Consider this: In Star Trek Voyager (Season 3), there is an episode where the Doctor (a holographic artificial intelligence) creates a holographic family, but B'elanna Torres thinks that the Doctor's simulation is too "nice" (in a "Leave It To beaver" sort of way). She introduces some alterations to the program to make the simulation more accurate to real life: a wife who often disagrees, a rebellious teenage son, and a daughter who is sure she knows better than her doting father. When his daughter, Belle, is critically injured, the Doctor must make a choice, run back to his Voyager life, or face the harsh "reality" of losing a loved one. The Doctor shuts down his family program. However, Lieutenant Tom Paris says to the Doctor, “I guess all of us would avoid that kind of pain if we could. But most people don't have that choice. To which the Doctor replies, “Well, fortunately I do.” Then, Paris asks, “Is it so fortunate? You created that program so you could experience what it's like to have a family. The good times and the bad. You can't have one without the other.” The Doctor says: “I fail to see why not.” Paris responds: “Think about what's happened to us here on Voyager. Everyone left people behind, and everyone suffered a loss. But... look how it's brought us all closer together. We found support here, and friendship, and we've become a family, in part because of the pain we shared. If you turn your back on this program, you'll always be stuck at this point. You'll never have the chance to say goodbye to your daughter. Or to be there for your wife and son when they need you. And you'll be cheating yourself of the chance to have their love and support. In the long run, you'll miss the whole point of what it means to have a family.”
