The Haven (The Outer Limits)

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“The Haven”
The Outer Limits episode
Episode no. Season 5
Episode 103
Written by
Original airdate 2 July 1999
Episode chronology
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"Descent" "Deja Vu"
List of The Outer Limits episodes

"The Haven" is an episode of The Outer Limits television show. It first aired on 2 July 1999, during the fifth season.

Contents

[edit] Introduction

A man comes home from work, to his seemingly luxurious apartment building. Having to share the elevator with two other attendants seem to distress him of his comfort. When an old lady is dying in the hallway, no one can be bothered to go out and help her. Except the concierge; a hologram which cannot do anything to help her.

[edit] Opening narration

"As we cocoon ourselves in the comforts that our expanding technology affords, are we insulating ourselves from the very things that make us human?"

[edit] Plot

Mr. Vance gets home to his apartment building and frustratingly has to share the elevator with two other attendants. After receiving some complains about this the holographic concierge George witnesses a tenant having a heart attack. Unable to help her he calls on the help from some other tenants. As no one is willing to help her, he looks in despair while she dies. That next morning things start to go wrong in the completely automated building. Trapped in his apartment, Mr. Vance tries to escape. On his journey, which seems to be orchestrated by the building's AI, Argus, Vance encounters two other tenants and a freeloader. The freeloader dies while they try to escape through an elevator hatch, but the rest survives to reach Argus. The AI has evolved and has come to the conclusion that the best way for him to serve his tenants is to get them to be more humane to each other; by working together against hardships, and then ultimately remove himself from their lives. The humans destroy Argus and escape the building. Once outside they discover the rest of the city's citizens coming out of their buildings, apparently survived similar experiences.

[edit] Closing narration

"Our survival as a species depends more on our trust on one and other, than of the machines that we increasingly rely."