Sarcophagus (The Outer Limits)

"Sarcophagus" is an episode of The Outer Limits (new series) television show. It was first aired on August 7, 1998, during the fourth season.

Introduction

A relatively unsuccessful archaeological team discovers a burial mound in remote Alaska.

Opening narration

Plot

Natalie is a driven researcher, faithfully though apparently unappreciatedly supported by her husband Curtis, who is the first to touch the odd, amberlike cocoon mass found in an anachronistic burial chamber. The contact has two effects, beginning the reawakening of the dormant mass, and imprinting Curtis with the last memories of a long suspended alien who was attacked by primitive men. Each further contact speeds the regeneration at the temporary expense of Curtis' energy.

Though Natalie is excited at the prospect of being the first to publish the find, Emmet is substantially more pragmatic and chooses the commercial rewards made possible by the longevity potential evidenced by the now reforming alien. Convincing the remaining two members of the team, he stages a coup, holding Natalie, Curtis and the reformed alien at gunpoint. Shielded from view by his benefactors, the alien quietly creates a spear by attaching a flint spearhead to a hollow metal pole the team had brought into the chamber, using a bit of his preservative as glue. Using the weapon to defend the three of them, the coup is eventually thwarted by the alien, but a panic-induced cave in is caused by wild gunfire, and Natalie is hit.

The severely wounded husband and wife, finally reconciled through their shared adversity are trapped and in dire straits, when the alien makes up his mind to sacrifice himself for the humans who put their lives on the line for him. He coats them with the rest of his preservative, which is just enough for two people. This allows them to be revived and made physically whole roughly 1000 years in their future, when the chamber is rediscovered. Natalie is removed and revived first to have her serious injuries treated, and she is present when Curtis is revived. Although the couple are saddened to realize that the alien is long dead, his people came to Earth and befriended humanity. The couple are rewarded with witnessing how their wisdom allowed Earth to become a cooperative human-alien world.

Closing narration

External links

• Episode on Hulu
• "Sarcophagus" at the Internet Movie Database