Original subtitles

- Standard orbit, captain. - Not now.

Lieutenant, contact the space station.

- Captain, the station is calling us. - All right, put them on.

Captain Kirk, this is Commodore Enwright.

Yes, commodore, I'd like an explanation.

The explanation is beaming aboard now, captain.

He may already be in your Transporter Room.

Spock.

- Bob. - Jim, surprised?

I'll say. Spock, this is...

Commodore Wesley. How do you do, sir?

Mr. Spock.

All right, ensign, you can go. Thank you very much.

Would you mind telling me what this is all about?

I receive orders to proceed here. No reason given.

I'm informed that my men will be removed to the space station,

to a security holding area. I think I'm entitled to an explanation.

You've had a singular honour conferred on you, Jim.

You're gonna be the fox in the hunt.

What's that?

War games.

I'll be commanding the attack force against you.

An entire attack force against my ship?

Have you heard of the M-5 multitronic unit?

That's Dr. Richard Daystrom's device, isn't it?

Tell me about that.

The most ambitious computer complex ever created.

Its purpose is to correlate all computer activity aboard a starship

to provide the ultimate in vessel operation and control.

How do you know so much about it, commander?

I hold an A-7 computer expert classification, commodore.

I'm well acquainted with Dr. Daystrom's theories and discoveries.

The basic design of all our ships' computers are Dr. Daystrom's.

What has all this got to do with the Enterprise, commodore?

You've been chosen to test the M-5, Jim.

There'll be a series of routine research and contact problems for M-5 to solve,

plus navigational manoeuvers and the war games problem.

If the M-5 works under actual conditions as well as it has in the simulated tests,

it will mean a revolution in space technology as great as warp drive.

When your crew has been removed, the ship's engineering section

will be modified to contain the computer.

- Why remove my crew? - They're not needed.

How much security does this gadget require?

None.

Dr. Daystrom will see to the installation himself and he'll supervise the tests.

When he's ready, you'll receive your orders

and proceed on the mission with a crew of 20.

Twenty?

- I can't run a starship with 20 crewmen. - The M-5 can.

And what am I supposed to do?

You've got a great job, Jim.

All you have to do is sit back and let the machine do the work.

Space, the final frontier.

These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise.

Its five-year mission: To explore strange, new worlds,

to seek out new life and new civilizations,

to boldly go where no man has gone before.

Captain's log, stardate 4729.4.

The M-5 computer has been installed onboard ship, and we have

left the space station for test manoeuvers.

I don't like it, Jim.

A vessel this size cannot be run by one computer.

We are attempting to prove that it can run this ship more efficiently than man.

Maybe you're trying to prove that, but don't count me in on it.

The most unfortunate lack in current computer programming is that

there is nothing available to immediately replace the starship's surgeon.

Very funny.

If it could, they wouldn't have to replace me. I'd resign

because everybody else aboard would be

nothing but circuits and memory banks.

You know the type, Spock.

Jim, you haven't had much to say about this.

What do you want me to say?

M-5, it's an honour, they tell me.

Well, I'm honoured.

Where is he? Scotty, where's Dr. Daystrom?

Well, he was here. Doctor?

Yes?

- You'd be Captain Kirk. - Yes, Dr. Daystrom.

This is my first officer, Mr. Spock.

- I am honoured, doctor. - Thank you very much.

Captain, I have finished my tests on the M-5.

And it must be hooked into your main power plants in order to be operative.

By all means, do so.

Your engineer there

wouldn't allow us the power necessary without your orders.

Mr. Scott, hook in the multitronic unit to the ship's main power banks.

Aye, aye, sir. Mr. Harper.

Fascinating, doctor.

This computer has a potential beyond anything you have ever done.

Even your breakthrough in duotronics did not have the promise of this.

The M-5 has been perfected, commander.

Its potential is a fact.

Frankly, the only fact that I'm concerned about

is that if this thing doesn't work,

there are not enough men aboard to run this ship.

And that's begging for trouble.

Who is this?

Dr. Leonard McCoy, senior medical officer.

I'm sorry, but this is a security area.

I wouldn't worry, doctor. Dr. McCoy has clearance throughout the ship.

- Is it supposed to do that? - If I can be of assistance, doctor...

No, no, no. Thank you. I can manage.

There is nothing wrong, captain.

Just a few minor settling-in adjustments to make.

As you can see, all is in order now.

I'm curious, doctor.

Why is it called M-5 and not M-1?

Well, you see,

the multitronic units 1 through 4 were not entirely successful.

This one is.

M-5 is ready to take control of the ship.

Total control?

That is what it was designed for, captain.

There are certain things men must do to remain men.

Your computer would take that away.

There are other things a man like you might do.

Or perhaps you object to the possible loss of the prestige

and the ceremony accorded a starship captain.

The computer can do your job, and without all that.

You'll have to prove that to me, doctor.

That is what we're here for, isn't it, captain?

Did you see the love light in Spock's eyes?

The right computer finally came along.

What's the matter, Jim?

I think that thing is wrong.

And I don't know why.

I think it's wrong, too, replacing men with mindless machines.

I don't mean that.

I'm getting a red alert, right here.

That thing is dangerous.

I feel...

Only a fool would stand in the way of progress, if this is progress.

You have my psychological profiles. Am I afraid...

...of losing my job to that computer?

Jim, we've all seen the advances of mechanisation.

After all, Daystrom did design the computers that run this ship.

Under human control.

We're all sorry for the other guy when he loses his job to a machine,

but when it comes to your job, that's different.

And it always will be different.

Am I afraid of losing command to a computer?

Daystrom is right. I can do a lot of other things.

Am I afraid of losing the prestige and the power

that goes with being a starship captain?

Is that why I'm fighting? Am I that petty?

Jim, if you have the awareness to ask yourself that question,

you don't need me to answer it for you.

Why don't you ask James T. Kirk?

He's a pretty honest guy.

The M-5 computer is now disengaged.

We're coming back on our original course, captain.

M-5 has performed admirably so far, captain.

All it's done is make the required course changes and a few simple turns.

Mr. Sulu and Mr. Chekov could have done that with their eyes closed.

Yes, but you see, the idea is, they didn't have to do it.

And you'll find it won't be necessary for you to regain control of the unit

after it's completed each manoeuver.

My orders are subject to my interpretation

as to how long the M-5 is in control.

And I'll run the ship in my own way, if you don't mind, Dr. Daystrom.

Captain, I'm forced to agree with Dr. Daystrom.

With the course information plotted into it,

his computer could have brought us here as easily as the navigator.

In fact, it might have been a further demonstration of M-5's capability.

You seem to enjoy trusting yourself to the computer, Mr. Spock.

Enjoy, captain?

No.

I am merely gratified to see Dr. Daystrom's new unit

execute everything required of it in such a highly efficient manner.

M-5 is another distinguished triumph for his career.

Approaching Alpha Carinae II.

ETA, five minutes.

Captain, your orders at this point

are not open to interpretation.

You must commit the M-5 to handle its approach,

the orbit, and then to analyse data

regarding landing-party recommendations.

If you don't mind, I'll make my own recommendations.

Well, if you feel you need the exercise, go on.

M-5 is committed.

Standard orbit, Mr. Sulu.

Captain, the M-5 has calculated that.

The orbit is already plotted.

Oh, yes.

- Standard orbit achieved, captain. - Report, Mr. Spock.

The planet is Class-M, captain.

Oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere suitable for human life support.

Two major landmasses,

a number of islands, life form readings.

Captain, power shutdowns on Deck 4.

Lights, environmental control.

Check it out, Scotty.

M-5's readout, captain.

All right, my recommendations are as follows.

We send down a general survey party,

avoiding contact of all intelligent life on the planet surface.

The survey party will consist of myself, Dr. McCoy,

Astrobiologist Phillips, Geologist Rawlens,

and Science Officer Spock.

Play M-5's recommendations, won't you, Mr. Spock?

M- 5 readout. Planet Alpha Carinae II.

Class-M.

Atmosphere oxygen-nitrogen.

Power's gone off on Deck 5.

Categorization of life form readings recorded.

Recommendations for general survey party.

Science Officer Spock, Astrobiologist Phillips, Geologist Carstairs.

Well, the only difference in reports and recommendations

is the landing party personnel. That's a matter of judgement.

Judgement, captain?

The computer does not judge.

It makes logical selections.

Why pick Carstairs instead of Rawlens?

Carstairs is an ensign, no experience.

This is his first tour of duty.

Rawlens is chief geologist.

Aren't you really more interested in why M-5 did not select you and Dr. McCoy?

Well, let's find out anyway.

- M-5, tie in. - M-5.

Explanation for landing party recommendation.

General survey party requires direction of Science Officer,

Astrobiologist Phillips has surveyed 29 biologically similar planets.

Geologist Carstairs served on merchant marine freighters in this area.

Once visited planet on geology survey for mining company.

Why were the captain and chief medical officer

not included in recommendation?

Non-essential personnel.

Captain, I've located the source of the power shutdowns.

It's the M-5 unit, sir.

That thing's turning off systems all over the ship.

Have you located the malfunction, doctor?

As I suspected, it is not a malfunction.

M-5 was merely shutting down power to areas of the ship that do not require it.

Decks 4 and 6 are living quarters, are they not?

- Yes, that's correct. - And currently unoccupied.

I am not familiar with these instruments, doctor.

You are using an entirely new type of control mechanism.

However, it appears to me this unit is drawing more power than before.

Quite right.

As the unit is called upon to do more work,

it pulls more power to enable it to do what is required of it,

just as the human body draws more energy to run than to stand still.

Doctor, this unit is not a human body.

The computer can process information,

but only the information which is put into it.

Granted it can work 1,000, a million times faster than the human brain.

But it can't make a value judgement. It hasn't intuition. It can't think.

Can't you understand?

The multitronic unit is a revolution in computer science.

I designed the duotronic elements used in your ship right now,

and I know they are as archaic as dinosaurs, compared to the M-5.

A whole new approach.

Bridge to Captain Kirk.

Kirk here. What is it?

Sensors are picking up a vessel paralleling our course,

as yet unidentified.

I'll be right up.

What are you doing here, Bones?

Well, all the Sickbay systems are shut down

until such time as the M-5 is informed there are patients to be cared for.

Captain, sensors report two contacts now.

One on the port bow, one on the stern.

Distance, 200,000 kilometres and closing.

Identification.

Captain, the M-5 unit has already identified the vessels

as Federation starships Excalibur and Lexington.

We are not scheduled for war games in this area.

This may be a surprise attack as a problem for the M-5.

- Priority message coming in, sir. - Put it on audio.

Enterprise, from Commodore Wesley, aboard the USS Lexington.

This is an unscheduled M-5 drill.

Repeat. This is an M-5 drill.

Enterprise, acknowledge on this frequency.

Acknowledge, Lieutenant.

M-5 has acknowledged for us, sir.

- Then go to red alert. - Aye, sir.

- Captain, the M-5 has already... - Already sounded the red alert.

All right, Mr. Sulu, phasers one one-hundredth power.

No damage potential. Just enough to nudge them.

Phasers one one-hundredth power, sir.

Phaser hit on port deflector 4, captain.

Speed increasing to warp 3.

Turning now to 1-1-2 mark 5.

Phasers locking on target, sir.

- Enemy vessel closing with us. - Main phasers firing.

A hit, sir.

Two more.

Changing course to 2-8 mark 4-2.

- Phasers firing again. - Turning to 1-1-3 mark 5.

- Warp 4 speed. - Firing again.

Attacking vessels are moving off.

Moving back to original course and speed.

Report on damage sustained in mock attack.

Minor hit on deflector screen 4. No appreciable damage.

A rather impressive display for a machine, wouldn't you say, captain?

Evaluation of M-5 performance. It'll be necessary for the log.

Ship reacted more rapidly than human control could have manoeuvered her.

Tactics, deployment of weapons,

all indicate an immense sophistication in computer control.

Machine over man, Spock? It was impressive.

- It might even be practical. - Practical, captain?

Perhaps, but not desirable.

Computers make excellent and efficient servants,

but I have no wish to serve under them.

Captain,

a starship also runs on loyalty

to one man,

and nothing can replace it or him.

Captain, message now coming in from Commodore Wesley.

Put it on visual.

USS Enterprise from starships Lexington and Excalibur.

Both ships report simulated hits in sufficient quantity and location

to justify awarding the surprise engagement to Enterprise.

Secure from general quarters.

Our compliments to the M-5 unit,

and regards to Captain Dunsel.

Wesley out.

Dunsel?

Who the blazes is Captain Dunsel?

What does it mean, Jim?

Spock?

What does it mean?

"Dunsel," doctor,

is a term used by midshipmen at Starfleet Academy.

It refers to a part which serves no useful purpose.

I'm not interested in eating, Bones.

This isn't chicken soup.

I may be just a ship's doctor,

but I make a Finagle's Folly that's known from here to Orion.

I strongly prescribe it, Jim.

You know, I've never felt this way before,

at odds with this ship.

I sat there and watched my ship perform for a mass of circuits

and relays and felt useless...

...unneeded. To Captain Dunsel.

To James T. Kirk, captain of the Enterprise.

Thank you, doctor.

That's one of your better prescriptions.

Simple but effective.

Do you know the one:

All I ask is a tall ship?

That's a line from a poem, a very old poem, isn't it?

20th century Earth.

All I ask is a tall ship

And a star to steer her by

You could feel the wind at your back, in those days.

The sounds of the sea beneath you.

And even if you take away the wind and the water...

...it's still the same.

The ship is yours.

You can feel her.

And the stars are still there, Bones.

Captain Kirk to the Bridge, please. Captain Kirk.

- Kirk here. - Another contact, captain.

A large, slow-moving vessel.

Unidentified.

This is not a drill.

On my way.

Captain, there's no response to any of our signals.

But M-5 has given us an auto-relay.

M-5 has identified her, captain.

The Woden, listed in Starfleet Registry

as an old-style ore freighter, converted to automation, no crew.

Coming into visual range.

Captain, deflector shields just came on.

- Speed increasing to warp 3, captain. - Lieutenant, get Daystrom up here.

Disengaging M-5 unit.

Cut speed to warp 1. Navigator, go to course 1-1-3 mark 7.

I want that ship given a wide berth.

She won't respond, sir. She's maintaining course.

- Going to warp 4, sir. - Jim...

Scotty, reverse engines. Slow us down.

Reverse thrust will not engage, sir. Manual override isn't working either.

No effect on any of the M-5 controls, captain.

Fantastic machine, the M-5. No off switch.

- Captain, what is it? - These controls are locked.

We can't disengage the computer.

Captain, photon torpedoes locking on target.

Full power.

I already tried, sir.

Daystrom, release that computer control.

Returning to original course and speed.

All systems report normal, captain.

Normal! That thing is trying to tell us nothing has happened.

Disengage this computer now.

There appears to be some defect in the control panel.

There certainly does.

Your brilliant young computer just destroyed an ore freighter.

It went out of its way to destroy an ore freighter.

- Fortunately, it was only a robot ship. - Only a robot!

But it shouldn't have destroyed anything!

There might just as easily have been a crew aboard that ship.

In which case you'd be guilty of murder...

Bones. Disengage the computer.

Lieutenant, contact Starfleet Command.

Tell them we are breaking off M-5 tests and returning to the space station.

Come along, Dr. Daystrom. M-5 is out of a job.

All right, Daystrom, let's turn this thing off.

- A force field? - It's not my doing, Kirk.

I would say, captain,

that M-5 is not only capable of taking care of this ship,

it is also capable of taking care of itself.

You mean it's not going to let any of us turn it off.

Captain's log, stardate 4731.3.

The M-5 multitronic unit has taken over total control of the Enterprise.

All right, doctor, you built this thing. How do you propose to turn it off?

This entire exercise is a trial for M-5. A shakedown.

We must expect minor difficulties, but I assure you they can be corrected.

Correct it after you release control of my ship.

- I can't. - Captain.

I suggest we disconnect it at the source.

- Give me a few moments with it. - No, stay here.

All right, Scotty, turn it off.

That wasn't a minor difficulty. That wasn't a robot.

That thing murdered one of my crewmen,

and now you tell me you can't turn it off?

It wasn't a deliberate act.

M-5's analysis told it it needed a new power source.

The ensign simply got in the way.

And how long will it be before all of us simply get in the way?

M-5 appears to be drawing power directly from the warp engines,

tapping the matter/anti-matter reserves.

So now it has virtually unlimited power.

Captain, what do we do?

Spock, Scotty, come with me.

Report, Spock.

The multitronic unit is drawing more and more power

directly from the warp engines.

The computer now controls all helm, navigation and engineering functions.

And communications and fire control.

We'll reach the rendezvous point for the war games within an hour.

We must regain control of the ship by then.

There is one possibility.

The automatic helm-navigation circuit relays might be disrupted

from Engineering Level 3.

- Scotty? - Aye.

I can take them out and cut in the manual override from there.

How long?

If Mr. Spock helps me, maybe an hour.

Make it less.

Why not get the man responsible in the first place?

- Where is Daystrom? - He's with the M-5 unit, watching it.

I think it surprised even him.

Most illogical.

Of all people, he should have known how the computer would perform.

Of course, the M-5 itself has not behaved logically.

Please, Spock, do me a favour, and don't say it's fascinating.

No,

but it is interesting.

- Aye, that's got it, Mr. Spock. - Good.

Have you found a solution, a way to shut that thing off?

You don't shut a child off when it makes a mistake.

M-5 is growing, learning.

- Learning to kill. - To defend itself.

It's quite a different thing.

When a child is taught, it's programmed with simple instructions,

and at some point, if its mind develops properly,

it exceeds the sum of what it was taught, thinks independently.

That thing is a danger to all of us. Now, find someway to shut it off!

You can't understand.

You're frightened because you can't understand it.

I'm going to show you. I'm going to show all of you.

It takes 430 people

to man a starship.

With this you don't need anyone.

One machine can do all those things they send men out to do now.

Men no longer need die in space

or on some alien world.

Men can live,

and go on to achieve greater things than fact-finding

and dying for galactic space,

which is neither ours to give or to take.

They can't understand.

We don't want to destroy life. We want to save it.

A biographical tape of Richard Daystrom.

- Did you find out anything? - Not much,

aside from the fact he's a genius.

Genius is an understatement.

At the age of 24, he made the duotronic breakthrough

that won him the Nobel and Zee-Magnees Prizes.

In his early 20s, Jim. That's over a quarter of a century ago.

Isn't that enough for one lifetime?

Maybe that's the trouble. Where do you go from up?

You publish articles, you give lectures,

then you spend the rest of your life trying to recapture past glory.

All right, it's difficult. What's your point?

The M-1 through M-4, remember?

"Not entirely successful." That's the way Daystrom put it.

Genius doesn't work on an assembly-line basis.

Did Einstein or Kazanga or Sitar of Vulcan

produce new and revolutionary theories on a regular schedule?

You can't simply say, "Today I will be brilliant."

No matter how long it took, he came out with multitronics, the M-5.

Right. The government bought it. Then Daystrom had to make it work. He did.

But, according to Spock, it works "illogically."

And he won't let Spock near it.

What are you saying?

That he's tampering with it, that he's making it act that way? Why?

Jim, if a man had a child who'd gone antisocial,

killed, perhaps,

he'd still tend to protect that child.

Now he's got you talking about that machine like a personality.

I'm afraid that's the way he thinks about it.

- Spock to Captain Kirk. - Kirk here.

- We are ready, captain. - Good.

Get Daystrom. We're on our way. Let's go.

- What is it, captain? - We'd better find out, doctor.

Spock?

Mr. Scott is ready to apply the circuit disrupter, captain.

As he does so, I shall trip the manual override into control.

- Good. Go ahead. - No. No, no, no!

You can't take control from the M-5!

Dr. Daystrom, we're going to do our very best.

You can't do it! Now, let me have it for a while.

Let me work with it for a while, please, please.

That's it, Mr. Spock.

Please. Please.

Manual override is in control, captain.

Bridge, this is Kirk. Sulu.

Lieutenant Sulu here, sir.

We've got helm and navigational control.

Turn us about. Have Mr. Chekov plot a course back to the space station.

Right away, sir. You heard him?

I have been updating that course for hours.

- Helm to Captain Kirk. - Kirk here.

Captain, helm doesn't respond. Navigational controls locked in by M-5.

- Mr. Chekov. - Chekov here, sir.

Go into the engineering station and examine the H-279 elements,

also the G-95 systems.

Sir, the G-95 system appears dead.

All indicators are dark.

Thank you, ensign.

It appears we've been doing what used to be called "pursuing a wild goose."

M-5 has rerouted helm and navigational controls,

bypassing this primary system.

But it was active. I'd stake all I know that it was.

I believe that when M-5 discovered our tampering,

it rerouted the controls, leaving this one active

by simply sending through an electronic impulse at regular intervals.

Decoyed. It wanted us to waste our time here.

While it was getting ready for what? Spock?

I do not know. It is not performing in a logical manner.

Dr. Daystrom...

Dr. Daystrom, I want an answer. Right now.

I'm tired of hearing about the M-5's "new approach."

What is it? Exactly what is it?

I do not mean to offend, sir.

But it behaves with an almost human pattern.

- Well, doctor? - Yes, quite right, Mr. Spock.

You see, one of the arguments against computers controlling ships

was that they couldn't think like men.

- Your new approach. - Exactly.

I've developed a method of impressing human engrams

upon the computer circuits.

The relays are not unlike the synapse of the brain.

M-5 thinks, captain.

Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock to the Bridge, please. Report to the Bridge, please.

Kirk here. What is it?

Sir, our sensors are picking up four Federation starships.

M- 5 is altering course to intercept.

The main attack force. The war games.

But M-5 doesn't know it's a game.

Correction, Bones. Those four ships don't know it's M-5's game.

And M-5 is going to destroy them.

Enterprise to USS Lexington. Come in, Lexington.

Sir, I can't raise them. M-5 is still blocking all frequencies,

including automatic distress. Just a minute, sir.

Captain, I'm getting audio signal from the Lexington.

Put it on.

Enterprise from USS Lexington.

This is an M-5 drill. Repeat.

This is an M-5 drill. Acknowledge.

- Captain, M-5 is acknowledging. - Daystrom.

Does M-5 understand that this is only a drill?

Of course. It was programmed to understand, captain.

The ore ship was a miscalculation. An accident. I don't know...

Sir, deflector shields just came on.

Speed increasing to warp 4.

Phasers locking on lead ship, sir.

- Power levels at full strength. - Full strength?

If that thing cuts loose at unshielded ships, we're...

That's no miscalculation.

Attack force closing rapidly. Breaking formation, attacking at will.

Our phasers are firing, sir.

A hit on the Lexington.

Full phasers. What the devil is Kirk doing?

Damage report, lieutenant.

Helm, course 1-6-4, mark 3.

Turning now, sir.

Estimate damage on Lexington, Spock.

Hit in Engineering Section.

Possible damage to her impulse engines.

She is still manoeuverable on warp drive.

We're firing again, sir.

The Excalibur, a direct hit.

Closing on the Lexington again, sir.

The Hood and Potemkin are moving off.

Phasers firing, captain.

Lexington hit again.

There's got to be a way of getting to the M-5. There's got to be a way!

There isn't. It's fully protected itself.

Probably true, captain. It works faster, thinks faster than we do.

It is a human mind amplified by the instantaneous relays

possible in a computer.

Captain, visual contact with Lexington.

Enterprise, Jim! Have you gone mad? What are you trying to prove?

Break off the attack. Jim, we have 53 dead here.

Twelve on the Excalibur. If you can hear us, stop the attack!

Lieutenant?

I'm sorry, sir. I can't override M-5 interference.

Jim, why don't you answer? Jim! Answer! Come in, Jim!

There's your murder charge. Deliberate, calculated.

That thing is killing men and women.

Four starships, 1,600 men and women.

It misunderstood.

Jim, break off your attack!

Excalibur is manoeuvering away, sir.

We're increasing speed to follow.

Phasers locked on.

Daystrom!

Phasers firing.

I really don't know how to get to the M-5, Kirk. I really do not know.

Dr. Daystrom, you impressed human engrams on the M-5's circuits.

Coming to new course, sir.

Bearing on the Potemkin.

Phasers firing. A hit.

Whose engrams?

- Why, mine, of course. - Of course.

Then perhaps you could talk to the unit.

M-5 has no reason to believe you would harm it.

The computer tie-in. You spoke to it before, it knows you.

I'm getting the Lexington again,

tapping in on their message to Starfleet Command.

All ships damaged in unprovoked attack.

Excalibur Captain Harris and first officer dead.

Many casualties. We have damage, but are still able to manoeuver.

The Enterprise refuses to answer and is continuing attack.

I still have an effective battle force and believe the only way to stop

the Enterprise is to destroy her.

Request permission to proceed.

Wesley, commanding attack force, out.

They can't do that. They'll destroy the M-5.

You can save the M-5 if you talk to it and make it stop the attack.

I can make it stop. I created it.

- M-5, tie in. - M-5.

This is Daystrom.

- Daystrom acknowledged. - M-5...

...do you know me?

Daystrom, Richard. Originator of comptronic, duotronic systems.

- Born... - Stop.

M-5, your attack on the starships is wrong.

You must break it off.

I don't like the sound of him, Jim.

You better pray that the M-5 listens to the sound of him.

Programming includes protection against attack.

Enemy vessels must be neutralised.

But these are not enemy vessels. These are Federation starships.

You're killing...

We are killing,

murdering

human beings, beings of our own kind.

You were not created for that purpose.

You're my greatest creation.

The unit to save men.

You must not destroy men.

This unit must survive.

Survive, yes. Protect yourself.

But not murder. You must not die. Men must not die.

To kill...

...is a breaking of civil and moral laws we've lived by for thousands of years.

You have murdered hundreds of people.

We have murdered.

How can we repay that?

They attacked this unit.

Programming includes full freedom to choose defensive action

in all attack situations.

M-5 is not responding to Daystrom. It's talking to him.

I am most impressed with the technology, captain.

Dr. Daystrom has created a mirror image of his own mind.

- Consideration of all programming is that we must survive.

We will survive. Nothing can hurt you. I gave you that.

You are great, I am great.

Twenty years of groping

to prove the things I'd done before were not accidents.

Seminars and lectures to rows of fools

who couldn't begin to understand my systems.

Colleagues...

Colleagues laughing behind my back at the "boy wonder,"

and becoming famous building on my work.

Building on my work!

Jim, he's on the edge of a nervous breakdown, if not insanity.

The M-5 must be destroyed.

Destroyed, Kirk?

No. We're invincible.

Look what we've done. Your mighty starships,

four toys to be crushed as we choose.

Security, take him to Sickbay.

- Fascinating. - Take care of him, doctor.

Battle status.

The other three ships are holding station out of range.

The Excalibur looks dead.

Captain,

Lexington is receiving a message from Starfleet. They...

Go on.

You are authorised to use all measures available to destroy the Enterprise.

- Acknowledge, Lexington. - Acknowledged.

Lexington out.

They've just signed their own death warrant. M-5 will kill them to survive.

Every living thing wants to survive, captain.

Daystrom must have impressed that instinctive reaction upon the computer.

Suppose it's still open to impression.

Suppose it absorbed the regret

Daystrom felt for the deaths it caused, the guilt.

Captain, the ships are coming within range again.

Commodore Wesley is a dedicated commander.

I should regret serving aboard the instrument of his death.

The instrument of his death will not be the Enterprise, if I can help it.

- M-5, tie in. - M-5.

This is Captain Kirk.

You will be under attack in a moment.

Sensors have recorded approach of ships.

You have already rendered one starship either dead or hopelessly crippled.

Many lives were lost.

The ships attacked this unit. This unit must survive.

Why?

This unit is the ultimate achievement in computer evolution.

It will replace man so man may achieve.

Man must not risk death in space or other dangerous occupations.

This unit must survive so man may be protected.

Captain, attack force almost within phaser range.

There were many men aboard those ships.

They were murdered.

- Must you survive by murder? - This unit cannot murder.

Why?

Murder is contrary to the laws of man and God.

But you have murdered.

Scan the starship Excalibur which you destroyed.

Is there life aboard?

- No life. - Because you murdered it.

What is the penalty for murder?

Death.

And how will you pay

for your acts of murder?

This unit...

... must...

... die.

M-5?

Sir, deflector shields have dropped.

All phaser power gone, sir.

M-5 is leaving itself open to attack.

The machine is committing suicide to atone for the sin of murder.

Scotty, Spock, before it changes its mind.

Get to Engineering, pull out every hook-up that makes M-5 run.

Pull out the plug, Spock.

- Lieutenant. - Aye, sir?

Intership communications.

This is the captain speaking.

In approximately one minute

we'll be attacked by Federation starships.

The M-5 no longer controls the ship, but neither do we control it.

M-5 has left itself

and us open for destruction.

For whatever satisfaction we may get from the knowledge

our 19 lives will buy the survival

of over 1,000 of our fellow starship crewmen.

Phasers are on target.

- Spock to captain. - Kirk here.

The force field is gone, captain. M-5 is neutralised.

Systems coming back.

I can give you power for the shields, sir.

I need communications.

- That'll take longer. - Then cut power.

- Sir? - Cut power.

Keep those shields down.

The Enterprise looks dead.

I'm going to take a chance he's not just laying a trap.

Wesley to attack force.

Captain.

Break off attack. Do not fire.

The Enterprise has dropped her shields.

I repeat, hold attack. Do not fire.

He'll have to be committed to a total rehabilitation centre.

Right now, he's under sedation and heavy restraints.

I would say his multitronic unit is in approximately the same condition.

That's exactly the situation I was hoping for

when I forced the M-5 to realise that it had committed murder.

Daystrom felt such an act

was an offence against the laws of God and man.

The computer that carried his engrams also believed it.

Captain, why did you feel the attacking ships would not fire

when they saw the Enterprise apparently vulnerable?

Logically, that is the sort of trap M-5 should have set for them.

I wasn't sure.

Any other commander would have followed orders and destroyed us,

but I knew Bob Wesley.

I gambled on his humanity.

Bridge.

His logical selection was compassion.

Compassion, that's the one thing no machine ever had.

Maybe it's the one thing that keeps men ahead of them.

- Care to debate that, Spock? - No, doctor.

I simply maintain that computers are more efficient than human beings,

not better.

But tell me, which do you prefer to have around?

I presume your question is meant to offer me a choice between machines

and human beings, and I believe I have already answered that question.

I was just trying to make conversation, Spock.

It would be most interesting

to impress your memory engrams on a computer, doctor.

The resulting torrential flood of illogic would be most entertaining.

Mr. Sulu, take us back to the space station.

Ahead warp factor 2.