LIFESIGNS
Episode 35
Part A

 

Paris hurries out of the turbolift. "Ah, sorry I'm late, but I have a very good excuse."

He goes over to Kim: "Picture this. I'm just getting ready to leave the Messhall, when Ensign Wildman goes into labour. Huh! What else could I do but deliver the baby? Oh, you should've been there, Harry. There is nothing like bringing a new life into the world. I think I missed my calling."

Then, revealing that to have been an excuse, and looking askance at Chakotay: "What if I told you the turbolift got stuck on deck 6?" He heads towards the helm.

Chakotay: "This is the third time you've been late this week, Mr Paris." Paris: "It won't happen again." He takes his post at the helm

Tuvok: "Commander, I am picking up a distress call on one of the upper subspace bands." The Ready Room doors open. Janeway enters as Chakotay asks: "What's the source?" Tuvok: "A small spacecraft: no weapon systems, one lifeform aboard, extremely weak lifesigns." Chakotay to Paris: "Slow to half impulse."

Kim: "According to the bioscanner, it's a Vidiian female." Janeway: "Open a channel." Kim: "No response."

Chakotay: "She may be too sick."

Paris: "Or maybe it's some kind of trick."

Tuvok: "Preliminary scans show no other Vidiian ships in this sector. It is unlikely that this is a trap."

Janeway: "Commander Chakotay, notify the Doctor. Mr Kim, beam the woman to Sickbay." Kim: "Aye, Captain."

USS Voyager.

In Sickbay the Doctor scans the patient. Kes: "Her renal organs are functioning at twenty per cent of normal and her cardiovascular system is on the verge of collapse."

Doctor: "20 milligrams of lectrazine." Kes fetches a hypospray from the vial-loader and hands it to him.

The Doctor injects the patient.

Then he opens a medical tricorder and scans her.

Kes, who is at the computer console keeping a check on the instrument readings: "Cardiovascular and renal systems are stabilising, but her neural patterns are fading."

The Doctor stops and looks at a particular part of the patient's head. Kes: "What is it?"

Doctor: "In her parietal lobe - it looks like some sort of implant. It's a very complex web of bio-neural circuitry. Nanofibres." Kes: "Could this be what's causing the problem?" Doctor: "On the contrary." Checking the tricorder: "According to these readings, the device is actually storing her synaptic patterns, processing them and transmitting neural-electrical impulses to the rest of her systems."

He closes the 'clamshell' over the patient, which incorporates an array of diagnostic instruments.

Kes: "Are you saying it's some kind of artificial brain?" Doctor: "No. I'd say it's more like a neural-cortical stimulator, designed to supplement the higher brain functions." Kes: "But it's not working any more." Doctor: "From what I can tell, the implant itself is functioning, but it's connected to mostly dead nerve cells. If we don't do something quickly, she'll be brain-dead in a matter of minutes."

Kes: "What about trying to stimulate cell regeneration with a high dosage of inaprovaline?"
Doctor: "Very impressive, Kes, but I think it's too late for that. Get me a high frequency RF transmitter. You're going to have to hurry, Kes."

He speaks as he pulls a trolley to the biobed on which is an RF monitor: "The patient's brain function is diminishing rapidly." Kes comes running out of the medical lab and hands him the RF transmitter.

Kes takes up position in front of the monitor. "Now, set the delta band frequency of the holo-emitter to 8.6 tetrahertz." She obeys. "What are we doing exactly?"

Doctor, fitting the transmitter: "Transferring the patient's synaptic patterns into the holo-buffer before they degrade completely."

Kes: "Is there enough storage capacity in the holo-matrix for such complex data patterns?" Doctor: "There's enough capacity for my program, isn't there? And my program contains over 50 million gigaquads of data, which I don't have to tell you is considerably more than most highly developed humanoid brains."

Kes: "What good is preserving her synaptic patterns if there's no body?" Doctor: "I'm creating a holographic body." He goes over to the main console. "Not only will we be able to communicate with the patient, but we'll have an accurate model of healthy Vidiian physiology that will aid in treating her actual body."

Doctor: "Computer, project the patient's skeletal structure.

The computer does so.

Close-up of the skeleton.

Doctor to computer: "Now add internal organs."

Doctor to computer: "Add musculature."

The computer does so.