Beta Test

"Beta Test"

Crewman Andrea Guilder
EMH Mark VII

Stardate: 58807.16-16h20
Location: Holodeck 1

***

Andrea Guilder stood in Holodeck 1, the crisscross patterns surrounding her. 
She punched in the commands to bring up program "EMS 101 Assessment Practicum 1". The holodeck shifted and a scene shimmered into existence. An accident had occurred, and three people were in need of medical attention. An elderly woman holding her arm and complaining. A second person laying on the ground breathing but unconscious, and a third person on the ground with a red face, unable to move or speak. 

"Computer, activate the EMH."

Before the EMH had even fully finished shimmering into existence, Guilder said, "Who do you treat first, hologram?"

The EMH blinked in apparent surprise at the situation and its greeting. She took a moment to look around, her gaze sweeping over the three patients in what was obviously a simulation. "The patient with the red face appears to be in the most serious condition, so should be treated first, Nurse Guilder," she replied, her gaze coming to rest on Andrea. 

She didn't even look at the hologram as it replied. Her fingers, reduced to a blur, danced over the console. The reply was nominal, textbook; she was certain she had spoken the same assessment verbatim when she was put through this very same practicum.

"Explain the reasoning, and what interventions would be taken for each patient." It sounded less like a request, or a demand, and more like a prompt. Like she wasn't speaking to the hologram, the trick of photons and forcefields, but rather to the code within its holomatrix and the subroutines that guided its decisions. 

The EMH took a moment to study Andrea closely before a holographic tricorder shimmered into her hand. She waved it at the holo-patients. "Given that this is a simulation, and I have the limited data that provides, plus the visual reference of the projected patients. Patient number 3 needs the most immediate care because he is not currently breathing. I would need to identify and resolve the cause if the respiratory distress, whether that be an obstruction, anaphylaxis, trauma to the chest, or some other cause. Which treatment he receives would depend on which cause I find."

She turned her gaze to the unconscious person. "Patient number 2 is breathing but unresponsive. Once the previous patient was stabilized I would do a full neurological assessment, monitor for changes in intracranial pressure and keep the airway clear until he regained consciousness, assuming a scan didn't show some more immediate concern that required treatment."

She then looked at the elderly woman. "Patient number 1 is ambulatory and quite vocal, requiring minimal treatment for a possible break or fracture of the arm. She is the lowest priority but should be kept calm, still, and assessed for the arm injury once the critical patients are stabilized."

She then turned her attention back to Andrea. "You don't like me very much, do you?" she asked.

Her eyes flicked up from the console. She said, “That is not part of the practicum.” But her tone was answer enough. “The assessment of the patients was satisfactory. Computer, begin EMS Assessment Practicum 102-” she began.

The EMH raised an eyebrow. "What is the purpose of this assessment? Is it to test whether I am truly medically competent, or to prove to yourself that my skills are insufficient?"

"That's the same question asked twice, I am making a note, is this a coding error?"

"I asked two very different questions, Crewman Guilder. And since my first question was ignored, I decided to try again. Although the hostility evident in your tone, body language, and mode of conversation fairly well answer the first question. Hence the second question. My abilities and functionality have already been thoroughly evaluated by both Lt. Commander Lektar, Chief of Operations, and Lt. Tyzur, Chief Medical Officer of this ship. Therefore I must conclude that this evaluation is one of a more personal nature. Am I incorrect?"

“An error has occurred. The two questions are the same but phrased differently; it relies on competence; but lays the onus on the subject or the viewer.”

"I assure you no error has occurred," the EMH responded. "If you are uncomfortable with my questions, that does not make them erroneous. To clarify, my first question was as to whether you dislike me, which has been answered to my satisfaction. The second question was as to why you are performing this unnecessary evaluation, as complete ones have already been performed to the satisfaction of the relevant department heads, and this one seems emotionally motivated."

“I don’t care what you think, make my friends stay alive.”

The EMH paused for a moment, her expression softening a bit as she looked at Andrea. "The entire reason my program exists IS to help people stay alive. The EMH programs have been doing that since their inception, and every subsequent model is designed to do it better than the previous one. I will do that to the best of my ability for as long as I am installed on this vessel, just as I'm sure you will."

Andrea stepped away from the console. In thought, shock, who knows.
“If the worst happens, if everyone is incapacitated, or worse, I need to know…”

"... that you can trust me to take care of them? Of you?" she asked gently. "That is my function. Everyone on this ship is my crew, my responsibility as a doctor. I take that responsibility very seriously."

“I concede.”

The EMH smiled then, a small warm smile. "I didn't ask for one, and it isn't needed. This wasn't a contest or a battle. I prefer to think of it as just us getting to know one another a little better, and I think we have."

“Make no mistakes there is no you and I, it is I and a program. It keeps my crewmen alive. And in that alone, I am sufficed.”

Her smile didn't fade, and she inclined her head in acknowledgement. "That much is true, I am a program."

As the hologram faded, Guilder was left alone with two things: the room and her thoughts. Neither was empty.