“Lifesigns” is episode nineteen of season two of Star Trek: Voyager.
Tom is late to the bridge, again, and says he has a very good excuse, claiming that Ensign Wildman had just gone into labour in the galley and he had to exist. Chakotay isn’t impressed. Then Tom claims the turbolift was stuck. Tuvok announces that they are receiving a distress call from a small, unarmed craft. There is only one life sign onboard, and it’s weak; a Vidiian female. It might be a trick, but there are no other Vidiians in the sector, and the captain orders the woman be beamed directly to sickbay.
The Vidiian isn’t doing so well and there are glowing lights in her head. According to the Doctor, an implant in her parietal lobe. He tells Kes it doesn’t appear to be causing problems; it instead seems to be storing the woman’s synaptic patterns, processing them, then transferring them back in to her system. It’s supplementing her higher brain functions. But it’s connected to dead nerve cells and she’s going to be dead in minutes. The Doctor has an idea, though. He will transfer the Vidiian’s synaptic patterns to the holobuffer before they degrade. Yes, there will be enough room; it stores him, after all. They can then create a holographic body for the patient, which will give them a model of a healthy Vidiian body to help treat the real one, and an ability to communicate with the patient. Which results in the first intact Vidiian ever seen.
Chakotay speaks to the captain about their new passenger. She was en route to a Vidiian colony, and they will be in their general vicinity in 22 days. Once there, Janeway says they can return her to her people. Chakotay also wants to talk about Tom. Crew discipline may be Chakotay’s responsibility, but he’s sort of a personal reclamation project of the captain, so he thought he’d speak to her first. She appreciates the gesture but trusts him to deal with the matter as he sees fit.
The Vidiian’s consciousness has now been transferred into a holographic body and the Doctor wakes her. He explains what happened and, when she sees her new body, that it is holographic in nature, a 3D projection of light and energy. She seems rather overcome by emotion; she never expected to look healthy again.
The Doctor explains that there are serious limitations to being a hologram, like him. They can only appear where there are transmitters. Yes, he is a computer simulation, but a very sophisticated one. Doers the Doctor have a name? No, but he’s sure she does. Yes; Danara Pel. She is a haematologist and had been helping with an outbreak of the Phage on another colony, but her condition worsened as she returned. The Doctor wants Dr Pel to help with her treatment; they need to get her synaptic patterns back into her brain before they degrade, which will take a few days to a week. Her real body is in stasis.
The Doctor wants B’Elanna to take part in a simple procedure. Drilling a hole in her head and removing a tiny amount of her brain. She is not happy about that idea. Klingon DNA is resistant to the Phage, and grafting a small amount to Dr Pel could prolong her life considerably. B’Elanna doesn’t look like she’s going to agree when Pel joins them, and apologises for the traumatic experiments B’Elanna underwent in “Faces”. Dr Pel has accepted that she is dying and only wants B’Elanna’s help if she’s willing to give it. B’Elanna agrees.
The Doctor works on Pel’s real body as her holographic form helps – a treatment he says was developed by Dr Leonard McCoy. The graft will take 2-3 days to work. He thinks they should deactivate her to stop the degradation of her synaptic patterns. She is feeling full of energy, though. Walking the ship is out. The Doctor says she can use his office. Then thinks of somewhere else.
He takes her to Chez Martine on the holodeck. Vidiians don’t have much in the way of recreational facilities; gatherings are regulated due to them being a threat to public health. Pl thinks her people have spent so long trying to save their lives that they’ve forgotten how to live. After fending off Neelix and the bar’s gigolo, Pel wants to know more about the Doctor. She also thinks he’s funny, and wants to give him a name. Back in sickbay, the Doctor is going to deactivate her program for at least 8 hours. It looks like she might have wanted something different.
Chakotay confronts Tom, and it doesn’t go that well. Jonas, who is spying for the Nistron, is listening. Dr Pel may feel something for the Doctor; he is feeling something for her too. Although at first he thinks his program is malfunctioning. Kes talks him into doing something and he makes an appalling hash of it. Resulting in the Doctor asking for advice from Tom, and Kes speaking to Dr Pel. Pel, however, is still rather ill and her holographic state is only a temporary fix.