"Captain's log, stardate 1312.4." "The impossible has happened." "We're picking up a recorded distress signal, the call letters of a vessel which has been missing for two centuries." "Did another Earth ship once probe out of the galaxy?" "What happened to it?" "is this some warning they've left behind?" " Your move, Captain." " We should have intercepted by now." "Bridge said they'd call." "I'll have you checkmate at your next move." "You play a very irritating game of chess, Mr Spock." "Irritating?" "Ah, yes." "One of your Earth emotions." "Certain you don't know what irritation is?" "The fact an ancestor married a human..." "Terrible having bad blood like that." "Bridge to briefing lounge." "Object is within tractor beam range." " No visual contact?" " No, sir." "It's too small to be a vessel and only reads about one metre in diameter." " Not large enough for a lifeboat." " Small enough to bring it aboard." "Lock onto it, Mr Kelso." " Materialiser ready, sir." " Bring it aboard." "Old style ship recorder." "They were ejected if something threatened the ship." "More like destroyed the ship in this case." "Look at it." " Burnt." "Pitted." " Let's hope its tapes are intact." "We'll feed it through Mr Spock's computer." "It's begun transmitting, sir." "Flash the bridge." "Put all decks on the alert." " Hold it, Jim." " Getting into shape?" "I figured you weren't on the bridge." "Kelso's voice sounded nervous." " You finished the game?" " Hm." "He played most illogically." "His next move should have been the rook." " You're relieved, Mr Alden." " Acknowledged, Mr Mitchell." "Screen on." "Screen on, sir." " Approaching galaxy edge." " Neutralise warp." "Hold this position." "Neutralised warp, sir." " Address intercraft." " lntercraft open." "This is the captain." "The object is a ship's disaster recorder, ejected from the S.S. Valiant 200 years ago." "Tapes are burnt out." "Trying the memory banks." "We hope to learn what the Valiant was doing here and what destroyed it." "We'll move out when we have those answers." "Stand by." "Department heads, sir." "You wanted everybody on the bridge." " Jones?" " Smith, sir." " Astro sciences standing by." " Engineering ready." "Life sciences ready." "This is Dr Dehner, who joined the ship at the Aldebaran colony." "My assignment is to study crew reaction in emergency conditions." "Getting something from the recorder." "If there was an emergency, I'd be interested in how that crew reacted, too." "Improving the breed, Doctor." "is that your line?" "I heard that's more your speciality." ""Line" included." " Walking freezer unit." " Decoding memory banks." "I'll try to interpolate." "The Valiant had encountered a storm and was swept this way." "Impulse engines weren't strong enough." "It swept past here, half a light year out of the galaxy." "They were thrown clear, turned and headed back into the galaxy here." "I'm not getting it all." "The tape's burned." "Sounds like the ship had encountered some unknown force." "Now." "Orders." "Counter orders." "Repeated requests for information from the ship's records for anything concerning ESP in human beings." "Extra Sensory Perception?" "Dr Dehner, how are you on ESP?" " ln tests, my ESP rated rather high." " l'm asking what you know about ESP." "Some people can sense future happenings, read the backs of playing cards and so on." "But the Esper capacity is always limited." "Severe damage." "Seven crewmen dead." "No, make that six." "One crewman seemed to have recovered." "That's when they became interested in ESP." "More than interested." "Almost frantic about it." "This must be garbled." "I get something about "destruct"." "It sounded like the captain giving an order to destroy his own ship." " Comments?" " The only fact we have for sure is that the S.S. Valiant was destroyed." "A good reason to continue the probe." "Other vessels will head out here." "They'll have to know what they face." "We're leaving the galaxy, Mr Mitchell." "Ahead, warp factor 1." " Force field of some kind." " We're coming up on it fast." " Sensor beam on." " Sensor beam on, sir." " Deflectors full intensity." " Deflectors full intensity." "Deflectors say there's something there, sensors say there isn't." "Density negative, radiation negative." " Energy negative." " Whatever it is, contact in 12 seconds." "Gravitation on automatic." "Emergency stations." "All decks on fire alert." "Neutralise controls." "Put it on manual." " Any radiation?" " Negative!" "Helmsman, take us out of here." "Helmsman!" "Lateral power!" " Damage reports." " Damage reports, all stations." "Something hit me." "Like an electrical charge." "He's alive." "Appears to be in shock." "We're on emergency power cells." "Nine dead." "Gary." "Are you all right?" "I'm a little weak for some reason." "I feel all right now." "Captain's log, stardate 1312.9." "Ship's condition - heading back on impulse power only." "Main engines burned out." "The ship's space warp ability, gone." "Earth bases which were only days away are now years in the distance." "Our overriding question now is, what destroyed the Valiant?" "They lived through the barrier as we have." "What happened to them after that?" "Autopsy reports, sir." "Each case showed damage to the body's neural circuit." " Part of the brain was burned out." " Are you OK?" "Yes." "Mitchell too, except for his eyes." "We're trying to find a reason for that." "And why only certain people were affected." " l think we found that answer." " You have a high degree of ESP." "So do the others." "Gary Mitchell has the highest Esper rating of all." " You suggest it's dangerous..." " Before the Valiant was destroyed, its captain searched for ESP information on his crew." "Espers are simply people with flashes of insight." "Can they not also see through solid objects, spontaneously start fires?" "It can't possibly make a person dangerous." "Dr Dehner is speaking of normal ESP power." " Perhaps you know of another kind." " Are you sure there isn't another kind?" "Hello, Jim." "You look worried." "I've been worried about you since that night on Deneb iv." "Yeah, she was nova, that one." "Not as many aftereffects this time." "Except for the eyes." "They stare back at me when I'm shaving." "Do you feel any different?" "In a way I feel better than I've ever felt before." "Actually seems to have done me some good." "How?" "I'm getting to read the long-hair stuff you like." "I remember you back at the Academy." "A stack of books with legs." "I heard from an upperclassman, "Watch out for Lieutenant Kirk." ""ln his class you either think or sink."" "Was I that bad?" "If I hadn't aimed the blonde lab technician at you..." "You what?" "You planned that?" "Well, you wanted me to think, didn't you?" " l outlined her whole campaign." " l almost married her!" "Better be good to me." "I'm getting even better ideas here." "You?" "Spinoza?" "Once you get into him he's rather simple." "Childish. I don't agree with him at all." " Go on." " Hey." "I'm fine." "When do I go back on duty?" "I'm going to ask Dr Dehner to keep you under observation for a while." "With almost 100 women on board, you can do better than that." "Consider it a challenge." "That doesn't seem very friendly." "Didn't I say you'd better..." "be good to me?" "He's reading faster now than just moments ago." "is that Gary Mitchell?" "The one you used to know?" "Put a 24-hour watch in sickbay." "Fullest possible range of examinations and tests." "Perfect." "I've never had a patient like you." "Even the healthiest are generally off on some reading." "I know you don't particularly like me, but can we make the best of it?" " l've got nothing against you, Doctor." " Or against "the walking freezer unit"?" "I'm sorry about that." "Women professionals do tend to overcompensate." "Now let's talk about you." "How do you feel?" "Everybody seems worried that I don't have a fever or something." "Maybe if I could change these dials..." "Now back to normal, I think." "How did you do that?" "I'm not sure. I... I just thought of making it happen and it did." "Hey, erm..." "Hey, watch this, Doc." "Stop it!" "Stop it!" "You were dead for 22 seconds." "There were no readings." "Oh, boy." "You know, there have been other things, too." "Like going halfway through the ship's library in hardly a day." "Yeah." "What's happening to me?" "Do you remember what you read?" " Yeah." " On any tape?" "Sure." "Yeah." "Try this one." "Yeah." "Page 387." ""My love has wings Slender, feathered things" ""With grace and upswept curve And tapered tip"" ""Nightingale Woman"." "Written by Tarbolde on the Canopus Planet back in 1996." " lt's funny you picked that one, Doctor." " Why?" "That's one of the most passionate love sonnets of the past couple of centuries." "How do you feel, Doctor?" " What?" " How do you feel?" " l just fell." "Nothing happened." " No?" "Are you sure?" "Are you sure?" "Ahem." "Erm... I was on my coffee break." "I thought I'd check up on you." "That's OK, Lee." "Come on in." "Don't let the light in my eyes bother you." "It's all for our lady doctor here." " Yeah, sure." " So how go the repairs?" "Well, the main engines are gone, unless we can re-energise them." "Check the impulse packs." "The points have decayed." "Sure, Mitch." "I'm not joking, Lee!" "Activate those packs and you'll blow the whole impulse deck." "I'll get on it right away." "I just wanted to stop by and make sure you were OK." "See you later." "He's a fool." "A fool." "He'd seen those points and he hadn't noticed their condition." "How do you know?" "The image of what he'd seen was still in his mind." "It didn't make any sense that he'd know." "I checked out the circuit anyway." "He was right." "This is burned out exactly the way he described it." "Sorry I'm late. I became so interested in observing Gary..." "Mr Mitchell." "Our subject is not Gary Mitchell." "Our concern is what he is mutating into." "I know those from your planet aren't supposed to have feelings, but to talk that way about a man you work with..." " That's enough." " l don't think so." "I understand you least of all." "You're friends." "You asked for him aboard your first command." "It is my duty, pleasant or unpleasant, to listen to reports, even speculations, on any subject affecting our safety." "It's my science officer's duty to see that I'm provided with that." "Go ahead, Mr Spock." "Have you noted evidence of unusual powers?" "He can control certain autonomic reflexes." "He reads very fast, retains more than most of us might consider usual." "Mr Scott, repeat what you just told us." "About an hour ago, the bridge controls started going crazy - levers shifting by themselves, buttons being pushed, readings changing." "And on my monitor screen, I could see Mitchell smiling each time it happened, as if this ship were a toy for his amusement." "Are they right, Doctor?" "Has he shown abilities of such magnitude?" " l saw some such indications." " And you didn't mention it?" "No one's been hurt." "Don't you understand?" "A mutated man could be a wonderful thing, the forerunner of a new and better kind of human being." "Mr Sulu?" "If you want the mathematics, Mitchell's ability is increasing geometrically." "That is, like having a penny, doubling it every day." "In a month, you'll be a millionaire." "In less time than that, he'll have attained powers we can't cope with." "Soon we'll be not only useless to him, but actually an annoyance." "There will be no discussion of this with the crew." "Thank you." "We'll never reach an Earth base with him aboard." "You heard the mathematics of it." "In a month, he'll have as much in common with us as we'd have with mice." "I need a recommendation." "Recommendation one." "There's a planet a few light days away." "Delta Vega." "It has a lithium cracking station." "We may be able to adapt its power packs to our engines." "And if we can't, we'll be trapped in orbit there." "We haven't enough power." "It's the only way to get Mitchell off this ship." "If you mean strand Mitchell there, I won't do it." "The station is fully automated." "Even the ore ships call only once every 20 years." "You have one other choice." "Kill Mitchell while you still can." " Get out." " lt is your only other choice." "Make it while you still have time." "Try for one moment to feel, at least act like, you've got a heart." "We're talking about Gary." "The captain of the Valiant probably felt that way, and he waited too long to make his decision." "I think we've both guessed that." "Set course for Delta Vega." "Stardate 1313.1." "We're now approaching Delta Vega." "Course set for a standard orbit." "This planet, completely uninhabited, is slightly smaller than Earth." "Desolate, but rich in crystal and minerals." "Kelso's task - transport down with a repair party and try to regenerate the main engines, save the ship." "Our task - transport down a man I've known for 15 years, and if we're successful, maroon him there." "I'm thirsty." "It's like a man who has been blind all of his life suddenly being given sight." "Sometimes I feel there's nothing I couldn't do, in time." "Some people think that makes me a monster, don't they, Jim?" " Are you reading all our thoughts?" " l can sense mainly worry in you, Jim." "Safety of your ship." "What would you do in my place?" "Probably just what Mr Spock is thinking now." "Kill me...while you can." "Stop it, Gary." "I also know we're orbiting Delta Vega." "I can't let you force me down there." "I may not want to leave the ship yet." "I may want another place." "I'm not sure yet just what kind of a world I can use." "Use?" "I don't understand it all yet." "But if I keep growing, getting stronger..." "Why, the things I could do!" "Like maybe a god could do." "I want him unconscious for a while." "Soon I'll squash you like insects!" "Energise." " Can you do it?" " lf we can bypass the fuel bins." "Take him." " There's not a soul on this planet?" " Nobody but us chickens." " l think I got the 203-R set, Lee." " Good." "Transport it up with you." "The fuel bins, Lee." "Could they be detonated from here?" "A destruct switch?" " l could wire one up right there." " Do it." "He's regaining consciousness." "Dr Piper, I want only one medical officer here at any one time." "The other will monitor him on the screen." "I'd like to stay now, try to talk to him." "My friend, James Kirk." "Remember those rodents on Dimorus?" "Those poison darts?" "I took one meant for you." " And almost died. I remember." " So why be afraid of me now?" "You've been testing your ability to take over the Enterprise." "You said something about us seeming like insects by comparison." " Squashing us." " l was drugged then." "Yes." "In sickbay, you said if you were in my place you'd kill a mutant like yourself." "Why don't you kill me, then?" "Spock is right and you're a fool if you can't see it." "You don't mean that." "Men won't survive if a race of true Espers is born." "Gary, don't!" "Jim." " His eyes went back to normal." " His strength is drained." "He could be handled now." "I just keep getting stronger." "You know that, don't you?" "It fits like a glove, Captain." "Did Mr Spock get the phaser rifle we sent down?" "I didn't order any..." "Affirmative." "Landing party out." "He tried to get through the force field again." "Dr Dehner feels he isn't that dangerous." "What makes you right and her wrong?" "Because she feels. I don't." "All I know is logic." "We'll be lucky if we can repair this ship and get away." "Direct to the power bins." "From here you could blow up this whole valley." "If Mitchell gets out, at your discretion, if you think you're the last chance... I want you to hit that button." "Captain's log, stardate 1313.3." "Note commendations on Lieutenant Kelso and the engineering staff." "In orbit above us, the Enterprise engines are almost fully regenerated." "The balance of the landing party is being transported back up." "Mitchell, whatever he's become, keeps changing, growing stronger by the minute." "He's been like that for hours now." "Have Dr Piper meet us in the control room." "We'll transport up together." " lf he should try to stop us?" " Kelso will be on the destruct button." " l think he knows that." " l'm staying behind with him." "Fission chamber 3 checks out." "The station is running fine." "You're a talented thief, Kelso." "Everything you sent up seems to be fitting in place." "I'm proud of the job we've done." "Will we be ready to transport..." " You're leaving." " He's not evil!" " l gave you an order." " You should have killed me." "Command and compassion is a fool's mixture." "It hit me too, whatever it was." "Kelso is dead." "Strangled." " At least Spock's alive." " Dr Dehner?" "She went with Mitchell." "Don't give him a pill until after I'm gone." "It's my fault Mitchell got as far as he did." " Did you see their direction?" " Yes." "They were headed across the valley." "There's flat land beyond the peaks." "When Mr Spock recovers, transport up to the Enterprise." "If you've not received a signal from me within 12 hours... you'll proceed to the nearest Earth base with my recommendation... that this planet be subjected to a lethal concentration of neutron radiation." "No protest on this." "That's an order." " lt would take a miracle to survive here." " Then I shall make one." "Behold." "You'll soon share this feeling." "To have the power to make the world anything you want it to be." " What's wrong?" " A visitor." "A very foolish man." "You'll enjoy being a god, Elizabeth." "Blasphemy?" "No." "Let there be food." "Kaferian apples." "Whenever we visited that planet, I always favoured these." "Can you hear me, James?" "You cannot see me. I'm not there." "Follow the right path, James." "You'll come to me soon." "I can see him in my mind, too." "Then go to him, Elizabeth." "Talk to him." "I want you to see just how unimportant they are." "Yes, it just took a little longer for it to happen to me." "You must help me before it goes too far." "What he's doing is right for him and me." "And for humanity?" "You're still human." "You are!" " Or you wouldn't be talking to me." " Earth is unimportant." "Before long we'll be where it would have taken mankind millions of years..." "What will Mitchell learn?" "Will he know what to do with his power?" " Will he acquire wisdom?" " Go back." "Did you hear him joke about compassion?" "Above all else, a god needs compassion." "Mitchell!" " What do you know about gods?" " Then let's talk about humans." "About our frailties." "As powerful as he gets, he'll still have that." "Go back!" "You were a psychiatrist once." "You know the savage things we keep buried, that none of us dare expose." "But he'll dare." "He doesn't need to care." "Be a psychiatrist for one minute longer." "What do you see happening to him?" "What's your prognosis?" "He's coming." "Then watch him." "Hang on to being a human for one minute longer." "I'm disappointed in you." "I've been contemplating the death of an old friend." "He deserves a decent burial, at least." "Stop it, Gary." "Morals are for men, not gods." "A god...but still driven by human frailty." "Do you like what you see?" "Time to pray, Captain." "Pray to me." "To you?" "Not to both of you?" "Pray that you die easily." "There will only be one of you in the end." "One jealous god, if all this makes a god." "Or is it making him something else?" " Your last chance." " Do you like what you see?" "Absolute power corrupting absolutely." "Hurry." "You haven't much time." "Gary." "Forgive me." "For a moment, James, but your moment is fading." "I'm sorry." "But...you can't know what it's like to...be almost a god." "Enterprise from Captain Kirk." "Come in." "Captain's log, stardate 1313.8." "Add to official losses, Dr Elizabeth Dehner." "Be it noted she gave her life in performance of her duty." "Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell." "Same notation." "I want his service record to end that way." "He didn't ask for what happened to him." "I felt for him, too." "I believe there's some hope for you after all, Mr Spock."