The Decontamination Meeting Room

February 1, 2025

At work, there’s this meeting room (I believe it’s named “Turkey Jerky”). I rarely see anyone in there, but it’s one of our larger conference rooms. And because it’s typically unoccupied, the default screensaver appears on both of the large monitors/screens on the wall.

The result of this? On walking by to get to one of the kitchen areas, the room exudes this kind of blue… glow. In the photo I took, my iPhone has auto-corrected things. I’ve tweaked the colors a bit in Photoshop… so what you’re seeing is not 100% the original photo I took, but it’s closer to the image I see when I’m at work.

The thing is this: when I walk by, I can’t help but make this Star Trek connection. I immediately think of the “decontamination chamber” that appears in Star Trek: Enterprise.

For those not familiar with the show or series, the decontamination chamber was an area where crew members would go after away missions. The chamber was designed to remove harmful pathogens, and involved the crew members rubbing medicinal gel over one another’s bodies, while bathing under a blue colored UV light.

That’s the scientific explanation for the chamber. For those of us who aren’t 100% Trekkies and blinded by fandom, we see it for what it is: a bit of visual erotica that aims to nudge this Sci-Fi show a few steps towards softcore pornography.

I get that these interpid space explorers need to stay safe from viruses and spores. But at the end of the day, it just feels like an excuse to show the crew members, rubbing one another down like horny teenagers at the beach. And to be honest with you, I can’t tell if I’m complaining or praising the show, at this point in time.

Anyhow – this office room, at my place of employment. It reminds me of this show, and of this segment of the show. I get a chuckle each time I walk by, and I’m curious if I’m the only person who thinks this (I work at a tech company, so I can’t be the only one).

To date, I haven’t yet scheduled a meeting in this room.

Yet.