"All sections, security check in progress." "Report." " Forward phaser, affirmative." " We're entering standard orbit, nurse." "Won't be much longer." "Forward scanner to bridge." "I understand you gave up a career in bioresearch to sign aboard a starship." "I know he's alive down there, captain." "Aft scanner to bridge." "Status report, green." "Engineering controls..." "It's been five years since his last message." "Roger's a very determined man." "He'd find a way to live." "Beginning signals to surface, sir." "Put it on all frequencies, lieutenant." "Ship's record banks show little we don't already know about this planet, captain." "Gravity is 1.1 of Earth." "Atmosphere within safety limits." "But the surface temperature of that planet is 100 degrees below zero." "It may have been inhabited once, but the sun in this system has been fading steadily for a half-million years." "Now, Dr. Korby, often called the Pasteur of archaeological medicine, his translation of medical records from the Orion ruins revolutionised our immunization techniques." "Required reading at the Academy, Mr. Spock." "I've always wanted to meet him." "Do you think there's any chance of him still being alive?" "I've tried all frequencies, sir." "No return signal." "Keep trying." "Warp capacity,.07 and building." "Communicator, we need more lines to the impulse deck." "His last signal told about finding underground caverns." "And since then, two expeditions have failed to find him." "I've run all frequencies a second time, captain." "There's no..." "Enterprise." "Come in, Enterprise." "This is Roger Korby." "Repeating, this is Dr. Roger Korby." "Do you read me, Enterprise?" "This is Dr. Roger Korby." "Standing by." "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 2712.4:" "A signal from planet Exo III." "Dr. Roger Korby has been located." "He and part of his expedition remaining alive due to the discovery of underground ruins left by the former inhabitants of this world." "Enterprise to Korby." "We have your landing coordinates pinpointed." "We're preparing to beam down a party." "It may interest you to know that we have aboard this vessel..." "I have a rather unusual request, Captain Kirk." "Can you beam down alone, just yourself?" "We've made discoveries of such a nature, they may require an extraordinary decision from you." "That is an unusual request." "The man making it is Dr. Roger Korby." "You're certain you'd recognise his voice?" "Have you ever been engaged, Mr. Spock?" "Oh, yes." "It's Roger." "Agreed, doctor." "However, there will be two of us." "Hello, Roger." " Christine?" " Yes, Roger." "Darling, how..?" "Where are you?" "Yes, yes." "By all means, captain." "I had no idea, no hope." " Darling, are you all right?" " Yes, Roger." "Everything's all right now." "We're on our way, doctor." "We'll be with you in a moment." "Enterprise out." "Energize." "He said he'd be waiting." "Dr. Korby?" "Dr. Korby?" "It's possible we might have hit the wrong entry point." " Kirk to Enterprise." " Spock here, captain." "Beam down two security men." " Any problems, captain?" "Some delay in meeting us." "Probably nothing at all." "Kirk out." "The corridors could be quite deep." "Getting here may have taken more time than he estimated." " Don't worry." " Thank you." " Rayburn, maintain post here." " Yes, sir." "Mathews, we'll look for Dr. Korby." " You accompany us." " Yes, sir." "Is that you, Dr. Korby?" "Dr. Brown." "It's Roger's assistant." "Brownie, where's Roger?" "Careful." "Please be careful." "Is there a path down there?" "There's no hope, captain." "It's bottomless." "He must have slipped." "Any chance of a projection or a ledge?" "None, captain." "Unfortunate." "Terribly unfortunate." "Dr. Korby was detained." "I came as soon as I could." "But not soon enough." "Brownie." " What is it?" " Explain." "Don't you recognise me?" "Christine." "You look well." "My name is Brown." "Dr. Korby's assistant." "I presume you are Captain Kirk?" "He's dead." "I assure you." "Come." "Dr. Korby will be waiting." "You do know him well." "An old friend?" "Well, I suppose living here for five years..." "Captain Kirk to Rayburn, report." "All quiet here at the entry, captain." "Any problems there, sir?" "We lost Mathews." "Apparently an accident." "Tell the Enterprise to have a full security party standing by." "Yes, sir." " That we'll both report in at hourly intervals." "If you and I lose contact, or if he fails to hear from either of us, he's to beam the security party down immediately." "Kirk out." "Dr. Korby has discovered that as their sun dimmed, the inhabitants of this planet moved underground, from an open environment to this dark world." "When you were a student of his, Christine, you must have often heard Dr. Korby remark how freedom of movement and choice produced the human spirit." "The culture of Exo III proved his theory." "When they moved from light to darkness, they replaced freedom with a mechanistic culture." "Dr. Korby has been able to uncover elements of this culture which will revolutionise the universe when freed from this cavernous environment." "I'm Andrea." "You must be Christine." "I've always thought how beautiful your name is." "And you must be Captain Kirk of the starship Enterprise." "We appreciate you bringing Roger's fiancée to him." "I don't remember Dr. Korby mentioning an Andrea." "But you are exactly as Roger described you." "No wonder he missed you so." " Where is Dr. Korby?" " Here, captain." "I..." "I've been looking forward to..." "Oh, I knew I'd find you." "Everything's all right now." "Forgive me, captain." "I'm..." "I'm Roger Korby." "There's no need to apologise, sir, and certainly no need to introduce yourself." "The captain lost a man in the caverns, doctor." "What?" " How did it happen?" " The pit near the outer junction." "The edge must have given way." "I'm terribly sorry, captain." "Perhaps if I'd been there, I..." "I know the passages so well." "It wasn't your fault." "Kirk to Rayburn." "Report." "I'm required to make a security confirmation." "When I call my ship, if you'll list your personnel, cargo requirements, any special needs..." " I'd much prefer..." " Rayburn, are you receiving me?" "I'd prefer you waited, captain." "Please." "Till I've talked to you." "I've lost contact with my guard." "I'm required to call my ship." "No communications, captain." " Roger." " I'm sorry." "If they should send down more people..." " Roger, that man is..." " He won't be harmed." "I promise you." "Isn't it possible there could be things here unknown to you," " so terribly important..?" " Sir, one man is dead." "I've lost contact with the other." "Andrea." "What are you doing?" "This is necessary, captain." "You will understand." "Andrea." "Drop it." "Enterprise from Captain Kirk, come in." "Do you read?" "Frequency open, Mr. Spock." "Spock here, captain." "Contact established with Dr. Korby." "We were becoming concerned, captain." "Your check-in was overdue, and since we'd not heard from your security team..." "No problem, Mr. Spock." "Bear with me." "We'll return to the ship within 48 hours." "Dr. Korby's records and specimens will require careful packing." "Captain, are you all right?" "You sound tired." "If you move or cry out, Ruk may injure you." " At least wait until you and I can talk." " Acknowledge, captain." " Is everything all right?" " Fine, Mr. Spock." "Dr. Korby has made some fascinating discoveries." "All under control." "Stand by for regular contact." "Kirk out." "This is not a vain display, captain." "I'm a scientist." "You obviously know of my reputation." "Trust me." "Yes, I know your reputation." "The whole galaxy knows who you are and what you stand for." "That's why all this makes no sense." "There is so much you must learn before you make a final judgement." "For example Andrea." "You must be Captain Kirk of the starship Enterprise." "Christine, it's all right now." " You see, captain?" " Yes, Roger." "Everything is all right now." "That's enough." "You are not to mock Christine." " You will never harm her." " Or disobey an order from her." "You will not disobey her orders." "Satisfied, Captain Kirk?" "Both love and trust." "Now, give me 24 hours to convince you." "Doctor, do I need to be a prisoner to be convinced?" "What would your first duty be upon return to your vessel?" "A report." "Do you realise the number of discoveries lost because of superstition, of ignorance, of a layman's inability to comprehend?" "Then a simple layman's question, doctor." "Where is my other crewman?" "Alive?" "Dead?" "Ruk was programmed to protect my experiments." "The logic of his machine mind saw a danger to me." "Where is my other crewman?" "Ruk destroyed them both." "But totally against my wishes, I assure you." "He's an android?" "Like Brown?" "More complex than Brown." "Much superior." "I was left here by the Old Ones." "Ruk was still tending the machinery when we arrived here." "How many centuries?" "Even Ruk doesn't know." "With his help, with the records I could find, we built Brown." "You've convinced me, doctor." "You've convinced me that you're dangerous." "Ruk, no." "I do not understand." "Why are you unhappy?" "You are with Roger again." "Where is Captain Kirk?" "You are concerned about the captain?" "Yes, I'm concerned." "How can you love Roger without trusting him?" "Why does it bother you when I use the name Roger?" "Andrea, it's sufficient that it does disturb her." "You will call me Dr. Korby from now on, Andrea." "Yes, Dr. Korby." "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, darling." "As you can see, Captain Kirk is fine." "He won't be harmed." "The things at stake here simply make it necessary he doesn't send a report to his ship." "I need time to explain and demonstrate to him and to you." "Now, shall we start with Andrea?" "Yes, let's start with Andrea." "I'm like Dr. Brown." "An android." "Didn't you know?" "Remarkable, isn't she?" "Notice the..." "The lifelike pigmentation." "The variation in skin tones." "The flesh..." "The flesh has warmth." "There's even a pulse." "Physical sensation." "How convenient." "Christine, you must realise that an android is like a computer." "It does only what I program." "As a trained scientist yourself, you must realise..." "That given a mechanical Dr. Brown, then a mechanical geisha would be no more difficult." " You think I could love a machine?" " Did you?" "Andrea is incapable of that." "She simply obeys orders." "She has no meaning for me." "There's no emotional bond." "Andrea, kiss Captain Kirk." "Now strike him." "You see?" "There's no emotion in her, no emotional involvement." "She simply responds to orders." "She's a totally logical computer." "A thing, yes, not a woman." "Now do you understand?" "If these mechanical things have no feelings, and perform only as you program them, then why did Brown try to shoot me?" "Why did he kill two of my men?" "There are many things I don't understand, doctor." "I will answer all of your questions now." "This is how you make an android." "Andrea." "He's not being harmed." "I promise." "Roger, what's happened to you?" "When I sat in your class, why, you wouldn't even dream of harming an insect or an animal." "No, life was sacred to you then." "Christine, if I'd simply beamed up to their vessel with Brown and the others, I..." "I'd have given them objects of curiosity, the beginnings of wild stories, foolish theories." "Ruk." "Watch carefully." "Choose, Christine." "Which is your captain?" "I don't know." "They're exact." "I honestly don't know." "Synthetic organs are in place." "We merely synchronize them with Kirk's autonomic nervous system, duplicating the rhythms of his body." "At the same time, we duplicate the mental patterns." "Now, physical pattern complete, we now make a mental pattern." "Ready for final synaptic fusion." "Andrea, stand by for cortex circuits." "The android will be so perfect, he could even replace the captain." "The same memories, the same attitudes, the same abilities." "Activate circuits." "Mind your own business, Mr. Spock." "I'm sick of your half-breed interference, do you hear?" "Mind your own business, Mr. Spock." "I'm sick of your half-breed..." "Complete." "Are you all right?" "As far as I know." "And now, meet an android." "How do you do, Miss Chapel?" "I am now programmed to please you also." "Is the food appealing?" "Yes, thank you." " Please sit, captain." " Thank you." "I'm more or less on parole, I understand." "Dr. Korby suggested that you have lunch." "He thought you might have a few things to talk about." " Captain..." " I know, I know." "I'd hate to be torn between commander and fiancé myself." "No, I'm..." "I'm not torn." "I'm puzzled." "I'm worried." " Has he confided in you?" " Nothing he hasn't told you." "I know it doesn't make sense." "What he's done may seem wrong, but he is Roger Korby, whatever he seems to be doing." "Unless something's gone wrong with his mind." "No, you're forgetting how well I know him." "He's as sane as you or I." "Nurse if I gave you a direct order to betray him?" "Please." "Don't ask me to make that choice." "No, I'd much rather you push me off the same precipice where Mathews died." "Oh, no, I can't." "Please go ahead and eat." "Androids don't eat, Miss Chapel." "He even has your sense of humour." "Well, there's one difference between us, I'm hungry." "The difference is your weakness, captain, not mine." "One at a time, gentlemen." "Captain?" "Eating is a pleasure, sir." "Unfortunately, one you will never know." "Perhaps." "But I will never starve, sir." " He's an exact duplicate?" " In every detail." "What about memory?" "Tell me about Sam." "George Samuel Kirk." "Your brother." "Only you call him Sam." "He saw me off on this mission." "Yes, with his wife and three sons." "He said he was being transferred to Earth Colony 2 research station." "No, captain." "He said he was continuing his research, and that he wanted to be transferred to Earth Colony 2." "You might as well try to out think a calculating machine." "Obviously, I can't." "But we do have some interesting differences." "Totally unimportant ones." "You may leave now." "You haven't guessed the rest?" "Not even you, Christine?" "What you saw was only a machine." "Only half of what I could have accomplished." "Do you understand?" "By continuing the process, I could have transferred you, your very consciousness, into that android." "Your soul, if you wish." "All of you." "In android form, a human being can have practical immortality." "Can you understand what I'm offering mankind?" "Programming." "Different word, but the same old promises made by Genghis Khan," "Julius Caesar, Hitler, Ferris, Maltuvis." "Can you understand that a human converted to an android can be programmed for the better?" "Can you imagine how life could be improved if we could do away with jealousy, greed, hate?" "It can also be improved by eliminating love, tenderness, sentiment." "The other side of the coin, doctor." "No one need ever die again." "No disease, no deformities." "Why, even fear can be programmed away and replaced with joy." "I'm offering you a practical heaven, a new paradise." "And all I need is your help." "All you wanted before was my understanding." "I need transportation to a planet colony with the proper raw materials." "Now, I'm sure there are several good possibilities among your next stops." "No diversion from your route." "I want no suspicions aroused." "I'll begin producing androids carefully, selectively." "Yes." "Yes." "No one need know." "No need to frighten uninformed minds." "They must be strongly infiltrated into society before the android existence is revealed." "I want no wave of hysteria to destroy what is good and right." "Are you with me, captain?" "You've created your own Kirk." "Why do you need me?" "I created him to impress you, not to replace you." "I'm impressed, doctor." "But not the way you think." "Stand back, Ruk." "I'll kill him." "Stay back." "Ruk." "Protect." "Roger!" "Ruk!" "No!" "Ruk, stop." "Dr. Korby said you are to obey me." "Ruk!" "Ruk!" "Ruk!" "I order you not to harm him." "Captain Kirk." "Where are you?" "Captain Kirk." "I can help you." "Christine, is that you?" "Captain." "Captain." "You finished ahead of schedule." "Dr. Korby has considerable cargo to beam aboard." "I'll have to go over our destination schedule with him." "You're going back down with the command packet?" "Mind your own business, Mr. Spock." "I'm sick of your half-breed interference." "Do you hear?" " Yes." "Very well, captain." " You look upset, Mr. Spock." " Is everything all right up here?" " No problems here, sir." "Good." "I'll beam up shortly with Dr. Korby and party." "Security, Spock here." "Status of your landing party." "Ready and standing by, sir." "Have them meet me in the Transporter Room after the captain has beamed down." "I looked it over." "I think you'll find planet Midos V an excellent choice." "A small colony, abundant raw materials." "You've made a good beginning, captain." "Thank you." "I felt quite at home on the Enterprise." "Andrea kiss me." "Oh, no." "No." "Not programmed for you." "What's the matter, Andrea?" "Confused?" "No." "Emotion, Ruk?" "You disapprove of Miss Chapel's orders to save my life?" "To maintain your existence would be illogical." "Why?" "Can't your memory banks solve a simple equation like that?" "What happened to the Old Ones, Ruk?" "So long ago." "Is it possible they built their machines too well?" "Gave them pride and a desire to survive?" "Machines that wanted logic and order and found that frustrated by the illogical, emotional creatures that built them?" "Yes, the Old Ones." "The ones who made us." "They grew fearful of us." "They began to turn us off." "And isn't it Korby who's creating the same danger to you all over again?" "Unlike you, we humans are full of unpredictable emotions that logic cannot solve." "Yes." "Yes." "It had been so long ago, I had forgotten." "The Old Ones here, the ones who made us." "Yes." "Yes, it is still in my memory banks." "It became necessary to destroy them." "You are inconsistent." "You cannot be programmed." "You are inferior." " And Korby?" " You came from the outside." " You bring disorder here." " The danger to you is Korby." "I was programmed by Korby." "I cannot harm him." "The Old Ones programmed you too, but it became possible to destroy them." "That was the equation." "Existence!" "Survival must cancel out programming." "That's it." "Ruk, logic." "You can't protect someone who's trying to destroy you." "Ruk, I would like..." "You brought him among us." "You brought the inferior ones." "We had cleansed ourselves of them." "And now you bring the evil back." "Ruk, stop." "Your programming." "I had no choice." " A man with respect for all things alive." "How can I explain the change in him?" "If I was to tell Earth that I was in your hands..." "To tell them what has become..." "It's still me, Christine." "Roger." "I'm in here." "You can't imagine how it was." "I was frozen, dying." "My legs were gone." "I was..." "I had only my brain between life and death." "This can be repaired easier than another man can set a broken finger." "I'm still the same as I was before, Christine." "Perhaps even better." "Are you, Roger?" " Andrea." " Yes, doctor." "There's someone in the outer junction." "Spock." "He must have got my message." " I will find Ruk." " But he'll never find us in this maze." "Ruk has been shut off." "Get a weapon and deal with it." "Protect." " I will kiss you." " No." "You?" "You will not?" "It is illogical." "I'm the same." "Direct transfer." "All of me." " Human, rational, but without a flaw." " Kirk freed himself, and I destroyed..." "Destroyed him." "I am not programmed for alarms." "I listened to your instructions, obeyed them as stated." "She killed the android, Korby, the same way you killed Ruk." "Is this your perfect world?" "Your flawless beings killing off one another?" "Aren't you doing exactly what you hate most in humans, killing with no more concern than when you turn off a light?" "I am not a computer." "Test me." "Ask me to solve any..." "Equate." "Transmit." "Christine." "Christine, let me prove myself." "Does this make such a difference?" "Don't you see, Roger?" "Everything you've done has proved it isn't you." "I am Roger Korby!" "Then prove it." "Give me that phaser gun." "If there's any human left in you, give it to me." "No." "You will never understand." "I constructed a perfect being." "Tested it, proved it." "Proved it." "Proved it." "Andrea, give me the weapon." "No." "Protect." "Protect." "No." "To..." "To love you." "To..." "To kiss you." "No, you cannot love." "You're not human." "Love you." "Kiss." "Captain Kirk." "In here, Spock." "Captain, are you all right?" "Nurse?" "Where's Dr. Korby?" "Dr. Korby was never here." "Thank you for letting me make the decision, captain." "I'm quite certain I'm doing the right thing." "She's staying with the ship." "Something bothering you, Mr. Spock?" "Frankly, I was rather dismayed by your use of the term "half-breed," captain." "You must admit, it is an unsophisticated expression." "I'll remember that, Mr. Spock the next time I find myself in a similar situation." "Steady as we go, helm."