REAL LIFE
Episode 64
Part A

 

In a family home, the mother, named Charlene, chivvies her two children. They hurry down the stairs. Charlene: "Jeffrey, Belle, you're going to be late if you don't hurry. Come on now."

"Show me your fingernails. Very nicely done."

Charlene: "Line up next to the door, children. Your father's ready to leave for work. Alright, huh, er huh, show me your fingernails. Very nicely done. Are your shoes polished? Perfect! I'm very pleased, children. I'm sure your father will be too." Belle: "I wanna be first to say goodbye to daddy. Jeffrey always goes first." Jeffrey: "You were first yesterday." Charlene: "Now children, little birds in their nest get along." Jeffrey: "You're right, mother. I'm sorry, Belle, you can go first." Belle: "No, it's really your turn. I did go first yesterday."

Jeffrey: "Here he comes!" Charlene: "Alright now, bright, happy faces!"

The Doctor comes down the stairs - he is the father! The home is actually a holodeck program and Charlene, Jeffrey and Belle are holograms.
Doctor: "The coffee was quite good this morning."
He hands the mug to Charlene.

Charlene: "I'm so glad you like it. I replicated a new blend from Paksor 3." (see my doubts about "Paksor 3" in PERSONAL LOG) Doctor, kissing her: "I'll be home at the usual time."

Charlene: "Now don't let them overwork you. You should save yourself for the important things. Others can do the busy work." Doctor: "I couldn't agree more."

Jeffrey, shaking hands with the Doctor: "I hope you have a good day, Father. I'll have my homework finished by the time you get back." Doctor: "I'll look forward to reviewing it, Jeffrey."

He moves on to Belle. "And is my little angel going to get an A on her history exam today?" Belle: "Of course I will, Daddy, and can we do some algebra problems when you get home?" Doctor: "Gladly." They kiss each other.

Charlene to the Doctor: "And don't forget: you're going to ask some of your friends from work to have dinner with us. I'd like to meet them." Doctor: "I haven't forgotten. Well." He opens the door, steps through and turns to face them. Waving: "Goodbye all."

The three wave: "Goodbye, Daddy!"

The Doctor's program is transferred from the Holodeck to Sickbay.

Kes: "How's the new holo-family, Doctor?"
Doctor, pleased with himself and life in general: "They're everything I could have hoped for." He goes into his office to begin work.

Janeway: "Captain's log, stardate 50836.2. We've had long-range communications with a seemingly friendly race known as the Vostigye. We'll be rendezvousing within the hour at one of their space stations." The pictures show USS Voyager travelling at impulse speed.

Voyager's bridge. Tuvok: "Ensign Kim, perhaps you could direct your attention to the sensors, and tell us if we're nearing the Vostigye space station?"

Kim: "We should be getting close. That's funny. I'm not detecting it."

Janeway: "You've checked the co-ordinates they sent us?"

Kim: "Yes, and- Hold on. Now I'm getting something. It's debris." Chakotay: "Debris?"

Tuvok: "Confirmed. I am reading a debris field encompassing nearly eighty cubic kilometres." Janeway: "What's the composition of the debris?"

Kim: "Boronite, sarium, carbon 60 composites." Paris: "Sounds like it could have been a space station." Janeway: "On screen. What happened to it?"

Chakotay: "Something ripped it apart, and from the energy decay readings I'd say it was no more than an hour ago." Kim: "I'm not picking up any lifesigns, Captain. There don't appear to be any survivors." Janeway: "There were sixty Vostigye scientists on that station." Tuvok: "I don't read any recognisable weapons signatures." Paris: "Maybe somebody in this part of space has weapons that don't leave a traditional signature." Janeway: "I'd like to know who they are, and why they'd annihilate a science station." Kim: "Maybe we can find out, Captain. There's a strange pattern that seems to be emanating from subspace, looks like some kind of plasma particles."

Chakotay: "I've got it too. It's like er a wake, leading away from the debris field." Janeway: "From a ship?" Chakotay: "I can't tell." Janeway: "Set a course to follow it, Tom." Paris: "Yes, ma'am."

In Sickbay, Torres is working at the main console while the Doctor frets with impatience. Torres: "Optical processors, imaging array, they all check out, Doctor. You are in perfect health." Doctor: "I'm sure I could have told you that." Torres: "Yes, I'm sure you could have, but with all the tinkering you've been doing with your program lately I feel better giving you these little tune-ups on a regular basis." Doctor: "The tinkering you speak of has been for the sole purpose of improving my performance as a physician. I can hardly be faulted for that." Torres: "I'm not faulting you for your intentions, Doctor. I think it's rather commendable that you want to improve yourself." Doctor: "That's why I've created a family." Torres: "A family?" Doctor: "I've listened to enough patients talk about their families to realise how meaningful they are to biological beings." Torres, whose own family relationships are not of the best: "Er well, for better or worse, yes." Kes: "The Doctor has created a holographic wife and two children so that he can experience family life for himself." Torres: "Interesting. And how's it going so far?" Doctor: "Splendidly. From what I heard, I thought it would be difficult but I'm enjoying the experience." Torres: "You are? Funny, I never thought of you as a family man, Doc. I'd like to meet them." Doctor: "As a matter of fact, the little woman has been asking me to bring some of my colleagues home for dinner. Perhaps you and Kes would care to join us tonight? Charlene is a wonderful cook." Kes: "I'd like to meet them too." Torres: "Well, Doc, tell your wife to haul out the good china. You're having company." Torres leaves Sickbay and Kes returns to her work. The Doctor feels very pleased with how the invitation went.

That evening, in the Doctor's family holoprogram, Torres and Kes share dinner with him and his holographic family. Charlene: "Please, have some more wild mushroom pilaf, B'Elanna." Torres, politely but matter-of-factly: "Er, thanks, I've had two helpings already. It's delicious."

Charlene makes the sound of someone who's pleased with the compliment. "I took a course in continental cuisine so I could replicate interesting meals for Kenneth."

Kes: "Kenneth?" Charlene: "My husband. What do you call him?" Kes: "Oh, we call him 'Doctor'." Charlene: "Oh, of course. Anyway, he works terribly hard and he's under such great stress. I want this home to be a sanctuary, the place he can come and have all the cares of the day disappear."

Torres, sarcastically: "How nice for him."

Belle: "My Daddy's a very important man. He's the best doctor there ever was, and he saves people's lives all the time." Doctor: "A slight exaggeration." Belle: "It is not. You said-" Charlene puts a hand on Belle's arm as a gentle warning. Doctor: "Belle, eat your dinner. They're well aware of my talents."

He thinks it best to change the subject. "Jeffrey, why don't you tell our guests about your new project at school?" Jeffrey tells the guests: "I've designed a microfilter implant which will make it possible to cleanse blood of harmful micro-organisms too small to stimulate an immune response." Doctor: "Jeffrey is extremely bright. He's in the accelerated physical sciences programme at school." Torres: "A regular chip off the old block, right?"

The Doctor pretends to look modest.

Charlene: "And don't forget about our little Belle. She's already studying algebra and trigonometry, and she's quite the budding athlete."
Kes, meaning it: "You must be very proud of your family, Doctor."
Doctor: "Oh."
Charlene, gushingly: "Well, we're proud of him too. In fact, we think we have just about the most wonderful husband and father in the Quadrant, don't we, children?"
The children chime in: "We do!"
Torres interrupts: "Computer, freeze program."
Charlene, Jeffrey and Belle freeze in mid-eulogy.
Doctor, put out: "Lieutenant, what are you doing?"
Torres: "I am stopping this before my blood sugar levels overload."

She gets up and moves away from the table. She calls the Doctor over: "Doctor." The Doctor joins her: "Yes?" Torres: "If you think that this is giving you an accurate impression of being in a family, you are sadly mistaken." Doctor: "I don't understand." Kes joins them. "They're kind of perfect."

Torres: "They are ridiculously perfect. No one has a family like this. This is a fantasy. You're not going to learn anything from being with these lollipops!"

Doctor, looking over at his frozen holographic family: "I provided the computer with my requirements for a mate and children. If I were to choose a real wife my tastes would be the same - intelligence, education, organisational skills."

Torres: "There is nothing wrong with your premise, Doctor. It just needs a little tweaking to bring it closer to real life. I can help, if you'd like."

The Doctor ponders this.