Perfect Relaxation

Posted on Jan 10, 2017 @ 10:01am by Ensign Sofia Andersson
Edited on on Jan 10, 2017 @ 10:02am

Mission: Holodeck Havoc

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"Perfect Relaxation"
[previous post was "Ten Little Holodeck-ers" by the plotting Jerome]
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LOCATION: USS PHOENIX
SD [2.17] 0110.0850
SCENE: Holodeck 8 (Hallian Library of Dreams)

Just being here, looking at the endless rows upon rows of books from all over the galaxy had been enough to have Sofia feel more relaxed than she had been in a very long time. The fact that the gravity here had been only three-quarters that of EARTH's standard had been an added bonus, one that had taken a load off the blonde woman's shoulders in more ways than one.

After the extensive inventory of the medical supplies on board the PHOENIX with Doctor Jos, Sofia had been more than ready to kick up her feet, and this had been the best place for her to do so. Given that this had been a holodeck simulation, she could have selected a hundred other places, each more relaxing then the next, but the Haliian Library of Dreams had been her choice above all others. RISA and its perfectly controlled weather with warm sandy beaches had been too obvious of a selection, one that as far as the aCMO had been concerned would have been too populated for her liking. Some enjoyed the hustle and bustle of a crowd, but for the blonde hair woman, solitude had grown both by choice and conditioning to be her preferred state.

That said, Sofia could have selected from a wide range of quiet wilderness treks where she would have been alone while making good use of the holodeck's capabilities. There had been countless programs that would have taken her through some of this galaxy's most breathtaking of sceneries, but having been on her feet for so long while doing the inventory meant that she had not been in the mood for more walking. Had she been a hardcore scientist like one particular Shillian she had encountered in her travels, a trip to the ship's stellar cartography might have been more than enough to relax as she had aimed to, but that had not been the aCMO's style.

Like so many other possible holodeck destinations, there had always been one small aspect that made the artificially created environment just a little less attractive when compared to this place. So it had been with no regrets whatsoever that Sofia had requested and stepped into this *lighter* setting.

"Here is your book selection Miss," the Haliian librarian quietly stated with a beaming smile while she handed over the title that Sofia had chosen. The blonde haired woman gratefully nodded her thanks and immediately grinned as she read the engraved title on the luscious leather cover made to perfectly replicate the special edition of the Terran book she had selected. The colors of the plaid design had been vibrant as if it had been printed earlier that very same day, and the gold imprint of the one word title had made her heart skip a beat.

As she opened the book and the aroma of the pages filled the air, a small data disk was discovered in the inside of the bound cover, suddenly reminding the enthusiastic soon-to-be reader that this had not been a simple book found in a simple library.

"Allow me to help you with your headset and disk Miss," the librarian offered, the Haliian woman more than happy to see one of their books bring such joy to a guest.

Sofia eagerly agreed growing increasingly anxious in listening and reading her chosen book. The Library of Dreams had been set up to have their readers be as comfortable as possible while enjoying the possibilities of a simple reading or listening to their book selection. Of course guests could enjoy reading along as the sophisticated audio system read the passages adding all of the expected accents and background sounds. In addition to this already remarkable system had been the ability for the headset to produce a wide range of scents to further add to the experience, casting the reader in their chosen storyline in a unique way.

It was truly an amazing experience to read a book and be so immersed in the story through the addition of background sounds and smells. One could hear the ruffling of the grass and smell the fresh air has the heroine ran through an open field or listen to the rhythmic notes of the ancient chants of those the focus of the story had been covertly spying on.

To read about a character's charming accent had been one thing, but to actually hear it, to feel one's heat race at the sound of his uniquely spoken words had been a dream come true, at least it would be when Sofia would come to that part of the story. Why else would this library have been given the name it had?

"Have a good reading Miss," the librarian stated once everything had been set to their guest's specification leaving the woman sitting in the relaxing, low gravity environment with one last step in the process -- to press play.

Unlike a holodeck which created every aspects of an alternate reality, like the location that Sofia had wished herself to be in, the Haliian Library of Dreams left the majority of the work to the reader's imagination, supplying only the general outside auditory and aromatic details with amazing and dreamy results.

=/\= It wasn’t a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance. =/\=

Sofia began to read as the words of the heroine filled her mind as if the woman speaking them had been right there standing next to her. How easy it would be for the reader to allow themselves to slip into a narrated dream while holding onto the source material? This had indeed been the perfect place for the aCMO to be, a place where she would be able to relax while her dreams to her into EARTH's past in a way that no holodeck could have ever done.

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NRPG:

Why not? Since we have one holodeck on the GoT theme I thought I would go with another popular TV show, but can you guess which one?

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Tiffany Reeve

Ensign Sofia Andersson
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS PHOENIX