Music of the Spheres (The Outer Limits)
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| The Outer Limits episode | |
|---|---|
| “Music of the Spheres” | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 14 |
| Guest star(s) | Kirsten Dunst as Joyce Taylor, Joshua Jackson as Devon Taylor, Howard Hesseman as Dr. Emory Taylor, Larry Musser as Dr. Evan Swift, Ryan Taylor as Vic, Gina Chiarelli as Doctor #2, Kamilyn Kaneko as Kelly, Douglas Newell as Principal, Freda Perry as Nurse, Ronin Wong as Doctor #1, Andrew Younghusband as D.J., Jonathan Whittaker as Colonel Bowen |
| Writer(s) | Steven Barnes |
| Director | David Warry-Smith |
| Production no. | 58 |
| Original airdate | 9 May 1997 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| “Dead Man's Switch” | “The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson” |
"Music of the Spheres" is an episode of The Outer Limits. It first aired on 9 May 1997, during the third season.
Contents |
[edit] Introduction
Devon Taylor, a young physics student, picks up a strange signal during his work at a radio observatory. He believes that he can hear a pattern in it, but none of his older colleagues can hear it.
[edit] Opening narration
- "For years we have searched for the answer to an eternal question, "Are we alone?" As yet, there has been no answer. Or perhaps the answer is only for those with the facility to hear it."
[edit] Plot synopsis
Taylor’s younger sister, Joyce Taylor, plays the tape and enjoys the soothing music so much as she brings it to play at a rave. When Devon finds her at the rave, he finds that everyone there is infected with skin deformities. All the teens are quarantined at a hospital, but when they are separated from the music on the tape they all began to feel severe pain and withdrawal symptoms. Devon and his superiors are left with no choice but to let the patients listen to the tape till they can figure out the rest of the transmitted message.
It is later discovered that a dying alien world had transmitted this audio in order to save other planets from a dire fate: their sun had begun to shift and emit a different type of radiation, and all their world's inhabitants would have died if they had not figured out how to alter their own physiology so that they would resist the effects of the changed sun. They detected that Earth's sun would also undergo the same change and sent the audio signal to Earth so that humanity could prepare. In the end the rest of humanity either transforms by the transmitted sound (developing new, hardened skin) or chose to remain as they were, although any humans who did not change would have to avoid the sun at all times since the new sun's radiation would be instantly fatal to anyone who did not change.
[edit] Closing narration
- "It is said that Music is a universal bridge, crossing the barriers of culture, age, and language. Perhaps, eventually, we will learn that it also spans those of time... and space."
