Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001): Season 5, Episode 11 - Latent Image - full transcript

The Doctor uncovers evidence his memory was erased 18 months ago. Nearly all traces of a crewman and a fateful away mission have been deleted by Captain Janeway. Confronted by The Doctor's need for answers and Seven of Nine's perspective on the rights of a hologram, Janeway restores the fatal truth about Ensign Jetal, The Doctor's choice that led to her death, and his resulting breakdown.

Turn 90 degrees
to the left, please.

Turn 90 degrees
to the left, please.

Turn 90 degrees to the right,
please.

About face.

Try to hold still, please.

ls it going to hurt?

Of course not.

A few photons
never hurt anybody.

We didn't do this last year.

That's because last
year, l didn't realize

what an exciting tool
my holo-imager could be



in the pursuit
of medical knowledge.

ls something wrong with me?

Your health is excellent.

This is just another way

to make sure
that it stays excellent.

Does my mother have to do this?

Your mother and everybody else
on board.

l've made it
part of the annual checkup.

lt's quite handy, really.

By attuning
the resonance spectrum

along a subspace band,

l can take an image
of my patients

all the way down
to the subatomic level.

Subatomic level?



l thought you said
this wasn't going to hurt.

l did...

and it won't.

There... see?

Nothing to it.

Try to hold still, please.

Are you making fun of me?

No.

lt'll only take a second
to download your images

into the medical database,

if you'd like to stay
for a moment

and see what you look like
from the inside out.

Why not?

Here we go.

Handsome fellow.

Hmm.

There's some scar tissue

along the base
of your lower skull.

Computer, isolate
the occipital plexus,

magnification 500.

There.

Scarring along the dura mater.

>From what?

An operation.

Computer, isolate
the cranial meninges,

magnification 100.

More scarring.

No doubt about it,
somebody performed neurosurgery.

And that somebody...

was me.

These microlinear incisions
are a dead giveaway.

l developed that procedure
myself.

l don't understand.

l don't remember
having an operation.

l'm a little confused as well...

because l don't remember
performing it.

Who is it?

The Doctor.

Come in.

l've finished giving the crew
their annual physicals.

But as usual,
the Captain was a no-show.

Let's get it over with.

Specific complaints?

None. How's the crew?

ln good health,
for the most part.

l found a nascent
alien retrovirus

bouncing between personnel
on Decks 10 and 1 1,

but managed
to nip it in the bud.

And there's been a little
more wear and tear

on Seven of Nine's
cranial infrastructure.

l'm going to double
her maintenance routine.

Cyto-metabolism is normal.

Endocrine functions functioning.

That's a relief.

l'd like you to drop by Sick Bay
at your earliest convenience.

l've adjusted my holo-imager
for deep body scans.

You're the only member
of the crew

who hasn't posed for me yet.

Maybe next week.

lt's a fine instrument, really.

l've already discovered
something of a mystery with it.

Apparently, l performed

a complex neurosurgery
on Harry Kim.

According to the isotope decay

around the scars,
it was 18 months ago.

l don't remember that.

Neither do l, and...

neither does the patient.

l checked my medical entries
for that period.

There's no mention of surgery.

Could your holo-imager have
misinterpreted the scans?

Possibly.

The computer is double-checking
the data now.

l'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.

Let's make sure you're
next up on the list.

Thank you, Doctor.

Hello, Seven.

Doctor.

l'm here to ask you a favor.

Another time.

l beg your pardon?

l am recalibrating
the deflector dish.

Come back tomorrow.

l should be finished by then.

Looks like l'm two for two.

Oh, the Captain's acting
like she's allergic to me,

and now my prized pupil

won't even give me
the time of day.

State your request.

A little mystery
has cropped up--

evidence that l performed
surgery on Ensign Kim

a year and a half ago,
before you came aboard.

The trouble is...

l don't remember it.

l wanted you to help me run
a self-diagnostic.

l will assist you...

in one hour.

Fair enough.

Computer, locate
the Emergency Medical Hologram.

The EMH is inactive.

Activate him.

Please state the nature
of the medical emergency.

l'm here to assist you,
as l agreed.

l've run a preliminary
diagnostic of your program.

Your suspicions were correct.

l never asked you
to run a diagnostic.

Suspicions? What
are you talking about?

You don't recall speaking to me

in the Astrometrics Lab
one hour ago.

No.

The last l remember,

l was completing
the yearly physicals.

You mentioned a neurosurgery

you performed on Ensign Kim
18 months ago.

Computer, locate the holo-scans

l took of Ensign Kim
this morning.

Any operation would
show up on...

Unavailable.
That file has been deleted.

Let's have a look at my program.

A deletion in your
short-term memory buffer.

Our chat in Astrometrics
never got filed.

That's why l can't remember it.

Hmm...

lf l were given to paranoia,

l'd say someone is trying
to keep me from finding out

what happened 18 months ago.

Hmm...

My photo album.

Doctor...

l was quite a shutterbug
back then.

Not a day went by

when l didn't record
an image for posterity.

Let's have a walk
down memory lane.

Let's have a walk
down memory lane.

Meet me on Holodeck 2.

Computer, display
all holo-images

taken on Stardate 50979.

Those holo-images
have been deleted.

Deleted?

By whom?

Unknown.

l'm detecting residual photons
in the holo-buffer.

lt may be possible
to partially reconstruct

the images.

Try.

l've restored five images.

They are degraded but intact.

Let's see them.

The Mess Hall.

Do you remember this?

No.

Who is that?

The Ensign.

lt seems to be her birthday.

l've never seen her before.

The Ensign again.

l never went on
a shuttle mission with Harry Kim

and certainly not with her.

And again.

l've isolated your memory files
from Stardate 50979.

They weren't deleted?

No.

Then why can't l remember them?

The program was rewritten

to deny you access
to those memories.

l'm trying to restore them.

Here, here.

Here, here.

Say, ''Cheese.''

Cheese. Cheese.

What happened?

l was in the Mess Hall.

The files are difficult
to localize.

The memories will be
out of sequence.

What was that?

Our sensors are dead.

Make a wish.

They've stopped.

One moment.

Make a wish.

l'm going to kill you.

Ensign, l haven't seen you
in months.

The price l pay for staying
in good health, l guess.

Acetylcholine--
25 microliters.

lt's not helping.

l'm reading
massive synaptic failure.

That doesn't make any sense.

This is the last one.

Say, ''Cheese.''

-Cheese.
-Cheese.

Call the Captain.

l don't recognize this species.

Seven?

They are unknown to the Borg.

Perhaps these images
have been manipulated.

No. They're real.

The image buffer would've
shown signs of tampering.

l have a different theory.

l believe there was an attack
on Voyager by this species

and all our memories
of the event were erased.

This is the unknown crewman
l told you about--

Ensign Jetal.

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?

Only a few hours ago,

as l was beginning
this investigation,

someone shut down my program

and eliminated all my memories
of the last 24 hours.

An intruder may be on board.

Run a deck-by-deck
security sweep.

Understood.

Report to the Astrometrics Lab
and recalibrate the sensors.

See if you can detect
any cloaked vessels nearby.

l'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.

No. l 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.

lf someone does try
to tamper with you again,

l want to be ready.

Captain...

lt's for your own safety,
Doctor.

Thank you for bringing this
to my attention.

You will keep me informed?

Absolutely.

Dismissed.

Computer... transfer my program

from the mobile emitter
to the Sick Bay systems.

Transfer complete.

Computer...

Duplicate all of my memory files

recorded within
the last 48 hours.

Duplication complete.

Now... l'm going off-line.

lf my program is altered
without my authorization,

reactivate me and restore
the duplicate memory files.

lnterface with the holo-imaging
device.

lf anybody enters this room,

commence imaging
in five-second intervals.

Acknowledged.

Computer, deactivate EMH.

Please state the nature
of the medical emergency.

Hello?

Restoring memory files.

Restoration complete.

Believe me, l was there.

So was l.

Commander Chakotay is correct.

Oh? And how would you know?

ln my youth, l studied
many forms of martial art,

ln my youth, l studied
many forms of martial art,

including the sumo of Earth.

l've followed the sport
ever since.

lt was the 77th Emperor's Cup.

Takashi forced Kar-pek
out of the circle

in less than three seconds.

l had a fifth row seat.

Then you must have been
ordering sake,

because Takashi's knee
broke the sand

and the referee gave
the match to Kar-pek.

Exactly.

lf this is another house call,
it'll have to wait.

As you can see,
l've got a mutiny on my hands.

A mutiny? l suppose
that's better than a conspiracy.

Doctor.

Tell her, Captain.

Describe how you tampered
with my program,

how it was you all along.

Perhaps you should accompany me
to Sick Bay, Doctor.

Et tu, Tuvok?

You're conspiring against me,
all of you.

Why?

ln my ready room.

You've been manipulating
my program.

Don't deny it.

l don't intend to.

But... the alien ship...
the intruder...

Did that attack actually happen?

Yes. You were damaged
during the incident.

''Damaged''?

lt caused a conflict
in your programming

that couldn't be resolved.

What kind of conflict?

l had no choice
but to deny you access

to your memories
of those events.

What kind of conflict?!

lf l told you that, l might

set the whole thing
in motion again.

This ''conflict''
in my programming...

Yes?
that's not good enough.

lt'll have to be.

Captain!

l've made a command decision
for your own benefit

and the welfare
of this entire crew.

l'm not willing to debate it.

How would you like it
if l operated on you

without your consent
or without your knowledge?

lf the operation saved my life?

l could live with it.

l don't believe you.

You'd feel as violated
as l do right now.

Whether you believe me
or not is beside the point.

A year and a half ago,

the only solution was
to rewrite your program.

l have to perform
that same procedure now.

That isn't fair.

You're malfunctioning

and you need to be repaired.

Return to Sick Bay
and wait for my orders.

Doctor.

What's happening?

What are you doing?

Lieutenant Torres
requires a copy

of your most recent
memory files,

including the backups.

You're going
to rewrite my program.

The Captain thinks
it's for the best.

l'm sorry.

B'Elanna and Seven

are setting up the procedure
right now.

ln the meantime, you're to brief

Mr. Paris about any experiments
you're performing, any tests.

l'll be filling in
while your program's off-line.

Okay. So, you're running
some kind of cell analysis?

Yes.

Well, let's take a look.

What happened 18 months ago?

Doc...

Why won't the Captain tell me?

She has her reasons.

And you agree with her?

l was there... and, yes,
l agree with her.

Come in.

Are you having
a little trouble regenerating?

My alcove is
functioning properly.

l am having trouble with
the nature of individuality.

There's a time and a place
for philosophical discussion.

2:00 in the morning in my
quarters isn't one of them,

but l'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.

And violated his rights
as an individual.

Precisely.

lf you've come to act
as my conscience,

you're a little late.

l considered these issues
18 months ago,

as l did again this morning.

l came to the same conclusion.

Your conclusion is wrong.

Coffee, black.

Lukewarm.

Now l've told that replicator
a dozen times

about the temperature
of my coffee.

lt 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,
a plasma conduit--

whatever we tell it to do.

As difficult as it is
to accept...

the Doctor is
more like that replicator

than he is like us.

than he is like us.

He would disagree.

l'm sure he would,

but l can't let that change
my decision.

l learned that the hard way

when his program
almost self-destructed.

l won't take that risk again.

The risk isn't yours to take.

lf one of my crew
chose to put a phaser

to his own head,
should l let him?

lt would depend
on the situation.

lt always depends
on the situation, Seven,

but we can debate
philosophy another time.

When you separated me
from the collective,

l was an unknown risk

to your crew,
yet you kept me on board,

you allowed me to evolve
into an individual.

You're a human being.

He's a hologram.

And you allowed that hologram
to evolve as well,

to exceed
his original programming,

and yet, now you choose
to abandon him.

Objection noted.

Good night.

lt is unsettling.

You say that l am a human being
and yet, l am also Borg...

part of me not unlike
your replicator...

not unlike the Doctor.

Will you one day choose
to abandon me as well?

l have always looked

to you as my example--
my guide to humanity.

Perhaps l've been mistaken.

Good night.

l'd like to think l made
my decision 18 months ago

for all the right reasons.

The truth is, my own biases
about what you are

have just as much
to do with it.

At the very least,

you deserve to know
exactly what happened...

if you're willing.

l'm ready.

You're standing on my foot.

l am not.

Shh...

lf you ask me,
they should have

just locked the turbolift...

Neelix...
the power's down.

Jetal to Torres.

Uh, go ahead, Ensign.

Or should l say...

Surprise!

l'm going to kill you.

l want you to go along

on a few
of the shuttle surveys...

if l can talk you into it.

Another away mission?

Certainly.
l'm flattered.

l guess
the birthday girl and l

get the pleasure
of your company, Doc.

You launch at 1900 hours,

Shuttle Bay 1.

Hello, Doctor.

Ensign Jetal.

l haven't seen you in months.

The price l pay
for staying in good health.

So, keeping busy
down on Deck 1 1?

Too busy.

We're modifying
one of the shuttles,

making it more maneuverable
and more... cool.

Hmm... l see you've been working
with Mr. Paris.

My condolences.

l thought l picked up
a slight distortion in subspace,

but it's not there anymore.

Nothing on
our long-range sensors,

but a few hydrogen atoms.

Candid shot?

Try to look natural.

At least it's my good side.

Let's get one of the group.

This is the last one.

Say ''Cheese.''

Cheese.

Doctor, l have a shuttle to fly.

Ah, yes.

What was that?

Our sensors are dead.

Power's being drained.

Shields and weapons
are off-line.

How?!

Doctor to Voyager.
Mayday.

We're under attack!

l've got wounded.
Mayday!

Acknowledged, Doctor.

Set navigational controls
to return to Voyager.

Commander, can you hear me?

Doctor, please respond.

Hello?!

Computer,
engage auto navigation.

Lay in a course for Voyager,
full impulse.

Doctor...

Stay calm.

That weapon carried
quite a punch.

ls she okay?

She's unconscious.

Voyager...

We've lost contact.

l sent that alien
back to his ship.

You think they'd be grateful.

You should have beamed...
him... into space.

l'm not in the business
of killing people, Ensign.

Synaptic shock...?

But there was no neural damage.

Mr. Kim!

l don't understand!

Oh, no!

Doctor, stand by for transport.

Beam us directly to Sick Bay.

Prepare these people
for surgery.

Here, what happened?

We were fired on.

There's something wrong
with their nervous systems.

We've got to stabilize
their synapses.

Get me a choline compound.

Which choline compound?

lt doesn't matter.

Just make sure it's a pure base.

Her spinal cord's deteriorating.

Same rate of collapse.

Acetylcholine--
25 microliters.

lt's not helping.

l'm reading
massive synaptic failure.

This doesn't make any sense.

Paris to Engineering.

Transfer all available power
to Sick Bay.

Acknowledged.

Some kind of plasmic energy

is arcing between
their neural membranes.

That weapon...
it was designed to do this.

To leave a residual charge
in the victim's body?

An energy pulse that remains
in the neural membranes,

working its way
up the spinal cord

and into the brain.

They'll be dead in minutes

if we don't find a way
to stop it.

l've got to protect
their brain functions.

His neocortex is failing.

A spinal shunt.

l'll isolate the spinal cord
from the brain stem...

until l can repair
the cellular damage.

But l don't have time to perform
the procedure on both of them.

Then talk me through it.

We'll do them together.

lt's too complex.

Then make a choice,

before we lose them both!

Subdermal scalpel.

Bioelectric field generator.

His vital signs
are stabilizing...

lt's working.

Cellular regenerator.

His neural membranes
are reestablishing themselves.

Good... good.

The attack...

how did it end?

Were there more casualties?

We exchanged fire
for another few minutes,

then the aliens withdrew.

There was only one casualty...

Ensign Jetal.

l don't mean to seem unfeeling,

but l'm programmed to accept
the loss of a patient

with professional detachment.

We are assembled here today

to pay final respects
to our honored dead...

Ensign Ahni Jetal.

Her intelligence and her charm
have made our long journey home

seem not quite so long.

As she continues
on a journey of her own,

we will keep her
in our hearts...

and in our memories.

We're low
on synthetic antigens

and l'm sorry to report,

many of the medicinal plants
you've collected

over the past several months
were destroyed as well.

l have some herbs in storage
you might be able to use.

Been holding out on me?

No.

l was keeping them
around just in case.

Good planning.

As for the antigens,
l'll have

to start replicating
them in batches.

Which do you want first?

Decisions, decisions.

How do you make
a decision, Mr. Neelix?

ln general, l mean.

l guess l weigh the alternatives
and try to decide which is best.

Which is best?

How do you determine that?

l never thought about it,
really.

Well, maybe you should--

think about it, l mean.

l guess every situation
is a little different.

For me, it's rather simple.

While l'm faced
with a decision,

my program calculates
the variables

and l take action.

For example, what
could be simpler

then a triage situation
in Sick Bay?

Two patients, for example,
both injured, for example,

both in imminent
danger of dying.

Calculate the variables.

My program needs to
ascertain which patient

has the greater
chance of survival,

and that's the one l treat.

-Oh!
-Oh!

Simple.

But... what if they have
an equal chance of survival?

What then?

Hmm?

Flip a coin?

Pick a card?

Doctor...

Oh, l'm all right.

l'm a hologram.
l don't get injured.

l don't feel pain.
l don't die.

Unlike some people
l could tell you about.

For example, two patients,

both injured,

both in imminent danger of...

Don't touch me.

l'm a hologram.

Photonic energy.
Don't waste your time.

Neelix to Security.

Send a team
to the Mess Hall, please.

A whole team, Mr. Neelix?

Throwing a little party,
are we?

Why, l attended a party
just recently.

A birthday party
for a very nice young woman.

l made a decision there, too.

Several of them, in fact.

When l came through the door,

do l turn right

or do l turn left?

As l recall, l decided on...
the latter.

Then, what should
l see before me,

but the hors d'oeuvre tray?

And another decision--

''Do l take a canap?...
or refuse?''

Oh. That's an easy one.
l'm a hologram-- l don't eat.

Something's wrong with him.

Don't you know it's rude

to refer to somebody
in the third person?

You had a choice, Mr. Neelix--

''Should l do something rude
or not do something rude?''

Doctor, we must return
to Sick Bay.

Why should l?

What if l don't want
to return to Sick Bay?

What if l decide
not to return to Sick Bay?

No. l don't choose this.

Leave me alone! Let me go!

Why did she have to die?

Why did l kill her?!

Why did l decide to kill her?!
Why?!

Somebody tell me why!

lt 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.

You were right.

l didn't deserve
to keep those memories...

not after what l did.

You were performing your duty.

Two patients-- which do l kill?

-Doctor...
-''Doctor''? Hardly.

A doctor retains
his objectivity.

l didn't do that, did l?

Two patients,
equal chances of survival,

and l chose the one
l was closer to?

l chose my friend?

That's not in my programming.

That's not what l was designed
to do!

Go ahead!

Reprogram me!
l'll lend you a hand!

Let's start with this very day,

this hour, this second!

Computer, deactivate the EMH.

Here we go again.

Captain?

lt's as though there's a battle
being fought inside him...

between his original programming

and what he's become.

Our solution was
to end that battle.

What if we were wrong?

We've seen what happens to him.

ln fact, we've seen it twice.

Still... we allowed him
to evolve,

and at the first sign
of trouble...

We gave him a soul, B'Elanna.

Do we have the right
to take it away now?

We gave him
personality subroutines.

l'd hardly call that a soul.

Captain.

l'm having trouble...

with the nature
of individuality.

You require
a philosophical discussion.

There's a time
and a place for it.

This is one of them.

After l freed you
from the collective...

you were transformed.

lt's been a difficult process.

Was it worth it?

l had no choice.

That's not what l asked you.

lf l could
change what happened...

erase what you did to me...
would l?

No.

Captain's Log, supplemental.

Our Doctor is now our patient.

lt's been two weeks
since l'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.

The more l think about it,
the more l realize

there's nothing l could've
done differently.

What do you mean?

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.

ln fact, you can't help
but have starships

and holodecks
and chicken soup,

because it was all determined
20 billion years ago!

There is a certain
logic to your logic.

Progress?

l'm not sure if he's making
any sense of this experience,

or if his program's
just running in circles.

You've been here for 16 hours.

Let me continue while you rest.

l'll be all right.

Go back to the Bridge.

How can you read
at a time like this?

lt helps me think.

Think? What do you need
to think about?

You. This book is relevant
to your situation.

Oh? What is it?

Poetry... written on Earth

a thousand years ago--
La Vita Nuova.

La Vita Nuova--
''The New Life''? Ha!

Tell that to Ensign Jetal.

Actually...

l killed her countless times.

l killed her countless times.

What do you mean?

Causality, probability.

For every action, there's
an infinite number of reactions,

and in each one of them,
l killed her!

Or did l?

Too many possibilities...

too many pathways
for my program to follow...

impossible to choose...

Still, l...

l can't live with the knowledge
of what l've done.

l can't.

Captain?

-Captain?
-Oh, sorry.

How could you sleep
at a time like this?

Well, it's been a long day.

You were saying...?

What's wrong?

Nothing.

You're ill.

l have a headache.

Fever. You have

-a fever.
-l'll live.

-Medical emergency!
-Doctor...

Someone's got to treat you
immediately.

Call Mr. Paris.
You've got to get to Sick Bay!

Doctor...

l'm a little busy right now...

helping a friend.

l... l'll be all right.

Go. Sleep. Please.

l'll still be here
in the morning.

Sure?

Yes. Please.

l don't want to be responsible
for any more suffering.

Good night.

lf you need anything...

l'll call.

Thank you, Captain.

''ln that book
which is my memory...

''On the first page
of the chapter

''that is the day
when l first met you...

Appear the words,
'Here begins a new life.'''