a materials issue.
Also, to correct a common misconception/inaccuracy repeated above - replicators don’t convert matter to energy or vice versa. They operate by dismantling the raw material for replication like a transporter does then reassembling them in new forms. The underlying technology is the same as the transporter, except that it rejigs the matter stream into a new configuration.
Which is why the question as to whether you want a holodeck or a replicator strikes me as a bit off because replicator technology is part of the way holodecks work. When you eat food on the holodeck it’s very likely that it’s replicated food, not a hard light illusion. Holograms of people can also either be hard light constructs or meat puppets manipulated by force fields, depending on the program and its requirements.
So if you ask me - holodeck or replicator, I’d choose holodeck because that gets me both the entertainment value and the ability to make objects and food.
Holodecks, Replicators and Transporters share huge parts of their technology. A holodeck is more or less just a clever combination of the other two, completed by lots of forcefields.
So I would take the Holodeck and reverse engineer the other two from that.
100% replicator, no hesitation
Replicator. Do you need a transporter as well to create the molecular models for the replicator?
Hear me out: replicate the parts of a holodeck.
A replicator would certainly come in handy, allowing me to create whatever food or drink I desire instantly. However, I think I would have to choose a holodeck. The ability to create entire worlds and experiences would provide endless entertainment and learning opportunities. Whether I wanted to explore new planets, practice my sword fighting skills, or simply relax in a beautiful beachside setting, a holodeck would give me the freedom to do so without ever leaving my home.
Nunchuck skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills. You would be irresistible!
Replicator. First things first.
Holodeck, then charge exorbitant rates for use by others then fund figuring out how to make a replicator. But seriously they would both be really cool.