Guardian of Piri

Episode Quote
"Leave me with my pain. It reminds me I'm human."

Plot Summary
The Alpha Main Computer falls under the control of the Guardian of Piri and reports that Piri is the perfect world that the Alphans have been looking for. When an Eagle crew go missing on the planet, Koenig leads a search party and discovers that Piri is completely lifeless. Locating the missing men, he finds them unwilling to leave, and back on Alpha he is betrayed by his colleagues who have succumbed to the Guardian's influence and set about the complete evacuation of the base. Taunted by the Guardian's beautiful servant, Koenig returns to the planet, determined to reveal the truth to his people about life on Piri.

Prologue
With a reconnaissance team is en route to a nearby planet, Koenig becomes frustrated with the lack of information from Computer. Kano tells him that it keeps reporting the data to be insufficient. Koenig asks how the computer can control a mission to the planet, when it can't predict if it can sustain human life or not. Kano replies that in neither case, would Computer be so irrational as to guess.

The Eagle pilot reports to Main Mission that they are ready for final descent. This comes as a surprise to Paul, since they are a full two hours ahead of schedule, and raises more questions about the reliability of Computer's predictions about the planet. Alan is certain that Computer has been giving false data When Sandra reports an increase in data discrepancies, Koenig tries to get pilot Pete Irving to check the data manually, but Pete becomes giddy, and starts to fly erratically. Suddenly, all contact is lost, and the Eagle disappears from their scanners.

Act One
In the following command conference, Alan Carter rebukes Kano for Computer's misinformation in regards to basic flying data like time, distance, orbital velocity, and G-factors. With this in mind, Koenig orders Carter to fly down to the planet on manual, and to obey every command he receives from Paul. As Carter leaves, Victor tells John that the Moon's path is bringing them closer to the planet than they originally expected, then passes out.

When Helena examines him, she notices that his wrist monitor is not accurately recording his physical condition. He is taken to Medical Centre, where Helena discovers the reason he passed out was because the oxygen levels on Alpha had been dropping. While everyone else's hearts naturally adjusted to this, Victor's mechanical heart was unable to. Koenig orders Sandra to put Alpha's atmospheric controls on manual, and to monitor them constantly. Dr. Mathias informs Helena that another patient died from a computer malfunction that cut off her blood supply during a transfusion.

Koenig returns to Main Mission as Alan reaches the planet. He finds the other Eagle suspended motionless in the air above the alien landscape. He docks with it and boards to look for survivors. The ship is empty. Koenig orders Alan to return to the base, and takes Kano into his office to get some answers about Computer. Kano tells him that no fault can be found in any systems. Koenig replies that the planet is affecting the computer and knows of one way to find out how. Kano reluctantly agrees to the procedure.

He goes to Medical Centre where he is connected to the computer via an implant he received during an experiment attempting to link the calculating ability of a computer with the unique thinking ability of the human brain (a procedure that only he survived without becoming a mindless vegetable). They begin the procedure, and after painfully linking with the computer, Kano begins to relax, then suddenly vanishes in a flash of light.

Act two
Back in Main Mission, Victor is surprisingly optimistic about the fact that the Moon has gone into orbit around the planet. As Koenig voices his concerns, the computer announces that the planet will support life... with details to follow. John suspects that it is telling them just what they want to hear. Unable to gather any more information remotely, Koenig tells Carter that they are both going down to the planet.

When they arrive, Koenig orders Alan to stay aboard the Eagle while he looks around. He scans the trees but gets no life readings. As he moves on, he finds the pilots of the first Eagle. They are completely unresponsive to his presence. He sees Kano, and tries to slap him out of his trance-like state. Kano's response is a dazed affirmation that Piri is perfect for them. Koenig tells him that there is no life on Piri. Kano replies that there is light. Koenig loos, and sees a large structure appear. It casts a bright light in his direction. Koenig tries to avoid the light.

Wandering, he approaches the base of the structure and sees a woman emerge from within and descend the stairs to greet him. She tells him that she is the Servant of the Guardian, gesturing towards the structure, and that she is there to calm his fears. She explains that the Pirians created machines to run the necessities of life, so that they could enjoy the pleasures. Then they built the Guardian to control the machines. Their lives were perfect, and the Guardian was directed to maintain them, so the Guardian stopped time for them.

Koenig asks how she got his men to Piri. She tells him that they were offered happiness and they accepted... and that time is stopping for them. Koenig replies that life is stopping for them. She responds that he has seen, but not understood. He tells her that Piri is not suitable for human life, and that he will make his men understand. She tells him that is not possible, and that he, too, must be made "perfect".

He tries to get Kano and Pete to leave with him, but the Guardian shines the light on him again in an attempt to make him conform. He runs back to the Eagle, trying to raise Alan on his comlock, but gets no answer. When he gets there, Alan is acting strangely and takes control of the Eagle shortly after liftoff.

They fight, but Koenig eventually knocks Alan out. Injured, Koenig flies back to Alpha, where his hails go unanswered. He manages to land, and stumbles his way to Medical Centre, only to find a party in progress, before collapsing.

Act Three
He wakes, with his injuries treated. He asks Dr. Mathias where Helena is, and is told that she is in a command conference. He goes to his office where they are planning the final stages of Operation Exodus, based on false reports from Computer, attributed to his reconnaissance. He tries to warn them about the danger they are in, but they giddily ignore him. He steps out into Main Mission and tries to limit the computer to auxiliary services only. The computer overrides his commands stating that they are in conflict with the orders of the Guardian.

Koenig tries to disable the extraneous banks but is stopped and sedated. He wakes to find that he has been confined to his quarters. In the Commander's office, Helena suggests not taking him to the planet. After a short discussion, Victor and Helena decide to leave him an Eagle so he can join them when he changes his mind about Piri. As the last Eagles are lifting off from the base, the lights dim, and Koenig's door opens. He goes to the now deserted Main Mission and watches as the last Eagles head down to Piri. He is alone on Alpha.

Act Four
Bored and lonely, Koenig decides to talk to Computer in lieu of other companionship. Unfortunately for him, only auxiliary service are available, as the computer has also vacated for Piri. The loneliness has driven him to contemplate taking pills to sleep away the hours. The Servant of the Guardian appears. She knows that he is trying to numb his mind against the Guardian, and tries to convince him to choose "the Pirian way". She shows him the Alphans at peace on Piri.

While she heals his wounds, she tells him that he has fought hard in the struggle for survival and deserves to enjoy the peace that he has earned for his people. He tries to explain to her that his people can't exist in Pirian terms, but she insists that they must be made perfect. He leaves her, and flies down to Piri.

When he lands, he tries to find out about the Pirians from Sandra and Paul, but can't get a coherent answer from either. He locates Helena and brings her back to the Eagle. He uses shock treatment to break the Guardians hold over her. When asked about the Pirians, she tells John that she saw only the light.

He tells her that was the Guardian, and presses her for details about the Pirians themselves. She tells him that nothing moves, that there are no signs of life. John realizes that their are no Pirians... because there is no life on Piri. Meanwhile, the Servant of the Guardian mobilizes the Alphans against Koenig. She tells them that he is trying to destroy the happiness that the Guardian has given them, and that he must be killed. As Koenig and Helena make their way to the Guardian, Alan just misses Koenig with a laser set to kill. Koenig stuns him, and Bob Mathias, who was also preparing to fire.

As Koenig climbs the steps to confront the Servant of the Guardian, Pete Irving tells Koenig he's going to kill him. Before he can shoot, Helena stuns him. Koenig asks the Servant of the Guardian where the Pirians are. He tells her there are none, because they all died of total apathy, just as the Alphans are now. He fires his laser, and runs up the steps. He lifts her lifeless body to reveal that she is an android, showing the Alphans what passes for "life" on Piri.

The Guardian begins to explode freeing the minds of the Alphans, and releasing the Moon from it's grip. The Alphans race to the Eagles as the Moon returns to its previous course away from Piri. One by one, the Eagles lift off as the Alphans board and escape the explosions around them, then race to catch up with the Moon before it gets out of range.

Epilogue
Safely back on Alpha, the long range sensors reveal that there is now water, vegetation, everything that they need to sustain life. Knowing, now, that they had returned a dead planet back to life, Koenig can't help but reflect on his decision to return to Alpha. Thinking perhaps they should have stayed on Piri, he looks out the windows on the observation deck, and watches as Piri recedes into the distance.

Cast

 * John Koenig - Martin Landau
 * Helena Russell - Barbara Bain
 * Victor Bergman - Barry Morse
 * Paul Morrow - Prentis Hancock
 * Alan Carter - Nick Tate
 * Sandra Benes - Zienia Merton
 * David Kano - Clifton Jones
 * Bob Mathias - Anton Phillips
 * Tanya Aleksandr - Suzanne Roquette
 * Servant of the Guardian - Catherine Schell
 * Peter Irving - Michael Culver
 * Eagle Co-Pilot - John Lee-Barber
 * Ken Johnson - James Fagan
 * Main Mission Operatives - June Bolton, Loftus Burton, Andrew Dempsey,
 * Christine Donna, Raymond Harris, Michael Steven
 * Security Guard - Tony Allyn
 * Eagle Pilot - Gareth Hunt
 * Ed Davis - John Gleeson
 * Sarah Graham - Anne Henson
 * Technician - Trevor Ainsley
 * Nurses - Juliet King, Jodi Sherwood, Willow

Filming Schedule
Friday, May 10th–Tuesday, May 28th, 1974

Original Title
"Nobody's Perfect"