For a long time I’ve had an idea for a themed hotel — one that simulates life on a starship. During the course of your stay you would have the option to play various roles: commander, foot soldier, fighter pilot, etc.
One floor of the hotel would be a laser tag arena where ground battles could be enacted on fake alien terrain. Another floor would be filled with fighter ships — small cars that slide through a tube into a wall compartment filled with video screens. The command personal would direct the movements of fighters and deployment of ground troops through a higher level strategy game. The simulation would be running non-stop, so you might hear alarms in the middle of the night calling you to battle stations. If you could not afford a cabin, you might stay in the barracks — a large room filled with bunk beds.
There would be two basic dining choices:
- “The mess hall” which would provide basic grub, usually disguised in some way to look like exotic alien food.
- “The star base,” a slowly rotating restaurant with a view of space (i.e. large screens with stars, planets, nebulae, etc.) and more expensive food.
The hotel would have three sections, themed for either the Stellar Alliance, the Outer Colonies, or the Overlords. The Alliance section would have decor resembling Star Trek, the Colonies would have decor resembling Battlestar Galactica, and the Overlords would have decor similar to the Empire from Star Wars.
Naturally, anyone staying at the hotel (i.e. the recruits) would need proper attire (i.e. uniforms), so everyone would need to begin by going to the gift shop.
If this hotel existed, I would save to go. It might become a place of pilgrimage for sci fi fans everywhere. How about you?