HOLOGRAMS

Dr. Lewis Zimmerman was the Starfleet engineer who developed the Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH), in association with Reginald Barclay. This version of the EMH was installed in U.S.S. Voyager and the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-E. By 2373 Zimmerman was Director of Holographic imaging and Programming at Jupiter Station and was working on a Longterm Medical Holographic program.

While his career advanced, the Voyager's EMH was put into full-time service and, over the next seven years, was allowed to expand his program beyond its parameters. While the EMH project was eventually scrapped and the programs reassigned to cleaning nacelle manifolds, the return of Voyager from the Delta Quadrant sparked renewed interest in holograms as crew members. The Doctor began a campaign to free his "brothers" from "slave labor" to enable them the same opportunities he was given aboard Voyager. Under pressure from the holographic doctor, Zimmerman and the more liberal branches of the council, the Federation allowed the holograms to be reassigned and upgraded.

The Holographic Liberation Movement, as they were now called, then began to lobby for both mobile emitters to be provided to all of the EMHs and for any hologram who was expected to work beyond a specific set of parameters. When their work began to lead to demands for the freedom of the Moriarty program, however, the more conservative branches stepped in. Legislation was passed that, because the mobile emitters were considered Starfleet property, they would not be handed out to programs wishing to become civilians and that only holograms created for the specific purpose of replacing humanoids would be allowed expansive freedom. At the same time, however, they closed down funding for the EMH project again to stop production.

The Hologram Liberation Movement is continuing their work, now striving to have holograms recognized as a race and given Federation membership. The Federation, in turn, has assigned Judge Advocate General Admiral Phillipa Louvois and Admiral Bruce Maddox to head up a fact-finding mission and provide the council with a report.