Henderson James, a 21st Century space anthropologist, secretly studies a strange animal from another planet.
Opening narration
| "Since the first day that Man stared up at the stars and saw other worlds, there has been no more haunting question than this: What will we find there? Will there be other creatures, and will they be like us? Or when that ancient dream comes true, will it turn into a nightmare? Will we find, on some distant, frozen planet, an alien life of unimaginable horror?" |
Plot
It is the year 2025; fourteen years previously wealthy research academic Henderson James had Captain Karl Emmet smuggle a Megasoid to Earth.[1] It is illegal to possess a Megasoid as they are highly dangerous, always thinking about killing, unless in a reproductive cycle, which this one now is. When the Megasoid escapes to hide amongst the stuffed exhibits at a nearby space zoo, James, lacking the courage to track it down and kill it himself, has a clone of himself illegally made for the purpose by clone bootlegger Basil Jerichau. Strict guidelines govern the production of these "duplicates", which must be destroyed before vestigial memory renders them indistinguishable from the originals.
The clone botches its mission at the zoo and the Megasoid gets away after informing James that he is a duplicate. A trace of memory leads the duplicate James to the home of Captain Emmet. Emmet panics and tries to phone the police; the duplicate James knocks him cold; and, accumulating more of the real Henderson James' memories as he goes, he finds his way to "his" own home. The wounded Megasoid returns to James' home and hides in the bushes. Duplicate James meets the real James' wife, Laura, who sees in him a more youthful version of her husband before he became obsessed with studying the Megasoid. The real James has gone to bribe Emmet into killing the duplicate James once he has completed his mission. Returning home, he leaves Emmett in the grounds to await duplicate James arrival. Unfortunately, Emmett is attacked and killed by the Megasoid. Entering his home, James meets his duplicate; seeing a more compassionate version of himself gives him the courage to kill the alien, as he believes Laura would be happier with the duplicate James.
Henderson James and his duplicate hunt for the Megasoid. James shoots the alien after it has torn his duplicate apart. He discovers that his clone was dying all the time, from a timed release poison in his blood stream, a precaution provided by the clone bootlegger. A less cynical Henderson James is now reconciled with his wife.
Closing narration
| "In all the Universe, can there be creatures more strange than the species called Man? He creates and destroys; he fumbles and makes mistakes. But the thing which distinguishes him is the ability to learn from his mistakes." |
Notes
- The exterior of the Chemosphere, a modernist house in Los Angeles, is used to represent the home of Captain Karl Emmet.
- The Megasoid costume was a reuse of the Humanoid bird costume featured in the first Star Trek pilot "The Cage".
- This episode is based on the 1951 short story "Good Night, Mr. James" by Clifford D. Simak.
- Constance Towers (Laura James) was the only member of the cast who lived to see the actual 2025.
Cast
- Ron Randell as Henderson James
- Constance Towers as Laura James
- Mike Lane as the Megasoid
- Steven Geray as Basil Jerichau
- Konstantin Shayne as Murdock - The Gardener
- Alan Gifford as the Guide
- Jeffrey Stone as the Cop
- Jonathan Hole as the Pedestrian
- Ivy Bethune as Miss Thorsen
- Sean McClory as Captain Karl Emmet
- Vic Perrin as the Control Voice (voice)
Crew
- Cinematographer - Kenneth Peach