Brief synopsis:
Rygel contacts a geneticist, and arranges a trade. The crew visit Namtar's lab and give samples. However, to get the star charts they seek, the crew has to give up more - one of Pilot's arms. However, even then, Namtar is not satisfied, and targets Aeryn for one of his experiments as the insane geneticist takes another step on his quest for perfection.

The Main Story:
Crichton, D'Argo, Zhaan and Rygel all submit themselves to give samples to a genetic scientist, Namtar. The aim is that from this data Namtar will be able to locate their homeworld and give them starcharts to find their way home. Aeryn however, does not participate, knowing that she can never return home. Sadly for Crichton, despite having nearly 11 million species on record, Namtar has no knowledge of Crichton's homeworld, and cannot help the human. Namtar agrees to trade for the other starcharts though, allowing D'Argo, Zhaan and Rygel to return home, but his price is high. He would like one of Pilot's arms in order to further his genetic study. Despite Crichton's belief that they would never go through with it, Aeryn is proved right as their three alien shipmates attack Pilot and take one of his arms.

As D'Argo, Zhaan and Rygel argue over whose homeworld they should go to first, John talks to Aeryn about her decision not to give a sample, and says he understands why. Aeryn is worried that one day, Crichton will find a way home as well, leaving her all alone, something she has never experienced before, having been part of a team for all of her life. Crichton offers to take her back to Earth, but at this stage, this doesn't seem possible to Aeryn.

Aeryn returns to Namtar to give a sample, asking the scientist to find her a world, a sebacean world, where she can just fit in, without fear of the Peacekeepers. However, Namtar doesn't just take a sample, but injects Aeryn with DNA taken from Pilot's arm. Back on Moya, the crew discover that there is too much information on the crystal Namtar gave them, and that only one homeworld location can be accessed. Rygel swiftly grabs the crystal and runs away. This begins a struggle between each of the three aliens to convince the other two that they should go to their own homeworld.

As Aeryn returns to Moya, John finds her disorientated, and unwell. Aeryn returns to Namtar to confront him, and finds out what he has done. She is approaching the second phase of a transformation to merge DNA, that Namtar initiated with the injection. On returning to Moya, Pilot too notices the problem. Meanwhile, D'Argo tracks down Rygel and locks the Hynerian in his quarters.

Rygel manages to lure Zhaan and D'Argo into his cell, but having used a secret escape route, then locks the two in their quarters. At the same time, Crichton and Aeryn go back to talk to Namtar. Aeryn tries to shoot him, but he is so evolved that the scientist simply regenerates in seconds. Taking Aeryn with him, Namtar continues his work. John however, talks to Kornata, Namtar's assistant, to try and form a plan.

The scientist explains that Namtar was once just a labrat, and that she was the original project leader. She first warns that Crichton must not use the crystal Namtar gave them as it will erase Moya's memory. Much to the dismay of Zhaan, D'Argo and Rygel, Crichton rushes aboard and smashes the crystal, seconds before Rygel manages to initiate it. He then returns to the colony to plan an attack on Namtar with the help of Kornata.

Whilst Crichton causes a distraction, getting Namtar to justify his work, and accusing the scientist of being a murderer who has lost sight of the true path of science, Kornata enters and concocts a substance to inject Namtar with. She does so, sending the scientist back to the devolved state he started in. She then turns to Aeryn and flushes out the Pilot DNA from the sebaceans system.

As the episode ends, D'Argo goes to Pilot, and although he says he would repeat his actions without hesitation if the situation were right, he does seem to apologise, and proceeds to demonstrate his newly created musical instrument to Pilot as a way of saying sorry.

References and continuity:

Aeryn can't go back to her home world after being deemed "irreversibly contaminated" by Captain Crais. Her contact with Crichton had been too long in the captain's eyes, and Aeryn was due for execution. Her escape with John Crichton means she can never return to her Peacekeeper home.

Rygel refers to his cousin Bishan, the Hynerian who took away Rygel's control, leading to Rygel being kept prisoner by the Peacekeepers for over a hundred cycles. Rygel aims to one day retake the throne and become Dominar once more.

Funny or interesting quotes:

Pilot: "This is the trade off we make for the chance to see the galaxy."

Pilot explains why he feels no anger towards those who took his arm. Pilot is her to service Moya and the crew aboard her. In exchange, Pilot gets to explore the far reaches of space.

Namtar: "That's what evolution is, the road to perfection."

Namtar tries to justify his actions as being part of a long journey towards perfection, with a large, but necessary cost.

Episode Trivia:

The name Namtar is from the word Ratman, except spelled backwards. This makes sense as Namtar was once a lab rat himself.

Rygel is prepared for most problems aboard Moya, with escape routes and hidden supplies setup within his quarters.

Pilots have four arms, which if cut off, can regenerate as the species has excellent regenerative powers.

Writer:

The writer of this episode, was Tom Blomquist. This was the only Farscape episode written by him.

Director:

The director of this episode was Andrew Prowse. He also directed many other Farscape episodes:

New Aliens:
Whilst no specific species are encountered, the crew meet Namtar, a highly evolved being who was once merely a ratlike test creature. Namtar grafts genetic samples of other creatures onto himself to take himself closer and closer to perfection.

Farewell to:

Evolved Namtar		Kornata manages to inject Namtar with a substance that undoes the genetic modifications Namtar made, returning the creature to his original devolved state.
One of Pilot's arms (for a while)		D'Argo, Zhaan and Rygel cut off one of Pilot's arms. Fortunately it will regenerate.

Guest Stars:

• Adrian Getley as Namtar.
• Julian Garner as the voice of Namtar.
• Sarah Burns as Kornata.

Personal Opinion:

Its always fun to meet mad scientists in science fiction shows, and I loved the twist that Namtar was originally the rat, not the scientist. However, I really didn't like the fact that D'Argo, Zhaan and Rygel went cannibal on Pilot. Rygel I might have guessed, possibly even D'Argo if he was in a state of Luxan hyper-rage, but Zhaan... I guess maybe the evil she unlocked fighting Maldis in That Old Black Magic is causing more damage than expected.

One important thing that happened in the episode though was the fact that some kind of genetic imprint from the Pilot DNA put into Aeryn is left there, starting off the connection that forms between Pilot and Aeryn over the next few seasons.

	A truly alien episode.		6/10