Chapter 90.
Latent Image.
(Scott POV)
I was in my Ready room as my Door bell rang.
"Who is it?" I said.
"The Doctor," Doc said.
"Come in," I said.
"I've finished giving the crew their annual physicals, But as usual the captain was a no show," Doc said.
"Let's get it over with," I said.
"Specific complaints," Doc said.
"None How's the crew," I said.
"In good health for the most part," Doc said. "I found a nascent alien retrovirus bouncing between Personal on Deck 10 and 11, But managed to nip it in the bud, And there's been a little more wear and tear on 7's cranial infrastructure, I'm going to Double her maintenance routine, Cyto Metabolism is normal For you that is,"
"Watch it," I said.
"Endocrine functions functioning," Doc said.
"That's a relief," I said.
"I'd like you to drop by sickbay, at your earliest convenience," Doc said. "I've adjusted my holo imager for deep body scans, You're the only member of the crew who hadn't posed for me yet,"
"Maybe Next week," I said.
"It's a fine instrument really, I've already discovered something of a mystery with it, Apparently I performed a complex neurosurgery on Harry Kim, According to the Isotope decay, Around the scares it was 18 months ago," Docs aid.
"I don't remember that," I said.
"Neither do I and Neither does the patient, I checked my medical entries for that period, There's no mention of surgery," Doc said.
"Could your holo imager have misinterpreted the scans," I said.
"Possibly," Doc said. "The Computer is double checking the data now, I'd also like to run a complete diagnostic on my own program, and have a look at my memory files,"
"B'Elanna and Harry are both busy with the plasma relay repairs, we about ready to try using the Hyperdrive," I said. "Let's make sure you've next up on the list, Thank you Doc,"
XXX
I got to Sickbay and deleted Harry's Holo imager file and removed the last hour of the Doc's memory. I can't let him remember again. That nearly destroyed him at time.
Then I headed back to my Ready room.
Where I stayed. Until we got called into the Conference room with the Doctor.
"I don't recognize this species, 7," I said.
"They are unknown to the Borg," 7 said.
"Perhaps these images have been manipulated," Tuvok said.
"No, they're real, The image buffer would've shown signs of tampering, I have a different theory, I believe there was an attack On Voyager by this species, And all our memories of the even were erased, This is the Unknown Crewman I told you about, Ensign Jetal," Doc said. "The question is who was she? An alien intruder posing as a Starfleet Ensign, Of course it's impossible to tell from a photograph, But one thing is certain we are in immediate danger,"
"How so," Tuvok said.
"Only a few hours ago, as I was beginning this investigation, Someone shut down my program, and eliminated all my memories of the last 24 hours," Doc said.
"An intruder may be on board," 7 said.
"Run a Deck by Deck Security sweep," I said.
"Understood," Tuvok said.
"Report to the Astrometrics lab and recalibrate the sensors, See if you can detect any cloaked vessels nearby," I said.
"I'll review the medical records of the rest of the crew, Ensign Kim may not have been the only one who was injured during the attack," Doc said.
"No, I want you to deactivate yourself for now, We'll erect a security field around the main computer, and encrypt all pathways leading to your program," I said. "If someone does try to tamper with you again, I want to be ready,"
"Captain," Doc said.
"It's for your own safety, Doc, Thank you for bringing this to my attention," I said.
"You will keep me informed," Doc said.
"Absolutely, Dismissed," I said.
As 7 and the Doc left.
"We have to erase this," Tuvok said.
"Agreed, We can't have he another feedback loop," I said.
XXX
Eventually, I got to Sickbay and Erased the Doctor, Memory file for the 48 hours and Left the Sickbay and got back to the Bridge.
"What I was there," I said.
"So was I," Chakotay said.
"Commander Chakotay is Correct," Tuvok said.
"Oh and how would you know," I said.
"In my youth I studied many forms of martial art, including the sumo of Earth, I've followed the sport ever since," Tuvok said.
"It was the 77th Emperor's cup, Takashi force Kar Pek out of the circle in less than 3 seconds, I had a 5th row seat," I said.
"Then you must have been ordering sake, Because Takahi's knee broke the sand, and the referee gave the match to Kar Pek," Chakotay said.
"Exactly," Tuvok said.
"Bullshit," I said. "If this is another house call, it'll have to wait, As you can see I've got a mutiny on my hands," As I saw the Doc.
"A mutiny, I suppose that's better than a conspiracy," Doc said.
"Doctor," 7 said.
"Tell her captain," Doc said. "Describe how you tampered with my program, how it was you all along,"
"Perhaps you should accompany me to Sickbay Doctor," Tuvok said.
"Et tu, Tuvok," Doc said. "You're conspiring against me, all of you, Why?"
"In my Ready room," I said. As I headed in.
"You've been manipulating my program, Don't deny it," Doc said.
"I don't intend to," I said.
"But the alien ship, The Intruder, did that attack actually happen?" Doc said.
"Yes, you were damaged during the incident," I said.
"Damaged," Doc said.
"It caused a conflict in your programming that couldn't be resolved," I said.
"What kind of conflict," Doc said.
"I had no choice but to deny you access to your memories of those events," I said.
"What Kind of Conflict," Doc said.
"If I told you that, I might set the entire thing back in motion again," I said.
"This conflict in my programming," Doc said.
"Yes," I said.
"That's not good enough," Doc said.
"It'll have to be," I said.
"Captain," Doc said.
"I've made a command decision for your own benefit, and the welfare of this entire crew, I'm not willing to debate it," I said.
"How would you like it if I operated on you without your consent or without your knowledge," Doc said.
"If it saved my life. I won't give a shit," I said.
"I don't believe you, You'd feel as Violated as I do right now," Doc said.
"Whether you believe me or not is beside the point, A year and a half ago, the only solution was to rewrite your program, I have to perform that same procedure now," I said.
"That isn't fair," Doc said.
"You're malfunctioning, And you need to be repaired, Return to Sickbay and wait for my orders," I said.
XXX
I was in my Quarters as Clara and Chloe was spending the Night with Naomi and Sam.
I was playing Last of us again on my PS, Going for the university. I was just about half way done and my door bell rang.
"Come in," I said.
As 7 came in.
"Are you having trouble regenerating," I said.
"My alcove is functioning properly," 7 said.
As I paused it.
"I am having trouble with the nature of individuality," 7 said.
"Bloody hell, There's a time and a place for philosophical discussion, 2 in the morning in my quarters isn't one of them," I said. "But I'll tell you what, Meet me in the Mess Hall tomorrow,"
"Tomorrow will be too late, We'll have already rewritten the Doctor's program by then," 7 said.
"And violated his rights as an individual," I said.
"Precisely," 7 said.
"If you've come to act as my conscience, You're a little late, I considered these issue's 18 months ago, as I did again this morning, I came to the same conclusion," I said.
"Your conclusion is wrong," 7 said.
"Coffee Black," I said. "Lukewarm, Now, I've told that replicator a dozen times about the temperature of my coffee, It just doesn't seem to want to listen, Almost as if it's got a mind of its own, But it doesn't, A replicator operates through a series of electronic pathways that allow it to receive instructions and take appropriate action, and there you go a cup of coffee, A bowl of soup, Plasma conduit, Whatever we tell it to do, As difficult as it is to accept The Doctor is still a Program,"
"He would disagree," 7 said.
"I'm sure he would, but I can't let that change my decision, I learned that the hard way, when his program almost self destructed, I can't take that risk again," I said.
"The risk isn't yours to take," 7 said.
"If one of my crew chose to put a phaser to his own head, should I let him," I said.
"It would depend on the situation," 7 said.
"It always depends on the situation, 7, We need to Doc. But we can debate philosophy another time," I said.
"When you separated me from the collective, I was an unknown risk to your crew, yet you kept me on board, You allowed me to evolve into an individual," 7 said.
"You're a human being, The Doc is a hologram," I said.
"And you allowed that hologram to evolve as well, to exceed his original programming, and yet, now you choose to abandon him," 7 said.
"Sometimes that is needed to save him from himself," I said.
"It is unsettling, You say that I am a human being and yet, I am also Borg, part of me not unlike your replicator, Not unlike the Doctor, Will you one day choose to abandon me as well," 7 said. "I have always looked to you as my example, my guide to humanity, Perhaps I've been mistaken, Good night," As 7 left.
XXX
B'Elanna and I was in Sickbay.
"I'd like to think I made my decision 18 months ago for all the right reasons, The truth is, My own biases about what you are had just as much to do with it, At the very least, You deserve to know exactly what happened, If you're willing," I said.
"I'm ready," Doc said.
As I nodded to B'Elanna.
"The attack," Doc said. "How did it end, Were there more casualties,"
"We exchanged fire for another few minutes, then I used the Drones to make them back off. There was only one Casualty, Jetal," I said.
"I don't mean to seem unfeeling, But I'm programmed to accept the loss of a patient with professional detachment," Doc said.
"B'Elanna," I said. "It was downhill from there, you developed a feedback loop between your ethical and cognitive subroutines, You were having the same thoughts over and over again, We couldn't stop it,"
"Our only option was to erase your memories of those events," B'Elanna said.
"You were right," Doc said. "I didn't deserve to keep those memories not after what I did,"
"You were performing your duty," I said.
"2 patients, which do I kill," Doc said.
"Doc," I said.
"Doctor, hardly, A doctor retains his objectivity, I didn't do that, did I, 2 patients equal chances of survival, and I chose the one I was closer to, I chose my friend," Doc said. "That's not in my programming, That's not what I was designed to do, Go ahead, Reprogram me, I'll lend you a hand, Let's start with this very day, this hour, this second,"
"Computer End EMH," I said.
"Here we go again," B'Elanna said. "Captain,"
"It's as though there's a battle being fought inside him, between his original programming and what he's become," I said. "Our solution was to end that battle, What if we were wrong,"
"We've seen what happens to him," B'Elanna said. "In fact we've seen it twice,"
"Still we allowed to evolve, and at first sign of trouble, we gave him a soul, B'Elanna, Do we have the right to take it away now," I said.
"We gave him personality subroutines, I'd hardly call that a soul," B'Elanna said.
As I went and end up in Cargo bay 3. As 7 was regenerating. Then Eventually I woke her up,
"Captain," 7 said.
"I'm having trouble with the nature of individuality, Now that's a change," I said.
"You require a philosophical discussion," 7 said.
"There's a time and a place for it, This is one of them," I said. "After I freed you from the Collective You were transformed, It's been a difficult process, Was it worth it,"
"I had no choice," 7 said.
"That's not what I asked you," I said.
"If I could change what happened, Erase what you did to me, Would I," 7 said.
"Yeah basically," I said.
"No," 7 said. "Captain you alright,"
"Just reminded me of someone I used to know," I said.
"Used to," 7 said.
"Yeah, used to," I said.
"What happened?" 7 said.
"Got stuck here," I said. As I left.
XXX
"Captain's Log Supplemental, our Doctor is now our patient, It's been 2 weeks since I've ordered a round the clock vigil. A crew member has stayed with him at all times, Offering a sounding board and a familiar presence, while he struggles to understand his memories and his thoughts, The Chances of recovery. uncertain. End log," I said.
I was reading something which remind me of my pack. My family. I missed him. I just hoping I can find another way home.
"The more I think about it the more I realize there was nothing I could have done differently," Doc said.
"What do you mean," I said.
"The primordial atom burst sending out its radiation, Setting everything in motion, One particle collides with another, Gases expand, Planets contract, and before you know it we've got starships and holodecks and chicken soup. In fact, you can't help but have starships, and holodecks and chicken soup, because it was all determined 20 billion years ago," Doc said.
As Tuvok came in.
"There is a certain logic to your logic," Tuvok said. "Progress,"
"I'm not sure if he's making any sense of this experience, or if his program's just running in circles," I said.
"You've been here for 16 hours," Tuvok said. "Let me continue while you rest,"
"I'll be alright, Go back to the bridge," I said. As Tuvok left and I sat back down.
"How can you read at a time like this," Doc said.
"It helps me think," I said.
"Think, What do you need to think about," Doc said.
"You, The books is relevant to your situation," I said.
"Oh what is it?" Doc said.
"Poetry written on Earth, A thousands years ago, La Vita Nuova," I said.
"La Vita Nuova, The New life. Ha," Doc said. "Tell that to Ensign Jetal, Actually, I killed her countless times,"
"What do you mean," I said.
"Causality, probability, for every action there's an infinite number of reactions and in each one of them I killed her," Doc said. "or did I,"
As I closed my eyes.
"Too many possibilities, Too many pathways for my program to follow. Impossible to choose, Still I, I can't live with the knowledge of what I've done," Doc said. "I can't, Captain, Captain,"
"Jeez," I said.
How could you sleep at a time like this," Doc said.
"Well it's been a long day, You were saying," I said.
"What's wrong," Doc said.
"Nothing," I said.
"You're ill," Doc said.
"Small headache," I said.
"Fever you have fever," Docs aid.
"I'll live," I said.
"Medical Emergency," Doc said.
"Doc," I said.
"Someone's got to treat you immediately," Doc said. "Call Mr. Paris, you've got to get to Sickbay,"
"Doc," I said. "I'm a little busy right now, Helping someone,"
"I'll be all right, Go sleep please," Doc said. "I'll still be here in the morning,
"Sure," I said.
"Yes please," Doc said. "I don't want to be responsible for any more suffering,"
"Night, If you need anything," I said.
"I'll call, Thank you captain," Doc said.
As I headed for my quarters.
That's all for this chapter.
More to follow.
Stay tuned and safe.
Not doing bride of Chaotica. Never liked that Episode, But see you on Gravity.
PEACE!