MEDICAL LOGS

THRESHOLD
Season 2 : Episode 31

 

MEDICAL REPORT:

After Paris travels at infinite velocity (also known as warp 10) in the enhanced shuttlecraft Cochrane, the Doctor's medical check-up of Paris produces a clean bill of health.

the Doctor carries out tests on Paris and gives him a clean bill of health, and Torres confirms Paris broke the transwarp barrier

However, Paris collapses in the Messhall after he ingests some of Neelix's new blend of coffee (christened Paris' Delight in honour of his historic test-flight). The Doctor determines that Paris is somehow allergic to the water in the coffee, saying: "I don't know how this is possible, but it appears that his entire biochemistry is changing. His electrolytes are breaking down, interstitial fluids are congealing. The alveoli in his lungs are mutating. He's no longer processing oxygen." The Doctor seals off the surgical bay with a forcefield and fills the area with 80 per cent nitrogen and 20 per cent acidichloride (the latter is a corrosive gaseous chemical, toxic to humanoid life), which allows Paris to breathe. The Doctor can only watch and scan as Paris' biochemistry undergoes dramatic changes - his organs are mutating, and his cell membranes are deteriorating rapidly. Despite the Doctor's best efforts, Paris dies, and the Doctor tells Kes that they will have to perform an autopsy in the morning.

the Doctor observes and scans as Paris' biochemistry changes radically

During the night, the Doctor discovers that Paris has spontaneously begun breathing again and, when the Doctor examines him, they are both amazed to find that Paris now has two hearts.

above 6 pictures: Paris comes back to life, and the Doctor discovers that Paris now has two hearts

A continuing series of accelerated mutations leave Paris radically transformed and subject to bouts of paranoia and violence. His DNA rewrites itself. The mutations are unlike anything in Starfleet medical records. His internal organs are re-arranged, some having atrophied and been absorbed into his body At least three other organs appear to have no identifiable function at all. To cure Paris and Janeway the Doctor has to destroy all the new DNA in their bodies with highly-focussed antiproton radiation, in order that their cells will have to use the original coding as a blueprint. The warp core is the only place on the ship that generates antiprotons. The procedure calls for them to first place Paris in a chamber in isotropic restraint and then infuse it with a controlled two-second antiproton burst. To do this they take the warp engines offline and bleed off .05 7 A.M.U. of antiproton radiation, shunting it through the interface. The two-second burst does not work and when they try to increase to a five-second burst, he forcibly escapes confinement.

the Doctor starts to administer the treatment, giving orders via monitor from Sickbay, to Paris who is in isotropic restraint, but Paris escapes

Paris kidnaps Janeway, takes her to the Cochrane and launches them both on another transwarp journey. The Doctor believes the mutations are natural, but greatly accelerated, and have taken Paris (and also Janeway) to a future stage in human evolution, one which the Doctor comments is not attractive. The crew eventually locate Paris and Janeway in a jungle area near the equator of a planet, only to find that they have mutated into amphibian creatures and have mated, producing three offspring. Chakotay takes Paris and Janeway back to Voyager but decides to leave the offspring behind in that habitat. Back on Voyager, the Doctor is able to perform the procedure (see description above) to eliminate the mutant DNA from their bodies and return them to normal, although the full procedure is not seen on the television screen so it is unclear how the full treatment was administered. The Doctor holds Paris and Janeway in Sickbay under observation for three days.

the Doctor explains to Tuvok and Chakotay that Paris was evolving	Paris and Janeway - mutated
Janeway after treatment to restore her previous normal form	Paris, also restored

MEDICAL PERSONNEL:

When Paris falls ill in the Messhall (see MEDICAL REPORT), Torres urgently requests a medical team come to the Messhall since the transporter duty officer is unable to get a transporter lock on Paris. Torres' request indicates that Kes is not the only person working with the Doctor. Other medical assistants, though apparently junior to Kes, are seen in several episodes e.g.  [#118 Relativity]. When Paris escapes from Engineering, he uses a phaser on the port plasma conduit resulting in power failures all over the ship, but it is not known whether Sickbay is one of the areas which suffers as a result.

DOCTOR'S LOG:

The Doctor is not programmed to cry. This will have changed by early 2377, mentioned in  [#148 Imperfection], when he reports that Torres added a subroutine enabling him to cry so that he could appreciate opera.

ISOTROPIC RESTRAINT:

This is a medical forcefield which holds the humanoid patient totally immobile, contained within a cylinder rather longer and wider than the patient. An isotropic restraint field is used to immobilise Neelix on stardate 48532 so that holographic lungs could be projected into his body, in 2371,  [#5 Phage]. It is also used to restrain the mutating body, from the neck downwards, of Paris in 2372 in order to subject his body to doses of highly-focussed antiproton radiation, in this episode.

Paris in isotropic restraint

DOCTOR'S QUOTE:

To Paris after his first transwarp flight: "You're not going anywhere, at least not for a few hours. I have some tests I'd like to run on Your Majesty before I release you back into the realm of ordinary humans."