Actually, energy-to-matter is only one way of achieving the result. There's also the option of "smart matter" comprising millions of micro-bots linked in a network and acting in concert. These could form the "cells" of a virtual creature that could be anything from a table to a fully-formed human replica. (In Terminator 2, they called this "polymimetic alloy" and the the Denzel Washington movie Virtuosity used a similar concept based on silicon.) This is far-out for sure, but the first steps towards this tech are being taken today, and it's much closer to doable than E2M conversion. Another possibility is something like "Disneyworld++". You can take advantage of the fact that most people's fantasies aren't very original (and tend to be tied to the current offerings of mass entertainment) to get an economy of scale. Build huge sets and outfit them with androids made to look like famous characters. Maybe have eight or ten different "rides" going at any one time, with patrons paying big bucks to live out a pre-written or custom-supplied (and therefore more expensive) fantasy script. The ultimate immersive RPG! You'd probably be able to get groups together as well to reduce the cost per person even farther. Think of paintball today - it's essentially an elaborate military RPG for multiple players. Cosplay is a similar idea, too. Right now these are both marginal forms of entertainment, but our hunger for new experiences often forces marginal ideas into the mainstream. As robots become more capable and lifelike and less expensive, these options will become more feasible. None of this has anything to do with the holodeck that's coming in about 40 years. That's a home entertainment device made by Sony-Disnosoft. ;-) - Jimdoria ~@>@

• Jimdoria  ~@>@