MEDICAL LOGS

PROJECTIONS
Season 1 : Episode 17

 

DOCTOR'S LOG:

Voyager encounters a subspace anomaly that emits a kinoplasmic radiation surge, causing a feedback loop between the holodeck computer and the Doctor's program. The entire situation which the Doctor "experiences" (Voyager in danger etc) is a holographic simulation generated by the EMH's codes, subroutines, and memory circuits. In the simulation, the Doctor sees the bridge, messhall, engineering and other parts of the ship for the first time. The Doctor thinks Kes is beautiful. In the simulation, Barclay says that Doctor Zimmerman i.e. the Doctor, is suffering from HTDS - Holotransference Dementia Syndrome, this being a medical condition in which a person becomes so disoriented within a holographic simulation that they lose their sense of identity and start to think that they are part of the program.

EMH SPECIFICATION:

The Doctor refers to the date of his first activation as stardate 48308.2. This is roughly consistent with  [#1 and #2 Caretaker] as the first stardate mentioned in that episode is 48315.6, which is almost three days after the Doctor is activated by Kim; in  [#118 Relativity] his first activation in front of Janeway and Admiral Patterson is seen, which occurred before Voyager left the spaceborne Utopia Planitia ship-building and repair facility at Mars. The Doctor refers to the date of his activation as stardate 48308.2. His program is formally designated as EMH Program AK-1 Diagnostic and Surgical Subroutine Omega 323. The holomemory core that is the central memory nexus for all holographic systems aboard the ship is located in engineering. Auto-initiation of the EMH occurs when a ship-wide Red Alert goes into effect. The Doctor can transfer bridge logs to the workstation in his office. The Doctor is not programmed to feel pain, bleed, or experience hunger. The pain that he does feel in the simulation is actually caused by the feedback loop eradicating his memory circuits.

the Doctor feels pain and scans himself with a medical tricorder, only to discover apparently that he is organic and not a hologram

MEDICAL KIT:

An emergency medical kit is stored on the bridge behind the tactical console. To get from the Bridge to Sickbay, the route requires crawling through thirty-one Jefferies tubes on five decks.

EMH CREATION:

Dr Lewis Zimmerman, the holo-engineer who created the EMH on Jupiter Station (a spaceborne facility at planet Jupiter in the Alpha Quadrant), is seen to resemble his creation. Lieutenant Reg Barclay (first seen in [TNG]) was part of the original engineering team that designed the EMH. He was in charge of testing the EMH's interpersonal skills.

the Doctor looks at the official record of Dr Lewis Zimmerman

the hallucinatory Barclay persuades the Doctor to test his (the Doctor's) existence by destroying Voyager's holographic core and then tries to explain why the Doctor is not destroyed

HOLOPROJECTORS:

In the holosimulation, the crew have been working on a remote holoprojection system by setting up holographic emitters on critical decks (decks 1-5, engineering, messhall, and cargo bay). This is to enable the Doctor to visit patients in various parts of the ship rather than him be confined to Sickbay. This holoprojection system will later be attempted in reality in early 2371, in  [#24 Persistence of Vision].

DOCTOR'S QUOTE:

To Janeway, not realising she is an hallucination: "Something's very wrong. These tricorders aren't picking up any of your lifesigns. At first, I thought they were malfunctioning, but now I find they show me to be a living, breathing, bleeding human being!"