Atonement (34 page)

Captain Chakotay, Counselor Cambridge, and Lieutenants Kim, Conlon, and Barclay were all giving the fleet chief engineer their full attention. The Doctor glanced at the display, recognized nothing significant, and continued to record Commander Torres's explanation for future reference, while focusing the majority of his attention on a different concern.

He had replayed the two memories that had emerged after his meditation session several hundred times in the last few hours.

The first memory was troubling in that he had obviously been experiencing a level of distress far beyond any he could imagine
even should he learn that Seven had actually died. He could not fathom reaching the level of despair he had witnessed for
any
reason. The Doctor had believed his creator's modifications were limited. Now he was skeptical of that assessment. Zimmerman might have made the Doctor more “human.”

Not that this was something he had particularly desired.

But Zimmerman had also made him
less
than he had once been.

“This display shows the virus's progress through our systems over the course of several months,” Torres pointed out.

“We have no idea how long it waited in the shuttle's bioneural gel packs before it was finally released into
Voyager
's systems,” Kim noted.

“We'll never know for sure,” Conlon added.

“It learned as it went. Its actions suggest intelligence, but since we can't find any trace of it now, we can't confirm whether or not it was organic, artificial, or a hybrid,” Torres continued.

“It touched every major system on the ship,” Janeway said, equally awestruck and disconcerted.

“But it seemed to take particular interest in our holographic ones?” Cambridge asked.

“We think that's where it overreached,” Torres replied, nodding. “The holodecks were the last system it targeted. They aren't accessible through our primary processors, but there was a weakness in our security protocols that it managed to exploit.”

“What weakness?” Janeway demanded.

“It's my fault, Admiral,” Kim admitted. “The last time we lost control of the holodecks, several crew members were almost killed. I installed a personal code to act as a fail-safe so I would never be denied access again. Apparently even the engineers that did
Voyager
's refit prior to the fleet's launch missed it.”

Janeway sighed as Chakotay said, “I can see your reasoning, Lieutenant, but in hindsight . . .”

“I understand, sir,” Kim said quickly. “Lesson learned.”

Torres continued, “Once it had gained access and collected as much data as it required, it attempted to infiltrate the Doctor's program, causing his cascade failure.”

“That explains a great deal,” Barclay said. “It's a relief, isn't it, Doctor?”

At the sound of his name, the Doctor turned automatically to Barclay, but with no idea what an appropriate response might be. He decided to go with, “It is,” and when Reg smiled, he returned to his musings.

The second memory was more viscerally frightening than the first. It was also different in one major respect. Whereas in the first memory the Doctor was able to watch himself from outside his program, he experienced the second without detachment. An alien he had never seen commanded him to “release him” and, without hesitation, the Doctor killed him with a sword. His ethical subroutines would not allow him to take a life except in the act of self-defense. But this was not self-defense. It was more like following an order. But the Doctor was not programmed to accept orders from anyone outside his current chain of command, and even then, as he had recently learned, he could resist orders if he found them ethically troubling.

This was simply not something the Doctor would or could imagine himself doing.
So why did he remember doing it so vividly?

When Barclay had listed the various subroutines that had displayed minor corruptions, his ethical subroutines had been among them.
Could that corruption account for his actions? Could this be part of a lost memory, or was his program beginning to unravel in a new and unexpected way?

The Doctor understood that if one could question their sanity, they could not be considered to have lost it. Part of him wished to confide in Reg or even Cambridge. But to do so was more terrifying than the memories.
What if this was something they could not fix?

The Doctor had rarely had cause to contemplate his mortality. He found the process paralyzing.

“We think the complexity of the Doctor's program was simply too much for it to absorb,” Kim continued. “It then attacked several other less-advanced holograms, but apart from
corrupting their programming, it didn't permanently damage them.”

“Where did it go next?” Chakotay asked.

“Once I initiated full diagnostics of the holographic system, it seemed to have disappeared,” Conlon said. “But it could have been designed to destroy itself once its work was complete or if it was in danger of detection.”

“What work?” Janeway asked.

The display shifted to a dense string of programming code. “We found this file buried in our backup systems,” Torres said. “If activated, it would essentially slave all of our systems to a single terminal on the bridge and allow the individual who enters the appropriate authentication code to take control of the ship: navigation, communication, weapons, you name it. It's voice-activated, so all it needs is the proper code word, and we would all have been at the mercy of the person who activated the program.”

“Do we know what that code is?” Janeway asked.

Torres nodded. “Hax.”

“What's a hax?” Janeway asked.

“Nothing as far as we know,” Conlon replied. “There are no matches in the database. It could be a proper name or simply a code word.”

“As soon as we found the program, we isolated it, and extracted it,” Kim reported. “It no longer poses any threat to us.”

“Who created it?” Janeway asked.

“It appears that the virus did. It gathered the data it required, slowly, over time, built the program, and left it for us like a ticking time bomb,” Conlon said.

“If it completed its work, why did it move on to the holographic systems?” Barclay asked.

Torres shrugged. “As it stands, the program was capable of controlling every system apart from our holograms. That might have been its last target, but it never successfully acquired all the data it needed. Its contact with our holograms might have damaged it too greatly for it to continue to function.”

“But
why would it need our holograms?” Barclay asked.

“Lsia might,” Chakotay said, as if it should have been obvious. “She understands better than most the capabilities of our holograms. They are the perfect host for the Seriareen. They never die. They can take any form they wish. She must have intended to bring the rest of The Eight back here so she could transfer them into holograms like herself.”

“That would never have worked,” Barclay noted. “Meegan's holographic matrix was unique. Even the Doctor's probably wouldn't have survived an attempt to integrate an outside consciousness. Meegan was a perfect candidate, given the amount of empty space in her buffer meant to support a developing sentience. No other hologram would have been a viable candidate, nor would they have been able to exist outside our holodecks without mobile emitters.”

“She couldn't have known that when she stole our shuttle and ran,” Chakotay said. “Is it possible that this
virus
might have been one of Lsia's companions?”

“Aren't they all accounted for?” Kim asked.

“If we're taking her word for it,” Chakotay replied, “but I'm not sure that's a good idea.”

“I don't see how it could be,” Torres said. “I'm still amazed Lsia was able to survive within a holographic matrix, but Meegan's design was unique. Our bioneural systems mimic organic processes in some ways, but they aren't complex enough to support a consciousness. And it would have had to leave those gel packs and move through our power systems before relocating into
Voyager
's bioneural systems. I'm not an expert on the Seriareen, but I don't see an individual consciousness surviving that process with enough of itself left intact to create that program.”

“But a virus could?” Janeway asked dubiously.

“Yes,” Torres assured her. “It had to be simple enough to survive, probably in some dormant state, until it was transferred to
Voyager.
That's when it really began its work. We have the results. We know it did happen, even if we don't know exactly how.”

“Either way, it's gone now,” Conlon reminded them. “We've
scanned every system, multiple times. There's no place left for it to hide.”

“Does this program bear any resemblance to the one Admiral Batiste created to take control of our systems?” Chakotay asked.

“Yes,” B'Elanna replied. “It's more complicated, but it's not hard to imagine that Lsia built on what she learned from him.”

“We were never sure how closely they were working together,” Chakotay said. “I guess now we know.”

“We do,” Janeway agreed. “This is excellent work. We could have been in serious trouble at a most inopportune moment. You are all to be commended. I don't think it's likely that this virus could have found its way to
Vesta,
but
Galen
should be checked before we enter the wastes and begin our search for Seriar.”

“Do you still think that's wise, Admiral?” Chakotay asked.

Janeway looked to him, but did not immediately respond. “Doctor, I received Commander Glenn's latest report on her analysis of Tirrit and Adaeze. Do you agree with her findings?”

Once again, the Doctor's focus was pulled back to the briefing. “Her findings?”

“She is convinced that it would be impossible to separate the Seriareen from their current hosts,” Janeway said.

“Yes,” the Doctor agreed. “As it stands, there is no way to segregate the alien consciousness from the host. Should they depart of their own accord, we could certainly try to revive the hosts, but we can't force them apart.”

“What about those words Lsia indicated were meant to sever the connection in the event the host was unstable?” Chakotay asked.

“Even if we knew all of them, we still might lose the hosts. The more troubling question is where would the Seriareen go once released?” the Doctor asked.

“Commander Glenn and her chief engineer, Lieutenant Benoit, have created new containment canisters, like the ones the Neyser used. Obviously, we can't test them, but we have them standing by,” Janeway reported.

“I
would suggest we place them inside the holding cells currently housing the prisoners,” Chakotay said. “Just in case.”

“Agreed,” Janeway said. “In fact, I want Tirrit and Adaeze aboard
Voyager
before we enter the wastes. Our brig is more secure than the temporary holding cells we created on the
Galen.
I'd bring Emem here as well if I didn't think General Mattings would take it as an insult.”

“I don't mind risking that,” Chakotay noted.

“For now, it's not worth it,” Janeway countered.

Chakotay reported that they were on course to arrive at the border to the wastes within the hour. The Doctor rose from his seat as soon as they were dismissed and hurried out the door.

•   •   •   •   •

The Doctor had just reached the turbolift when Counselor Cambridge tapped his shoulder.

“Where were you just now?” the counselor asked.

“The briefing,” the Doctor replied, stepping into the lift.

Cambridge followed quickly and raised an apologetic hand to Kim and Conlon before they could step inside. He then ordered the lift to deck five. As soon as the doors closed, the counselor said, “No,
I
was at the briefing. You were somewhere else.”

“Counselor, recent alterations to my program notwithstanding, I am more than capable of giving adequate focus to a number of issues simultaneously. If you like, I could repeat for you verbatim every word spoken at the briefing. I could alter my vocal subroutines to imitate the speakers to heighten the realism of the presentation. Nothing said during the meeting apart from Admiral Janeway's direct questions about my work with Commander Glenn was relevant to me or my duties.”

The lift reached deck five and the Doctor set a quick pace as he exited. Cambridge followed, undeterred.

“You understand why we hold these briefings, don't you, Doctor?” he asked.

“Even for you, that's an asinine question,” the Doctor retorted.

Ignoring the insult, Cambridge said, “Whether the subject under discussion directly intersects with your current duties or not, your participation is requested when it is believed you might have something to add that would not have occurred to any of the other senior officers.”

“You think I don't know that? I've served as a senior officer longer than you've been on a starship,” the Doctor said sharply.

“If you know it, why did you fail to give the briefing your full attention?” Cambridge pressed. When the Doctor didn't immediately respond, Cambridge added more gently, “Did I return you to duty prematurely?”

“Is that a threat?”

Cambridge shook his head. “It's an honest question. You've been through a great deal in the last several days, and while I am as anxious as any to see you once again contribute, if you require more time to process your new status quo, you should take it.”

“I have done everything you asked of me,” the Doctor said, his voice rising. “I have answered every question you asked, I have tried to accept my new limitations, and I have engaged in your proscribed rest periods.”