Melkotian

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The Melkotians are a race of aliens in the fictional Star Trek universe.

They are reclusive and xenophobic beings who live on the planet Theta Kiokis II. They regard all outsiders as "infection." Melkotians communicate telepathically and their messages are perceived in the receiver's native language. They can also create immersive illusions similar to high quality virtual reality. Individuals can die in these illusions, if they believe in them strongly enough. Spock was able to use his own telepathic abilities to selectively disable this immersion, rendering an Enterprise landing party immune to the "bullets" employed by the opponents. When the Federation landing party did not "kill" their helpless opponents, the Melkot began revising their opinion of these outsiders.

The only Melkot seen appeared as a grotesque green floating head, with glowing yellow eyes and a short "neck" or collection of tentacles. It appeared dimly within a field of fog. Since the Federation landing party was never actually on the Melkot homeworld, it is unclear whether this was the creature's actual appearance or another illusion.

The Melkotians appeared in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Spectre of the Gun".