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Synopsis:
The disappearance of a
scientific team lures the U.S.S. Enterprise to investigate near
Lactra VII. The Starship Ariel is located there, abandoned, with
the Captain having transported to the planet's surface. The U.S.S.
Enterprise crew beams down to discover a series of unusually
juxtaposed environments. On the planet the crew meets the Lactrans,
a group of 20-foot slugs with intelligent capacities far beyond
their own. They capture the U.S.S. Enterprise crew and
imprison them along with the three remaining Ariel crew members.
Ariel's Lieutenant Randolph has become ill, but the Lactrans are
unaware, as their methods of communication are highly
sophisticated.
Spock can partially read
the Lactran thoughts. He realizes that they are much more
advanced than Vulcans and they are amused by his attempts at
communication. Spock tricks a Lactran child to bring him a
communicator and medical kit that are located outside a force
field. Kirk contacts the ship and they are beamed up along with
the child. On the starship, the child reads all the information
contained in the library computer, but the child's parents are
worried and almost kill Kirk in an attempt to contact him. Scotty
beams down with the child, who learns that humans are not pets for Lactran amusement. The child informs the other Lactrans, who
release the crew from confinement and the ships leaves with a
message from the Lactrans — "humans may return when they
grow up, in 20 or 30 centuries." |
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