The Changeling (TOS episode)
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| Star Trek: TOS episode | |
| "The Changeling" | |
 Kirk questions Nomad's logic in The Changeling. |
|
| Episode no. | 32 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 037 |
| Airdate | September 29, 1967 |
| Writer(s) | John Meredyth Lucas |
| Director | Marc Daniels |
| Guest star(s) | Blaisdell Makee Arnold Lessing Vic Perrin Eddie Paskey William Blackburn (actor) Meade Martin Roger Holloway Frank da Vinci Jay Jones |
| Year | 2267 |
| Stardate | 3451.9 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous | "Who Mourns for Adonais?" |
| Next | "Mirror, Mirror" |
"The Changeling" is a season two episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, first broadcast on September 29, 1967 and repeated May 17, 1968. It is episode #32, production #37 and was written by John Meredyth Lucas, and directed by Marc Daniels.
Overview: The crew of the Enterprise deals with an indestructible planet-destroying robot.
[edit] Plot
On stardate 3451.9, the starship USS Enterprise, under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, investigates a distress call from the Malurian star system. Upon arrival, Mr. Spock reports that all life in the system has been destroyed and Malur, a world with a recorded population of 4 billion, is now devoid of life. There isn't even contact from the Federation science team that was on the planet.
Suddenly, the Enterprise's shields activate when a meter-long cylindrical object attacks the ship with energy bolts equivalent to the strength of 90 photon torpedoes. Kirk orders a return fire, but the ship's weapon energy is simply absorbed by the object. Kirk then transmits a hail and the object stops firing. Curiously, the object responds and requests in-person communication with the Captain, and allows itself to be beamed aboard the ship.
Once on board, the object identifies itself as a space probe named Nomad, and oddly refers to Captain Kirk as "the Creator". Checking historical records, Mr. Spock finds information that the Nomad space probe was launched from Earth during the early 21st Century; its mission was to explore the galaxy, just like the Enterprise.
Nomad mistakenly believes that Captain Kirk is actually Dr. Jackson Roykirk, the original scientist who created it. Nomad however, corrects Mr. Spock by saying that his mission is to "find and sterilize imperfection". Since Nomad's definition of imperfect includes all living things, the remorseless machine is a virtual exterminator, going from world to world and killing everything. Repulsed by the machine's words, Kirk decides to go along with the mistake of identity, and tells Nomad to not "sterilize" anything further, which for now, it obeys.
Kirk leaves Nomad to be watched by Lt. Singh, however Nomad leaves to investigate singing he overhears on the intercom and discovers the source: Lt. Uhura. Nomad asks Uhura about this strange form of communication. When Uhura responds she's singing music, Nomad erases her mind, then calls her a "mass of conflicting impulses". When Mr. Scott tries to intervene, Nomad simply kills him. Kirk is very disgusted over what has just happened, but Nomad offers to "repair the Scott unit", claiming that it was only acting in self-defense. Nomad returns Scotty to life, and Kirk then orders Nomad to repair Uhura, which it claims it cannot do since it has erased her "memory banks". Nurse Chapel looks her over. Chapel reports Uhura's mind will have to be restored, a process which will take her off duty for a few days.
Nomad is then escorted to a holding area where Spock attempts to study it further. Spock is not able to learn full details from his scans, and therefore resorts to a mind meld with the machine. (Just how Spock is able to mind meld with a machine is uncertain). Spock discovers that Nomad collided with an alien probe called Tan-Ru, designed to obtain and sterilize soil samples from other planets. The collision severely damaged both probes, and during the accident the programming logic of both machines somehow combined. Nomad confused Tan-Ru's mission directives, interpreting them to mean "sterilize imperfections". Spock is disturbed by the experience of the 'machine-to-Vulcan' mind meld, so much so that Kirk is forced to pull him away when he starts to exhibit the coldness of Nomad's logic.
Kirk now realizes Nomad is a device completely without conscience that is capable of wiping out entire solar systems in the blink of an eye, and there seems to be no way to stop it. All Kirk can do is wait and once again confines Nomad to the holding area. Nomad however has other plans, and it waltzes right through the security field, killing two guards who attempt to stop it. Nomad then makes its way to the engine room where it improves the efficiency of the ship's engines 57% by increasing the matter-antimatter reaction rate. Kirk orders Nomad to reverse the changes, as the Enterprise cannot handle the stress.
Kirk confronts Nomad, telling it that its sterilization of biological units is illogical, since the creator is a biological unit. Kirk tries to get the probe to return to the holding cell, but it kills the two security guards sent to escort it. Nomad then heads to sickbay and examines Kirk's medical files. Nurse Chapel is attacked when she tries to stop him. Nomad then decides to shut down all life support systems throughout the ship to destroy the imperfect units that "infest" the Enterprise.
Kirk again confronts Nomad and questions its logic of destroying imperfect beings. Kirk tells Nomad that Nomad itself has made a mistake, something only an imperfect being can do. He tells Nomad that he is not Jackson Roykirk, and that Nomad is in error. Realizing his own imperfections, Nomad is caught in a logic loop, and begins to execute its primary function on itself. The machine begins self-destruction, glowing and sparking energy. At the last moment Kirk has Nomad rushed to the transporter room and beamed into space. Seconds after transport an explosion is detected near the Enterprise and Nomad is no more.
[edit] Trivia
- The title of the episode forshadows one of the main villain races of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, that being the Founders. Modern day fans have also speculated that the story James Kirk tells in the episode, about a Changeling left in the place of a human baby, was in fact based on "The Hundred", who were Changlings sent out by the Founders to explore the galaxy. [citation needed]
- A Malurian (one of the species which Nomad exterminates at the beginning of this episode) appears in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Civilization". Also, the character of "Jack" (from "Carbon Creek", another Enterprise episode) may be a teenage version of Jackson Roykirk.
- This episode is the first in airdate order in which the dialogue uses metric units of measure instead of customary units, when Spock reports that Nomad is 500 kg in mass and 1 m tall.
- The Photo of Jackson Roykirk, the creator of Nomad displayed onscreen was actually Star Trek director Marc Daniels.
- This episode has several parallels to the plot of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, leading some fans to dub the movie Where Nomad Had Gone Before.
- This episode is parodied in one the host segments of the MST3K episode "Laserblast", where the crew encounter a Nomad like probe named "Monad", apparently with the same directives, which they dispose of merely by throwing it out of an airlock.
[edit] External links
- The Changeling at StarTrek.com
- The Changeling article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
| Last produced: "Wolf in the Fold" |
Star Trek: TOS episodes Season 2 |
Next produced: "The Apple" |
| Last transmitted: "Who Mourns for Adonais?" |
Next transmitted: "Mirror, Mirror" |
