@MLClark EMH asks Seven to run a diagnostic on him. When she arrives in Sickbay, EMH has no memory of the request. Harry's scan has been deleted, and EMH's programming has been altered. So have his holoimages from 18 months before.
Seven manages to restore five images. They show a female ensign named Jetal that neither he or Seven recall. (This was before Seven's arrival.) Seven manages to restore some random memories; EMH recalls her dying on an away mission. (2/x)
@MLClark Janeway orders EMH to shut himself down to prevent further tampering. (Methinks she's in on it.)
EMH sets up the holoimager to take pictures of anyone who enters the room while he's shut down. Sure enough, he catches Janeway trying to alter his programming.
Janeway explains she had to do it to save him, but EMH feels violated. She won't tell him what happened. She says he's "malfunctioning" and orders him back to sickbay.
Seven confronts Janeway ... (3/x)
@MLClark Seven argues that EMH's individuality is being violated. Janeway orders coffee, so it must be serious. She explains that the incident 18 months ago almost led the EMH to self-destruct. Seven argues it was his choice. "You're a human being. He's a hologram," Janeway counters. Seven says she was mistaken to have viewed Janeway as a role model.
Janeway should have made the point that EMH is a valued crew member, that protecting the crew's medical officer is more important. (4/x)
@MLClark In any case, Janeway decides to tell EMH what happened. Jatel and Harry were injured by an alien attack on an away mission with the EMH. (Again, the alien and the unfamiliar are the threat ...) EMH had time to save only one during surgery; he chose Harry (because guest star Nancy Bell has a one-episode contract).
The decision caused his prorgamming to degrade. Janeway's revelation causes the degradation again; she orders he be deactivated. (5/x)
@MLClark Janeway orders EMH to have 24/7 company, including herself, while he sorts it out.
(EMH says the universe is 20 billion years old; actually it's 13.7 billion; but who knows what was the thinking in 1998.)
In the end, it's not resolved. Janeway leaves him a poetry book with the message, essentially, take one day at a time.
A pretty good episode, especially since it wasn't resolved ... (6/x)
@MLClark We've been down this road before in other episodes, e.g. "Measure of a Man," but offhand I can't think of an episode where Spock or Data or similar basically got caught in a logic loop.
I'm sure the answer is to tweak his programming so he doesn't care that he let this one crew member die, but that would cheat the core of the story.
And let's overlook that we never saw Jatel at any point in this series. But as we know, they make it up as they go. (7/7)
Fin.
"Latent Image" is my favourite moral quandary in VOY. Thanks for resurrecting this thread. Just sorry I'm still an episode behind.
"Tweaking his programming" would bypass the whole moral quandary in his growth arc as an AI; the real test in this episode is the crew's willingness to *let* him have his trauma, when he serves such a critical role for ship's functioning. They pass said test, in honour of new life in all its forms, even if it isn't the easiest thing for them to do!
@MLClark You are suffering from technical difficulties. I had an available window so I slipped it in.
Apparently Menosky and Braga differed over the ending. Menosky had Janeway stay (asleep) with EMH while he read the poetry. Braga rewrote Menosky, had Janeway leave to go to a sickbed, then he picks up the poetry book.
I saw EMH letting her leave as a first sign that he was coming out of it, he was concerned about her well-being. Either ending works.