"Captain's log, stardate 5423.4." "We are orbiting the planet Gideon, which is still not a member of the United Federation of Planets." "The treaty negotiations have been difficult because Gideon has consistently refused the presence of a delegation from the Federation on its soil, or any surveillance by the ship's sensors." "They have finally agreed to a delegation of one." "They insisted it be the captain of the Enterprise." "I am therefore beaming down at once." "Too bad Gideon isn't cleared for general visitation, Mr. Spock." "According to the physio-cultural reports submitted to the Federation, it's a paradise." "I shall be interested in hearing your description, captain." "You won't have long to wait." " Lieutenant Uhura." " Yes, Mr. Spock?" "Do we have final clearance from Gideon?" "Yes, Mr. Spock." "They have provided us with the coordinates for beam down." "May I have them, please?" " Eight-seven-five." " Eight-seven-five." " Zero-two-zero." " Zero-two-zero." " Zero-seven-nine." " Zero-seven-nine." "Let's go, Mr. Spock." "Energizing." "Mr. Spock?" "Mr. Spock, I have not yet transported down." "Why did you leave your post before confirming transport?" "Mr. Spock?" "Spock?" "Engineering?" "Mr. Scott?" "Scotty?" "Lieutenant Uhura, report immediately." "All Bridge personnel, report immediately." "Kirk to crew, is anyone aboard?" "Sickbay?" "Dr. McCoy?" "Bones, Bones, answer me." "Bones." "Still orbiting Gideon." "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." "I am alone on the Enterprise." "I have searched every area of the ship and still cannot find a trace of the crew or an indication of how its disappearance was managed." "One thing that is obvious is that I suffered a memory lapse, during which time I bruised my arm." "It is causing me some irritation." "Gideon is contacting us, Mr. Spock." " Put it on the screen." " Aye, sir." "Captain Kirk, this is Ambassador Hodin." "The council is awaiting your arrival." "This is Mr. Spock, Ambassador Hodin." "Captain Kirk was transported down minutes ago." " That's impossible." " I transported him myself." "He never arrived." "He was beamed directly to your council chambers." "Please verify your coordinates." "875-020-079." "Coordinates confirmed." "We gave you the exact coordinates, which should have brought Captain Kirk directly into this room." "I am not questioning that, sir." "If he is not here, that is your own responsibility, Mr. Spock, and that of your staff." "I do not deny that, sir." "I am not attempting to blame your personnel." "We are glad to hear that." "We shall have to enter it into the records of this most unfortunate event." "Your Excellency, even with intricate machinery as delicately balanced as ours, there is still a margin for error that must be dealt with." "It is possible that Captain Kirk materialised on some other part of Gideon." "Let us hope it was on dry land." "Your Excellency." "May I cut right to the heart of the matter?" "I request permission to beam down to conduct a search for our captain." "Permission denied." "Your Federation must be aware of our jealous tradition of isolation from all contaminating contacts with the violent nature of planets of other star systems." "Your Excellency, the wars between opposing star systems no longer prevail in our galaxy." "If you will grant permission..." "Of course, we shall institute a thorough search." "In the meantime, Mr. Spock, I suggest that you look to your machinery." "We must acknowledge once and for all that the purpose of diplomacy is to prolong a crisis." "Well, what are we waiting for, Mr. Spock?" "We're not diplomats." "We are representatives of the Federation, doctor." "That doesn't mean that we have to behave like children and listen to some fool lecture by a diplomat." "Unfortunately, diplomacy is the only channel available to us at the moment." "The planet is shielded from our sensors, therefore, we cannot scan it." "Therefore, we are unable to select coordinates." "They must be provided by Gideon." "We should never have agreed to such restrictions." "We did not, Mr. Chekov." "The Federation did." " Lieutenant Uhura." " Yes, Mr. Spock." "Contact Starfleet immediately." "Explain our problem." "Request permission to use every means at our disposal to press the search for Captain Kirk." "At once, sir." "Are there any other possibilities?" "There are endless, Mr. Chekov." "But where do we start, Mr. Spock?" "Institute a sensor scan 360 degrees, one degree at a time." "You mean, you're gonna scan space for him?" "But, sir, that could take years." "Then the sooner you begin, the better." "Aye, sir." "Who are you?" "Odona." "Yes." "My name is Odona." "Why did you bring me here?" "What are you doing on my ship?" "Is this entire ship yours?" "Not my personal property, but I'm the captain." "And you have it all to yourself?" "It seems, at the moment, we have it all to ourselves." "You're hurting me, captain." "Kirk." "I'm sorry." "James Kirk." "And I didn't bring you here." "If you didn't bring me here..." "That's right." "Who has brought you here?" " I don't know." " You..." "What happened before you came here?" "Try to remember." "It's important." "It seems I was standing in a..." "Yes, I was standing in a large auditorium, crowded with people." "Thousands, pressed in against me." "I could hardly breathe." "I was fighting for oxygen, screaming to get out." "Don't be afraid." "I'm not, but you are troubled." "I seem to be the only one of my crew left onboard the Enterprise." "Four hundred and thirty, and I, apparently, am the only one left." "I'm sorry." "I wish I could help." "Maybe you can." "Tell me the rest." "You were fighting for oxygen?" "Screaming to get out of there?" "And then suddenly, I was here on this..." "On your ship." "And there was all this space and the freedom." "I just wanted to float." "And then there you were." "How long have you been aboard the Enterprise?" "I don't know." "Not long." " Is it important?" " It might be." "Come with me." "Lieutenant Uhura, has Starfleet honoured our request with a reply?" "There's been no responses yet, sir." "Did you advise them that the captain's life is at stake?" "Yes, sir." "They insist the matter must be referred to the Federation." " What department?" " The Bureau of Planetary Treaties." " Contact them directly." " I did, Mr. Spock." "They insist that we must go through Starfleet channels." "With the captain lost somewhere, that's the best they can come up with?" "Diplomats and bureaucrats may function differently, but they achieve exactly the same results." "Nine minutes of my life has been lost." "I don't understand." "Between the time I tried to beam down to Gideon and the time I found myself here alone, nine minutes have disappeared, just like that." "Now, what happened during those nine minutes?" "What is Gideon?" "That's your home." "The planet that you come from." " Is it?" " Well, it must be." " Gideon?" "I don't know any Gideon." " That's impossible." "We were in synchronous orbit over the capital city of Gideon." "I tried to beam down." "Something happened." "And you were beamed aboard from Gideon." "I do not think so." "We're no longer over Gideon." "Where are we?" "I don't know." "I'm not familiar with that quadrant." "Odona, you must realise that we're not here by accident." "Some force, some intelligence has arranged this for a purpose." "Captain, before, I said I wasn't afraid." "Now I am." "The ambassador will speak, sir." "They are requesting visual communication." "Good news." "Very good news indeed, Mr. Spock." "Your captain is definitely not on Gideon." "As you requested, we made a most thorough search." "You will be relieved to know that you may now investigate all the other possibilities and forget about Gideon." "That..." "That is not what we requested." "You requested a most thorough search." "It is in the record." "And we have used every means at our disposal to accommodate you." "Your record on the subject is not precise, Your Excellency." "Surely, Mr. Spock, you do not intend, I hope, to create a dispute between the Federation and Gideon." "Your Excellency, a dispute is the farthest thing from our minds and there is no need to check your records." "I merely suggest that the language of our statement may not have been understood exactly as intended." "Mr. Spock, you are an officer of a spaceship." "In your profession, you use many instruments, tools and weapons to achieve your objectives." "True, Your Excellency." "However, the only tool diplomacy has is language." "It is of the utmost importance that the meaning be crystal clear." "Your Excellency, I am basically a scientist." "Clarity of formulation is essential in my profession also." "I am glad to hear it." "Perhaps you could then make greater effort to choose your words more precisely." "You don't let him get away with that." "No matter what you say, Mr. Spock, he'll twist your meaning." "Yes, he's infuriating, sir." "How can you stand it?" "We cannot leave without being absolutely sure ourselves that everything has been done." "Now, certainly you understand our feelings about that." " Mr. Spock?" "Mr. Spock?" " Yes, Your Excellency." " Are you still there?" " Yes, Your Excellency." "There was interference with your transmission." "A lot of noise drowned out what was said." "Would you repeat, please?" "I apologise for the noise, Your Excellency." "To summarise, I request permission to transport down to Gideon." "Forgive me, Mr. Spock." "No criticism of your equipment was intended." "But it has sent your captain on some strange journey, a safe one, we all still hope." "But it could create for us serious incidents with your Federation." "And now you propose to repeat this disaster with another officer?" "This would be madness." "I'll not take that, Mr. Spock." "That transporter was in perfect condition." "I guarantee that myself." "Transport me down and I'll prove to those gentlemen." "Mr. Scott, you'll go to the Transporter Room and await my orders." "Aye, Mr. Spock." "I could not quite make that out, Mr. Spock." "Would you be so good as to repeat what you said?" "Yes, Your Excellency." "The ship's engineer was explaining that the malfunction, which did exist, has now been repaired." "We would appreciate an opportunity to test the equipment." "I therefore request permission to beam down to your council chamber." "But, Mr. Spock, you..." "Your Excellency, grant this one request." "You are a very persistent fellow, Mr. Spock." "Very well, then." "You shall test the skill of your very excitable repairman." "There is one proviso." "We cannot risk further incidents." "You will therefore transport a member of my staff to your ship." "Let us first see if that works." "Thank you, Your Excellency." "Your proposal is accepted." " Mr. Scott?" " Scott here." "Prepare to beam aboard a representative of the Gideon Council." "Aye, aye, sir." "My assistant will provide you with the proper..." "What is the word?" "Coordinates." "Thank you." "Proceed, Krodak." " Eight-seven-five." " Eight-seven-five." " Zero-two-zero." " Zero-two-zero." " Seven-zero-nine." " Seven-zero-nine." "Energizing." "Mr. Spock, the gentleman from Gideon is here." "Your Excellency, your assistant has arrived safely and I am now ready to transport down to Gideon." "Now, now, not so fast, Mr. Spock." "That is quite a different matter." "We agreed to allow one representative on our soil, your captain." "Sir, our captain is still missing, and I now demand that I be allowed to transport to Gideon as we agreed." "Forgive me, Mr. Spock, but I overstepped my authority when I made that agreement." "However, your request will be taken up at the next full session of Gideon's council." "Mr. Scott, beam down the gentleman from Gideon." "Yes, Mr. Spock." "I'm sending him straight to the same coordinates." "And just when I was beginning to think you might find a whole new career as a diplomat, Mr. Spock." "Do not give up hope, doctor." "Lieutenant Uhura, contact Starfleet Command." "Demand an immediate reply to our request for permission to beam down to Gideon." "Yes, Mr. Spock." "Enterprise to Starfleet Command." "Enterprise to Starfleet Command." "Enterprise to Starfleet Command." "Enterprise to Starfleet Command." "Captain Kirk here." "Red priority." "Red priority." " Isn't it in working order?" " It seems to be." "Then someone should have heard you." "Captain Kirk here." "Please answer red priority." "Please answer red priority." "If someone is listening, they're not answering." "Why should they do that?" "They wouldn't." " What did you do?" " Took the ship out of warp speed." " Out of what?" " Space terminology." "We're no longer moving faster than the speed of light." "I've trimmed down to sublight speed until we find out where we are." " It feels the same." " Of course it does." "Maybe it is the same." "Well, has the ship slowed down?" "If you can believe that, we have." "Please." "Don't tell me the sky is out of order now." "It's so quiet." "So peaceful." "It isn't really, you know." "And it's beautiful." "Yes." "Yes, it is." "Very, very beautiful." "And we're alone." "Can you make it last a long, long time?" "How long would you like it to last?" "Forever." "Well, let's see." "Power, that's no problem." "It regenerates." "And food, we have enough to feed a crew of 430 for five years." " So that should last us..." " Forever." "All my life I've dreamed of being alone." "Most people are afraid of being alone." "Where I come from, people dream of it." "Why?" "Why are the people of Gideon like that?" "Gideon?" "I told you I don't know where I come from, what my planet is." " It might be Gideon." " Does it matter so much?" "Yes." "It might help me pinpoint our location." "And then you might find your crew." "Being here with you, I forgot there must be others." "I envy you your sense of loyalty." "I want to ease your feeling of dread, your fear that all your crew no longer exists." "I've got to contact whoever's manipulating us." "There must be a way." "Odona." "Odona, can you remember why your people dream of being alone?" "Because they never can be." "Why?" "What makes it so impossible to be alone?" "Because there are so many of us." "So many." "There is no place, no street, no house, no garden, no beach, no mountain that is not filled with people." "Each one of us would kill in order to find a place alone to himself." "They would willingly die for it if they could." "Who sent you here?" "No one commands Odona." "I was not sent here." "You've come to kill." "Odona, have you come to die?" "I don't know." "I don't care." "I only know I'm here." "I only know I'm happy." "Now all I have to do is find a medical kit and I can completely cure this." " Cure?" " Yes, the irritation would be gone." "What will happen if you do not find one?" "Will you become sick and die?" "Oh, no." "Not from something as simple as this." "No, it'll cure itself eventually, but..." "Do you know, I don't even remember how this happened." "Do you hear that?" "Yes, it sounds like an engine." "No, the ship's engines don't make that kind of sound." "But something is wrong with the equipment." "Could that be it?" "I know every sound that this ship might make." "That's coming from outside." " A storm might..." " A storm might." "But you wouldn't be able to hear it." "Come on." "This is a viewing port." "We'll be able to see outside." "If there's a storm, we'll be able to see it." "If it works." "People." "The faces of people." "And then the stars." "What's happening?" "What's out there?" "The sound is gone." "It was like the heartbeat of all those people and thousands upon thousands more pressing against the ship." "But you said we were moving through space." "Yes, I said that." "Then the people can't be out there." "Yes, they can." "Please don't frighten me." "It could be a mirage." "They could exist in our minds." "You mean that we're going mad." "Or some power is creating the illusion in our minds that we are somewhere near your planet." "But why?" "I don't know." "I don't know." "I think I have an idea." "So that we won't keep trying to find out where we are, that we'll be content to stay here." "Be content." "Be content?" "Be content?" "Not until I find out what happened to my crew." " Are they dead?" " I don't know." "Did you kill them so you could have the ship to yourself?" "Captain..." "Captain, something is happening to me." "I never felt like this before." "I've never felt like this before either." "Is this the way one looks when one is developing a sickness?" "There's no sickness on your planet, remember?" "Now there will be." "There will be sickness." "There will be death." " Hodin." " Yes, Captain Kirk." "Our experiment has passed the first stage." "Let me in there." "I can help her." "We have no need of any of your medicines." "But she's ill." "We're grateful to you for her illness." "You have done well, my daughter." "Guard the captain well." "We shall need him for a long time." "I sympathise deeply, but Starfleet cannot override Federation directives in this matter." "Admiral, the crew will not understand it." "Has your crew suddenly become interested in provoking a war?" "That is not Starfleet's mission." "We wish only to save the life of the captain." "You have not proved your case to the Federation, or to Starfleet for that matter." "I am positive that I can do so to your satisfaction, admiral." "I have been convinced since my first exchange with the ambassador that the captain has been taken prisoner." "Granted as fact, Mr. Spock." "I now know where the captain is being held." "If he is being held at the same place to which we transported him." "They would not dare harm him in the Gideon council chamber." "Sir, the captain is not being held in the Gideon council chamber." "He is being held nearby." "You have now answered what and where." "I am waiting for your explanation of why." "Since the planet is shielded from our sensors, we cannot establish that without on-the-spot investigation." "Do you have evidence the captain's life is threatened?" "Permission denied." "Admiral, I wish to state for the record that your decision is completely arbitrary." "So noted." "Will it last long?" "That depends on the strength of the one infected." "You have great strength." "How will you know when I am to die?" "Your body temperature will be very great." "You will see us, but you will not know who we are." "I must see him before then..." "Lie still." "Lie still." "Do you feel great pain?" "Yes." "In my arms and thighs." "What is it like to feel pain?" "It is like..." "Like when you see the people have no hope for happiness, Father." "You feel great despair." "And your heart is heavy because you know you can do nothing." "Pain is like that." "Your courage gives me great pride." " Let me see her." " Not yet." " You don't know what she may have." " But we do." "She has Vegan choriomeningitis." "It's very rare and always fatal if not treated within 24 hours." "I know." "It almost killed me." "Yes, our prime minister learned about you during our negotiations." "That's why we brought you here." "Your blood provided the microorganisms which infected her." "That's how my arm got hurt." "Yes." "As Odona told you, we have no need for medical practitioners here." "Our apologies." "We were unforgivably awkward to have hurt you." "You're mad." "No, we are desperate." "I don't understand how Starfleet can deny us permission to beam down to search for the captain." "They did not ask for our understanding, doctor." "I don't see how they expect us to sit here and wait for the captain to reappear." "Unfortunately, I must violate a direct order from Starfleet." "That's the best possible decision you can make." "I'm with you." "I do not make it lightly, doctor." "However, Command knows that Ambassador Hodin has not been totally honest with us." "Lieutenant Uhura, repeat original Gideon coordinates for beam down." "875-020-079." "Mr. Scott, the coordinates given you?" "875-020-709." "Coordinates don't match." "Precisely." "I shall beam down at once." "Mr. Scott, you have the conn." "I'll pick up my medical tricorder, meet you in the Transporter Room." "Negative, doctor." "I cannot accept the responsibility for ordering a fellow officer to violate a Starfleet directive." "I can make such a decision only for myself." "I'm not asking you to make the decision for me." "The situation forces me to do so, doctor." "Well, in that case, it's the worst possible decision you can make, Spock." "This will not take long." "Isn't that just about what Captain Kirk said before he left?" "Captain Kirk, Spock here." "Captain Kirk?" "Your report to the Federation was a tissue of lies." "You described environmental, physical, cultural conditions that would make Gideon a paradise." "And so it was." "A long, long time ago, what we described was true." "The atmosphere on Gideon has always been germ-free, and the people flourished in their physical and spiritual perfection." "Eventually, even the lifespan increased." "Death became almost unknown to us." "It occurred only when the body could no longer regenerate itself, and that happens now only to the very old." "Those are conditions most people would envy." "But Gideon did not find it enviable." "The birthrate continued to rise and the population grew until now Gideon is encased in a living mass, who can find no rest, no peace, no joy." "Why haven't you introduced any of the new techniques to sterilize men and women?" "Every organ renews itself." "It would be impossible." "Then let your people learn about the devices to safely prevent conception." "The Federation will provide anything you need." "But, you see, the people of Gideon have always believed that life is sacred." "That the love of life is the greatest gift." "That is the one unshakeable truth of Gideon." "This overwhelming love of life has developed our regenerative capacity and our great longevity." "And the great misery that you now face." "That is bitterly true, captain." "Nevertheless, we cannot deny the truth which shaped our evolution." "We are incapable of destroying or interfering with the creation of that which we love so deeply." "Life, in every form, from foetus to developed being." "It is against our tradition, against our very nature." "We simply could not do it." "Yet you can kill a young girl." "We are trying to readjust the life cycle of an entire civilisation." "You're killing your own daughter." "How can you do that?" "My daughter hoped to make you feel the agony of Gideon." "But it was impossible." "No stranger could realise the horror that life can be here." "I will not beg for your understanding of my personal grief, nor will I parade it for you to gain your cooperation." "My love for my daughter is too deep for display." "My pride in her runs even deeper." "My daughter freely chose to do what she is doing, as the people of Gideon are free to choose." "The virus you need is very rare." "Who will provide it?" "You will stay." "Your blood will provide it." "No, sir." "Not me." "You have many methods available to you." "I have mentioned only a few." "I do not offer my life for this purpose." "I have many plans." "And I have hopes other than death for Odona." "My daughter pleaded with you to stay." "What was said and what happened between us was for us alone." "She hoped you would love her and wish to stay." "So that was your plan." "That I would fall so under her spell, that I would give up my freedom and become a willing sacrifice." "Stay with us." "We're desperate." "Odona's fever is rising." "She is calling the name of James Kirk." "You see, you cannot leave us now." "Go to her." "An exact duplicate of the Enterprise." "But completely inoperative." "Spock to Enterprise." "Spock to Enterprise." "Scott here, Mr. Spock." "I am speaking to you from the Bridge of the Enterprise." "You're where?" "On the Bridge of the Enterprise, Mr. Scott." "Those were the coordinates you insisted on." "And they were correct." "I'm onboard an exact duplicate of the Enterprise." "An exact duplicate of the Enterprise?" "Is it in orbit, Mr. Spock?" "In orbit, doctor." "In a manner of speaking," "Gideon is in orbit, and the ship is on Gideon." "Well, that's a beginning." "What about the captain?" "I'm sure he's onboard somewhere." "I'm picking up life readings." "Spock out." "Ship's log, stardate 5423.8." "First Officer Spock reporting." "Obviously, the Gideons have transported Captain Kirk onto this replica of the Enterprise to so confuse his mind as to make him susceptible to some extraordinary experiment." "It is my intention to locate the captain and warn him before the experiment reaches its conclusion, which logic indicates means the end of the captain's life as he knows it." "If you don't allow me to bring Dr. McCoy down here, it'll soon be too late to do anything for her." "We have told you, it is her wish and mine that there be no interference with the natural progress of the virus." "Her death is unnecessary." "Even if she lives, her blood will provide the same serum you need as mine would." "No, her death at so young an age will let the people know for certain that our life cycle can be changed." "It is the symbol that will bring forth the dedicated young volunteers." "The serum in their new blood will change Gideon, and it will once more be the paradise it was." "I'm glad that you're here." "Is the time short?" "Very short." "And I asked you to make our journey last forever." "It began here." "And it can continue." "If only you will allow me, I can cure you." "I am not afraid of what will happen." "It is just that now" "I wish with all my heart to stay with you forever." "Your Excellency." "Captain, you're looking well." "Evidently, Starfleet's analysis was correct." "Mr. Spock, we have a patient for Dr. McCoy." "Have Scotty beam us up." "Spock to Enterprise." "Spock to Enterprise." " Scott here." " Three to beam up, Mr. Scott." "Same coordinates?" "Negative." "Lock in on my communicator signal." "Your Excellency, please do not interfere." "I already have one serious problem to resolve with upper echelons." "Well, it was close, but you made it." "I am cured?" "Right." "Just like the captain." "Instead of smiling at me, you should be shouting in anger." "Why, because you're well again?" "No, because I pretended to be..." "How can you bear to look at me after the way I deceived you?" "At least you owe me the privilege of letting me look at you." "You are a gentleman, Captain Kirk." "Thank you, ma'am." "You are no longer needed on Gideon." "I can take your place there." "Is that what you want to do?" "That is what I must do." "I am needed there now." "You're needed everywhere, Odona." "It is not like our ship." "Yes, it is." "It's exactly the same." "Only this one works." " It goes to many other planets?" " Yes, it goes to the whole galaxy." "With another difference." "This one is crowded." "It seems crowded to you?" "It does now." "Are you going to stay on the ship?" "Yes, Odona, I have to." "As crowded as my planet is," "I could wish for it to hold one more person." "Kirk to Transporter Control." "One to beam down to the planet Gideon." "I will miss you, Captain James Kirk."