EMH in "Off" or Standby mode

[Crewman47]

Probably been asked long ago (and probably raised on the show) but what happened whenever the Doctor was deactivated or deactivated himself? Did he expeirence any passage of time or was he just like an ordinary computer, like a PC today that whenever it turns off then it keeps time through the battery stored on the main board and updates when reactivated. When he's off wouldn't he be unaware of anything going on until the moment he's activated?

Any thoughts?

 

[od0_ital]

The Doctor wasn't aware of anything when he was deactivated. Fairly certain it was addressed durin' the series, but damned if I can remember which episode(s).

 

[Brian]

In "Timeless", wasn't the Doctor off for 15 years, with no memory of the interval?

[EDIT] And "Living Witness"... 700 years in that case.

 

[Squiggy]

No, because why would he be aware of 700 years passing and then pop up with "Please state the nature..." without saying "Ok, what the f*ck?"

 

[KiraDax]

But wasn't the Doctor eventually able to deactivate and reactivate himself? How do you voluntarily come out of a void if you're unaware you're in the void?

 

[Brian]

You set a timer in your emitter (outside of your program) for when you want to be activated? It's like setting your alarm. You're not aware of how much time has passed since you went to bed, but your alarm clock knows.

 

[Wil has a posse]

KiraDax said:
But wasn't the Doctor eventually able to deactivate and reactivate himself? How do you voluntarily come out of a void if you're unaware you're in the void?

He could deactivate himself, and he could set a timer to be re-activated ("Computer, activate Medical Holographic recall, set for 12 hours. Mark.")

But he couldn't simply activate himself.

 

[Gkar]

Wil has a posse said:

KiraDax said:
But wasn't the Doctor eventually able to deactivate and reactivate himself? How do you voluntarily come out of a void if you're unaware you're in the void?

He could deactivate himself, and he could set a timer to be re-activated ("Computer, activate Medical Holographic recall, set for 12 hours. Mark.")

But he couldn't simply activate himself.

I love that episode. The Kazon get owned!!!

 

[StewMc]

Wil has a posse said:

KiraDax said:
But wasn't the Doctor eventually able to deactivate and reactivate himself? How do you voluntarily come out of a void if you're unaware you're in the void?

He could deactivate himself, and he could set a timer to be re-activated ("Computer, activate Medical Holographic recall, set for 12 hours. Mark.")

But he couldn't simply activate himself.

But in the following episode he instantly reactivates himself after Seska deactivates him and leaves the room.

 

[Nebusj]

StewMc said:
But in the following episode he instantly reactivates himself after Seska deactivates him and leaves the room.

Well, sometimes you have to jiggle the button. It gets stuck.

 

[Wil has a posse]

StewMc said:

Wil has a posse said:

KiraDax said:
But wasn't the Doctor eventually able to deactivate and reactivate himself? How do you voluntarily come out of a void if you're unaware you're in the void?

He could deactivate himself, and he could set a timer to be re-activated ("Computer, activate Medical Holographic recall, set for 12 hours. Mark.")

But he couldn't simply activate himself.

But in the following episode he instantly reactivates himself after Seska deactivates him and leaves the room.

No, he leaves a message to automatically be played when someone tries (unsuccessfully) to activate his program.

 

[Vertex]

I remember in one episode, Neelix is afraid of being alone or something, and The Doctor says that everytime his program is deactivated he goes into a sort of "void" until he is reactivated. He says at first he was afraid of it, but he has become used to it. Actually I think the episode is called "Night."

From Memory Alpha:
"In the Sickbay, a rueful Neelix is treated by the Doctor. He is diagnosed with nihiliphobia: the fear of nothingness. The Doctor tries to cheer him by telling him of the "void" that he himself goes into when deactivated, in an attempt to show him he is not alone, but his description only makes Neelix feel worse. The Doctor assures him he will get used to it and discharges him."

Part of The Doctor and Neelix's conversation:
"Anxiety? Anxiety is what I feel when I burn a pot roast. This... this is more like..."
"Dizziness, nausea, unspeakable dread?"
"Yes."
"Nihilophobia. The fear of nothingness, or in layman's terms, the fear of... nothingness."

 

[StewMc]

Wil has a posse said:

StewMc said:

Wil has a posse said:

KiraDax said:
But wasn't the Doctor eventually able to deactivate and reactivate himself? How do you voluntarily come out of a void if you're unaware you're in the void?

He could deactivate himself, and he could set a timer to be re-activated ("Computer, activate Medical Holographic recall, set for 12 hours. Mark.")

But he couldn't simply activate himself.

But in the following episode he instantly reactivates himself after Seska deactivates him and leaves the room.

No, he leaves a message to automatically be played when someone tries (unsuccessfully) to activate his program.

You need to rewatch the episode.

No, this is before that part. Seska comes in, gets the Doctor to scan the baby, and then leaves, switching off the EMH as she leaves. After the door closes, the Doctor instantly reappears and begins recording a log entry.

When Seska next enters sickbay, she says something to the effect of "Didn't I turn you off last time?". Then she fires on a console, turning the Doctor off again, which leads to Suder trying to reactivate him as you describe.

And yeah, before anyone says it, the Doctor could possibly have rigged the computer to reactivate him on a short delay if anyone should deactivate him without his permission. But the above did happen nevertheless.

 

[TrekkieJeff2000]

He was deactivated for 700 years in the episode listed above and said that by his perception (after being reactivated) it feels as though only a few days have passed since he had seen his friends aboard Voyager.

 

[Wil has a posse]

StewMc said:

Wil has a posse said:

StewMc said:

Wil has a posse said:

KiraDax said:
But wasn't the Doctor eventually able to deactivate and reactivate himself? How do you voluntarily come out of a void if you're unaware you're in the void?

He could deactivate himself, and he could set a timer to be re-activated ("Computer, activate Medical Holographic recall, set for 12 hours. Mark.")

But he couldn't simply activate himself.

But in the following episode he instantly reactivates himself after Seska deactivates him and leaves the room.

No, he leaves a message to automatically be played when someone tries (unsuccessfully) to activate his program.

You need to rewatch the episode.

No, this is before that part. Seska comes in, gets the Doctor to scan the baby, and then leaves, switching off the EMH as she leaves. After the door closes, the Doctor instantly reappears and begins recording a log entry.

When Seska next enters sickbay, she says something to the effect of "Didn't I turn you off last time?". Then she fires on a console, turning the Doctor off again, which leads to Suder trying to reactivate him as you describe.

And yeah, before anyone says it, the Doctor could possibly have rigged the computer to reactivate him on a short delay if anyone should deactivate him without his permission. But the above did happen nevertheless.

Hmm. I stand corrected. Given the fact that this is the only time this happens in the series, I would assume he just instructed the computer to reactivate his program any time it's shut down, due to the Kazon invasion.

 

[JPT]

To answer Vertex, I believe that he was not aware of the void while he was in it. But when he was reactivated it's like the past X hours/days/years never existed. But it really did. And he is somewhat afraid of being deactivated and never activated again for a long time or ever again.

 

[Brian]

That's the way I saw it. He was afraid of the void itself, not of experiencing it in real time.

 

[Vertex]

JPT said:
To answer Vertex, I believe that he was not aware of the void while he was in it. But when he was reactivated it's like the past X hours/days/years never existed. But it really did. And he is somewhat afraid of being deactivated and never activated again for a long time or ever again.

Yes this could be true, but the way he says it indicates that he might have some knowledge that time is passing. Otherwise, wouldn't he just view it as a blink of the eye type thing. For instance, he's talking to the Captain about some virus or something and for some reason he's deactivated, to be reactivated a day later when Tom needs help with something. To him no time would've passed and he would've just blinked straight to the next day. However, I think he must have been somewhat aware, to notice that time passes.

Well it's a little obvious that there's not much evidence to go on, here's the line I was referring to:

I can relate to it. I go into a void every time I'm deactivated. Emptiness, complete and utter oblivion. I'll admit it was unsettling at first. The existential horror of it all.

 

[Phillip Culley]

What is odd though is what he remembers when he's turned off prematurely - in some cases (eg Jetrel) he starts as normal (Please state the nature...'), yet in others he restarts mid-sentence and carries on (I can't think of which episode he is, but in one he is activated and immediately continues shouting at Torres/Seven/whoever it was until he realises she's long gone).