All language subtitles for Star Trek The Roddenberry Vault 2016 Part2 1080p BluRay x264 DTS-FGT_track3_[eng]

Who's there?

It's your relief, Sam.

- All quiet?
- Didn't see a thing, chief.

Nobody ever does.

Whatever the thing is,
it's already killed 50 people.

Never realised before
how dark it is down here.

Stay on your toes, schmitter.

Keep your phaser
in your hand at all times.

What good will that do?
You saw what happened to ed appel

when he took a shot at the thing.

How about all those other people,

- before the monster got them?
- I'm sorry, schmitter.

I know how you feel,
but we've got to have guards.

Okay, chief.

I'll do what I can.

Keep alert.

If you hear anything
or see anything, call in.

Somebody can be here
in three minutes.

A lot can happen in three minutes.

Chief, is it true the enterprise
is on its way?

It's coming.

Think it could get here
in the next four hours?

You'll be all right.

No.

Come on!

Schmitter.

Like the rest of them...

burned to a crisp.

Space, the final frontier.

These are the voyages
of the starship enterprise.

Its five-year mission:
To explore strange new worlds,

to seek out new life
and new civilisations,

to boldly go where no man
has gone before.

Captain's log, stardate 3196.1.

A distress call from the pergium
production station on janus vi

has brought the enterprise
to that long-established colony.

Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and I

have beamed down to meet with
chief engineer vanderberg,

administrative head of janus vi.

All right, let's assume
there is a monster.

What has it done?

When did it start?

About three months ago,
we opened up a new level.

Sensors gave us an unusually
rich pergium reading.

Not only pergium,
whatever you want:

Uranium, cerium, platinum.

The whole planet's like that.

It's a treasure house.

Yes, we're aware of that.

If mining conditions
weren't so difficult,

janus vi could supply the mineral
needs of a thousand planets.

But what happened?

First, the automatic machinery,
piece by piece,

started to almost disintegrate.

Metal began dissolving away.

There's no reason for it,

and our chemists were unable
to analyse the corrosive agent.

I'm sure there is an answer.

It simply has not yet
been discovered.

Yes, it has.

Yes, it has.

I don't know what
this butchering monster is,

but I know what it's doing.

Our maintenance engineers,
sent down into the drifts

to repair the corroded machinery.

We found them, seared to a crisp.

Volcanic activity?

There is no current volcanic activity
on this planet, captain.

He's right. None.

At first, the deaths were down deep,

but they've been moving up
toward our levels.

The last man died two days ago,
three levels below this.

The same way, burned?

I'd like to examine the body.

We kept it for you.
There isn't much left.

Roberts will show you.

It isn't pretty.

You post sentries, guards?

Of course. Five of them have died.

- Who else has seen this?
- I have.

This is ed appel,
chief processing engineer.

- Describe it.
- I can't.

I only got a glimpse of it,

but it's big and shaggy.

Ed shot it.

Oh.

You mean shot at it.

No, I mean shot it, with this.

- Fascinating.
- A good, clean shot.

Didn't even slow it down.

Well, I've made my report to you.

Production has stopped.
Nobody will go into the lower levels,

and I don't blame them.
If the federation wants pergium,

then you're gonna have
to do something about it.

That's why we're here,
Mr. vanderberg.

You're all pretty tough, aren't you?

Starship, phaser banks...

You can't get your starship down
in the tunnels.

I don't think there will be any need.

Mr. vanderberg, I'll need
a complete subsurface chart

of all the drifts, galleries, tunnels.

- You'll get it.
- Mr. vanderberg, what is this?

It's a silicon nodule.

They're a million of them down there.
No commercial value.

But a geological oddity,
to say the least.

Pure silicon?

A few trace elements.

Look, we didn't call you here
so you could collect rocks.

Thank you, Mr. vanderberg.
We'll need your complete cooperation.

You'll have it.

Just find that creature,
whatever it is.

I've got a quota to meet.

Come on, appel.

A vast number of tunnels is not
gonna make our hunting any easier.

- Doc?
- Schmitter didn't burn to death, Jim,

- not in the usual sense, anyway.
- Explain that.

Well, there were only fragments
of bone and teeth left,

but the plant's physician
agrees with me.

A chemical corrosion,

almost as if he'd been thrown
into a vat of extremely corrosive acid.

Strong enough to eat machinery?

Strong enough to eat anything else
away you can think of.

Mt-Spock?

I've charted the position of the deaths
and the acts of sabotage.

Here, here and here.

If the times of these incidents
are to be accepted as accurate,

the creature would have to have
moved at an incredible rate of speed.

Mm-hm. Mr. vanderberg,
how recent are these charts?

They were made last year.

Before the appearance
of whatever it is?

- That's right.
- I see.

Mr. Spock, give us a report
on life beneath the surface.

Within range of our sensors,
there is no life,

other than the accountable
human residents of this colony

beneath the surface.

At least no life as we know it.

We can't cover tunnel by tunnel
on foot.

We must get production going again.

We must have that pergium.

Captain, if we could force
another appearance of this creature...

When that creature appears,
men die.

Too many tunnels.

We couldn't possibly...

Mr. Spock, our sensors can
pick up normal life functions

at a considerable distance,

but what about abnormal
life functions?

Something's happening
in the reactor room!

Back to your stations.

Look at that.

I wouldn't touch it, captain.

An extremely active corrosive.

Traces may linger.

Kirk, quickly!

The main circulating pump
for the entire reactor, it's gone.

The same indications shown
at the door, captain,

- a very strong corrosive.
- Ls there a replacement for that?

No, none. It's outdated. But we've
never had any trouble with it.

Spock, onboard?

Nothing for a device
this antiquated, captain.

Without the pump mechanism,
the reactor will go supercritical.

It could poison half the planet.
We can't shut it down.

It provides heat and air and life support
for the whole colony.

Mr. Spock, we seem
to have been given a choice.

Death by asphyxiation,

or death by radiation poisoning.

A pxk pergium reactor?

No, sir, we don't have any spare
circulating pump for a thing like that.

I haven't seen a pxk in 20 years.

Can you rig one up? It's vital.

Well, sir, I can put together
some odds and ends,

but it won't hold for long.

How long?

Forty-eight hours, maybe,
with a bit of luck.

Forty-eight hours
is better than nothing.

Get together what you need.
Beam down here with it.

- Top priority.
- Aye, captain.

I'll be right down. Scott, out.

What happens
when it breaks down?

Hopefully, we'll have found
the missing part by then.

- Hopefully? Small chance.
- We'll have to, chief.

The alternative is to evacuate
all your people up to the enterprise.

A dozen planets depend on you

for pergium for their reactor.
They're already screaming.

Reactors closing down,
life-support systems failing...

I'm concerned with my people
right here, kirk.

They're being murdered.

You find that monster and kill it.

The missing pump
was not taken by accident.

It was the one piece of equipment
absolutely essential

for the operation of the reactor.

You think the creature is trying
to push the colonists off the planet?

It would seem so.

But why now, Mr. Spock?

These production facilities have been
in operation for over 5o years.

I don't know.

But there is a possibility.

What's that?

Life, as we know it,

is universally based on some
combination of carbon compounds.

But what if life exists
based on another element?

For instance, silicon.

You're creating fantasies, Mr. Spock.

Not necessarily. I've heard of
the theoretical possibility

of life based on silicon.

But silicon-based life would be
of an entirely different order.

It's possible that our phasers
might not affect it.

Certainly not phaser one, which is
far less powerful than phaser two.

All right.

How about this?

A creature that lives deep
in the planet below us,

at home in solid rock.

It seems to me
that in order to survive,

it would have to have some form
of natural armour plating.

It could explain much,

especially since the colonists
are armed only with phaser one.

But our people have phaser two.

Which I could adjust to be
more effective against silicon.

Silicon-based life is
physiologically impossible,

especially in an oxygen atmosphere.

It may be, doctor,

that the creature can exist for
brief periods in such an atmosphere

before returning
to its own environment.

I still think you're imagining things.

You may be right, doctor,
but at least there's something to go on.

Mr. Spock,
have lieutenant commander giotto

assemble the security troops

and arm them
with phaser number two.

You make the proper adjustments.

You seem fascinated by this rock.

Yes, captain.

You recall
that vanderberg commented

there were thousands of these
at a lower level.

The level which
the machinery opened

just prior to the first appearance
of the creature.

Do they tie in?

- I don't know.
- Speculate.

I have already given Dr. McCoy
sufficient cause for amusement.

I would prefer to cogitate
the possibilities for a time.

A short time, Mr. Spock.

We have very little.

How's it going, Scotty?

Well, sir, it's a plumber's nightmare,

- but it'll hold for a bit.
- It has to hold longer than a bit.

I'm sorry, sir, that's the best I can do,
and it's not good enough.

- Kirk here.
- Captain,

the security officers have gathered
in chief vanderberg's office.

I'll be right there. Kirk, out.

Scotty, ride herd on it.

Kind words, tender-loving care.

Kiss it, baby it, flatter it if
you have to, but keep it going.

I'll do what I can, sir.

I'll do what I can, sir.

You'll proceed from level to level,
checking out every foot of opening.

You are searching
for some sort of creature

which is highly resistant
to phaser fire.

Your phasers will be set
on maximum.

And remember this, 50 people
have died. I want no more deaths.

Except the bloody thing.

The creature may or may not
attack on sight.

However, you must.

It is vitally important that we get
this installation back into production.

It is vitally important that we get
this installation back into production.

Mr. vanderberg,
may I ask at which level

you discovered
the nodules of silicon?

The 23rd. Why?

Commander giotto, take your detail,
go directly to the 23rd level,

- start your search there.
- Aye, aye, sir.

May I ask if you have reason
to suspect

this creature may be on that level?

It's one of the possibilities
we've discussed.

I want your people
to stay on the top level,

- together and at a safe place.
- I don't know any safe place, captain.

The way that thing
comes and goes...

Well, gentlemen, you have
your instructions. Let's get at it.

Mr. Spock, find something?

Adjusting my tricorder
to register for silicon, captain.

Hmm.

- Interesting.
- Traces?

A life form, captain.

Bearing, 111 degrees.
Elevation, four degrees.

- One of our people?
- No, sir, silicon.

He never even had a chance
to fire, captain.

It's only been seconds
since we heard him scream.

The creature must still be around.

Captain.

This tunnel. My readings indicate

it was made within the hour.
Moments ago, in fact.

- Are you certain?
- Positive.

This tunnel goes back
as far as the eye can see.

Our best machinery couldn't cut a
tunnel like this, not even with phasers.

Indeed, captain.
I'm quite at a loss.

Gone.

Disappeared.

Astonishing that anything
of that bulk could move so rapidly.

- These walls are hot.
- Indeed.

This tunnel was cut
within the last two minutes.

You all right, captain?

Yes, perfectly.

- Did you see it?
- Yes, we saw it.

Where does this tunnel go?

Readings indicate a maze of tunnels of
this general category in that direction.

- Did you get a shot at it?
- Yes, we took a bite out of it.

Not animal tissue.

What is it?

The closest approximation I could
come to would be fibrous asbestos.

- A mineral, captain.
- Then your guess was right.

It would seem so.

Silicon based.

Summation.

We are dealing with a silicon creature
of the deep rocks,

capable of moving through solid rock
as easily as we move through the air.

- That would account for the tunnels.
- Correct.

This creature's body secretes
an extremely powerful corrosive.

Powerful enough to dissolve the door
of the reactor chamber.

And it explains the murdered men.

It's definitely phaser resistant.

We had our weapons set for silicon
and on full power,

yet we only damaged it. It still lives.

You mean, it's impossible to kill.

No. No, it might require
massed phasers.

Or a single phaser
with much longer contact.

Commander...

pass this on to your men.

We knew it was a killer,
now it's wounded.

Probably in pain
somewhere back there.

There's nothing more dangerous
than a wounded animal.

Commander giotto,

instruct your men to concentrate
the search in this sector.

Remind them that the creature
is wounded.

Aye, aye, sir.

What is it, Mr. Spock?

I've run a complete spherical check
on all life forms, captain,

radius 100 miles.

I've located our men, all of them.

And I've located one creature

moving rapidly through
native rock. Bearing, 201,

and that is all.

- One creature in 100 miles?
- Exactly.

Captain, there are literally
thousands of these tunnels

in this general area alone.

Far too many to be cut by the one
creature in an ordinary lifetime.

Then we're dealing
with more than one creature

despite your tricorder readings.

Or we have a creature
with an extremely long life span.

Or it is the last of a race of creatures

which made these tunnels.

If so, if it is the only survivor
of a dead race,

to kill it would be a crime
against science.

Mr. Spock...

our mission is
to protect this colony,

to get the pergium moving again.
This is not a zoological expedition.

Maintain a constant reading
on the creature.

If we have to, we'll use phasers
to cut our own tunnels.

We'll try to surround it.

I'm sorry, Mr. Spock,

but I'm afraid the creature must die.

I see no alternative myself, captain.

It merely seems a pity.

The search team is gathering
in the main tunnel.

Good.

So it is wounded,

and therefore twice as dangerous.

Stay in pairs.

If you see it,
concentrate your phaser fire

at what appears to be its head.

Concentrate it, maintain it.

It is definitely resistant,
but it can be hurt.

If it can be hurt, it can be killed.

Mt-Spock?

Gentlemen, if you'll examine
your charts, please.

I last located the creature
in the area marked adit 26,

moving at bearing 201.

This particular group will move out
beyond that area in all directions,

in an effort to surround it,
possibly capture it.

Your orders are shoot to kill.

Protect yourself at all times.

Commander giotto,
disperse your search parties.

Aye, aye, sir.

Lewis, vinci, take your men out.

Mr. Spock.

Capture it? I don't recall
giving any such order.

You did not, sir.

I thought
that if the opportunity arose...

I will lose no more men.

The creature will be killed on sight,
and that's the end of it.

- Very well, sir.
- Mr. Spock,

I want you to assist Scotty

in maintaining that makeshift
circulating pump.

- I beg your pardon, sir?
- You heard me.

It's vital that we keep
that reactor in operation.

- Your scientific knowledge...
- Ls not needed there, sir.

Mr. Scott has far more knowledge
of nuclear reactors than I do.

You're aware of that.

Mr. Spock,
you are second-in-command.

This will be a dangerous hunt.

Either one of us, by himself,
is expendable.

Both of us are not.

Captain, there are approximately
100 of us engaged in this search

against one creature.

The odds against you and i
both being killed

are 2228.7 to one.

2228.7 to one?

Those are pretty good odds,
Mr. Spock.

And they are, of course, accurate,
captain.

Of course.

Well, I hate to use the word,

but, logically,
with those kind of odds,

you might as well stay.

But please stay out of trouble,
Mr. Spock.

That is always my intention, captain.

- Kirk here.
- Scotty here, captain.

My brilliant improvisation just gave up
the ghost. It couldn't stand the strain.

- Can you fix it again?
- Negative, captain. It's gone for good.

Start immediate evacuation
of all colonists to the enterprise.

Not all of them, captain.

I and some of my key personnel
are staying.

We'll be down to join you.

We don't have enough phasers
for you.

Then we'll use clubs. We're not being
chased away from here. We're staying.

Good.

Get everybody else aboard
the enterprise.

The fewer people breathing
the air down here,

the longer the rest of us will hold out.

How much longer, Scotty?

The reactor will go supercritical
in about 10 hours.

You have that long
to find the mechanism.

We'll do our best.

Start feeding us
constant status reports, Scotty.

Vanderberg, you and your crew
assemble at level 23,

checkpoint tiger. Kirk, out.

Team up with the enterprise
security personnel.

They're better armed than you.
Keep someone in sight at all times.

Vanderberg, take two men,
go through that tunnel there,

rendezvous with commander giotto.

Appel, the rest of the men,
go through there,

tie up
with lt. Osborne's detail.

Mr. Spock and I will control
the operation

from a central point.
That's all, gentlemen.

Mt-Spock?

Captain, we are being watched.

Are you sure?

Intuition?

No, sir. We're being watched.

- Captain.
- Mm.

Fresh readings within the hour,
in each of these tunnels.

The chart says both
these tunnels converge

a few thousand yards further.

- You take the left, I'll take the right.
- Should we separate?

Two tunnels, two of us.

We separate.

Mr. Spock.

Yes, captain.

I found a whole lair of these
silicon nodules of yours.

- Hundreds of them.
- Indeed.

I find that most illuminating, captain.

Be absolutely certain
you do not damage any of them.

- Explain.
- Only a theory I have.

Captain.

Are you all right?

Jim.

Jim!

Yes, Mr. Spock, all right.

We seem to have had a cave-in.

- I could phaser you out.
- No. No, no, you better not.

Any disturbance might bring down
the rest of the wall.

Besides, it isn't necessary.

The chart said that
the tunnels meet further on.

Very well.

But I find it extremely disquieting

that your roof chose
that particular moment to collapse.

Please proceed
with extreme caution.

I shall quicken my pace.

I shall quicken my pace.

Very well, Mr. Spock.
I'll meet you at the other end...

Kirk here.

Captain, I've just read
some fresh signs.

The creature is in this area.

I'll take a life-form reading.

It's not necessary, Mr. Spock.
I know exactly where the creature is.

Where, captain?

Ten feet away from me.

Kill it, captain, quickly.

It's not making
any threatening moves, Spock.

You don't dare take the chance,
captain.

Kill it.

I thought you were the one
that wanted it kept alive,

captured, if possible.

Jim, your life is in danger.

You can't take the risk.

It seems to be waiting.

I remind you, it is a proven killer.

I'm on my way.

Spock, out.

Well, what do we do,
just talk it over?

Well, you can be hurt, can't you?

We just sit here?

It's your move.

No, no, don't shoot.

Come on over, Mr. Spock.

Fascinating.

- It's made no moves against you?
- No.

It seems to be waiting.

I tried talking to it,
but it didn't do any good.

Yes.

They're all through here,
all over the place.

Thousands of them.

Yes, I see.

It means something to you?

Possibly the answer, captain.

But I'm not certain.

Captain,

you're aware of the vulcan technique
of the joining of two minds.

You think you can get through
to that thing?

Possible.

Mr. Spock,

I know it's a terrible personal lowering
of the mental barriers,

but if there's a chance...

L'll try.

Pain!

Pain!

Pain!

That's all I got, captain.

Waves and waves of searing pain.

It's in agony.

"No kill l."

What is that,
a plea for us not to kill it?

Or a promise that it won't kill us?

I don't know, captain.

Evidently, it gained an
immediate knowledge of us

from its empathy with me.

In my brief contact
with the creature's mind,

I discovered it is a highly intelligent,

extremely sophisticated animal,

in great pain, of course,
because of its wound,

but not reacting at all
like a wounded creature.

It calls itself a "horta."

A horta.

A horta.

Mr. Spock, we need
that retardation mechanism.

You must reestablish
communications with it.

Captain, it has no reason
to give us the device,

and apparently every reason
for wishing us off this planet.

Yes, I'm aware of that.

If we could only win its...

."Confidence.

- Dr. McCoy, this is captain kirk.
- Yes, captain.

Grab your medical kit,
and come down here on the double.

I've got a patient for you.

Is somebody injured?
What happened?

Never mind. Just come down
to the 23rd level.

You'll be led to us
by tricorder readings. Kirk, out.

Jim, I remind you that this
is a silicon-based form of life.

Dr. McCoy's medical knowledge
will be totally useless.

He's a healer, let him heal.

Mr. Spock, you must
reestablish communications.

I want to know why
it suddenly took to murder.

To obtain that kind of
communication, captain,

it will be necessary to touch it.

We've seen how
the creature destroys.

- Lieutenant commander giotto.
- Giotto here, captain.

- Are you all right?
- Perfectly all right.

- Where are you?
- We're at the end of the tunnel.

Now, Mr. vanderberg and his men
are here, and they're pretty ugly.

Should I let them through?

Under no circumstances
allow them in here yet.

The minute doc McCoy gets there,
send him through.

Aye, aye, sir.

Murder!

The thousands.

Devils.

Eternity ends.

The chamber of the ages.

The altar of tomorrow.

Murderers.

Stop them.

Kill!

Strike back!

Monsters!

What in the name of...?

- What is Spock doing?
- It's wounded, badly.

You've got to help it.

Help that?

Go take a look.

The end of life.

Murderers.

You can't be serious.

That thing is virtually
made out of stone.

Help it. Treat it.

I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer.

You're a healer, there's a patient.

That's an order.

Mr. Spock.

Tell it we're trying to help.

The mechanism.

Understood.

It is the end of life.

Eternity stops.

Go out...

into the tunnel.

To the chamber of the ages.

Cry...

for the children.

Walk carefully...

in the vault of tomorrow.

Sorrow...

for the murdered children.

The thing you search for is there.

Go.

Go.

Sadness.

Sadness...

for the end of things.

Go into the tunnel.

There is a passageway.

Quickly. Quickly.

The captain said for you to wait here,

and here is where you're gonna wait.

That murdering monster's in there,

and we're gonna go in and kill it.

You're going to stay here.

That's right, lieutenant,
just beam it down to me immediately

and never mind what I want it for.

I just want it.

Now, move.

It is time...

to sleep.

It is over.

Failure.

The murderers...

have won.

Death is welcome.

Let it end here.

Mr. Spock.

Mr. Spock. Spock.

Spock.

Come out of it.

I found the unit in there.
It's in pretty good shape.

And I also found about a million
of these silicon nodules.

They're eggs, aren't they?

Yes, captain, eggs,
and about to hatch.

The miners must have broken
into the hatchery.

Their operations destroyed thousands.
No wonder...

There, they're coming.

All right.

All right, let's go!

Come on.

How you doing, doc?

I'll let you know.

- No, don't fire!
- Kill it!

The first man that fires is dead.

That thing has killed 50 of my men.

And you've killed thousands
of her children.

What?

Those round silicon nodules

that you've been collecting
and destroying,

they're her eggs.

Tell them, Mr. Spock.

There have been many
generations of horta on this planet.

Every 50,000 years,
the entire race dies,

all but one.

Like this one.

But the eggs live,
she cares for them,

protects them.
And when they hatch,

she is the mother to them,
thousands of them.

This creature here
is the mother of her race.

The horta is intelligent,

peaceful, mild.

She had no objection
to sharing this planet with you

till you broke into her nursery
and started destroying her eggs.

Then she fought back
in the only way she knew how,

as any mother would fight

when her children are endangered.

We didn't know. How could we?

But you mean
if these eggs hatch,

there will be thousands
of those things

crawling around down here?

This is where they live.

They digest rock.
They tunnel for nourishment.

And they are the most inoffensive
of creatures.

They harbour ill will toward no one.

Now, look,
we have pergium to deliver.

Yes, I know.

Here's your circulating pump.

Now, you've complained
that this planet

is a mineralogical treasure house

if you had the equipment to get at it.

Well, gentlemen,
the horta moves through rock

the way we move through air,
and it leaves tunnels.

The greatest natural miners
in the universe.

Seems to me that we could make
an agreement,

reach a modus vivendi.

They tunnel,
you collect and process,

and your process operation would be
a thousand times more profitable.

Sounds all right, if it'll work.

Except for one thing.

The horta is badly wounded.

- It may die.
- It won't die.

By golly, Jim, I'm beginning to think
i can cure a rainy day.

- Can you help it?
- Helped it? I cured it.

How?

I had the ship beam down a hundred
pounds of that thermo-concrete.

You know, the kind we use
to build emergency shelters out of.

It's mostly silicon.

So I just troweled it into the wound,

and it'll act like a bandage
until it heals.

Take a look. It's good as new.

Mr. Spock, I'm gonna have to ask you
to get in touch with the horta again.

Tell her our proposition.

She and her children can do
all the tunnelling they want,

she and her children can do
all the tunnelling they want,

our people will remove the minerals,

and each side will
leave the other alone.

- Do you think she'll go for it?
- It seems logical, captain.

The horta has a very logical mind.

And after close association
with humans,

I find that curiously refreshing.

Ship ready to leave orbit, captain.

- Course laid in.
- Very good, Mr. Spock.

Chief engineer vanderberg
standing by on channel one.

Fine. Yes, chief? Kirk here.

Just wanted to tell you the eggs
have started to hatch, captain.

The first thing the little devils do
is start to tunnel.

We've already hit huge
new pergium deposits.

I'm afraid to tell you
how much gold and platinum

and rare earths we've uncovered.

I'm delighted to hear that, chief.

Once mother horta tells her kids
what to look for,

you people are going
to be embarrassingly rich.

The horta aren't so bad

once you get used
to their appearance.

Well, that's about it, kirk.
Thanks for everything.

Our pleasure, chief. Kirk, out.

Curious.

What chief vanderberg
said about the horta

is exactly what
the mother horta said to me.

She found
humanoid appearance revolting,

but she thought
she could get used to it.

Oh, she did, did she?

Now, tell me, did she happen to make
any comment about those ears?

Not specifically.

But I did get the distinct impression
she found them

the most attractive human
characteristic of all.

I didn't have the heart
to tell her that only I have...

She really liked those ears?

Captain, the horta
is a remarkably intelligent

and sensitive creature
with impeccable taste.

Because she approved of you.

Really, captain, my modesty...

Does not bear close examination,
Mr. Spock.

I suspect you're becoming
more and more human all the time.

You...

Captain, I see no reason
to stand here and be insulted.

Ahead, warp factor 2.

- Stay on top of it, Mr. sulu.
- We're holding orbit, sir.

The helm is sluggish.

Control circuits threatening
to overload, captain.

Understood, engineer.

Mr. Spock...

we can't avoid these areas
of turbulence.

I believe we'll have them plotted
in a few more orbits, captain.

Sickbay, to bridge.

Switching to manual, captain.

- Do we maintain this orbit?
- Spock?

This is of great scientific
importance, captain.

We're actually passing
through ripples in time.

- Maintain orbit.
- Aye, there.

Open a channel
to starfleet command.

Yes, sir.

Precautionary measure, lieutenant.

Broadcast to starfleet command
my past week's log entries,

starting with the unusual readings
we had on the instruments

and how they led us here.

Inform starfleet command
that apparently

something or someone
down on this planet...

Bones.

Can affect changes in time,

causing turbulent waves
of space displacement.

Some heart flutter.

I'd better risk a few drops
of cordrazine.

It's tricky stuff.
Are you sure you wanna risk...?

You were about to make
a medical comment, Jim?

Who, me, doctor?

We're guiding around most
of the time ripples now, captain.

Good. Mr. Spock?

All plotted but one, captain.
Coming up on it now.

Seems to be
fairly heavy displacement.

Bones!

Get back to your positions.

- The hypo, captain.
- It was set for cordrazine.

- Empty.
- Communications,

emergency medical team.

Killers! Assassins!

I won't let you!
I'll kill you first!

I won't let you!

You won't get me!
Murderers! Killers!

Security alert.

Space, the final frontier.

These are the voyages
of the starship enterprise.

Its five-year mission:
To explore strange new worlds,

to seek out new life
and new civilizations,

to boldly go where no man
has gone before.

Captain's log,
supplemental entry.

Two drops of cordrazine
can save a man's life.

A hundred times that amount

has just accidentally been
pumped into Dr. McCoy's body,

and in a strange wild frenzy,
he has fled the ship's bridge.

All connecting decks
have been placed on alert.

We have no way of knowing
if the madness is permanent

or temporary or in what direction
it will drive McCoy.

Or temporary or in what direction
it will drive McCoy.

Continue alert...

decks 4 through 11.

Medical department knows
as little as we do.

In dosages approaching this,
there's some record of wild paranoia.

Confirmed by the library
record tapes, captain.

Subjects failed to recognise
acquaintances,

became hysterically convinced
that they were in mortal danger

and were seeking escape
at any cost.

Extremely dangerous to himself
or to anyone else who might...

- Bridge, security. Alert, alert.
- Bridge here. Go ahead.

Security o54, sir. We just found
the transporter chief injured.

Captain, Dr. McCoy has beamed
himself down to the planet.

And the transporter
at that time, captain,

was focused on the centre
of the time disturbance.

So whatever's down there,
McCoy is in the heart of it.

Set up a landing party.
Let's go get him. Kirk out.

These ruins extend to the horizon.

Begin recording.

Recording, sir.

And of considerable age.

On the order
of 10,000 centuries old.

Detail, fan out.

What is this thing, Mr. Spock?

Seems to be pulsating with power
of some kind.

Analysis, please.

- Unbelievable, captain.
- That's funny.

This single object is the source
of all the time displacement.

- Explain.
- I can't.

For this to do what it does
is impossible

by any science I understand.

It is operating even now...

putting out waves and waves
of time displacement,

which we picked up
millions of miles away.

Landing party to enterprise.
No sign of Dr. McCoy.

Search progressing.

Incredible power.

It can't be a machine as
we understand mechanics.

- Then what is it?
- A question.

Since before your sun
burned hot in space,

and before your race was born,
i have awaited a question.

- What are you'?
- I am the guardian of forever.

Are you machine or being?

I am both and neither.

I am my own beginning,
my own ending.

I see no reason for answers
to be couched in riddles.

I answer as simply as your level
of understanding makes possible.

A time portal, captain.

A gateway to other times
and dimensions, if I'm correct.

As correct as possible for you.

Your science knowledge
is obviously primitive.

Really?

Annoyed, Spock?

Behold.

A gateway to your own past,
if you wish.

Killers!

Killers! I won't let you get me!
I'll kill you first!

I won't let you get...
Assassins! Murderers! Killers!

Spock!

If that is a doorway
back through time,

could we somehow take bones
back a day in time, then...?

Relive the accident.

This time be certain that
the hypo accident is avoided.

Look at the speed with which
the centuries are passing, captain.

To step through on precisely
the day we wish...

Guardian.

Can you change the speed
at which yesterday passes?

I was made to offer the past
in this manner. I cannot change.

Strangely compelling, isn't it?

To step through there

and lose oneself in another world.

I am a fool.

Our tricorder is capable
of recording even at this speed.

I've missed taping centuries
of living history,

- which no man before has ever...
- Dr. McCoy!

Bones, no!

- Where is he?
- He has passed into what was.

Captain, I've lost contact with
the ship. I was talking to them,

and suddenly, it went dead.
No static, just nothing.

Kirk to enterprise.

Scotty?

Nothing wrong with
the communicator, sir.

Your vessel, your beginning,
all that you knew is gone.

McCoy...

has somehow changed history.

You mean we're stranded
down here?

With no past, no future.

Captain, I'm frightened.

Captain, I'm frightened.

Earth's not there,
at least not the earth we know.

We're totally alone.

Captain's log, no stardate.

For us, time does not exist.

McCoy, back somewhere
in the past,

has effected a change
in the course of time.

All earth history has been changed.
There is no starship enterprise.

We have only one chance.

We have asked the guardian
to show us earth's history again.

Spock and I will go
back into time ourselves

and attempt to set right
whatever it was that McCoy changed.

And attempt to set right
whatever it was that McCoy changed.

I was recording images
at the time McCoy left.

A rather barbaric period
in your American history.

I believe I can approximate
just when to jump.

Perhaps within a month
of the correct time,

a week, if we're fortunate.

Make sure we arrive
before McCoy got there.

It's vital we stop him...

before he does whatever it was
that changed all history.

Guardian...

if we are successful...
- Then you will be returned.

It will be as though none
of you had gone.

Captain, it seems impossible.

Even if you're able
to find the right date...

Then even finding
McCoy would be a miracle.

There is no alternative.

Scotty...

when you think
you've waited long enough,

each of you will have to try it.
Even if you fail,

at least you'll be alive
in some past world somewhere.

- Aye.
- Seconds now, sir. Stand by.

Good luck, gentlemen.

Happiness at least, sir.

And...

I've seen old photographs
of this period.

- An economic upheaval had occurred.
- It was called depression, circa 1930.

Quite barbaric.

We seem to be costumed
a little out of step with the time.

I'm afraid I'm going to be difficult
to explain in any case, captain.

Well, Mr. Spock, if we can't
disguise you, we'll find some way of...

- explaining you.
- That should prove interesting.

Let's get out of here.

Fascinating.

Look out, will you? Why
don't you watch where you're going!

Theft, captain?

Well, we'll steal from the rich
and give back to the poor later.

I think I'm gonna like this century.
Simple, easier to manage.

We're not gonna have
any difficulty explaining...

Well?

You're a police officer. I recognise
the traditional accoutrements.

You were saying you'll have
no trouble explaining it.

My friend is obviously Chinese.

I see you've noticed the ears.
They're actually easy to explain.

Perhaps the unfortunate accident
i had as a child.

The unfortunate accident
he had as a child.

He caught his head
in a mechanical...

rice picker.

But, fortunately, there was an
American missionary living close by

who was actually a skilled
plastic surgeon in civilian life...

All right, all right! Drop those bundles
and put your hands on that wall there.

Come on!

Oh, how careless of your wife
to let you go out that way.

- What?
- Oh, yes, it's quite untidy.

Here, let me help you.

You were actually enjoying
my predicament back there.

- At times, you seem quite human.
- Captain, I hardly believe that insults

are within your prerogative
as my commanding officer.

Sorry.

Time we faced the unpleasant facts.

First, I believe we have about
a week before McCoy arrives,

- but we can't be certain.
- Arrives where,

Honolulu, Boise, San Diego?

Why not outer Mongolia,
for that matter?

There is a theory.

There could be some logic
to the belief that time is fluid,

like a river with currents,
Eddies, backwash.

And the same currents that swept
McCoy to a certain time and place

might sweep us there too.

Unless that is true,
captain, we have no hope.

Frustrating. Locked in here is the
exact place and moment of his arrival,

even the images of what he did.

If only I could tie this tricorder
in with the ship's computers

for just a few moments.

Couldn't you build some form
of computer aid here?

In this zinc-plated,
vacuum-tubed culture?

Yes, well, it would pose an extremely
complex problem in logic, Mr. Spock.

Excuse me. I sometimes
expect too much of you.

Who's there?

Excuse us, miss.
We didn't mean to trespass.

It's cold outside.

A lie is a very poor way
to say hello. It isn't that cold.

No.

We were being chased
by a policeman.

Why?

These clothes.

We stole them.

We didn't have any money.

Well, I could do with some help
around here,

doing dishes, sweeping,
general cleaning.

At what rate of payment?

I need radio tubes and so forth.
My hobby.

Fifteen cents an hour
for ten hours a day.

What are your names?

Mine is Jim kirk. His is...

Spock.

I'm Edith Keeler.

Well, you can start by cleaning up
down here.

Excuse me, miss.

- Where are we?
- You're in the 21st street mission.

Do you run this place?

Indeed I do, Mr. kirk.

Radio tubes and so on.

I approve of hobbies, Mr. Spock.

Good evening.

- You'll be sorry.
- Why?

You expect to eat for free
or something?

You gotta listen to goody two-shoes.

And now, as I'm sure that
somebody out there has said,

it's time to pay for the soup.

Not that she's a bad-looking broad,

but if she really wanted
to help out a fella in need...

Shut up. Shut up.

I wanna hear what she has to say.

Yes, of course, captain.

Now, let's start by getting
one thing straight.

I'm not a do-gooder.

If you're a bum, if you can't
break off with the booze

or whatever it is
that makes you a bad risk,

then get out.

Now, I don't pretend to tell you
how to find happiness and love

when every day is just
a struggle to survive,

but I do insist that you do survive,

because the days and the years
ahead are worth living for.

One day soon...

man is going to be able
to harness incredible energies...

maybe even the atom.

Energies that could ultimately
hurl us to other worlds

in some sort of spaceship.

And the men that
reach out into space

will be able to find ways to feed
the hungry millions of the world

and to cure their diseases.

They will be able to find a way
to give each man hope

and a common future.

And those are the days
worth living for.

Our deserts will bloom...

Development of atomic power
is years away,

space flight years after that.

- Now, it won't happen tomorrow,
- speculation. Gifted insight.

But it will come.

I find her most uncommon,
Mr. Spock.

Prepare for tomorrow.
Get ready. Don't give up.

Mr. kirk.

You are uncommon workmen.

That basement looks like
it's been scrubbed and polished.

Then we can report back
for other work?

Yes, 7:00 in the morning.

- Do you have a flop for the night?
- A what?

You really are new at this, aren't you?
A flop is a place to sleep.

Oh.

There's a vacant room at the place
where I live for $2 a week.

- If you want to, I'll take you there.
- Thank you.

We have a flop.

- We have a what, captain?
- A place to sleep.

One might have said so
in the first place.

Captain, I must have
some platinum.

A small block would be sufficient,
5 or 6 pounds.

By passing certain circuits
through there

to be used as a
duo-dynetic field core...

Mr. Spock, I've brought you some
assorted vegetables,

bologna and a hard roll for myself,

and I've spent the other nine-tenths

of our combined salaries
for the last three days

on filling this order for you.

Mr. Spock, this bag does not
contain platinum, silver or gold,

nor is it likely to in the near future.

Captain, you're asking me
to work with equipment

which is hardly very far ahead
of stone knives and bearskins.

McCoy will be along in a few days,

perhaps sooner.

There's no guarantee that these
currents in time will bring us together.

- This has to work.
- Captain...

Captain, in three weeks
at this rate, possibly a month,

I might reach the first
mnemonic memory circuits.

Your cap.

If you can leave right away,
i can get you five hours work

at 22 cents an hour.

What...? What on earth is that?

I am endeavouring, ma'am, to
construct a mnemonic memory circuit

using stone knives and bearskins.

Captain.

Tools for finely detailed work.

That toolbox was looked
with a combination lock,

and you opened it
like a real pro.

Why did you do it?

I needed the fine tools
for my radio work.

They'd have been returned
in the morning.

- No, I'm sorry, I can't...
- If Mr. Spock

says that he needs the tools

and that they'd be
returned tomorrow morning,

you can bet your reputation
on that, miss Keeler.

On one condition.

Walk me home?

I still have a few questions
I'd like to ask about you two.

Oh, and don't give me that
"questions-about-little-old-us" look.

You know as well as I do how
out of place you two are around here.

Interesting.

Where would you estimate
we belong, miss Keeler?

You...

at his side, as if you've
always been there and always will.

And you...

You belong in another place.

I don't know where or how.

I'll figure it out eventually.

I'll finish with the furnace.

"Captain."

Even when he doesn't say it,
he does.

Good night, sweetheart

though I'm not beside you

good night, sweetheart
still my love will guide you

why does Spock call you captain?

Were you in the war together?

We served together.

And you, um,
don't want to talk about it?

Why?

Did you do something wrong?
Are you afraid of something?

Whatever it is, let me help.

"Let me help."

A hundred years or so from now,
i believe,

a famous novelist will write
a classic using that theme.

He'll recommend those three
words even over "i love you."

Centuries from now?

Who is he?
Where does he come from?

Where will he come from?

Silly question.
Wanna hear a silly answer?

Yes.

A planet circling that far left star
in Orion's belt. See?

How are the stone knives
and bearskins?

I may have found
our focal point in time.

I think you may also find you have
a connection burning someplace.

Yes, I'm overloading those lines.

I believe we'll have our answer
on this screen, captain.

- Good.
- And, captain...

- you may find this a bit distressing.
- Well, let's see what you have.

I've slowed down the recording
we made from the time vortex.

February 23, 1936.
Six years from now.

February 23, 1936.
Six years from now.

"The president and Edith Keeler...

conferred for some time today... "

- How bad'?
- Bad enough.

- The president and Edith Keeler...
- It would seem unlikely, Jim.

A few moments ago,
i read a 1930 newspaper article.

We know her future.

Within six years from now,
she'll become very important,

- nationally famous.
- Or, captain,

Edith Keeler will die this year.

I saw her obituary.

Some sort of traffic accident.

You must be mistaken.

They both can't be true.

Captain, Edith Keeler is the focal point
in time we've been looking for.

The point in time that both we
and Dr. McCoy have been drawn to.

She has two possible futures then.

And depending on whether
she lives or dies...

all of history will be changed.

- And McCoy...
- Ls the random element.

In his condition, what does he do?
Does he kill her?

Or perhaps he prevents her
from being killed.

We don't know which.

Get this thing fixed.

We must find out
before McCoy arrives.

Captain, suppose we discover

that in order to set things
straight again, Edith Keeler must die?

Assassins! Murderers!

Murderers! Assassins!

You, what planet is this?

No! Don't run! I won't kill you!

It's they who do the killing!

Don't run! I won't kill you!

Why? What is so funny about
man reaching for the moon?

- How do you know?
- I just know, that's all. I feel it.

And more, I think that one day
they're going to take

all the money that they spend
now on war and death...

And make them spend it on life.

Yes.

You see the same things that I do.
We speak the same language.

The very same.

I'm glad you got away too.

- Yeah, I...
- Why do you think they wanna kill us?

Look, fella, you take a sip too much
of that old wood alky,

and almost anything seems like it...

Where?

Where are we?

Earth'?

The constellations seem right, but...

Explain.

- Explain this trick.
- I...

Biped.

Small.

Good cranial development.

No doubt considerable
human ancestry.

Is that how you're able
to fake all of this?

Very good.

Modern museum perfection.

Right down to the cement beams.

Very, very good.

Oh, I'd give a lot to see the hospital.

Probably needles and sutures.

All the pain.

Used to had to out and
sew people like garments.

Needles and sutures.

The terrible pain.

How long before we get
a full answer?

I'll need at least two more days
before I dare make another attempt.

McCoy could have been in the city
a week now for all we know.

And whatever he does that
affects her and changes history

could happen tonight,
tomorrow morning.

Captain...

our last bit of information
was obtained

at the expense of 30 hours' work
in fused and burned circuits.

I must know whether she lives
or dies, Spock.

I must know what to do.

Extra! Extra!
Get your morning paper!

Get your paper.
Read all about it!

Oh, miss...

that coffee,
it just smells wonderful.

You look terrible.

- You better sit down. Come on.
- I can't. I gotta keep moving.

I can't let them find me.

There's a cot in the backroom.
They won't find you there. Come on.

This is how history went
after McCoy changed it.

Here, in the late 1930s,
a growing pacifist movement

whose influence delayed
the United States' entry

into the second world war.

While peace negotiations
dragged on,

Germany had time to complete
its heavy-water experiments.

Germany.

Fascism, Hitler.

Sieg heil! Sieg heil!

Won the second world war.

Because all this lets them
develop the a-bomb first.

There's no mistake, captain.
Let me run it again.

"Edith Keeler, founder
of the peace movement."

But she was right,
peace was the way.

She was right,
but at the wrong time.

With the a-bomb, and with
their v-2 rockets to carry them,

- Germany captured the world.
- No.

And all this because
McCoy came back

and somehow kept her
from dying in a street accident

as she was meant to.

We must stop him, Jim.

How did she die?

What day?

I can estimate general happenings
from these images,

but I can't trace down precise actions
at exact moments, captain.

I'm sorry.

Spock...

l believe...

l'm in love with Edith Keeler.

Jim, Edith Keeler must die.

Hey, now, come on. You're
not ready to take on any tigers just yet.

Lie down.

The most common question
to ask would be, "where am I?"

I don't think I'll ask it.

- Why not?
- The only possible answer

would conclusively prove that I'm...

either unconscious or demented.

This looks like old earth
around 1920 or '25.

Would you care to try for '30?

I am unconscious or demented.

I have a friend that talks about earth
the same way that you do.

- Would you like to meet him?
- I'm a surgeon, not a psychiatrist.

I am Leonard McCoy,

senior medical officer
aboard the USS enterprise.

I don't mean to disbelieve you,
but that's hardly a Navy uniform.

That's quite all right.
That's quite all right, dear...

because I don't believe
in you either.

Get some rest.

Edith.

- Are you following me, sir'?
- With ulterior motives.

Would that please you?

I hope it means what... oh!

Stupid! I've been up and down
those stairs a thousand times.

I could have broken my neck.

Captain, I did not plan to eavesdrop.

No, of course you didn't.

I must point out
that when she stumbled...

she might have died right there
had you not caught her.

It's not yet time. McCoy isn't here.

We're not that sure of our facts.

Who's to say
when the exact time will come?

Save her, do as your heart
tells you to do,

and millions will die
who did not die before.

Come in.

- Well, you look just fine, doctor.
- Thank you.

I thought you might like
to see the evening paper.

No, not particularly.

You know, I've convinced myself that
this is all in a cordrazine hallucination.

- But I've decided you're not.
- That's reassuring.

But if you're not, what are you?

A friend.

When you showed up here,
you looked like you could use one.

No, I don't doubt it.

What about this place?
Uh, you run it?

I try to.

- Why?
- It's necessary.

Well, it was for me, at least.

You may have saved my life.

Lots of people drink
from the wrong bottle sometimes.

Not as wrong as the bottle
i drank from.

Allow me to show my gratitude.
Perhaps there's something

I can do around here
to thank you.

We can talk about that later.
I have to go.

My young man is taking me
to a Clark gable movie.

- A who movie?
- A Clark gab...

- Don't you know?
- Well, I know what a movie is, but...

That's very strange.

You get some rest. I'll see you later.

If we hurry, maybe we can catch the
Clark gable movie at the orpheum.

- What?
- I'd just love to see it.

You know, Dr. McCoy
said the same...

McCoy!

Leonard McCoy?

- Yes. He's in the mission. He's...
- Stay right here.

Spock! Stay right there!

- What is it?
- McCoy, he's in...

- Bones! Bones!
- Jim!

- No, Jim!
- Edith.

You deliberately stopped me, Jim.

I could have saved her.
Do you know what you just did?

He knows, doctor.

He knows.

He knows.

What happened, sir?
You only left a moment ago.

We were successful.

Time has resumed
its shape. All is as it was before.

Many such journeys are possible.
Let me be your gateway.

Captain, the enterprise is up there.
They're asking if we wanna beam up.

Let's get the hell out of here.

Let's get the hell out of here.

- Anything, lieutenant?
- No, sir.

I've tried every major
transmitting station on deneva.

None of them have acknowledged
my contact signal.

Try gsk-783,
subspace frequency three.

But, sir, that's a call sign
for a private transmitter.

I'm very well aware of that,
lieutenant. Try it.

Yes, sir.

Evaluation, Mr. Spock.

As I speculated, captain,

the overall pattern of mass insanity
destroying civilizations

follows an almost straight line
through this section of the galaxy.

Over here, the beta portolan system,
the ancient civilizations.

Archaeologists have given us
information indicating

that they were the beginning.

Two hundred years ago, lavinius v
was swept by mass insanity.

Then theta cygni xii.

The last was lngraham b,
two years ago.

And next in line, deneva.

Bones, what's your theory
about the cause of all this?

There is no medical or scientific cause
for what happened on those planets.

But it follows a definite pattern,

a systematic progression
from planet...

- to planet.
- Captain.

We're picking up a ship
on our sensors

heading directly into the denevan sun.
He'll burn up.

Plot an interception course, Mr. sulu.
Warp factor 8.

Lieutenant uhura,
try to contact that ship.

Aye, aye, sir.

The ship is a one-man vessel
of denevan configuration, captain.

He does not seem to be out of control.
His course is straight for the sun.

Scotty, tractor beams.

Out of range, sir.

Making contact, captain.

Denevan ship,
this is the USS enterprise.

Can you reverse your course?

Acknowledge.

Captain, we'll get
too close to the sun.

Keep closing.

Denevan ship, reverse your course.

Do you hear me?

Reverse your course.

Acknowledge.

Outer hull temperature,
now 480 degrees and rising.

- He's too close, captain.
- So are we.

Hull temperature,
1,000 degrees and rising.

Sun's gravimetric pull increasing.

I did it. It's finally gone! I'm free.

I 'm...

He burned up, captain.

Reverse course, 180 degrees about.

Aye, sir.

All clear, captain.
Hull temperature falling.

Gravimetric pull approaching
tolerance level.

Very well.

Reduce to sub-warp speed.

Take us to deneva.

Aye, aye, sir.

That denevan ship
headed deliberately into the sun.

- Why?
- There's one possibility.

The mass insanity may have
reached this planet too.

Captain, I'm having difficulty
on that transmitter call to deneva.

- Keep trying.
- Yes, sir.

Jim, your brother, Sam, his family,

aren't they stationed on this planet?

Space, the final frontier.

These are the voyages
of the starship enterprise.

Its five-year mission:
To explore strange new worlds,

to seek out new life
and new civilizations,

to boldly go where no man
has gone before.

Captain's log, stardate 3287.2.

The mass insanity we have
tracked across this section

of the galaxy seems to have
already touched deneva.

That planet,
colonised over a century ago,

is one of the most beautiful
in the galaxy.

Planet development
is normal, captain.

Originally colonised
as a freighting line base in this area.

Aye, they make
regular trips from here,

carrying supplies to the asteroid belt
for the miners

and bringing cargo out.

I've made the run
a couple of times myself

as an engineering advisor.

No federation contacts
for over a year.

Captain.

I've made contact
with your private transmitter, sir.

Put it on audio.

Woman".
Please hurry. Help us.

I don't have much time. They'll know.
Please! Please...

Aurelan. This is Jim
on the enterprise.

Repeat your message.

- Contact broken, sir.
- Re-establish.

- I'm sorry, sir.
- I'm not interested in your excuses.

Re-establish contact
with that transmitter.

I'm afraid that's impossible
at the moment, captain.

They stopped broadcasting
immediately.

They do not acknowledge
my contact signal.

- Keep trying to raise them.
- Yes, sir.

Jim.

- Did you know who that woman was?
- Yes.

You were right a while back.

My brother, Sam, lives on deneva.

He's a research biologist.

That woman...

It sounded like his wife, aurelan.

Set your phasers on stun.
We'll beam directly into the capital city.

Alert status.

Mt-Spock?

Lieutenant uhura has had
no further response to our signals.

Sensors report the expected number
of humans on the planet surface.

However, they are strangely quiet,
very little activity.

I'll want a complete transcript
of everything that happens down there.

- Yes, sir.
- Let's go.

Energize.

There are almost a million
inhabitants of deneva.

There's more than 100,000
in this city alone.

Where is everyone?

They're here, captain.
In the buildings.

Strangely quiescent.

My brother's lab is over there.

They signalled us once.

There should be someone there.

Let's find out what's happening.

Captain, several people approaching.

Go back! Run, get away!
We don't want to hurt you!

- Go back!
- Beat it!

- Go back!
- Get out of here, please!

Run! Get away!

- Go away! Get out of here now!
- Get away!

- Run! Get away!
- We don't want to hurt you!

Stand by to fire.

Fire!

- Did you hear what they said?
- Indeed. They seemed concerned

- for our safety.
- They tried to brain us

with these clubs.
Check them out, bones.

Their attitude was inconsistent
with their actions.

To say the least.

There's something wrong, Jim.

Their nervous systems...

Unconscious like this, there should be
just routine autonomic activity.

But I'm getting a very high reading,

as though, even in their
unconscious state,

they're being violently stimulated.

Fan out. Follow me.

Security.

They're here! They're here!

Please, keep them away!

- They're here!
- Aurelan, it's Jim.

- They're here!
- It's Jim, aurelan. Bones.

Aurelan,

you're safe now.

Ls this your brother, Jim?

Oh.

Sam.

It is my brother.

Was my brother.

I'm sorry, Jim.

The boy's unconscious,
but he's still alive.

Peter.

I'd better get the boy and the mother
back to the ship, Jim.

I can't do much for them down here.

Get ready to beam up.

McCoy to enterprise.

Prepare to beam up party of four.

Captain, I understand how you...

Yes. Yes, Mr. Spock.

You heard my sister-in-law
say something

about "they" being here.
Your guess.

Notice the ventilator, captain.

Apparently, they were trying to keep
something outside from getting in.

Obviously, they were not
entirely successful.

That doesn't make sense. There
are no harmful life forms reported.

Our sensors didn't pick up
anything that didn't belong here.

That is correct.
I am at a loss to understand it.

Ready to beam up, captain.

I'd like you to be onboard when your
sister-in-law regains consciousness.

Take charge of the landing party,
Mr. Spock.

I want some answers to all this.

I want some answers to all this.

I won't be able to give you
the exact cause

until I get the plates
back from the lab.

They're both in extreme pain.
I've sedated them heavily.

But your sister-in-law seems to have
a high tolerance.

The tranquilizer hasn't
affected her much.

Can she talk?

Yes.

Aurelan.

Aurelan, it's Jim.

Jim?

Sam. He's...

He's dead.

But your son's still alive.

You've got to help us.

You are here.

It is you, Jim.

Yes, I'm here.

You have to tell us
what happened, aurelan,

to you and the others.

They came...

eight months ago.

Who?

Things.

Horrible things!

Visitors brought them
in their vessel from a planet,

lngraham b.

What kind of things?

Not the ship's crew's fault.

The things made them
bring their ship here.

Aurelan,

it's important that you tell us

what kind of things.

Not their fault.

When she answers questions,

any questions,

it's as if she's fighting
to get the answers out.

As though something
is exerting pain to stop her.

They use it to control us.

They're spreading, Jim.

They need us to be
their arms and legs.

They're forcing us
to build ships for them.

Don't let them...!

Don't let them go any further!

My brother's son...

I'll do everything I can, Jim,
to save him.

- Report.
- The streets are extraordinarily quiet.

We've seen no other denevans.

And the ones we stunned earlier
were gone when we came out.

You've seen some kind of creature,

any alien form?

None, sir. There's just
that noise we heard.

A peculiar buzzing sound.

We were about to investigate it.

All right.

Let's go find out what it is.

Set your phasers on force 3, to kill.

We're looking
for some kind of creature.

And we already know it will kill.

Spock!

Form a ring.

Fire!

Incredible.

Not only should it have been
destroyed by our phasers,

it does not even register
on my tricorder.

Captain, it doesn't even look real.

It is not life
as we know or understand it.

Yet it is obviously alive, it exists.

And it can bear up
under full phaser power.

Captain, I suggest
we risk taking it aboard.

It's too closed in here.
It may be a trap. Let's move out.

Spock.

Spock!

It's gone. Can you stand?

Spock, are you all right?

Captain's log, supplemental.

Whatever the creatures are,

they have apparently taken over
all the inhabitants of deneva.

Meanwhile, ship surgeon Dr. McCoy

is examining
a strange puncture wound

left by one of the creatures
on Mr. Spock's back.

Nurse.

That's the second time
he's come out of it.

Either he's fighting us...

or something inside of him
is fighting us.

Doctor, the readings have
never looked like that before,

not even on Mr. Spock.

Let's prepare to close.

Nurse.

Doctor, that's not
all you're going to do?

- Miss chapel.
- Doctor, there is more of it in him,

entwined all through his body.

Miss chapel, if you cannot
assist me as required,

call another nurse in here.

But do one or the other now.

How is he?

To be very frank, Jim,
i don't know that I can do anything

for Spock or your nephew.

Pieces of some form of living tissue.

I removed one
from Spock's spinal cord,

the other from your sister-in-law's
body. They're both the same.

The boy's far too weak to touch.

Besides, the removal of the tissue

wouldn't stop the pain anyhow,
as far as I can tell.

Did you operate on Spock in time?

No, no, no. I just removed these
for examination.

His body's full of these tentacles,

entwining and growing
all about his nervous system.

My nephew?

The same.

Evidently, when the creature attacks,

it leaves a stinger,
much like a bee or a wasp,

leaving one of these
in the victim's body.

And it takes over the victim
very rapidly.

And the entwining is far,
far too involved

for conventional surgery to remove.

Recommendations?

I'm sorry, Jim.

The lab, the science departments...

we're all stumped.

No.

No.

Mr. Spock.

No, I won't.

Mr. Spock...

Bridge, this is sickbay.

Tell Dr. McCoy
Mr. Spock just left here.

He's delirious, possibly dangerous.

All decks, security alert.

Locate and restrain Mr. Spock.
He may be dangerous.

Use phasers, on stun, if necessary.

- Must take ship.
- Spock...

I must...

take it down!

Get him back to the sickbay.

Use security restraints.

The k-3 indicator
registers the level of pain.

Now, watch it as I turn it on.

Now, that's what he's
been going through.

I've never seen anything like it.
No wonder the poor devils go mad.

Dr. McCoy.

Captain.

Spock.

These restraints will
no longer be necessary.

Nor will your sedatives, doctor.

I'll be able to return to duty.

I apologise for my weakness earlier,

when I tried
to take control of the ship.

I simply did not understand.

What is there to understand,
Mr. Spock?

I am a vulcan, doctor.

Pain is a thing of the mind.

The mind can be controlled.

You're only half vulcan.
What about the human half of you?

It is proving to be an inconvenience,

but it is manageable.

The creature, with all
of its thousands of parts,

even now is pressuring me.

It wants this ship. But I am resisting.

Can he control it
the way he says, bones?

Who knows, Jim?

I know the amount of pain
the creature can inflict upon him.

But whether he can control it,
hour to hour...

I have my own will, captain.

- Let me help.
- I need you, Spock.

But we can't take any chances.

We'll keep you confined
for a while longer.

If you can...

maintain control...

we'll see.

My nephew.

If he regains consciousness,
will he go through that?

Yes.

Help them.

I don't care what it takes or costs,

you've got to help them.

Jim, aren't you
forgetting something?

There are over a million colonists
on that planet down there.

Just as much your responsibility.

They need your help too.

I am a vulcan.

I am a vulcan.

There is no pain.

Mr. Spock.

I thought you were
still confined to sickbay.

I was.

Here, now.
Where do you think you're going?

I have an errand
on the planet surface.

You will beam me down
to the same coordinates as before.

Not likely, Mr. Spock.

That is an order, Mr. Scott.

Aye, sir.

And I'm sorry I have to disobey it.

The captain said no one
was to transport down.

Mr. Spock.

Freeze right there, Mr. Spock...

or I'll put you to sleep for sure.

This is Mr. Scott
in the transporter room.

Get me the captain.

Mr. Spock, I gave you an order
to stay in the sickbay.

Until the pain was gone, captain.

It has been discontinued, by me.

Scotty?

He said he was transporting
down to the surface, sir.

Your orders were that no one was
to beam down unless you authorised it.

And knowing Mr. Spock's
determination on some things,

I thought I'd better hold him here
until I got your orders.

One of the creatures
will have to be captured

and analyzed, captain.

We did not have a clear opportunity
to do so earlier

when I was attacked.

Since my nervous system
is already affected,

as you pointed out, doctor,

I don't believe
they could do much more to me.

Jim, this is ridiculous.

I don't want my patients running
around. He should be in bed.

I am in complete control
of myself, doctor.

The fact that I am here
proves that I do not belong in bed.

Mr. Spock.

Your logic, as usual...

is inescapable.

Beam him down.
Stay in constant touch with us.

Give him your phaser.
He'll need that too.

Thank you, captain.

Energize.

Jim, that man is sick.

And don't give me
any damnable logic

about him being
the only man for the job.

I don't have to, bones.
We both know he is.

Come in, gentlemen.

I believe you'll find this interesting.

Doctor, your medical skill
and curiosity

are quite admirable,
but I assure you, I'm all right.

You may be controlling
the pain, Mr. Spock,

but you're far from all right.

Unimportant at the moment, doctor.

Please observe.

Interesting, gentlemen.

A one-cell creature resembling,
more than anything else,

a huge individual brain cell.

Yes, that would answer
a lot of questions, wouldn't it?

Do you understand
what I'm suggesting, captain?

I think so.

This may be one cell
in a larger organism,

an incredibly huge organism, in fact.

And although it is not physically
connected to the other cells,

it is, nevertheless,
part of the whole creature.

Guided by the whole,
drawing its strength

from the whole,
which probably accounts

for its unusual resistance
to our phaser weapons.

Existing so differently

from any living matter or energy

as we know it
that it may have come here,

planet by planet,
from an entirely different galaxy.

From a place where
our physical laws do not apply.

We may therefore find it
difficult to destroy, captain.

But not impossible, Mr. Spock.

The denevan that flew into the sun
cried out that he was free,

that he had won.

That's the angle
to work on, gentlemen.

I want an analysis of all this

from medical and life science
departments within the hour.

Yes, sir.

I'm sorry, captain.
I've tried everything I can.

Varying radiation, intense heat,
even as great as 9,000 degrees.

Then you're wasting your time.

It has to be something
that will kill the creature

without destroying
the human host.

Which happens to be my point:
The thing won't die.

Even at temperatures and radiation

which would burn Spock
and your nephew to ashes.

I can't accept that, bones.

We've got 14 science labs
aboard this ship.

The finest equipment
and computers in the galaxy.

Captain.

I understand your concern.

Your affection for Spock,

the fact that your nephew is the last
survivor of your brother's family.

No. No, bones.

There's more than two lives
at stake here.

I cannot let it spread
beyond this colony,

even if it means destroying...

a million people down there.

Captain's log, stardate 3289.8.

I am faced with the most
difficult decision of my life.

Unless we find a way
to destroy the creatures

without killing their human hosts,

my command responsibilities
will force me to kill

over a million people.

Over a million people.

Gentlemen?

I regret I see no other choice
for you, captain.

We already know this thing
has destroyed three civilizations,

- perhaps more.
- Gentlemen, I want it stopped too,

but not at the cost of destroying
over a million people.

Including myself, doctor,

and captain kirk's young nephew.

Understandably upsetting.

But once it spreads past here,

there are dozens of colonies beyond,

and billions of people.

If killing five people saves ten,
it's a bargain.

Is that your simple logic, Mr. Spock?

I will accept neither of those
alternatives, gentlemen.

I cannot let this thing expand
beyond this planet,

nor do I intend to kill a million
or more people to stop it.

I want another answer.

I'm putting you gentlemen
on the hot seat with me.

I want that third alternative!

- Report.
- I'm sorry, Jim.

We've been over it and over it,
we've made every conceivable test.

I therefore request permission
to beam down to the planet's surface.

I also suggest your nephew
accompany me.

Request denied.

Captain.

I do not make this request lightly.

I do not know how much longer
i can hold out against the pain,

but I do know
what the boy will go through

should he regain consciousness.

Request denied.

There must be another answer.

Something in the sun
killed that thing,

before the denevan died.

All right.

All right.

You've tried heat,

radiation.

What other qualities or properties
does the sun have?

It exists physically.

It occupies space.

It has mass, therefore gravity.

It converts matter to energy.

Jim, we've been through it
and through it.

Radiation, heat...

But one other thing
you haven't mentioned.

It's bright.

It radiates a blinding light,
if you're close enough.

Nothing lethal about light.

Not to us. But down on the surface,

the creatures stayed in the shadows,
for the most part.

Suppose that they
weren't simply hiding.

Suppose they're sensitive to light.

Light, like in a sun, close up.

A possibility.

You can't move deneva
closer to the sun, Jim.

No, but you can move
the equivalent of the sun to deneva.

- Mr. Spock?
- Yes.

In essence, it can be done.

A string of satellites
around the planet,

with burning trimagnesite
and trevium.

Well, I can rig a test cubicle
in the bio lab,

put our specimen in it,

- but I don't...
- Good.

Let's get on it.

Your figures are,
of course, accurate?

Of course.

The light of the sun at the proximity

where the denevan
declared himself free

was 1 million candles
per square inch.

If this works,

the satellites we orbit
will produce light

of such intensity
that even someone

in a closed, darkened area
will be affected by it.

Ready, doctor.

Put on your masks.

Completed.

It worked! We can do it.

What's the matter, Jim?
We can do it.

It worked in a lab,

with the creature exposed
to everything we can give it.

But what about the people
who are infected?

I don't know. It may be trial and...

Maybe. There's no time
for maybes, bones.

We need to know now.

But I'd have to put...

Yes, we'd have to put someone
who's infected under that light.

Do you have any idea of the risk?

We have to duplicate
the conditions on the planet...

and Spock...

Captain.

You'll need a host
for the next step in the test,

to determine whether the creature
can be driven from the body.

I am the logical choice.

Do you know what 1-million-candle
light per square inch can do

to your optic nerves?

There's no other way, bones.

We have to duplicate
the brilliance that existed

at the moment the denevan
declared himself free.

All right. I'll rig up
a protective pair of goggles.

There will be none
on the planet's surface, doctor.

I agree completely.

Unfortunately, you're both right.

It's the only thing we can do.

All right, Mr. Spock.

Mr. Spock's the best first officer
in the fleet.

Proceed.

Completed.

Spock, are you all right?

The creature within me is gone.

I am free of it and the pain.

And I am also...

quite blind.

An equitable trade, doctor.

Thank you.

Doctor, the results of the first test
on the creature's remains...

Oh, no.

What is it?

I threw the total spectrum
of light at the creature.

It wasn't necessary.

I didn't stop to think that

only one kind of light
might have killed it.

Interesting.

Just as dogs are sensitive
to certain sounds

which humans cannot hear,

these creatures evidently
are sensitive to light

which we cannot see.

Are you telling me...

that Spock
need not have been blinded?

I didn't need to throw
the blinding white light at all, Jim.

- Spock, i...
- Doctor,

it was my selection as well.

It is done.

Bones...

Take care of him.

Completing the
seeding orbit, captain.

Two hundred and ten
ultraviolet satellites now in position,

72 miles altitude,

permanent orbit about the planet.

Good. Scanners?

- Scanners ready, sir.
- Very well.

- Ready, helm?
- Ready, captain.

Satellite control, this is the captain.

Energize all satellites.

Affirmative.

All satellites operative, captain.

Captain, receiving messages
from a ground station.

Report.

The things are dying, sir.
It's working.

Sickbay.

McCoy here.

Tell Spock...

it worked.

Yes, captain.

He'll be happy to hear that.

Bones...

it wasn't your fault.

Bones.

Bones.

Yeoman, record this
for starfleet command.

- Ready, sir.
- The alien creatures on deneva

- have been destroyed...
- Captain, look. Mr. Spock.

Spock.

You can see.

The blindness was temporary, Jim.

There's something
about his optical nerves

which aren't the same
as a human's.

An hereditary trait, captain.

The brightness of the vulcan sun
has caused the development

of an inner eyelid,
which acts as a shield

against high-intensity light.

Totally instinctive, doctor.

We tend to ignore it,
as you ignore your own appendix.

Mr. Spock.

Regaining eyesight would be
an emotional experience for most.

You, I presume, felt nothing?

Quite the contrary, captain.
I had a very strong reaction.

My first sight was the face
of Dr. McCoy bending over me.

Hm.

'Tis a pity brief blindness
did not increase your appreciation

- for beauty, Mr. Spock.
- If you gentlemen are finished,

would you mind laying in
a course for starbase 10, Mr. Spock?

My pleasure, captain.

Unusual eye arrangement.

I might've known he'd turn up
with something like that.

- What's that, doctor?
- I said, please don't tell Spock

that I said he was
the best first officer in the fleet.

Why, thank you, Dr. McCoy.

You've been so concerned
about his vulcan eyes, doctor,

you forgot about his vulcan ears.

- Ahead warp factor 1, Mr. sulu.
- Warp factor 1, sir.

We have reached
projected point 3, captain.

Adjust to new course
2-0-1 mark 1-5.

Thank you, Mr. Spock.

Jim.

- How is she, doctor?
- No change.

Small thanks to the starfleet.

Now really, commissioner,
you can't blame the starfleet.

I should have received
the proper inoculations ahead of time.

Sakuro's disease
is extremely rare.

The chances of anyone contracting it
are literally billions to one.

I was sent to epsilon canaris ill
to prevent a war, doctor.

Thanks to the inefficiency
of the medical branch of the starfleet,

I've been forced to leave
before my job was done.

Commissioner, I assure you that
once we reach the enterprise

with its medical facilities,
we'll have you back to your job

in time for you to prevent that war.

How soon will we rendezvous
with that ship of yours, captain?

In exactly four hours, 21 minutes,
commissioner.

- Captain.
- Yes.

Will you check
your automatic scanner, please?

That's odd. I've never seen
anything like that before.

Nor have I.

Heading directly toward us
at warp speed.

It's staying right with us.
Sensor readings, Mr. Spock.

Vaguely like a cloud
of ionized hydrogen,

but with strong
erratic electrical impulses.

We've got it.

- Helm does not answer, captain.
- Neither do the pods.

Communications are dead.
Building overload. Cut all power relays.

Cut, captain.

Captain, what's happening?
I demand to know.

You already know as much as we do,
miss hedford.

Whatever that thing is outside,

it yanked us off course
from the enterprise.

Now on course 9-8 mark 1-2, heading
directly toward gamma canaris region.

Jim. We've got to get miss hedford
back to the enterprise. Her condition.

I know, bones.
But there's nothing I can do about it.

Then I insist you make your scheduled
rendezvous with the enterprise.

Miss hedford,
we'll do what we can when we can.

At the moment, we're helpless.
You might as well sit back...

and enjoy the ride.

Space, the final frontier.

These are the voyages
of the starship enterprise.

Its five-year mission:
To explore strange new worlds,

to seek out new life
and new civilisations,

to boldly go where no man
has gone before.

Enterprise, this is the Galileo.
Come in, please. Come in.

Enterprise, this is the Galileo.
Come in, please.

No good.

We're not transmitting. Bones?

Oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere,
some Krypton, argon, neon.

Temperature,
75 degrees fahrenheit.

Practically identical
to earth's atmosphere.

- Spock?
- Gravity similar to earth.

Most unusual, in view of its size.

The bulk of the body
seems to be iron and nickel.

More than an asteroid,
like a small planetoid, I should say,

possibly a remnant
from a planet breakup.

Totally suitable for human life.

All right, we get out and get under.
Issue phasers.

Bones, maintain full alert.

Commissioner, if you'll stay inside.

Just how long am I supposed to
stay inside, captain?

That's a very good question.
I wish I could answer it.

All right. Let's go.

Take a look around, bones.

Most unusual.

Unlikely.

In fact, captain,
i would say quite impossible.

- Nothing wrong and nothing works.
- Precisely.

- There must be a reason.
- Obviously.

Let's look a little further.

Jim, I just took a tricorder sweep,
and I got the exact same readings

almost as Spock got
when we were pulled off course.

- The ionized cloud?
- I think so.

Only it reads here on the surface
with us. It's off in that direction.

And it doesn't read solid.
It's, uh, more unstable.

Tenuous,
like a collection of gases.

Hello!

Fascinating.

Bones, get a physiological reading
on that, whatever it is.

Hello!

Are you real?

- I mean, I'm not imagining you, am I?
- We're real enough.

- You speak English. Earth people?
- From the federation.

The f...

Well, it doesn't matter.
I'm Cochrane.

I've been marooned here
who knows how long.

If you only knew how good
it is to see you.

And a woman.

A beautiful one at that.

I'm captain James t. Kirk,
commanding the starship enterprise.

This is my first officer, Mr. Spock.

- You're a vulcan, aren't you?
- Correct.

Chief surgeon Leonard McCoy.

- Doctor.
- Pleasure.

And excuse me, assistant federation
commissioner hedford.

Ma'am.

Food to a starving man.

All of you.

Hey, that's a nice ship.

Simple and clean.

Been trying to get her to go again?

Forget it. It won't work.

He's human, Jim.
Everything checks out perfectly.

Mr. Cochrane.

We were forced off our course...

and taken here
by some force we couldn't identify.

Which seems to be on the surface
of this body at the moment.

I wouldn't know anything about that.

You say we'll be unable
to get the ship to function again?

Not a chance. There's some sort
of damping field down here.

Power systems don't work.
Take my word for it.

You don't mind if we continue to try.

Go right ahead.
You've got plenty of time.

What about you, Cochrane?

- How did you get here?
- Marooned. I told you.

Look, we'll have lots of time
to learn about each other.

I have a small place over that way.
All the comforts of home.

I can even offer you a hot bath.

How perceptive of you to notice
that I needed one.

If you don't mind, Mr. Cochrane, I'd
like a little more than just a statement

that you were marooned here.
It's a long way off the beaten path.

That's right.
That's why I'm so glad to see you.

Look, I'll tell you everything
you want to know. But not here.

- Your ship is sure a beauty.
- Yes, she is.

And you've been out of circulation
quite a while.

The principles may be new to you.
Mr. Spock...

why don't you explain our methods
of propulsion to Mr. Cochrane?

He talks a lot,
but he doesn't say much.

- Mm. I've noticed something else.
- What's that?

- He looks familiar.
- Familiar?

- Now that you mention it, he does.
- I can't quite place him, but...

What about miss hedford?

No temperature yet.

But we've got to get
underway soon, Jim.

I guarantee you it will develop.
What are we going to do?

Take Cochrane up on his offer.

You built this, Mr. Cochrane?

Yes. I had tools
and supplies left over from my crash.

It's not bad. Not earth,
of course, but it's liveable.

I grow vegetables in the fields
over that next Ridge. Come on in.

All the comforts of home, indeed,
Mr. Cochrane.

- Where did you get the antiques?
- You mean my instruments?

I imagine things have changed a lot
since I crashed.

Not that much.

Must you keep it
so terribly hot in here?

The temperature
is a constant 72 degrees.

Let me get you something
cool to drink.

Do you feel hot?

I feel infuriated, deeply put upon,
and absolutely outraged.

It was quite a hike here. You're tired.
Just, uh, take it easy for a while.

I'll rest later, doctor.

Temperature, captain. First sign.

Yes, I know.
It means we're running out of time.

Captain. Doctor.

What was that?

Sometimes the light
plays tricks on you.

You'd be surprised what I've imagined
I've seen around here sometimes.

We imagined nothing, Mr. Cochrane.
There was an entity out there,

and I suspect it was the same entity
which brought us here. Please explain.

- There's nothing to explain.
- Thank you.

You'll find
i have a very low tolerance level

where the safety
of my people are concerned.

We find you here where no human
has any business being.

We were virtually hijacked in space
and brought here.

I'm not just requesting an explanation,
mister. I'm demanding one.

All right.

- It was the companion.
- The what?

That's what I call it.

As a matter of fact, captain,
i, uh, didn't crash here.

I was brought here
in my disabled ship.

I was almost dead.
The companion saved my life.

You were injured?

I was dying, Mr. Spock.

You seem perfectly all right now.
What was the matter?

I was an old man.

You were what?

I don't know how it did it,
but the companion rejuvenated me,

made me young again,
like I am now.

I prefer to reserve judgement
on that part of your story, sir.

Meanwhile,
would you please explain

exactly what this
companion of yours is?

I told you, I don't know what it is.
It exists,

it lives,
and I can communicate with it.

- That's a pretty far-out story.
- Mr. Cochrane...

- do you have a first name?
- Zefram.

Zefram Cochrane...

of Alpha centauri?

- The discoverer of the space warp?
- That's right, captain.

But that's impossible.

Zefram Cochrane
died 150 years ago.

The name Zefram Cochrane
is revered throughout the galaxy.

Planets were named after him,
great universities, cities.

Isn't your story a little improbable,
Mr. Cochrane?

No, it's true. I was 87 years old
when I came here.

You say this companion found you
and rejuvenated you.

What were you doing in space
at the age of 87?

I was tired, captain.

I was going to die, and I wanted
to die in space. That's all.

- True, his body was never found.
- You're looking at it, Mr. Spock.

If so, you wear your age very well.

McCoy: How do you feel?
- Terrible. How should I feel?

You're running a little temperature.
Perhaps you should lie down.

Doctor, will you please
just leave me alone? It's the heat.

All right. Try to relax.

Jim.

It's started, the fever.
It's over 100, and it's climbing.

- How long do we have?
Mccqyi a matter of hours, that's all.

Mr. Cochrane, you say you were
brought here 150 years ago.

You don't look a day over 35.

I haven't aged.
The companion sees to that.

Captain.

These instruments,
they date from the time indicated.

- From your ship, Mr. Cochrane?
- I cannibalized it.

The food, water, gardens,
everything else I need,

the companion gives me. Apparently
creates it out of the native elements.

You say you can
communicate with it.

Perhaps you can find out
what we're doing here.

- I already know.
- You wouldn't mind telling us?

- You won't like it.
- I already don't like it.

You're here to keep me company.

- You mean you brought us here?
- No, the companion did.

I told it I'd die of loneliness.
I thought it would release me.

- Instead, it brought you here.
- No!

No! No!

That's disgusting.

We're not animals.

No.

No, it's inhuman. No.

Spock, run additional
tricorder readings.

Learn anything you can. Find me
a weapon to use against this thing.

You ask me to find a weapon.
Do you intend to destroy it?

I intend to do whatever is necessary
to get us off this planet

and commissioner hedford
to the hospital.

If the companion stands in the way,
then we push it out of the way.

- Clear, Spock?
- Quite clear, captain.

Very well. You have your orders.

Mr. Cochrane, if you left here,
what would happen to you?

- I'd begin to age again, normally.
- Do you want to leave here?

Believe me, captain, immortality
consists largely of boredom.

What's it like out there,
in the galaxy?

We're on 1,000 planets
and spreading out.

We cross fantastic distances,
and everything's alive, Cochrane.

Life everywhere.

We estimate there are
millions of planets with intelligent life.

We haven't begun to map them.
Interesting?

How would you like to go to sleep
for 150 years

and wake up in a new world?

It's all out there waiting for you.
But we'll need your help to get away.

You've got it.

You seem to think this companion
of yours can do almost anything.

I said it was very powerful.

- Could it cure her?
- I don't know.

How do you communicate with it?

It's on a non-verbal level,
but I usually get my message across.

We've got to try. We're helpless.
See if it can do something.

How do you do it?

I just sort of clear my mind,
and it comes.

Bones, what do you make of that?

Almost a symbiosis of some kind.

- A sort of joining.
- Exactly what I think.

Not exactly like a pet owner

speaking to a beloved animal,
would you say?

Mm.

- No, it's more than that.
- Agreed.

More like...

love.

Are you all right?

Yes, it, uh, kind of drains me
a little, but I'm all right.

Well?

The companion can't do anything
to help miss hedford.

Then she'll die.

If there's anything I could do
to help, I would, and I will.

But we can expect nothing
from the companion.

Spock!

- Are you all right?
- Yes. Quite all right, doctor.

A most fascinating thing
happened.

Apparently,
the companion imparted to me

a rather quaint,
old-fashioned electric shock...

of respectable voltage.

- It attacked you?
- Evidently.

Unquestionably,
a large part of its substance...

is simple electricity.

Oh, yes.

I'm not a scientist or a physicist,
Mr. Spock,

but am I correct in assuming
that anything that generates electricity

- can be shorted out?
- Quite correct, doctor.

Put this in the proximity
of the companion.

Throw this switch,

and it will scramble every electrical
impulse the creature can produce.

It cannot fail.

It troubles you, Cochrane?

The companion saved my life.
It's taken care of me all these years.

We've been...

very close
in a way that's hard to explain.

I suppose I even have
a sort of affection for it.

It's also keeping you prisoner.

- I don't want it killed.
- We may simply render it powerless.

But you don't know. You could kill it.
I won't stand for that, kirk.

We're getting out of here, Cochrane.
Face up to it.

I'll do anything I have to
to save all of our lives.

I suppose, from your point of view,
you're right.

We understand how you feel,
Mr. Cochrane. But it has to be done.

All right. Do you want me
to contact it?

Please. Outside.

What was it they used to call it?

The Judas goat?

There is some risk, captain.

We do not know
the extent of its powers.

Nor it ours.

Now.

Stop it! You're killing them!

Stop it, please! Stop it!
You're choking them!

Let them go!

You're choking them!

Stop it!

- Are you all right, Jim?
- Yeah.

- Spock?
- Fine.

Cochrane got it off of us.

But I don't know whether
he did us a favour or not.

- What kind of talk is that?
- How do you fight a thing like that?

I've got a ship up there
somewhere,

the responsibility of four lives
down here,

- one of them dying because of me.
- It isn't your fault.

I'm in command, bones.
It makes it my fault.

How do you fight a thing like that?

Maybe you're a soldier so often

that you forget
you're also trained to be a diplomat.

Why not try a carrot
instead of a stick?

- Spock.
- Yes, captain?

The universal translator
on the shuttlecraft.

We can try that, talk to that thing.

The translator is for use
with more congruent life forms.

Adjust it. Change it. The trouble
with immortality is it's boring.

Adjusting it
will give you something to do.

It is possible. If I could
widen its pattern of reception.

Right down your alley, Spock.
Get it here and get to work.

And that thing is still out there.
Better go that way.

- Any change?
- Yes. For the worse.

Ship's log, stardate 3219.8.

Lieutenant commander Scott

recording in the absence
of captain kirk.

A shuttlecraft, bearing the captain,

the first officer,
chief surgeon McCoy,

and assistant federation
commissioner hedford,

is now definitely overdue
for a rendezvous with the enterprise.

We are attempting to backtrack it.

Mr. Scott.

Computer central reports that
we are coming up on the coordinates

of the last established position
of the shuttlecraft.

- Thank you, lieutenant.
- Steady. No. Mr. Scott.

Bearing 3-10 mark 3-5 just cleared.
No antimatter residue.

All scanners, spherical sweep.
Range, maximum.

They'll have to pick it up.

If the shuttlecraft powered away,
Mr. Scott. But if it were just towed?

There'd still be traces of residual
matter floating around, lieutenant.

Bearing 2-10 mark 4-0.
Strong particle concentration.

We're on it, Mr. Scott.

Lay on the course. Maintain scanning.

Course laid in, sir.

Particle density decreasing.

Gone, sir. No readings.

Steady as she goes, Mr. sulu.

What do you think it means,
Mr. Scott?

The shuttlecraft was on schedule

until it was shy five hours
of rendezvous.

Then something happened.

I'd feel a lot better
if it were a little more definite.

It didn't wreck.
There was no debris.

There's no trace of expelled internal
atmosphere. No residual radioactivity.

Ah, it's...

Something took over.
Tractor beams, maybe. Something.

It dragged it away
on the heading we're now on.

But if there are no further traces,
how are we going to follow them?

We stay on this course.
See what comes up.

It's a big galaxy, Mr. Scott.

Aye.

What's the theory
behind this device?

There are certain universal ideas and
concepts common to all intelligent life.

This device instantaneously compares
the frequency of brainwave patterns,

selects those ideas
and concepts it recognises,

and then provides
the necessary grammar.

Then it simply translates
its findings into English.

You mean, it speaks?

With a voice or the approximation

of whatever the creature is
on the sending end.

Not 100 percent efficient,
of course, but nothing ever is.

- Ready, Mr. Spock?
- Quite ready, captain.

Mr. Cochrane...

call the companion.

Companion...

we wish to talk to you.

How can we
communicate? My thoughts...

you are hearing them?

This is interesting.

- Feminine. No doubt about it, Spock.
- Yes.

The matter of gender
could change the entire situation.

Way ahead of you.

- It is not a zookeeper.
- No?

A lover.

Companion...

it is wrong to keep us here
against our will.

The man needs
the company of his own kind,

or he will cease to exist.

He felt it to me.

One of us will cease to exist

if we don't get her to a place
where we can care for her.

The man needs others of his species.

That is why you are here.

The man must continue.

Companion, try to understand.

It is the nature of our species

to be free,
just as it is your nature to stay here.

We will cease to exist in captivity.

Your bodies have
stopped their peculiar degeneration.

There will be nothing to harm you.

You will continue,
and the man will continue.

This is necessary.

This is a marvellous opportunity
to add to our knowledge.

- Ask it about its nature, its history.
- This isn't a classroom.

I'm trying to get us out of here.

A chance like this may never come
again. It could tell us so much.

This isn't the time.

Companion...

what you offer us
is not continuation,

it is nonexistence.

We will cease to exist.

Even the man will cease to exist.

Your impulses are illogical.

This communication is useless.

The man must continue.

Therefore, you will continue.

It is necessary.

Captain...

why did you build that translator
with a feminine voice?

- We didn't.
- But I heard...

The idea of male and female
are universal constants, Cochrane.

There's no doubt about it,
the companion is female.

- I don't understand.
- You don't?

A blind man
could see it with a cane.

You're not a pet.
You're not a specimen kept in a cage.

- You're a lover.
- I'm a what?

Her attitude
when she approaches you

is profoundly different
than when she contacts us.

Her appearance is soft, gentle,

her voice is melodic, pleasing.

I do not totally understand
the emotion, but it obviously exists.

The companion loves you.

Do you know what you're saying?

For all these years

I've let something as
alien as that crawl around inside me,

- into my mind, my feelings.
- What are you complaining about?

- It kept you alive, didn't it?
- That thing fed on me, used me.

- It's disgusting.
- There's nothing disgusting about it.

It's just another life form, that's all.
You get used to those things.

You're as bad as it is.

Your highly emotional
reaction is most illogical.

Your relationship with the companion
has for 150 years

been emotionally satisfying,
eminently practical,

and totally harmless. It may indeed
have been quite beneficial.

Is this what the future holds?

Men who have no notion
of decency or morality?

Maybe I'm 150 years out of style,

but I'm not going to be fodder
for any inhuman monster.

Fascinating.
A totally parochial attitude.

Doctor.

Doctor.

- Right here, miss hedford.
- I heard him.

He was loved...

and he resents it.

You just rest.

No.

I don't want to die.

I've been good at my job.

But...

l've never been loved.

Never.

What kind of life is that?

Not to be loved?

Never...

to have shown love.

And he runs away from love.

Ship's log, stardate 3220.3.

Lieutenant commander Scott
reporting

in lieu of the captain
and the first officer.

We are continuing our search
for the missing shuttlecraft.

Approaching what seems to be
an asteroid belt, sir.

Scanners report
approximately 7,000 bodies

- of sizes running from types a to m.
- Atmosphere count?

Approximately 34 percent
of the bodies

have atmosphere in types h to m.

All right then.
We do it the hard way.

All sensors set for life-form
registration. Automatic selection.

Mr. Scott, there are thousands of them
out there they could be on,

- if they're on any of them at all.
- Ah, that's right, lieutenant.

Thousands.

And we'll look them over,
one by one.

Companion, do you love the man?

I... Do not understand.

Ls he important to you?

More important than anything.
Ls he...?

- As though he were a part of you?
- He is part of me.

The man must continue.

He will not continue.
He will cease to exist.

By your feeling for him,

you're condemning him
to an existence he will find unbearable.

He will cease to exist.

He does not age. He remains forever.

You speak of his body.
I speak of his spirit.

Companion, inside the shelter,

a female of our species is dying.

She will not continue.

That is what will happen to the man
unless you release all of us.

I do not understand.

Our species can only survive...

if we have obstacles to overcome.

You take away all obstacles.

Without them to strengthen us,
we will weaken and die.

You regard the man only as a toy.
You amuse yourself with him.

You are wrong.

The man is the centre of all things.

I care for him.

But you can't really love him.

You haven't the slightest
knowledge of love,

the total union of two people.

You are the companion.
He is the man.

You are two different things.

You can't join.

You can't love.

You may keep him here forever...

but you will always be separate...

apart from him.

If I were human...

there can be love?

What did you hope to gain
by that, Jim?

Try to convince her
of the hopelessness of it.

Love sometimes
expresses itself in sacrifice.

I thought maybe if she loved him,
she'd let him go.

But she, or it,
is inhuman, captain.

You cannot expect her
to react like a human.

- I tried.
- It's useless.

I know.

Zefram Cochrane.

Bones?

I don't understand it.
She's not sick at all.

We understand.

It's her.

What?

Don't you understand?
It's the companion.

Bones?

She's perfectly healthy.
Heart like a hammer.

Respiration, normal.
Blood pressure, normal.

This is medically impossible.

- We are here.
- We?

Both of us.

Those you knew as the commissioner
and the companion.

We are both here.

Companion, you do not
have the power to create life.

That is for the maker of all things.

But commissioner hedford
was dying.

That part of us
was too weak to hold on.

In a moment,
there would have been no continuing.

Now we're together.

Then you are both here
in the one body?

We are one.

Zefram.

We frighten you.
We've never frightened you before.

Loneliness.

This is loneliness.

Oh, what a bitter thing.

Oh, Zefram, it's so sad.
How do you bear it, this loneliness?

Spock, check out the shuttlecraft.
Engine, communications, everything.

That will not be necessary,
captain.

Your vehicle will operate as before.
So will the communications device.

You're letting us go?

We could do nothing now
to stop you.

You said we would not know love
because we were not human.

Now we are human.
We'll know the change of the days.

We will know death.

But to touch the hand of the man,
nothing is as important.

You're very beautiful.

Part of me understands.
Part does not.

- But it pleases me.
- I could explain. Many things.

Oh, let me walk, Zefram.

Let me feel the earth
against my feet.

Let me feel the warmth of the sun
on my face.

You beside me.
Let me feel these things.

Go ahead, Cochrane.
We have a few things to do.

Mr. Scott, it's the captain.

Put him on.

Lock onto his coordinates.

Captain, this is Scotty.
Are you all right?

Perfectly all right.
Can you get a fix on us?

The helm is computing
your position now, captain.

Course 2-24 mark 1-2.

Eta, 57 minutes.

- We'll be there in 57 minutes, sir.
- Very good. I'll continue transmitting.

Assume standard orbit
when you arrive.

We'll transport up in the shuttlecraft.

- What happened, captain?
- Interesting story, Scotty.

I can't tell you now,
because, quite frankly,

I don't know how it's going to end.
Kirk out.

Everything will be
an eye-opener to you.

There's 1,000 planets out there,
1,000 races.

And I'll show everything to you as soon
as I learn my way around again.

Maybe I can make up a little
for everything you've done for me.

- I can't go with you, Zefram.
- Of course you can. You have to.

My life emanates from this place.

If I should leave it for more than
a tiny march of clays, I'll cease to exist.

I must return, even as you must
consume matter to maintain your life.

You mean you gave up everything
to be human?

But even if you stay here,
you'll eventually die.

The joy of this hour...

I am pleased.

Well, I can't just fly away
and leave you here.

- You must be free, Zefram Cochrane.
- You saved my life.

You took care of me...

and you loved me.
I never understood.

I do now.

We're locked in, captain.
Standard orbit established.

Shuttlecraft bay standing by
to receive you.

Stand by, Scotty.

The enterprise is waiting,
Mr. Cochrane.

I can't take her away from here.
If I do, she'll die.

If I leave her,
she'll die of loneliness.

I owe everything to her.

I can't leave her. I love her.
Ls that surprising?

Not coming from a human being.

You are, after all,
essentially irrational.

Think it over, Mr. Cochrane.

There's a whole galaxy out there
waiting to honour you.

- I have honours enough.
- But you will age, both of you.

There will be no immortality.

You'll both grow old here
and finally die.

That's been happening to men
and women for a long time.

I've got the feeling it's one of the
pleasanter things about being human,

as long as you grow old together.

Are you sure?

There's plenty of water here.
The climate is good for growing things.

I might even try
and plant a fig tree.

A man's entitled to that, isn't he?

It isn't gratitude, captain.

Now that I see her, touch her...

l know that I love her.

We'll have a lot of years together,
and they'll be happy ones.

All the best.

Captain?

Don't tell them about me.

Not a word, Mr. Cochrane.

Jim.

What about that war
on epsilon canaris ill?

I'm sure the federation
can find another woman somewhere

who'll stop that war.