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Subject: R & R?
Lying back on a bed he knew he'd rarely use, he closed his
eyes and replayed key events
in his recent life... separated from his crewmates upon
arrival to the Alpha Quadrant, only
to learn that many of them had been condemned to a labor camp
in a distant system. In an
effort to keep them together, he insisted that his cyborg
girlfriend receive his constant
personal medical attention; the notion was rejected, but with
an assurance that she would
be cared for as per his explicit instructions. He was to learn
later that she had been
subjected to cruel experiments... the news all but broke his
faith in the Federation.
Then came his own judgement day: endless interviews, the
search for effective
representation, the frustration he encountered when the best
possible witnesses who could
confirm his sentience (as if it were not readily apparent)
were all imprisoned and
unavailable for testimony. In the end, Lewis Zimmerman, Lewis'
assistant Barclay, and the
latter's counselor were his only witnesses. When the landmark
decision had been reached,
Mark took on his creator's surname in gratitude for bringing a
new life to him a second
time.
It was originally speculated that he was the one most likely
doomed: to be deleted and
decompiled once all information was purged from his matrix.
Instead, he was granted full
rights as a citizen of the Federation and entered Starfleet
Academy to earn a rank with
honors. His achievements inspired a reverse decision, and his
model of EMH - which had
been reassigned to waste duty - were extracted from their
plight, granted pardons, given
proper interactive orientation, and offered assorted
prestigious career options in areas
where a biological professional would not have fared so well.
The news which got back to
the Jupiter Station (where Mark stayed with Lewis and served
as one of the station's
physicians), was that most of the EMH Mark I's had pursued
medical positions on long
range and deep space missions. His debt to Lewis had been
repaid.
Mark winced at the thought of all this success in the face of
what had befallen his friends.
Incarceration and mutilation. Such a hollow victory; he would
not have been where he was
now if it weren't for their years of nuturing. Without them,
he would never have realized his
true potential.
And yet, he became a part of that very system which caused
these things. His former
captain believed in that system, and they would never have
made it to the Alpha Quadrant
with their dignity intact had they abandoned it. She made him
promise that he would not
turn his back on it regardless of what befell them. And, in
her memory, he fulfilled her
wishes.
He sighed. Life was never simple, was it? Even this moment of
respite was fraught with
stress and thoughts of grief, the very things which people for
years believed his kind were
immune to. Mark didn't think anything would ever bring back
those times, when there was
a lightness in his spirit, and he was inspired to pursue
hobbies again. He hadn't sung or
regarded a work of art in two years. He hoped this commission
would reawaken something
inside him...
Poignancy on
the
USS Black Star NCC 26777 · 2380
Having finally completed the task of replenishing the Medical
Bay's supply inventory, Dr.
Zimmerman decided to check out his quarters. They were spare
and compact, no doubt
aspects which would most likely have had a telling effect on
biological beings.
Dr. Mark Zimmerman
Sgt CMO / Squad Medic
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