" Anything from the landing party?" " They're sending up a report." " Something wrong?" " A kink in my back." "That's it." "A little higher, please." "Push." "Push hard." "Dig it in there, Mr..." "Thank you, Yeoman." "That's sufficient." "You need sleep, Captain. lf... I have enough of that from Dr McCoy, Yeoman." "Thank you." "Dr McCoy is correct." "After what this ship has been through, every crewman needs a rest." "Myself excepted, of course." "Have Dr McCoy's report channelled to my quarters, Lieutenant." "Beautiful." "Beautiful!" "No animals, no people, no worries." "Just what the doctor ordered." "Right, Doctor?" "I couldn't have prescribed better." " We are one weary ship." " Will the captain authorise shore leave?" "Depending on my report and that of the other scouting parties." "You have to see this place to believe it." "It's like something out of "Alice ln Wonderland"." " The captain has to come down." " He'd like it." "He needs it." "You've got your problems, I've got mine." "But he's got ours, plus his, plus 430 other people's." " Where are you going?" " To get cell structure records." "A blade of grass, a bush, a tree." "A flower petal." "With these, we can tell the whole planet's biology." "Oh, my paws and whiskers!" "I'll be late!" "Excuse me, sir?" "Have you seen a large white rabbit with a yellow waistcoat and white gloves?" "Thank you very much." "Sulu!" "What is it?" " What's the matter?" " Did you see them?" "See what?" "I don't see anything." "What is it, Doc?" "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 3025.3." "We are orbiting an uninhabited planet in the Omicron Delta region, a planet remarkably like how we remember Earth to be - park-like, beautiful, green, flowers, trees, green lawns, quiet and restful." "Almost too good to be true." "Sir, I don't see your name in any of the shore parties." "I may be tired, Yeoman, but I'm not falling apart." "Dismissed." "Aye, aye, sir." "We're beaming down the starboard section first." " Which section will you go with?" " Not necessary in my case." "On my planet, to rest is to rest, to cease using energy." "To me, it is illogical to run up and down on grass, using energy instead of saving it." " Kirk here." " Dr McCoy calling from the planet." " Open a channel, Uhura." " Aye, aye, sir." " Are you beaming down?" " l hadn't planned to." "Why?" "Well, either our scouting probes and detectors are malfunctioning, and all us scouts careless and beauty-intoxicated, or I must report myself unfit for duty." "Explain." "On this supposedly uninhabited planet, I just saw a large rabbit pull a gold watch from his vest and claim that he was late." "That's pretty good, Bones." "The rabbit was followed by a blonde girl, right?" "As a matter of fact, yes." "And they disappeared through a hole in a hedge." "All right, Doctor. I'll take your report under consideration." "Captain out." "That's a McCoy pill, with a little mystery sugar-coating." "I'm afraid I won't swallow it." "Very well, Captain." "Something I did come to discuss." "Yes, Mr Spock." "What is it?" "I picked this up from Dr McCoy's log." "A crewmember is showing signs of stress and fatigue." "Reaction time down 9% to 12%, associational reading norm minus three." " Much too low." " He's irritable and quarrelsome yet he refuses to take rest." " He has that right, but..." " That ends where ship safety begins." "He will go ashore." "What's his name?" "James Kirk." "Enjoy yourself, Captain. I believe you'll find the planet quite pleasant." "Very much like your Earth." "Scouts have detected no animals, artefacts or force fields." "Only peace, sunshine and good air." "You'll have no problems." "Does it always have to be work with you?" "There's so much loveliness." "It won't be so lovely if the Captain's report isn't ready when he asks for it..." "Oh." "...which shouldn't be long." " Rodriguez." "Teller." "Everything all right?" " Yes, we've completed the survey." "Good." "Beam it up to Mr Spock." " Enjoy yourselves." " Thank you." "And sir, you'll find Dr McCoy and Mr Sulu that way." "Thank you." "After what we've been through, it's hard to believe this beautiful place exists." "It is beautiful." "It's so lovely." "And restful." "I mean, affirmative, Captain." "McCoy!" "Over here!" "Bones." "Know any good rabbit jokes lately?" "I do." "But this is not one of them." "Look at this." "I saw what I saw." "Or maybe I hallucinated it." " Take a look." "Tell me what you think." " Footprints." "Could be a rabbit." "It would have to be an unusual creature to make this size tracks." " Will Mr Sulu confirm what you saw?" " No." "He was examining the flora." " Bridge?" " Where is Mr Sulu?" " Collecting specimens." " Bridge." " Has the first party beamed down?" " They're just about to." "Get this message to all shore parties." " Stand by." "No one is to leave the ship." " Aye, aye, sir." "You're cancelling shore leave?" " Can you explain this?" " Well, no." "Neither can l. lt looks harmless." "It probably is harmless." "But before I bring my people down, I want proof it's harmless." " What are you doing?" " Target shooting." "Isn't it a beauty?" "Haven't got anything like this in my collection." " Where did you get it?" " l found it." "I've always wanted one like this." "Found it lying right over there." "An old-time police special." "And in beautiful condition." "Hasn't been one like this made in a couple of centuries." "Mr Sulu." "It fires pellets propelled by expanding gases from a chemical explosion." "I'll hang onto it." "The fresh air's made you trigger-happy." "Dr McCoy's rabbit, sir." "He must have gone through here." "Are you sure our instruments didn't show any animal life here?" "Absolutely." "No birds, no mammals, no insects, nothing." "I'm certain our readings weren't off." "I'd like to believe this is an elaborate gag but..." "Yeoman Barrows, Mr Sulu." "Find out where those tracks came from." "Doctor, come with me back to the glade." "I'd like to take another look at that area." "It's turning out to be an unusual shore leave." " lt could have been worse." " How?" "You could have seen the rabbit." " You're getting a persecution complex?" " Yes, I'm feeling picked on." "I had that feeling at the Academy." "Upperclassman there." "Lots of practical jokes, and always on me." "My own personal devil." "A guy by the name of Finnegan." " And you being serious..." " Serious?" "I was absolutely grim, which delighted Finnegan no end." "He'd put a bowl of soup in your bed or a bucket of water on a half-open door." "You never knew where he'd strike next." "More tracks." "Looks like your rabbit came from over there." "A girl's footprints." "The young blonde girl I saw chasing it." "You follow the rabbit." "I'll backtrack the girl. I'll meet you round the other side of the hill." "Good. I got a personal grudge against that rabbit." "Jim!" "Finnegan?" "I can't believe it." "You never know when I'm going to strike." "Huh, Jim?" "How's this?" "Come on. lt's me, Finnegan." "All right, Jimmy boy?" "Go ahead." "Lay one on me." "That's what you always wanted, isn't it?" "Come on." "Come on." "All right." "Let's try that one again." "Go!" "Go!" "Any excuse, Jim, baby!" "Run away!" "Run away!" " What was it?" " Yeoman Barrows." "Oh!" " What happened?" " l don't know." "I mean, I do know. I was following the tracks and there he was." " Who was?" " Him!" "Barrows, give me a report." "He had a cloak, sir." "And...and a dagger with jewels on it." " Are you sure you're not imagining it?" " lt sounds incredible." "But I did not imagine it." "Or this." "Sounds like Don Juan." "Yes." "It was so sort of story-book walking around here and... I was thinking, "All a girl needs is Don Juan."" "Just daydreaming, the way you would about someone you'd like to meet." "Where is Mr Sulu?" " He ran after him." " Stay with her, Doctor." "Sulu!" "Sulu!" "Mr Sulu!" "Sulu!" "Sulu!" "Ruth?" "Ruth!" "Jim, darling, it is me." "It is Ruth." "Captain's log, stardate 3025.8." "lnvestigation of this unusual planet continues." "We are seeing things that cannot possibly exist, yet they are undeniably real." "McCoy, do you read me?" "Ruth." "Ruth, how can it be you?" "How can you possibly be here?" "You haven't aged." "It's been 15 years." "It doesn't matter." "None of that matters." " Kirk here." " Did you find Mr Sulu?" " What?" " Did you find Mr Sulu?" "No." "But I'm sure he's all right." "Sir?" "Are you all right?" "Yes, I'm fine." " Rodriguez to Captain Kirk." " Yes?" "Captain, a while ago I saw birds." "A whole flock of them." " Don't you like birds?" " l like them fine." "But our surveys..." "Then I'd say our instruments are defective." "There are indeed life-forms on this planet." "Sir, our surveys couldn't have been that wrong." "Mr Rodriguez, have the search parties rendezvous at the glade." " l'd like some answers to all of this." " Aye, aye, sir." "You have to go?" "I don't want to." "You'll see me again if you want to." "You haven't told me..." "You haven't told me..." "Do what you have to do." "And I'll be waiting." "Ruth." " Kirk here." " Captain." " Yes?" " l'm getting strange readings." "Some sort of power field down there." " Specify." " A sophisticated type of energy, draining our power and increasing, affecting our communications." " Can you pinpoint the source?" " Beneath the planet's surface." "There's some sort of industrial activity." "Keep me posted." "We'll continue our investigation." "Captain out." " Better?" " A little." " But I wouldn't want to be alone here." " lt's beautiful, if not a little strange." "It's almost too beautiful." "I was thinking before my tunic was torn that in a place like this, a girl should be..." "let's see now..." "A girl should be dressed like a fairy-tale princess, with lots of floaty stuff and a tall hat with a veil." "I see what you mean." "But then you'd have armies of Don Juans to fight off." "And me, too." "is that a promise, Doctor?" "Oh, Doctor, they're lovely!" "Look at me, Doctor!" "A lady to be protected and fought for." "A princess of the blood royale." "You are all of those things." "And many more." "They'll look even lovelier with you wearing them." "Doctor..." "I'm afraid." "I don't know how or why, but the dress is here." "I'd like to see you in it." "Why don't you put it on?" "All right." "But you stay right there." "Don't peek." "My dear girl, I am a doctor." "When I peek, it's in the line of duty." " Calling Dr McCoy." " McCoy here." "I... I can't read you very well." "is this Rodriguez?" "This is all the volume I can get." "Can't read you well, either." "Captain's orders - rendezvous at that glade where he first found you." "Right." "What the devil's wrong with..." "Esteban!" "Esteban!" "Doctor!" "Doctor!" "Dr McCoy!" "You're the science officer." "I want some answers." "First it was "Alice in Wonderland" where there was no animal life." "And Sulu's gun, where there was no metal." "Rodriguez' birds." "And then my..." "Well, the two people I saw." "Any chance these could be hallucinations?" "One hallucination clouted me in the jaw." " That sounds like a painful reality." " Yes." "There must be some logical explanation." " Your signal is weak." "Turn up your gain." " l'm already on maximum." "Shall I beam down an armed party?" "Negative." "We're armed with phasers." "And there's yet to be any real danger." "Captain out." "McCoy, do you read me?" "Kirk to McCoy." "Come in..." "Captain, take cover!" "There's a samurai after me!" " A what?" " l mean, there was..." "You've got to believe me." "I do. I've met some personalities myself." "Have you seen the others?" "Rodriguez called a few minutes ago." "He said to rendezvous at the glade." "I hope he got through to everybody." "Communications are almost out." "That's not all." "So is my phaser." "We'd better get back to the glade." "Look." " Someone beaming down." " Trying to." "Something's obstructing it." "Mr Spock, my orders were no one was to leave the ship." "Necessary, Captain." "Unable to contact you by communicator and the transporter is useless." "As I said, there's an unusual power field." "It's soaking up energy at the source." "I calculated its growth rate and I could transport one more person." "Good." "We can use your help." " We're stranded?" " Until we find out what this is about." " There's no one here." " This is where we were to rendezvous." " l heard someone moving around." " Don't talk like that." "A princess shouldn't be afraid." "Not with a brave knight to protect her." "That way." "Spread out." "Let's find it." "These things cannot be real." "Hallucinations can't harm us." "Go back to where you were." "He's dead." "Captain's log, supplemental." "All contact with the Enterprise has been lost." "We're trapped." "Our ship's surgeon, my friend, is dead." "We're certain now that whatever we're facing is terribly real." "It's my fault!" "It never would have happened!" " lt's my fault!" " No." "It is!" "I'm to blame!" "Yeoman!" "We're in trouble." "I need every crewman alert and thinking." "Aye, aye, sir." "Captain!" "Captain!" "You'd better have a look at this, sir." " l don't understand." " Neither do I, Mr Sulu." "But before we leave here, I will." "It's like a dummy. lt couldn't be alive." " Tricorder?" " Still operating." "Mr Spock!" "What do you make of that?" "This is not human skin tissue." "It resembles the cellular casting we use for wound repairs." " Much finer." " l want an exact judgment." "This is a mechanical contrivance." "It has the same cell structure as the plants here." "The trees, the grass." " This is a plant?" " These are all multi-cellular castings." "The plants, the animals, the people." "They're all being manufactured." "By who?" "And why?" "And why these particular things?" "All we know for certain is that they act exactly like the real thing." "Just as pleasant...or just as deadly." "What is it?" "Of all the crazy things..." "Remember what I said about the early wars and the funny air vehicles they used?" " That's one of them!" " Can it hurt us?" " Not unless it makes a strafing run." " A what?" "The way they used to attack people on the ground." "Come on!" "Angela!" "Captain!" " McCoy's body?" " He's been dragged off!" "The black knight, too!" "My analysis may not sound very scientific." "McCoy's death is a scientific fact." "There is one very slight possibility." "What were your thoughts just before you encountered those you described?" "I was... I was thinking about the Academy." "My days." "I see you've brought reinforcements!" "Well, I'm waiting for you!" "Finnegan." "Finnegan!" "What's been happening to my people?" "Take Sulu." "Find McCoy's body." "This man is my problem." " Captain, wait!" " That's an order!" "Here I am!" "Run!" "Jim!" "Find me!" "Can't you see me?" "Come and get me!" "Here I am!" "You never could find your head with both hands." "Like it used to be, Jimmy." "Remember?" "Hey, Jim!" " l want some answers." " Coming up." "Get up!" "Get up!" "Always fight fair, don't you?" "A true officer and a gentleman, you." "You stupid underclassman." "I've got the edge. I'm still 20 years old." "Look at you!" "You're an old man!" "I can't move my leg." "I can't feel my leg!" "My back is broken." "You've broken my back!" "Can you feel that?" "Can you feel that now?" "Sleep sweet, Jimmy boy." "Sleep as long as you like." "Sleep forever, Jimmy boy." "Forever and forever." "Don't you ever learn, Jim boy?" "You never could take me, you know." "One thing..." "Sure." "Name it." "Answers." "Earn them." "Not bad." " Makes up for things." " A lot of things." "What's been happening to my people?" " l never answer questions from plebes." " l'm not a plebe." "This is today. 15 years later." "What are you doing here?" "I'm being exactly what you expect me to be, Jimmy boy." "Did you enjoy it, Captain?" "Yes, I enjoyed it." "After all these years... I did enjoy it." "The one thing I wanted was to beat Finnegan." "Which supports my theory." "We're all meeting people and things that we happen to be thinking about." "Yes." "Somehow our thoughts are read and these things are manufactured." " Dangerous if we..." " Yes." "We must control our thoughts." "Difficult." "The force field is underground, manufacturing." "Passages lead to the surface." "When Rodriguez thought of a tiger..." "We've got to get back to the landing party." "Warn them." "No!" "No!" "Sulu!" "Rodriguez!" "Barrows!" "Front and centre." "Don't ask any questions." "Brace front, everyone." "Don't talk." "Don't breathe." "Don't think." "You're at attention." "Concentrate on that." "And only that." "Concentrate!" "Captain!" " Who are you?" " The caretaker, Captain Kirk." " You know my name?" " Of course." "Lieutenant Rodriguez, Lieutenant Sulu," "Yeoman Barrows and Mr Spock." "We've discovered that you do not understand this." "These experiences were intended to amuse you." "Amuse?" "That's your word for what we've been through?" "But none of this is permanent." "Here you have to only imagine your fondest wishes, anything at all." "Battle, fear, love, triumph." "Anything that pleases you can be made to happen." " The term is "amusement park"." " Of course." "An old Earth name for where people could see and do fascinating things." "This planet was constructed for our race of people to come and play." "Play?" "As advanced as you obviously are, you still play?" "Yes, play." "The more complex the mind, the greater the need for the simplicity of play." "Exactly." "How very perceptive of you." "That doesn't explain the death of my ship's surgeon." "Possibly because no one has died." "I was taken below the surface for some rather remarkable repairs." "There's a factory you wouldn't believe." "They can build or do anything." "And how do you explain them?" "Oh." "Them?" "Well, I... I was thinking about a little cabaret I know on Rigel ll." "There were these two girls in the chorus line." "And well, here they are." " After all, I am on shore leave." " And so am I." "So you are." "Well, girls, I suppose you can turn something up." "We regret that you've been made uncomfortable." "You say your people built all this." "Who are you?" "What planet are you from?" "My impression is that your race is not yet ready to understand us, Captain." "I tend to agree." " Kirk here." " This is the bridge." "Our systems are back in." "Do you require assistance?" " No." "Stand by." " Aye, aye, sir." "If you used the proper caution, this could be an ideal place for your people to enjoy themselves." " lf you wish." " lt's what the doctor ordered." "Lieutenant, commence transporting shore leave parties." "Tell them to prepare for the best shore leave they've had." "Captain, I'll go back aboard ship and take over." "With all due respects to the young lady, I've already had as much shore leave as I care for." "No. I'll go." "You..." "On the other hand, I'll stay for a day or two." " Did you enjoy your rest, gentlemen?" " Yes, we did." " l think we did." " indeed we did." "Most illogical." "Ahead, warp factor 1."