Min hurriedly tried to set up a suitable laboratory in the holodeck. Holographic beakers and Erlenmeyer flasks filled the room, and Dr. Min brought in a variety of chemicals and solvents to complete the synthesis of the desired compound. But he was not a chemist by training; he would not be able to synthesize the needed two-hundred milligrams of the compound in the time allowed. The little bit that he had was from a different system in the Beta Quadrant. Perhaps we rely too much on replicators these days, Min thought. Fortunately, EM9653D required only a couple of steps from a compound that the replicator could synthesize in near-unlimited quantities.
Someone came through the holodeck doors. I thought I had asked to be alone, Min thought. But when he looked up, he was completely shocked by what he saw. It was a trio of the hideous Annecta humanoids.
Oh no…Min thought.
They marched in with purpose and proceeded to destroy everything around them. They’re trying to destroy the laboratory, Min realized. They want to destroy my work. But that didn’t make any sense. Everything in the room was holographic. Anything that was destroyed in the holodeck could be reconstituted on command, with perhaps the exception of the actual chemicals that he brought in.
But the Annecta humanoids quickly learned that this was not a real laboratory; they knew in part because, spatially, it didn’t make any sense. Min’s laboratory seemed to stretch on forever, but the humanoids knew that the space in the room itself had to be finite. Rather than continue to break everything with pure might, the humanoids proceeded to throw something in all four directions, and from the point of view of Dr. Min, stuck to nothing but air. But Dr. Min understood exactly what was going on from the positioning of all four projectiles: they had placed organic explosives on all four walls of the holodeck.
Min’s heart stopped. They don’t just want to destroy the laboratory…they want me to kill ME! “Computer,” Min yelled, “EXIT!”
The doors materialized from thin air and proceeded to open, but an Annecta humanoid quickly transported himself between Dr. Min and the exit, blocking his every attempt to escape. Instead, they themselves walked out of the exit doors. When they closed, a viscous liquid seeped between the crack of the door, and solidified.
Min looked at it closely. It was a kind of adhesive. Min was trapped!
The doctor tried hard to wield the doors open, but with no avail. The computer couldn’t open it either. Meanwhile, the organic explosives that surrounded him looked like they were about to blow.
“COMPUTER!” Min yelled. “INITIATE EMERGENCY TRANSPOR—“
