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| The Doctor discovers a hidden memory. |
While conducting an annual checkup of the crew, the Doctor discovers evidence that he performed neurosurgery on Harry Kim a year and a half ago - a surgery he has no memory of, and which Harry states he also can't recall. The Doctor reports the discrepancy to Janeway and asks for a complete diagnostic of his program, but she tells him that no one is available to complete it. He goes to Seven of Nine, who agrees to meet him in sickbay in one hour... But when Seven arrives and activates his program, he has no memory of having spoken with her!
Investigating further, Seven and the Doctor discover residual images from his holo-imager: Images from a year and a half ago that include the presence of Ensign Jetal (Nancy Bell), a crew member he does not remember at all. Other images show him on a shuttle mission with Jetal and Harry, while the last image is of an alien brandishing a weapon.
The Doctor and Seven speculate that the ship came under attack and that everyone's memories were wiped. Janeway takes these findings seriously, and asks the Doctor to shut down his program while they make sure all is secure. He agrees, but takes a precaution of his own against further tampering. He copies and stores his memories in a separate file, ordering them re-integrated after he activates to make sure there are no gaps. He also sets up his holo-imager, to photograph anyone who comes into Sickbay while he is dormant.
These precautions work. The Doctor's program is tampered with again, but the computer restores his memories immediately. When he checks the imager to identify the culprit, he receives a disturbing answer:
Captain Janeway!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Janeway: For all of the Doctor's evolution over the past several years, Janeway still can't view him as the equal of an organic crew member. She talks about her replicator with Seven, noting that it "operates through a series of electronic pathways that allow it to receive instructions and take appropriate action, and there you go... As difficult as it is to accept, the Doctor is more like that replicator than he is like us." This dismissal appears out-of-character with the respect she's shown the Doctor in previous episodes... But she is being disingenuous. Barely a breath separates the "replicator" argument from her comparing the Doctor's situation to a crew member pointing a phaser at his own head. She genuinely believes that the choice she made is morally right, and even right for the Doctor, but the decision doesn't rest easily with her.
The Doctor: Robert Picardo moves effortlessly from the Doctor's familiar caustic and arrogant manner to real desperation as he realizes his memories have been edited. When he learns Janeway was responsible, he is appalled. He describes himself as feeling "violated." Janeway tries to shout him down by telling him that he is malfunctioning - But he's not; every statement he's making at this point is rational, and his anger is well-founded. Later, when he fully regains the memory at the heart of the dilemma, he does seem to malfunction... Though ultimately, that "malfunction" amounts to a very human response of guilt and depression, something Janeway would certainly have recognized for what it was had it been any other member of her crew.
Seven of Nine: Her background, as a former Borg who still operates with Borg technology, makes her sympathetic to the Doctor's situation. She recognizes what Janeway tries very hard not to: That interfering with the Doctor's memories violates his rights as an individual. "You say that I am a human being, and yet I am also Borg: Part of me not unlike your replicator, not unlike the Doctor... I have always looked to you as my example, my guide to humanity. Perhaps I've been mistaken."
THOUGHTS
Latent Image splits neatly into two halves. The first half is a paranoid thriller. The Doctor discovers that his memories are being tampered with, and step by step investigates. There are clues: A handful of images recovered from the holo-emitter, pointing to a mysterious crew member he doesn't remember and a strange alien attack. There is even the neat misdirection that the memories of the entire crew may be affected, as other crew members (ultimately falsely) profess no memory. This half ends with the revelation that Janeway, the trusted authority figure, is the one who has tampered with his program, and that the entire crew is on in it with her: A '70's paranoid thriller in space.
This half is intriguing and suspenseful, and does its job in drawing the viewer in. But it's the second half that makes this episode something special. Instead of finding out that alien intervention is behind Janeway's strange behavior, we discover exactly why she feels justified in her decision. The story's focus turns into an exploration first of what makes a being an individual, and then into dealing with survivor's guilt.
After Janeway (eventually) decides to honor the Doctor's rights as an individual, his memories of the original incident are restored. Nothing seems at all damning in it: There was an alien attack. With time to save either Harry or Ensign Jetal, but not both, he has to make a choice. He saves Harry, and Jetal dies. A tragedy, but at no point does it appear the Doctor did anything wrong or even made any mistake.
Then we watch as, both in flashback and in the present as he recalls the incident, the Doctor unravels. What horrifies him is that he had to make a choice in a case in which there was no correct answer:
"A doctor retains his objectivity. I didn't do that, did I? Two patients, equal chances of survival and I chose the one I was closer to - I chose my friend? That's not in my programming! That's not what I was designed to do!"
As he sees it, he killed Jetal by choosing to treat Harry - And that is what he finds impossible to rationalize.
The last part of the episode sees him grappling with his memories and thoughts, musing about the nature of the universe, causality, and his own choices and conscience. He goes around in circles, always coming back to how he "killed" Jetal - Right up until he discovers that Janeway, sitting with him, has a fever. That allows him to banish his inward gazing for a moment, to push her to take care of herself.
But for a change, this isn't Voyager finding an easy out to make everything "better." As soon as he's alone again, we see him musing over his thoughts. Janeway's fever has stirred him enough that he can function again... But his horrible choice still haunts him. It may never be directly referenced again (I feel confident it won't be) - But the way the final scene is written, and the way Picardo plays it, there's a sense that his future actions will be in part guided by the memory of that choice, which is just enough to avoid any feeling of a reset button being hit.
Overall Rating: 10/10. Outstanding.
Previous Episode: Counterpoint
Next Episode: Bride of Chaotica!
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