Arcade

'Arcade is a 1995 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel by Diana G. Gallagher. It is the fifth novel in the DS9 novel series for young adults.

Description

MIND GAMES

There's a new player on the Promenade: a Ferengi shop-owner named Bokat. His Games Bazaar specializes in hard-to-find virtual reality computer games. He approaches Jake Sisko and Nog with a tempting offer to play a hot new game called the Zhodran Crystal Quest. No non-Zhodran player has ever won this game, but then Jake and Nog have the best scores on all the other games at the Games Bazaar. And Bokat is willing to bet on their ability to win the game, and -- as a result -- win Bokat a lucrative business deal with the Zhodrans.

But soon, kids all over the station are falling into comas, their minds trapped in an ever-changing game. Suddenly, it's up to Jake to go into the game and rescue them. If he wins, so does the Federation. If he loses, he'll be trapped forever in a deadly game with a very real Borg!

Summary

Jake and Nog are among the patrons of the Games Bazaar, a new virtual reality arcade run by a Ferengi named Bokat. Bokat invites Jake to play a new game but Jake has been banned from playing there until he finishes his homework. He later learns that Nog, a Bajoran girl named Tena Lin and a Selay boy called Rotor have all been found comatose with easily fixed injuries but have not become conscious.

Jake finds Bokat has recordings of the three children losing the game, which Bokat explains is actually a quest to obtain the legendary Da-hahn crystal, which guarantees ultimate power to its holder. The three children's minds became trapped in the game when they lost. Bokat is apprehended and the Deep Space 9 senior staff agree to rig the children's comatose bodies up to the game and then allow Jake to play, in the hope that if he wins, all their minds will be returned.

Early in the game, a Zhodran named Talarn arrives and reveals the game is actually a test that the Zhodran use to see whether a species is worth having contact with. It was stolen from them decades earlier. Prior to that, no-one had passed the test in two thousand years.

As Jake makes his way through the game, he collects Tena (who was trapped on a burning bridge when trying to go round a feared guard), Rotor (who was knocked off a bridge after being goaded into confronting a bully) and Nog (who was bitten by a snake after being enticed by something he desired). After avoiding a vine that threatened to drown him, he reaches the final door and concludes the final test is to turn away from that kind of power. When he does so, he and the other children recover consciousness. A stunned Talarn agrees to accept a human ambassador from the Federation.

References

Characters

Julian Bashir • Bokat • Jadzia Dax • Gaynor • Nog • Keiko O'Brien • Miles O'Brien • Odo • Rom • Rotor • Benjamin Sisko • Jake Sisko • Talarn • Tena Lin • Tommy Watson

Referenced only: Richard Daystrom • Dhraako • Quark • Richard I of England • Saladin • Jennifer Sisko • Storil

Locations

Deep Space 9 • Games Bazaar • habitat ring • Infirmary • Promenade
Referenced only: Adirondack Mountains • Bajoran wormhole • Celestial Temple • Earth • Galactic Adventures • Gamma Quadrant • Grand Canyon • Jerusalem • Mars • Mediterranean Sea • Parliament • Temple of Light • Utopia Planitia Yards • Wolf 359 • Zhodran

Starships and vehicles

atmospheric fighter
Referenced only: Borg cube • USS Enterprise-D • Erlan • USS Saratoga

Races and cultures

Antican • Bajoran • Borg • Cardassian • Changeling • Ferengi • Human • Jorsian • Klingon • Nork • Selay • Trill • Zhodran
Referenced only: Andorian • Orion • Tholian • Vulcan

Other references

1192 • 2243 • Andorian rock slug • credit • crossover bridge • Crown of Ultimate Wisdom • Crusades • Da-hahn crystal • dartboard • European • Ferengest • Ferengi Rules of Acquisition • First Crusade • gold-pressed latinum • Occupation of Bajor • pinball • Second Crusade • Third Crusade • titanium • Zhodran crystal quest

Appendices

Related media

O'Brien mentions the events of the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Lonely Among Us".
Jake recalls the the Battle of Wolf 359 and the death of this mother in "Emissary".
Jake and Nog recall the events of The Star Ghost.

Background

Diana G. Gallagher commented: "On my agent's advice, I contacted Lisa Clancy, the editor, and offered a couple of ideas over the phone. I loved Trek and didn't want to pass up a chance to be part of it. I wanted to write something that would appeal to today's kids. A twentieth-century quest-type game seemed ideal. I simply expanded on the basic concept by having the 'players' mentally captured by the game. The entire writing and publishing process for Arcade was fun and basically glitchless for everyone concerned". (Voyages of Imagination, p. 691)
Gallagher remains fond of Arcade: "because I'm a longtime fan of all the ST series and it launched my career as a media writer". [1]

Images

Connections

Timeline

published order
Previous novel: The Pet	DS9 books	Next novel: Field Trip
chronological order
Previous Adventure: A Christmas Qarol	Memory Beta Chronology	Next Adventure: The Pegasus
Previous Adventure: Rivals	Pocket	Next Adventure: The Pegasus

Translations

1997: German : Arcade. (Heyne)

External link

Arcade article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.