Tom flexed his hand a few times after the doctor's treatment. There was some stiffness in the joints and a vague tingling sensation like pin pricks where the burn used to be. There was a pink scar stretching across his palm where the doctor mended it. Not perfect, but not bad.

Now that the pain was gone, he thought of his combadge. He'd forgotten all about it in the excitement. But when he tried it, it didn't respond to his touch. "Guess I won't be using that." he muttered.

The doctor finished putting away his supplies and came to take one last look at Tom's hand, he turned the hand over and then back. "If I were you, Mr. Christian," he said, "I'd stay away from the captain for a while. She doesn't condone mutineers."

"The captain?"

"She IS the one who did this?"

"In a way." Tom remembered how Lowry had changed into a captain's uniform. Not Lowry, he reminded himself, but whatever it was.

"As I said," continued the doctor, "Stay away from her for a while."

"By the way, the name's Paris, not Christian." said Tom, feeling a little wary of the literary connotations.

"I know." replied the doctor, "As you have already guessed, I was created from your memory. Actually, she created the ship, I came with it. It was a package deal you might say."

"Does she know about you?"

"Not yet, but she will discover me eventually."

Tom didn't know if he could really trust him, but he saw the doctor as his only possible ally, "I've got to get out of here," he said, "And you're going to help me."

"I can't help you, I'm a hologram," he said.

"But you fixed my hand!"

The doctor turned and walked away a few paces then said, "I'm a hologram of a hologram. Imagine that!"

The doctor's remark gave Tom an idea, "Maybe a hologram could just walk out of here. Out of the dome all together. You could go out and contact my ship. It's so simple it might work."

"Famous last words," said the doctor wryly, "I wouldn't survive in your universe."

Tom hopped up and went to retrieve a tool box, "Trust me, I have an idea."

"More famous last words."

"We can build a holo-emitter with some spare parts and then..." he stopped, "No, that wouldn't work."

"Why not?"

"Well, the emitter would be real and wouldn't pass through the dome, but...then again, it won't be real, because nothing here is real. But on the other hand-"

"I see your point-I think-but I have a solution to your dilemma." said the doctor, "Build it in the holodeck. That way none of it will be real, and your idea will never work!"

The doctor intended it as a joke, but Tom brightened, "Great idea. Let's go."

"After you, McGuiver," remarked the doctor.

Tom was beginning to think that this doctor wasn't so much like the real doctor after all, "Come on, Dr. Heckle."

"Good one." replied the doctor.

They stepped cautiously into the corridor.