Agony Booth

An Agony Booth circa 2155

"The agony booth is a most effective means of discipline."

- Commander Spock, Terran Empire

In the Mirror Universe, an Agony Booth was a device used to discipline and punish misbehaving officers. In 2155, Major Reed and Dr. Phlox designed a prototype agony booth for use on Terran starships.

The booth works by stimulating the pain center of virtually any humanoid, a synaptic scan calibrates it for each species. Traditional forms of punishment can overwhelm the nervous system, after a time the brain ceases to feel anything. However, the agony booth possesses sensors that continually shift the stimulation from one nerve cluster to another, keeping the subject in a constant state of agony, hence its name.

An Agony Booth circa 2267

Within a few days of its operation, Terev, Commander Tucker, and Commander Archer were subjected to its effects. The prototype, however, was destroyed along with the ISS Enterprise (NX-01), when it was crushed in the Tholian web. (ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly")

Nevertheless, this design would find its way into use aboard the 23rd century ISS Enterprise. This device was generally used for major offenses, whereas the Agonizer was typically used for minor offenses. Pavel Chekov was placed in an agony booth following the assassination attempt he made on Captain Kirk. (TOS: "Mirror, Mirror")