Google Map pictures of a Chinese building apparently constructed in the shape of a Star Trek spaceship have been making the social media rounds for a while now, with much speculation about what company and—more importantly—what spaceship the building belongs to and is based on. Now, The Wall Street Journal reports that the facility, in the shape of the Enterprise-E from the later Next Generation films, is an office building for online gaming company NetDragon Websoft. The company’s founder is apparently a huge fan of the series, and thought it would be fun for his employees to work in one of the franchise’s ships, because nothing lifts spirits like sitting in a symbol of humanity’s drive for greatness while fielding calls from irate parents, angry because you tricked their 10-year-olds into spending $60 on virtual rocks.
Copyright purists will be happy to know that NetDragon didn’t just plop its new building down without regard for the intellectual property in question; the company reportedly approached CBS, which owns the rights to the Star Trek franchise, to get permission before building began. This was apparently the first time the network had ever been approached with concerns about architectural piracy—especially since NASA’s plans to build a new, Mars-focused launch facility in the shape of Big Bang Theory star Jim Parson’s head remain deadlocked by red tape—but NetDragon was given the go-ahead to proceed.
Of course, it’s not enough for a company to turn its building’s exterior into a permanent statement of fanboy obsession; the interior needs some great, dorky stuff, too. So it may not surprise you to learn that The House That Eudemons Online Built also contains a life-size replica of a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton—as in the classic original series episode, “The One Where Captain Kirk Is A Dinosaur.” (There are no pictures of the dinosaur skeleton, but given that the Journal reports that it’s based on a fossil found in South Dakota, it could be a replica of the Chicago Field Museum’s much-beloved Sue.)
Chinese sci-fi fans are reportedly delighted by the new building, speaking positively about it on the nation’s social media. However, they do apparently have a tendency to confuse Star Trek and Star Wars while talking about the building, presumably as part of a sinister plot to deplete America’s tech worker population by making their heads explode in rage.