MEDICAL LOGS

LIFE LINE
Season 6 : Episode 144

 

DOCTOR'S LOG:

Starfleet's first monthly (every 32 days) compressed datastream from the Pathfinder Project via the MIDAS array includes a letter to the Doctor from Lieutenant Reg Barclay. The letter reports that Dr Lewis Zimmerman, the creator of the EMHs, is terminally ill, suffering from acute subcellular degradation, which is very similar to the early stages of the Vidiian phage. Initial symptoms were fatigue, nausea, and joint inflammation.

the Doctor reads the letter

the Doctor looks at Zimmerman's medical record

As a result of his medical experience with the Vidiian phage, the Doctor obtains Janeway's permission to visit the Alpha Quadrant. A version of the Doctor's program reduced in size is transmitted to Zimmerman's lab on Jupiter Station; Seven temporarily removes all of the Doctor's non-essential subroutines because his program is too large for the data stream. She removes 12 megaquads of information, including his singing algorithms, athletic abilities, painting abilities, and grand master chess program.

the Doctor is reluctant for Seven to remove too much of his program: "Try to leave a few of my enhancements intact. I don't want to look like every other EMH on the block. I think Dr Zimmerman will be very interested to see what I've learned. He probably never imagined what one of his own creations could accomplish. I could spark a whole new field in holographic research."

Dr Zimmerman, however, refuses to be treated by an EMH Mark 1, saying he is obsolete.

Dr Zimmerman and the Doctor do not get along

Doctor: "I ran a mitochondrial scan. There was something odd about the results. So I spent a full hour analysing them. And what did I discover? He's a Vulcan marsupial. He reconfigured my tricorder!"

Zimmerman is furious to discover that his Elloran masseuse is actually the Doctor with reconfigured appearance

Counsellor Deanna Troi, Barclay's friend and therapist, arrives at Barclay's request to try to help. When the Doctor's program suffers a malfunction, Troi, Barclay and Zimmerman's companion named Haley who is a hologram he created persuade Zimmerman to repair the Doctor. Zimmerman successfully identifies an error within the Doctor's pattern buffer, which turns out to be sabotage on the part of Barclay designed to get the two working together. Zimmerman suggests changing the EMH's personality subroutine as well, including his opening greeting which he changes to: "Welcome to sickbay. How may I help you today?" but the Doctor refuses to accept the changes since that would change who he had become.

Troi arrives	the Doctor's program malfunctions
Zimmerman tries to repair the Doctor's program and even improve it
the Doctor and Zimmerman end up working out their differences

The two end up talking out their differences and the root reason for Zimmerman's hostility is revealed. Most EMH Mark-l have been reconfigured to scrub plasma conduits on waste-transfer barges since the EMH program has upgraded to the EMH Mark-4. Zimmerman had designed the first program to look like him because he had put so much of himself into its development. Deliberately, the later EMH models do not look like him. When it failed to meet Starfleet's expectations, he was devastated and locked himself away in his lab for two years trying to repair the defects. The programs were given the derogatory nicknames "Emergency Medical Hotheads" and "Extremely Marginal Housecalls". Zimmerman could not cope with the humiliation. There are now 675 Mark-1s in existence performing routine maintenance duty. Eventually the Doctor and Zimmerman make peace, indeed they become friends, and Zimmerman finally allows the Doctor to treat him. Afterwards, the Doctor announces that he believes Zimmerman will enjoy a complete recovery as he bids his new friends farewell and heads back to Voyager.

friends at last, and mutual friend Reg Barclay snaps a holo-image of the two together

This is the Doctor's second visit to the Alpha Quadrant, the first visit being made in 2374 in  [#82 Message In A Bottle], and is the first time that he actually meets his creator face-to-face.

DOCTOR'S QUOTE:

Of Dr Lewis Zimmerman: "The patient appears to be suffering from an acute case of arrogance!"