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THE GIFT

Episode 70
Part B

 

In Sickbay the Doctor is operating on an unconscious Seven of Nine....

.....to remove the Borg skull plating.

Doctor: "It's like peeling an onion."

He places the removed plate onto a tray and tells Kes: "Store it in the bio-stasis chamber. It may still be active."

The Doctor tells the watching and cautious Tuvok: "If you think there's a risk, Mr Tuvok, you can throw one of your little forcefields around the chamber." Tuvok: "A prudent security measure," pointedly echoing the Doctor's earlier words, "for a doctor."

Janeway arrives. standard doors "Report." Doctor: "I'm afraid we have a decision to make, a difficult one. Her human immune system has reasserted itself with a vengeance - body armour, Borg organelles, biosynthetic glands, they're all being rejected. Her life is in danger. I have little recourse but to remove the Borg technology." Janeway surmises the problem. "Which is the last thing Seven of Nine would want." Doctor: "Hence the 'difficult decision'. If a patient told me not to treat them, even if the situation were life-threatening, I would be ethically obligated to honour that request." Janeway thinks through the problem aloud: "This is no ordinary patient. She may be raised by Borg, raised to think like a Borg, but she's with us now, and underneath all that technology she's a human being, whether she's ready to accept that or not. And until she is ready, someone has to make the decisions for her." She decides: "Proceed with the surgery." Doctor: "Aye, Captain."

Janeway leaves. Doctor: "Kes, let's begin with the microtubule network embedded in the oesophagial tract."

Suddenly Seven of Nine's body starts to convulse. Tuvok and the female security officer draw their phasers.

Tuvok: "What's happening?!"

The Doctor rushes over to the main computer console and checks the diagnostic readings.

He returns and scans Seven of Nine with a medical tricorder. "I'm not sure. She's going into neural shock. I can't localise the source. Kes, try to stabilise her motor-cortex. Use a neuro-sequencer."

But Kes does not move. She seems to be staring fixedly ahead. The Doctor repeats firmly: "I said: stabilise her motor-cortex or we're going to lose her."

Kes: "Wait. I can see it." She is not staring fixedly ahead, but her mind is 'seeing' inside Seven of Nine's anatomy.

Doctor: "What?" Kes: "I think her problem is in her colliculi."

In her mind, she tracks the problem to its source. "Yes, I can see it - a Borg implant, it's pressing against her trochlear nerve." Doctor: "Can you tell me how we might remove it without severing the nerve?" Kes: "I think I can do more than tell you." She concentrates, and her psychokinetic power forces the Borg implant to release its hold.

The Doctor scans Seven of Nine with a medical tricorder. "The implant is deteriorating. Her nervous system is stabilising."

Doctor: "Nice work, Kes. Unconventional, but effective."

Seven of Nine, still unconscious, her life now out of danger.

In Sickbay, the Doctor presents an artifically-created eye for Janeway's inspection.

Doctor: "They say the eye is the window into the soul. In this case, it's a little bit more. I've fabricated this artificial organ to replace her eyepiece, but I've had to retain some of the Borg circuitry along the optic nerve. As a result, she'll have increased acuity in one eye." He enthuses on his work of art, beaming with pleasure at his genius. "Note how perfectly I've matched the pigment of the iris to her human eye."

Janeway: "Excellent work, Doctor. I admire your attention to detail." But she does not admire the Doctor for his habit of wallowing in self-proclaimed brilliance. Briskly: "When can I speak with her?" Doctor: "She's out of immediate danger, and I don't plan to resume the extraction process until tomorrow. I can wake her now if you'd like?" Janeway: "I would."

As the Doctor prepares for this, Janeway turns to Kes. "How are you, Kes?" Kes: "I feel exhilarated, Captain. I've never been so focussed in my life. And my telepathic abilities are stronger than they've ever been."

Tuvok: "Your performance today was astonishing. However, your psychokinetic powers are still undisciplined and, as a result, unpredictable." Kes: "I feel like I'm in control." Tuvok: "Nevertheless, you must proceed with caution, and with my assistance."

Janeway: "What are you suggesting?" Tuvok: "A series of guided meditations to help her explore the depth of these new abilities." Janeway: "Kes?" Kes: "I'm ready."

Janeway is pleased for her. Tuvok: "Well, then, if you'll excuse us, we should begin immediately." Tuvok and Kes leave together.