A little personality test...

Posted on 21 Jan 2015 @ 12:29am by Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D. & Lieutenant Prudence Devin Ph.D.

1,604 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 3, Counselor's office
Timeline: MD15, 1400 hours

[ON]

"Okay, relax. Just act normal, and this will all be over in a few hours."

At least, that's what Tuula told herself before entering the counselor's office. Apparently capturing her unique personality so it can be replicated for a holo-matrix as complicated as the EBH was no small feat. So, here she was, getting ready to have the counselor break her down and find out what makes her tick so that Min could develop a personality matrix for her.

"Hello? I'm here for my appointment," called out Tuula as she came through the doors of the counselor's office. She was slightly anxious at returning again to the counselor's office, but this time without Dr. Carlisle, who at least seemed to understand her. "Dr... Devin?"

Prudence looked up, smiling gently where she was putting down the two cups. "Please, come in," she said as she motioned to the empty space next to the chair that was usually used by people coming to see a counsellor. "Would you like some tea, Doctor Voutilainen?"

"Yes, I'd love some," she replied. "I'm not sure exactly how these personality tests work, no one has ever tried to make me into a hologram before," she admitted in a slightly joking tone before taking a sip of her tea.

"I ask you a series of question, you answer them and those answers are then used by whoever programmes the hologram. If I understand completely myself, I am after all not an engineer," Prudence said and took a seat. She was, quite frankly, surprised. An Emergency Hologram used for...childcare...it seemed far-fetched to her. However, should one be needed, she was even more surprised that the doctor in front of her was the basis for its personality. She would have thought an older, calmer and more mature influence would benefit the children more. "So, may I ask how you were chosen for this...honour?"

"Well, I was originally going to do the design for the EBH, or Raven as I call her," she explained. "But... some people didn't like the design. They thought it was too dark. Funny, them." She let out a little giggle before continuing. "But they did suggest that I be used as a base for the EMH's personality. I guess it's because they thought's I'd relate to kids. And that I'd be a good role model. You know, being a doctor and all." She smiled at Prudence as she watched her taking notes on her PADD. "Should we perhaps wait for Min to arrive before we get too far ahead of ourselves?"

Prudence smiled weakly, her eyes on the PADD. "In my experience, relating to children and being a doctor is not exactly...a guarantee that one is suitable to take care of a child, let alone more than one in a setting of authority..." she said and met Tuula's eyes. "But if you wish to wait for...Lieutenant Zhao before continuing our conversation, we can."

"Lets get started," replied Tuula, detecting that she wasn't off to a good start. "So... what's your first question?"

"Let us start with scenarios. A child comes to you, crying, having started an argument with another child. How do you handle it?" she asked, watching Tuula with interest. She preferred starting with these questions. The ones that a person had to think about and be honest about.

"Hmmmmm..." Tuula pondered the question. For a moment, she felt like she was back at the academy, taking an oral exam. "I'd talk to the child and listen to her side of the story. Then I would try to turn things around by explaining to her what she could have done better to not start an argument, and getting the children to apologize to each other and play together. This would make it into a teachable moment where they can learn the benefits of playing nice."

Prudence nodded, watching her as she recorded the answer. It was a standard one...one she was glad to see. "A child is frightened by your appearance. How do you handle it?" she asked. It was a question worth asking, regardless. Usually, it was applied more to men than women, but if the hologram truly was based on Tuula...well. Enough said.

"I think once people get to know me, they come to realize that I'm not that scary," she replied, with a hint of defensiveness in her voice. Realizing that she was being evaluated, she took a breath and continued in a more diplomatic tone. "I'd take extra care to make a connection with the child, such as reading to him or playing with him, and teach him not to judge a book by its cover."

Prudence nodded, making a note as she considered her next question. "You suspect a child is being abused at home, what do you do?"

"Well, as a doctor I've been trained to recognize the signs of child abuse and report it to the proper authorities," explained Tuula. Fortunately, it was something that she had yet to encounter in her medical career. "I would check for physical evidence of abuse, and then talk to child about it."

"As a childminder, the answer is different. But you are on the right track and I am sure the...whatever you call, will be programmed accordingly. Let us move onto word association," Prudence took the PADD and gave a weak smile. "I know it seems like a silly tool, but it judges how you word things out. I say a word and you give me the first word back you think of. After that, I will say a sentence and you need to tell me the emotion you feel from it. Understand?"

"Okay, that sounds easy enough," replied Tuula, wary of a possible trap.

Prudence nodded, her eyes on Tuula. "Space," she said, the first word. She had done this herself and had found her own answers quite...fascinating. Although possibly also explaining why she wasn't exactly the settling type either.

"Black," replied Tuula, quickly without even thinking. "Wait... yeah, black."

"First thing only," Prudence said, nodding encouraging. "Ship."

"Space," countered Tuula, bringing the little quiz back to where they started.

"Loss," Prudence said as she looked back at her notes, seeing where they were headed next.

"Limb," replied Tuula, wincing as she instantly regretted her choice of word.

Prudence's eyebrows shot up at that but she looked down again, tilting her head. "Control."

"Freak."

Prudence nodded and met her eyes again, taking a breath. "And now...tell me your emotion when I say these things. 'Starfleet is no place for women.'"

"Anger," replied Tuula, gritting her teeth. "Rage."

Prudence nodded, watching her for a long moment. "'Children should be seen and not heard'."

"That's sad," said Tuula, trying without success to read any body language that the counselor was giving off. "Children are wonderful little creatures, and they should be encouraged to express themselves."

Prudence looked down at her notes before meeting Tuula's eyes again. She spoke calmly, as always."'A slate can never be clean. You clean it, and you can still see what was there before'."

"A curious saying," replied Tuula. "I like to think that people deserve second chances and that anyone can change. But I suppose we all carry our past with us..." she said, trailing off as she wondered how exactly these questions would define her personality. But Prudence was the shrink, not her, and she knew what she was doing.

Prudence smiled gently and nodded, looking at her notes. "But what emotion does it invoke?" she asked, meeting her eyes.

"I don't know," started Tuula. "Regret?"

Prudence nodded before placing the PADD down, holding Tuula's eyes. "How do you feel about being used as a basis for this...hologram?"

"I'm honoured," explained Tuula. She offered Prudence a hint of a smile before continuing. "And kind of excited. I love kids, and would like to have children of my own someday. And to have a piece of myself go into this hologram designed for one of the most important jobs on the Galileo, taking care of the children, is really a swell honour."

"And if the parents react badly?" she asked, holding her eyes. "You...are not the average doctor, after all." It wasn't a compliment, but it wasn't a criticism either. Everyone was different, but it was true. The woman before her could either frighten, or reassure. Prudence knew well she would never want to have that responsibility, of having a hologram based on her. She knew she would be too cold, be too...stiff, to do it. She didn't have children of her own and it was for a reason. She never believed she would be a good carer of a child.

"I suppose the hologram could always be refined and reprogrammed. After all, we're up to the tenth mark of the EMH," said Tuula, grinning slightly at her own joke. Seeing little in the way of a reaction, she continued. "I suppose I might feel a little hurt if the things they react badly to are the parts of the program largely based on me. But you can't always worry about what other people think, right?"

"No," Prudence said softly, shaking her head. "You can't. I think that that is enough for now. I will take this and the yes and no questionnaire you'll complete later and put it forward. And whoever is building the hologram can take it from there."

[OFF]

Lieutenant (J.G.) Tuula Voutilainen, M.D.
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

&

Lt. Prudence Devin
Chief Counsellor
USS Galileo

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