Summary for Star Trek: Voyager episode
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Season 5, Episode 11
Guest Stars:
Nancy Bell
Scarlett Pomers as "Naomi Wildman"
Story by: Eileen Connors and Brannon Braga & Joe Menosky
Teleplay by: Joe Menosky
Events:
The episode opens in Sick Bay where we see Doc's holographic camera. Through the lens of a camera we see Neelix. We hear Doc's voice as he tells Neelix to turn to the left. In the bottom of the screen is Neelix's name and rank ("Crewman"). The scene shows assorted individuals, one at a time, all receiving instructions to turn either left or right: B'Elanna Torres (Lt.), Thomas Paris (Ens.), and Renlay Sharr (Ens.). Through the camera we watch as Doc tries to find Naomi Wildman (whose name appears at the bottom of the image). The camera catches the top of her head and Doc lowers the angle so we can see Naomi.
Doc asks her to hold still and Naomi asks if it will hurt to have her picture taken. Doc explains that he's rigged his holo-imager to take a picture of someone down to the sub-atomic level through a sub-space band (that's okay, I don't understand it either). Naomi is the precocious child who won't sit still to have her picture taken. So Doc takes her position to show her how easy it will be. Naomi gets behind the camera and tells Doc to hold still.
The scene cuts to a little later. We can see Harry's image reflected off a console. Doc explains it will only take a few seconds to download the data and then he can show Harry what he looks like inside. Harry is interested.
Doc turns on the projector and we watch as an image of Harry is constructed from the skeleton outward, ending with Harry in uniform.
Doc, examining readings on the console, finds something of interest and approaches the image, followed by Harry. He notes that there is scarring along the base of Harry's skull. Calling upon the computer to superimpose an image of the area, Doc notes that Harry has undergone neural surgery. On closer inspection he realizes that he had performed some kind of surgery on Harry (he recognizes procedures he invented).
The problem is that neither Harry nor Doc recall the operation.
The show cuts to opening credits and commercials.
When the show returns we find ourselves in the Captain's Ready room, where Janeway is reading a PADD and drinking coffee. She's interrupted by Doc, who claims she is the only person who hasn't had her annual physical. She's obviously not thrilled by this process, but agrees to be examined. Doc uses a variety of instruments to scan her, and invites her down to Sick Bay to have her scanned by Doc's holo-imager.
She is barely paying any attention.
He tells her of his findings regarding Harry. He claims it happened 18 months ago, according the amount of healing that has taken place. Janeway doesn't recall it. Doc claims the log entries don't list anything for that period. Janeway suggests the holo-imager might have misinterpreted the results, and Doc says he's having the computer check the findings.
He also wants to have his program run through a complete diagnostic and have his memory files checked. Janeway tells him she'll assign B'Elanna and Harry once they've completed the job they're currently working on.
Janeway then dismisses Doc before he completes his examination.
The scene cuts to Astrometrics where 7of9 is busy re-calibrating the deflector. Doc asks for a favour and 7 suggests "another time". She explains she won't be finished till the next day. Doc moans about how he's not getting the attention he needs and 7 stops her activity and listens. Doc explains his problem of not being able to recall the operation, and tells 7 he wants her to help him to run a self-diagnostic. 7 agrees to help in an hour and Doc leaves.
The scene cuts to the appointed time when 7 is to meet with Doc. She enters Sick Bay and finds that the Doc is de-activated. She summons him and discovers he doesn't recall anything about Harry's operation or his discussion with 7. He calls up the images of Harry and finds the files deleted. Checking his memory logs he finds the incidents in question were never filed.
Learning that the operation was supposed to have occurred 18 months earlier, Doc reminds 7 that he used to take a lot of pictures back then. He suggests they review his photo album in Holodeck 2.
On the holo-deck, Doc calls for the computer to display the images for Stardate 50979 (between "Displaced" and "Scorpion"). The computer reports the pictures were deleted. Doc asks to know who deleted them and the computer doesn't know. 7 examines the console information and announces she might be able to restore some of them. She manages to restore five of them, four of which present a female crew member whom neither Doc nor 7 recall. One of those four shows an alien ship through the viewport of a shuttle. The fifth image shows an alien.
The show cuts to commercials.
The show returns with Doc and 7 in a console-filled room. 7 has learned that Doc's memories were stored, but were programmed to deny Doc access to them. 7 overrides the lockout and begins restoring Doc's memories.
He recalls being in the mess hall for a birthday party, taking pictures. He then recalls Harry and the female crew member on the shuttle with him. The shuttle was under attack. Then he recalls the birthday cake in the mess hall. 7 explains the memories won't be in chronological order because she is having trouble finding them.
Doc is then flooded with a lot of random memories. Essentially, he recalls the shuttle being attacked by an alien ship. An alien with a weapon beamed aboard and fired upon the three of them. Both Harry and the female crew member (whom we learn was an ensign) were seriously wounded. Apparently they made it back to the ship but the ensign died during surgery. Harry was saved through neural surgery, which explains the scar tissue found at the beginning of the episode.
Upon reaching the end of the memories Doc calls for the Captain.
The show cuts to commercials.
When we return we're in the conference room with 7, Tuvok, Janeway and Doc. He explains the memories he has, believing the incident was a real attack upon the ship and crew, that memories of Ensign Jetal (the unknown female crew member) and the attack were erased from all of the crew, including himself.
He suggests that the ship might still be in danger, telling the senior officers of his recent memory loss. Janeway orders a deck-by-deck security sweep and orders 7 to re-calibrate the sensors to detect cloaked ships.
Doc proposes to go through the medical records to see if anyone else was hurt during the attack. But Janeway disagrees, ordering him to deactivate himself. She claims they will erect a fore-field around the computer and encrypt all pathways to his program to protect him from further tampering. With some protest Doc agrees.
The scene cuts to Sick Bay, where Doc arrives. He prepares to de-activate himself and then considers taking some precautions of his own. He tells the computer to duplicate his memories for the past 48 hours. This done, he instructs the computer that upon re-activation, if any tampering has occurred to his program he is to be re-activated with the duplicated memories rather than the tampered memories.
Then Doc sets up his holo-imager so that it has a field of vision that includes the Sick bay console. He instructs the computer to take pictures of anyone who enters Sick Bay at five second intervals.
His precautions complete, Doc de-activates.
Time passes.
From the reflection on the console we can see the door open. Whomever walks in must be fairly short, as we do not ever see a face. The console shows that Doc's memory is accessed and his memories are deleted. The holo-imager activates. Shortly afterward the doors open again and the sound of footsteps leaving Sick Bay can be heard.
Shortly afterwards, Doc is re-activated and the computer announces that his memories are being restored. Recalling his precautions, Doc activates the holo-imager and is surprised to find it was Janeway who deleted his memories.
The show cuts to commercials.
The show returns and we're on the bridge. Janeway and Chakotay are arguing over who won a Sumo wrestling match. Tuvok announces he's been a fan of Sumo wrestling since his youth. He and Chakotay agree on who won, while Janeway disagrees.
Doc enters the bridge and announces a conspiracy. He confronts Janeway with what he knows, and Janeway orders him to the Ready Room. She explains that the crew know they were attacked. That the Doc was damaged by the attack and ended up with conflicting instructions he couldn't resolve. She won't explain the nature of the conflict for fear of re-starting the process that she had stopped by removing his memories. She explains that they re-wrote his program and will do so again to prevent Doc from going through the conflict again.
Doc is naturally appalled by this. He argues with Janeway to no avail. In the end, she orders him to Sick Bay to await the process, and he leaves.
In Sick Bay, Chakotay, Tom and 7 arrive to begin downloading his memories. Doc is upset about this, obviously. After Chakotay has assured himself that the process will be carried through he leaves. Doc talks to Tom, asking him about what happened. Tom won't tell him, but he does tell Doc that he (Tom) was a witness to the events and he agrees with Janeway's decision.
The scene cuts to later in the day (2:00 AM, ship's time). We're in Janeway's quarters, where she is reading a book. 7 visits her, and pleads Doc's case. Janeway tries several times to end the conversation but 7 is persistent. Janeway explains Doc is a program, not a human. 7 reminds her that she has machine components, and wonders whether Janeway will abandon her as she is abandoning Doc. Before she leaves, 7 delivers the biggest insult Janeway could get. 7 tells Janeway that she once looked to Janeway as a role-model for being human. Now she feels she needs to reconsider that choice.
The scene cuts to Sick Bay, where Doc is visited by Janeway and B'Elanna. Janeway explains that she's had a change of heart. She is prepared to restore all of Doc's memories so that he can try to resolve the conflict he faced 18 months earlier.
The show cuts to commercials.
When we return, Janeway and B'Elanna restore all of his memories. Doc recalls the birthday party for Jetal. She was a member of the crew. He was assigned to an away mission with Jetal and Harry. During the mission, the shuttle is attacked and both Jetal and Harry were seriously injured. Just before the shuttle could be destroyed, Voyager interceded and drove the attacker off. Doc and the two injured members of the away team were beamed to Sick Bay. In scanning them Doc learned that the weapon used left residual energy to finish off anyone hit with it. Doc has seconds to save one of them, but he doesn't have the time to save both. Tom, who was assisting him, doesn't know how to save them and Doc explains that the operation is too delicate for Tom to be talked through it.
Forced to save one life when two are in the balance, Doc chooses Harry, and Jetal dies.
The scene ends back in Sick Bay, where Doc sits with Janeway and B'Elanna.
The show cuts to commercials.
When the show resumes Janeway explains that the alien ship was forced off without anyone else being injured.
Doc points out that he's been programmed to accept the loss of a patient. With a nod Janeway instructs B'Elanna to allow Doc to have more of his memories.
Doc recalls the bridge ceremony honouring Ensign Jetal. He then recalls an incident in the Mess Hall. He was discussing needed supplies with Neelix, and was asked to make a decision. Instead of making a choice, he discusses the nature of choice. He explains he's programmed to weigh the variables, and all other things being equal, he selects the patient most likely to survive.
However, he doesn't have a routine for making such a choice when both patients have an equal chance of survival.
Doc becomes more and more agitated. Neelix calls for security, and Tuvok and a team arrive to find Doc raving. When he resists an instruction to return to Sick Bay, Tuvok deactivates his portable emitter.
The memories ended, Janeway explains that Doc got worse. His conflict was a feedback loop. Being aware of what he went through, Doc begins going through it all over again. He claims that when he was given a choice he chose his "friend", Harry. He agrees that he should be re-programmed. Maniacally he offers to help, and Janeway deactivates him.
B'Elanna asks if she should begin the process of re-programming Doc. Janeway hesitates, trying to find a way of saving Doc's "soul". B'Elanna points out Doc doesn't have a soul, just personality sub-routines.
The scene cuts to 7's alcove. 7 is regenerating, and Janeway is looking on. She ends 7's regeneration process, and tells 7 that she (Janeway) is having trouble with the nature if individuality. She asks 7, if 7 could change the past and lose her individuality, would she choose to do so. 7 tells her "No".
The scene cuts and we hear Janeway recording her log entry. She explains that two weeks have now passed while familiar crew members sit with Doc in the holo-suite, helping him to adjust to his memories and helping him to overcome the difficulties his decision caused him.
In the holo-deck we see Doc sitting in a chair, rigid. Janeway is in another chair, reading a book. Doc angrily discusses a point of fatalism, when Tuvok enters to relieve Janeway (who's been with Doc for 16 hours straight). Janeway declines and orders Tuvok back to the bridge.
Doc raves on after Tuvok leaves, and yet there is a sadness about him that he cannot work his way out of this dilemma. He catches Janeway sleeping moments after Tuvok leaves. When he wakes her he realizes she has a fever and calls out a Medical Emergency. Janeway declines help, explaining that she needs to help him. This calms Doc down, but he insists she get some rest, pointing out he'll still be there in the morning.
Janeway leaves her book and, offering Doc her presence if he should need it, she leaves.
After she is gone, Doc picks up the book and begins to read it. Finding comfort there, he sits and continues to read.
End of episode.
Personal reflections:
An intriguing episode.
Let me first set aside one quibble. This episode wouldn't have happened if the EMH program had been coded and tested properly. One line of code dealing with the situation where all things are equal and the Doc must make a choice would have covered the problem (if all things are equal, get randomly generated choice and do not feel any guilt over the consequences).
That being said, and for the moment accepting the Doctor as a sentient life form, this episode deals with the guilt of a man who must make life and death decisions. I'm reminded of an ongoing theme in M.A.S.H. where doctors had to accept they weren't god, that no matter what they do they cannot save everyone all the time. In that sense Doc was forced to discover and accept his limitations. He couldn't be in two places at once, saving two equally injured patients when he only had time for one.
This episode does much to further the argument that Doc has reached sentient life-form status. Apparently somewhere along the way he has learned to "feel guilt". This isn't possible for a true automaton. Machines don't feel anything. And while the personality sub-routines were initially inserted to facilitate his interaction with the crew (check "Caretaker"), his need to resolve the unresolvable and his subsequent mania demonstrate he's gone far beyond that.
The Janeway - 7 interaction was somewhat interesting. Apparently all 7 has to do to motivate Janeway is to threaten her with "I won't love you anymore". I consider the following analogy applicable. If 7 had a dog who was sick, and Janeway (Mom) explained that the dog had to be put down rather than undergo an operation, then 7 would be arguing that if 'Mom' was willing to do that to the dog just because he's sick, then would 'Mom' put down the daughter when she is sick. To reassure her adopted daughter, 'Mom' Janeway decided to get the 'dog' the operation he needed. I did not get the impression Janeway saw the light. What I got was Janeway deciding it was easier to give the dog its operation than lose the faith of her 'daughter', 7.
All in all, an episode with enough twists in it to keep it interesting and avoid predictability.
Thank you for your attention.
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