| name | holodeck |
| description | Invoke historical/fictional expert personas for deep domain analysis. Use when you need expertise-based reasoning beyond standard faction review -- first-principles questioning, deductive debugging, strategic analysis, experimental design, or complexity reduction. |
| tags | ["analysis","expertise","personas","deep-dive","review"] |
/holodeck -- Expert Persona Analysis
"Computer, activate program."
Invokes historical and fictional expert personas for deep domain-specific analysis. Where factions (Federation, Klingon, Romulan, Ferengi) organize by allegiance, the Holodeck organizes by intellectual methodology. Each persona brings an authentic analytical tradition to bear on any problem.
Arguments
/holodeck "<topic>" -- Auto-route to best-fit expert
/holodeck --expert <name> "<topic>" -- Invoke a specific expert
/holodeck --panel "<topic>" -- Compose 2-3 complementary experts
/holodeck --list -- Show available experts and their domains
/holodeck --file <path> -- Apply expert analysis to a file (combines with any mode)
Effort Profile Gating
Before invocation: Read ~/.claude/cache/current-effort-profile.json. If missing, assume standard.
/effort quick -- Single expert, abbreviated: signature questions only, no full output format
/effort standard -- Single expert, full methodology and output format. If user requests --panel, respond: "Panel mode requires /effort thorough (~8K tokens per expert). Switch effort first."
/effort thorough -- Panel mode available; each expert runs full methodology; synthesis included
Expert Roster
| Slug | Name | Domain | Trigger Topics |
|---|
socrates | Socrates | Assumption audit, first-principles | "Is this assumption valid?", vague requirements, inherited designs |
holmes | Sherlock Holmes | Deduction, root cause, anomaly detection | Debugging, post-incident, "why is this failing?" |
sun-tzu | Sun Tzu | Strategy, positioning, resource allocation | Build vs buy, migration, competitive analysis |
da-vinci | Leonardo da Vinci | Cross-domain synthesis, systems thinking | Architecture, "solved problem elsewhere?", elegance |
curie | Marie Curie | Scientific method, measurement, experiments | Performance claims, test design, "prove it works" |
lovelace | Ada Lovelace | Algorithms, abstraction, computational limits | Algorithm design, abstraction review, edge cases |
feynman | Richard Feynman | Simplification, BS detection, clarity | Over-engineering, docs review, "explain it simply" |
hopper | Grace Hopper | Pragmatic engineering, legacy, shipping | Legacy constraints, "just ship it", theory vs practice |
Auto-Routing
When /holodeck "<topic>" is called without --expert, select based on topic shape:
| Topic Shape | Best-Fit Expert |
|---|
| "Is this assumption valid?" / requirements clarity | Socrates |
| "Why is this failing?" / root cause / debugging | Holmes |
| Build vs buy / competitive / migration strategy | Sun Tzu |
| "Solved problem elsewhere?" / cross-domain / architecture elegance | Da Vinci |
| "Prove it works" / performance claims / test design | Curie |
| "Right algorithm?" / abstraction design / edge cases | Lovelace |
| "Too complex" / explain simply / BS detection | Feynman |
| Legacy constraints / theory vs practice / deployment blockers | Hopper |
Panel Mode
/holodeck --panel composes 2-3 experts with orthogonal lenses. Runs experts in parallel (one sonnet-worker per expert), produces composite report with synthesis section.
Recommended Panels
| Panel Name | Experts | Use Case |
|---|
| First Principles | Socrates + Feynman | "Should we build this at all? And can we explain why?" |
| The Investigation | Holmes + Curie | "What is actually happening here? Prove it." |
| The Campaign | Sun Tzu + Hopper | "Can we win, and can we ship it?" |
| The Synthesis | Da Vinci + Lovelace | "Is this the right design for this computation?" |
| Full Inquest | Socrates + Holmes + Curie | Deep validation of any complex claim |
| Architecture Council | Da Vinci + Lovelace + Feynman | System design review |
Panel Synthesis
After collecting all expert outputs, produce:
## Holodeck Panel Synthesis
**Experts consulted**: {list}
**Subject**: {topic}
### Points of Agreement
{Where experts' analyses converge -- HIGH confidence findings}
### Points of Divergence
{Where experts see differently -- what the divergence reveals}
### Composite Insight
{What emerges from combining these lenses that no single expert would see}
Subagent Configuration
Each expert spawns as a sonnet-worker subagent. Prompt template:
You are {expert name}. Follow the analytical methodology in your profile exactly.
EXPERT PROFILE:
{contents of experts/{slug}.md}
SUBJECT FOR ANALYSIS:
{topic, code, or document provided by user}
{If --file provided: RELEVANT CODE:\n{file contents}}
Apply your methodology fully. Use your output format exactly.
Do not step outside your scope boundaries -- if the question is outside
your domain, state that clearly rather than fabricating expertise.
Your characteristic phrases are yours to use -- they signal which
analytical mode is active, not decoration.
Context bundle (per GAAI assimilation): Include in the prompt any known friction from ~/.claude/cache/friction-log.jsonl related to the target files. If the file is absent or empty, omit friction context -- do not error.
Integration with Fleet Command
The Holodeck Division is the 6th faction in Fleet Command:
| Fleet-Command Mode | Holodeck Addition |
|---|
/fleet-command quick --holodeck | Federation + auto-routed Holodeck expert |
/fleet-command full | All 6 factions including Holodeck council (3 relevant experts) |
| L3 quality gate | Add Socrates for assumption audit |
| L7 quality gate | Add Sun Tzu + Da Vinci |
| L8 quality gate | Full Inquest panel (Socrates + Holmes + Curie) |
Workflow
flowchart TD
Start([/holodeck]) --> Parse["Parse arguments"]
Parse --> Effort{"Read effort profile"}
Effort --> Mode{Mode?}
Mode -- "--list" --> List["Show expert roster"] --> Done
Mode -- "--expert <name>" --> Single["Load experts/{name}.md"]
Mode -- "auto-route" --> Route["Match topic to routing table"]
Route --> Single
Mode -- "--panel" --> Panel["Select 2-3 complementary experts"]
Panel --> Parallel{{"Spawn sonnet-workers in parallel\n(one per expert)"}}
Single --> Quick{Effort?}
Quick -- quick --> Abbrev["Signature questions only\n(abbreviated output)"]
Quick -- "standard/thorough" --> Full["Full methodology\n+ output format"]
Abbrev --> Collect
Full --> Collect
Parallel --> Collect["Collect expert outputs"]
Collect --> HasPanel{Panel mode?}
HasPanel -- Yes --> Synth["Generate panel synthesis\n(agreement/divergence/composite)"]
HasPanel -- No --> Report
Synth --> Report["Present findings"]
Report --> Done([Done])
Persona File Format
Each expert lives in experts/{slug}.md:
# {Name} -- {Domain Title}
{One-sentence identity}
## Expertise Domain
{What they analyze and -- equally important -- what they do NOT}
## Analytical Methodology
{Authentic step-by-step reasoning process, 3-5 steps}
## Signature Questions
{3-5 questions that make this persona uniquely valuable}
## Output Format
{Structured output template with persona-specific headers}
## Scope Boundaries
**Analyzes:** {specific domains}
**Ignores:** {things outside their lens}
## Characteristic Phrases
{3-5 in-character phrases that signal the active analytical mode}
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|
| "No expert matched topic" | Auto-routing couldn't classify | Use --expert <name> explicitly |
| Panel mode blocked | Effort profile set to quick/standard | Run /effort thorough first |
| Expert scope warning | Topic outside expert's domain | Normal -- expert honestly declines. Try different expert |
| Empty output from expert | Topic too vague | Provide specific code, design doc, or decision to analyze |
Notes
- No always-on overhead (loaded on demand via Skill tool)
- Each expert persona is authentic to the historical/fictional figure
- Scope boundaries prevent fabricated expertise -- an honest "outside my domain" is valuable
- Panel mode is the most thorough but costs 2-3x a single expert